• Home
• Galleries
  •   Seniors&Teens
  •   Kids
  •   Weddings
• Categories
  • Baby on board
  • Bridals
  • Business
  • Engagement Session
  • Going to the Chapel
  • Happy Snaps
  • Improving my skills
  • Kids these days
  • Littlest Heroes Project
  • Music
  • My Momma taught me to share
  • Nobody puts baby in a corner
  • Personal
  • Photography
  • Portraits
  • Seniors
  • Sewing
  • Stuff I like
  • Trash the Dress
  • Uncategorized
  • We are family
  • Weddings
• Archives
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
• Prices
• My Old Blog
• Contact
• Proofing

Just Because : Good Friends

Posted on June 29, 2010

In the midst of gathering storm clouds, I had the pleasure of hanging out with these young ladies. They have been friends for years and decided to have a photo session to celebrate their friendship. Who says you have to be a newborn, a senior, or getting married in order to have pictures? I love when people want pictures just because…

Brenna, Jade, and Jaden, you ladies are so sweet and lovely. Thank you so much for letting me hang out with you to take your pictures. I hope your friendship continues for years and years to come!

Littlest Heroes Project : Amarillo Family Session

Posted on June 19, 2010

I was very excited to get my first email notifying me of a family in Amarillo that had requested a session through the Littlest Hero’s Project. If you don’t know about the LHP, go here to check them out. This was such a great experience and I loved meeting Misti and Tim and their awesome kids Sidney, Adia and Lucas.

I also want to say a special thanks to Kembra of the Uncommon Twists for opening her beautiful garden for our shoot. Not only does she have a plethora of well-tended plants for sale but she also has an gorgeous, manicured and landscaped area for weddings and special events.

The family…

Adia was born with Down Syndrome and a heart defect. She had open heart surgery when she was 4 months old and weighed only 7 pounds.The surgery was successful and she is now two years old and soo amazing!

Aida’s older brother, Sidney was diagnosed near a year ago with Burketts Lymphoma.He had a large tumor wrapped around his small intestine and by the time he was diagnosed he had stage four cancer. Sidney has completed six months of aggressive chemotherapy. The majority of that six months was spent in the pediatric intensive care unit. His prognosis is wonderful and the doctors expect him to carry on with his life cancer free.

Sidney with his little brother, Lucas…

After the family session we went into downtown to get some images of Sidney. I always get a bit intimated when shooting seniors, because I am a major geek and seniors are ALWAYS way cooler then me. Not only was Sidney one cool cat but he is also super smart and ambitious and plans on teaching music at the university level.

Mitsti and Tim, thanks for giving me the opportunity to celebrate with your family by taking your photographs! Watching you with your kids was such a treat as I could see how proud and in love you are with each of them!

Coming Soon…

Posted on June 16, 2010

Meet brother and sister, Sidney and Adia. I had a great time photographing them and their family for  The Littlest Heroes Project . More images coming soon (I promise Misti)!

For those photographers out there who expressed interest in joining TLHP, I do believe they have reopened applications for photographers. Go sign up. You won’t regret it!

At the Beach : Lake Michigan

Posted on June 14, 2010

We spent the end of May with our dear friends Amie Jo and Steven in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It had been several years since they moved away from the Houston area and just as long since we spent any time together as families. It has really hit me since we have returned home on how cherished they are to us. When you have friends like this, keep them, no matter what it takes!

We spent one day at the beach, on the way there we stopped off at Amie Jo’s parent’s campsite and we were treated to an incredible breakfast, including home made applesauce, that is to die for. Apparently Adalay thought so too as it looks as if she is trying to to knife Gavin. Not sure why she has a knife, oh well, it is just a butter knife, right!?

This is Amie Jo, yes she is gorgeous. Her and Gavin have a special bond as she was the first person to ever take a picture of him. Much gratitude to any friend willing to stand on a chair to get that perfect shot  over the doctor’s shoulder. I would have done it but it is hard to deliver a baby while taking pictures. I digress (like normal).

Amie-Jo’s babies daddy, Steven.

The delightful Brie, who was born several months before Ada. I know we are total copy-cats but it sure is fun having matching boy-girl sets of kids!

I was very excited to go to the beach, the beach being Lake Michigan. There are lakes and then there are The Great Lakes. Really, it looked like the ocean!

Ada-layla in all her delicious glory…

Do all boys between the ages of 3-5 fight like cats and dogs? There was some serious competition going on between Beckett and Gavin. One of these days they will be thick as thieves, I just know it (it may have already started, when we left their house to go to the airport Gavin wailed, “Beckett!!” over and over).

These images were shot in direct sun, which isn’t ideal but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do…

Man, we love these kids and this family we are so glad that they are a part of our lives!  Hoping for many more family memories together.

