Halloween was 5 days ago and I'm just now starting to recover from the sugar rush. We had hundreds of trick-or-treaters converge on our home and this year we finally worked out the kinks in our candy distribution method so we were not left with pounds of candy and we didn't run out too early. The trick is to just buy enough candy to get you through the first hour. Then you can simply snag the undesirable candy from the trick-or-treat bags of your own children who returned by then and put them in the pot to give out. This leaves you with just the good stuff at the end of the night. I was left with a bag full of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Twix bars, and Snickers -- no Almond Joys or Mounds -ugh- and no sticky suckers that have a way of ending up entwined in my carpet.
I thought I had it all under control until the next day when my children kept magically appearing with random pieces of candy that seemed to materialize out of thin air. Then I found the culprit. A hidden candy stash between the couch cushions. Those sneaky darlings!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Yoga anyone?
My assignment this past weekend was to shoot the grand opening of Two Rivers Yoga in Gruene. They have a beautiful new studio and boutique with large windows and beautiful light. The earthy colors they chose for the decor made for some beautifully colored photographs. I can't wait to take my first yoga class in this place. Take a look at the photos if you get a chance!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Pumpkin Patch
We took a trip to the Pumpkin Patch the other day to make our annual pumpkin selection. As our brood has grown so have our pumpkin selections. Three kids means three pumpkins. My son chose this little one. He was easy to please. I'm thankful they didn't decide upon the 200 pound monster in the middle of the patch.
Halloween is just a week away and this month has flown by!
I started the second session of my photography class last week and there are even more people in this one than in the first. It's obvious there's a need for it in this community.
I had a rare weekend off this weekend and I took the time to enjoy it because the next month is packed full of sessions. If you haven't scheduled your Christmas portraits yet, you still have time! There are some openings in early December so call soon!
Halloween is just a week away and this month has flown by!
I started the second session of my photography class last week and there are even more people in this one than in the first. It's obvious there's a need for it in this community.
I had a rare weekend off this weekend and I took the time to enjoy it because the next month is packed full of sessions. If you haven't scheduled your Christmas portraits yet, you still have time! There are some openings in early December so call soon!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
How to shoot a weddding when you can't shoot the wedding.
So I shot a really great wedding this weekend. The bride was beautiful and nervous. Her voice cracked as she gave her vows, the groom looked sufficiently nervous and handsome at the same time. They had a beautiful Christian service with a non-traditional Apache sand ceremony as well. I would love to have gotten some shots of it with all the beauty of the emotions they shared. But, unfortunately, the minister said no. I've shot at weddings where the minister asks for no flash photography during the ceremony -- that's cool with me. I've been to weddings where the minister has asked to not move around during the ceremony -- that's cool too. But this was the first time I had the challenge of shooting a wedding where the minister asked for no photography at all during the ceremony. Not a click, not a peep from our cameras. Okay. So let's see. What do I do? Well, there's really not much I can do. Unfortunately, this was news to the bride as well. I've heard of this from other photographers but this was the first time I've had to deal with it.
The minister said it was okay to recreate the scenes after the fact and that she would hang around after wards for that (but she was out of there pretty quickly). And even if she had hung around, it just wasn't the same. The pressure was off, the moment was over. Staged shots after the fact just aren't the same. And even more, it's not the same for the bride and groom. When they look through their photo album, they won't see the candid, raw emotions of the moment they tied the knot. They won't see the tears stream down their faces as they said "I do." They see a performance -- a staged production where they pretend to mimic the expressions they held moments earlier.
I think I did a pretty good job of capturing the feeling of the day leading up to the big moment and the feeling of celebration after the deed was done. I hope it serves to remind them of the joyous ceremony.
I'll be working on these photos throughout the week and they can be found in my Jim and Shawna folder under the Clients section of my site. Enjoy viewing the ceremony that you can't see!
The minister said it was okay to recreate the scenes after the fact and that she would hang around after wards for that (but she was out of there pretty quickly). And even if she had hung around, it just wasn't the same. The pressure was off, the moment was over. Staged shots after the fact just aren't the same. And even more, it's not the same for the bride and groom. When they look through their photo album, they won't see the candid, raw emotions of the moment they tied the knot. They won't see the tears stream down their faces as they said "I do." They see a performance -- a staged production where they pretend to mimic the expressions they held moments earlier.
I think I did a pretty good job of capturing the feeling of the day leading up to the big moment and the feeling of celebration after the deed was done. I hope it serves to remind them of the joyous ceremony.
I'll be working on these photos throughout the week and they can be found in my Jim and Shawna folder under the Clients section of my site. Enjoy viewing the ceremony that you can't see!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Happy 50th Strutters!
This weekend I had the honor of serving as the official photographer for the Texas State Strutters 50th anniversary celebration and reunion. Can I just say that these ladies were a blast to work with. You're looking at some of the original line from the 1960 Strutters dance team. I loved it when these ladies broke out in a high kick routine on the track of Bobcat Stadium. They could kick higher than I can! I can only hope I'm able to move like that when I'm celebrating my 50-year college reunion! You ladies are beautiful! The day ended with a magnificent gala at the Embassy Suites in San Marcos. They celebrated with a dinner, a dance, a live band, an auction and a giant ice sculpture. Everything was gorgeous. The reunion committee did a great job putting this celebration on and I hope I was able to capture the excitement. Check out my Strutters gallery in the Client section of my site to see what I have.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
You say it's your birthday dadadadadada, It's my birthday too!
So today is my birthday. Usually a wonderful, joyous moment, when I was a kid. Today it seems like just another day. I'm a year older now. This also marks an important birthday for me. I am now 38. I remember when my mom turned 38. I remember the cake my dad baked for her and the big 38 drawn in icing on top of the cake. She wasn't very happy to see that and I couldn't understand why at the time. Today she looks at the photographs and says "I was so young then, I had no reason to be down." So when my darling husband lit up 38 candles that seemed to swallow up that little round cake and asked me to make a wish I had no problem with it. The wish -- why for another 38 years as glorious and happy as the first, of course!
Friday, October 2, 2009
To the Batcave!
Twenty million bats. I saw 20 MILLION bats! Wow, that's a big number. How long does it take 20 million bats to emerge from a cave? About 4 hours, I'm told. So in fact, I guess I didn't really see 20 million since I only witnessed about 45 minutes of the bat stream. But the numbers are high enough to impress. I was able to attend a private tour of the Bracken Bat Cave near Garden Ridge last night and attempt to capture the magnificent display of millions of bug-eating mammals waking from their slumber for their nocturnal hunt for food. Truthfully, I had no idea what I was doing, I'd never shot small, fast-moving objects in the dark of night before and I wasn't quite sure how to do it. My biggest problem was focus. Because of the low light, I had to use a wide aperture, which means my depth of field was small. Then I had to try to focus on an area of bats and hope that at least a few of them were sharp as I fired off my strobe into the sky. I took no fewer than 250 shots and managed to get a handful of reasonably focused bats. I hope to study up on it a bit more and return with more knowledge of capturing these illusive night predators.
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