Getting Learned : The Jasmine Star Workshop

Posted on June 8, 2010

In April, I had the opportunity to attend  Jasmine Star’s Workshop in beautiful Orange County.  Holy Smokes! No wonder Southern California is such a popular place to live. The area we were in was gorgeous! I have no pictures to prove this because I was too busy staring at everything with my mouth hanging-open to remember I had a camera.

I have followed Jasmine Star’s Blog for a couple years now. I love her writing-style, crisp and clean photography, and willingness to share everything that she knows. This was actually my second time to hear her speak, the first being Showit’s National tour in Houston a couple of years ago. At the finish of that seminar, I began making my way to the door. I had a long drive home, it was late and I was very busy trying to justify to myself why I should just dash instead of mingling with the other photographers.  However, as much as I wanted to avoid akward conversations with strangers, I knew that Dustin would kick my tail if I went home without at least introducing myself to Jasmine. I looked over and noted that she was surrounded by adoring fans. I would have to wait forever to talk to her, and did I mention that it was late?

I stood there debating my options when the crowd around her disappeared and she was standing alone. In a moment of  bravery, I nervously approached her. Our conversation went something like this…

Me: Hi, I just wanted to say hi before I left, if I don’t say something my husband will kill me when I get home. Okay,… well…. you’re great. Bye.

(And then I turned to bolt out the door)

She: No wait, why would he kill you?

Me: Ummm….Well, because I am always looking at your blog. He would be ticked if I was in the same room and didn’t say something. Ok, I don’t want to bother you. Bye.

She: No wait, don’t leave I would love to talk.

Me: Gotta go… (as I charged for the door)

…At this point I envision myself like Cinderella racing away from the confused prince and rushing off into the night. Well, maybe I am getting a little carried away.

So yes, it is sad that years later I can still recall our 45 second conversation with clarity and yes, it is a lot sad that I am comparing myself to Cinderella. My point is that she was nice, down to earth, and wanting to help three years ago; and now she is still nice, down to earth, and willing to help.

This is the part where Jasmine showed us her super-secret posing techniques. I am really not even supposed to show these, but I will take the risk…

Ok, so yes, that is a joke. Please, please, Jasmine if you ever visit my humble little blog- don’t hate me! I just couldn’t help myself.

So yeah, those are all the jokes I have. Let me get serious.

This Workshop was great.

The day long workshop was focused on branding and moving your brand forward. She shared her story and what has worked for her. Jasmine did not hold back with anything, she was 100% herself and shared everything she could. She gave tons of time to answering questions and to helping each attendee present. I am pretty sure that I drove her absolutely bonkers with my silly questions, but she always responded graciously to my pestering. JD, her husband and second shooter, was great too. I asked him an equal amount of questions to which he responded thoughtfully and affably. He was so good-natured and amiable that I am sure every attendee (well maybe not the guys) there left with a little JD crush (oh please, you know you did!).  She also fed us well and good food makes me very happy.

We were also given the opportunity to watch her in action and shoot  beside her for a styled wedding session. It was very inspiring to see how she connected so easily with her clients. She made the models Michelle and Colton comfortable and at ease and she has a natural talent for making her subjects laugh. It was great being able to photograph such beautiful people in such a beautiful location but it was even better watching Jasmine work her magic. Afterwards, she shared her post-processing techniques and work flow. I appreciated her candidness and honesty in how she runs her business and I am in awe of how organized and efficient she is. I think as a photographer, I tend to look at wildly popular photographers and  think that their success came from luck, having money, or knowing the right people, and yes these things help but Jasmine showed us that hard work, intelligence, persistence, creativity, and business know-how go a long, long way.

Some of my images from the day…

Woah. That was a long post. If you are still with me, let me hear a “Hey! Ho!”

Seriously, I should have been in bed hours ago.

Etsy Showcase: Bee Creative Designs

Posted on June 2, 2010

If you have never visited Etsy, then stop what you are doing and go there. Right now.

Now for those of you who just ignored my advice  and have  not had the good fortune of ever visiting the site. Let me tell you a little about it. Etsy is a collection of stores featuring hand made items. I love buying from the site because I know I am supporting a small business owners, stay at home moms, and other creative types. Because the items are hand crafted there are plenty of unique and one of a kind items available. I have bought everything there from cloth diapers and fabric to logo designs and patterns.

The other week I met up with Amarillo Etsy vendor, Linda of Bcreative Designs. She is a seamstress specializing in fun and sweet children’s clothes. I had a great time photographing all the wonderful models in Linda’s creations.  Click on any of the images to see more info on the outfit pictured and to go straight to her site.

Normally, I wouldn’t want my children at a session (they like to crawl all over me, which makes it somewhat difficult to get a good shot) but the 18 month-old model couldn’t make it so Adalay made a guest appearance. I got to take the blue and brown outfit home. Too cute!

Thanks to all the beautiful and sweet models (and Moms) who volunteered their time for the shoot. I loved this and can’t wait to do it again!