Ever get the feeling...

...that you are being watched?

Over a million have signed, but more signatures are needed!

Children's Portraits (and some mommy, too)

These are some portraits of one of my favorite families to photograph. Not only are these children beautiful, but they are very sweet and loving to their mommy...something I love to see! The finish was something I developed in Lightroom. Like it? It's antique-y! I think I'll call it Zatopek Antiquey. heh.

Baby!

You may remember their maternity session a while back from this post.

She was born on Earth Day! She's beautiful!

It's me!

Hey there! I'm sure I've severely disappointed so many of you by neglecting this blog. I have been very busy working it seems all the time on this, that, or the other thing. Kids and the man consume most of my time. Picture-takin',then post-processing and delivery take up another portion. Research, learning and marketing take up some more. I have to eat, sleep and play some, too. Then there's the poor ol' blog. It's last. I feel sorry for it. I think about it all the time. Really, I do!

So anyway, my point is, this evening I'm slaving away working on the computer trying to ready recent images to show the world, trying to finish up a project for a client, and trying so hard not to be neglectful of the blog and diligent about delivering beautiful pictures and albums to my clients. I'm in the zone, concentrating hard and I look around to my right and what do I see? My littlest finding something to keep herself entertained while I work so hard. I'm sorry, blog, but once again, I must neglect you. I will leave you with these images of what I saw when I turned around and why I have to now stop working...at least until she goes to bed.

Pretty Ladies in Gorgeous Dresses

I'm so lucky! I had the privilege of photographing lots of lovely ladies in gowns at a beautiful location. Does it get any better? Aren't these ladies beautiful?!




















This was a "Princess for a day" shoot organized by Keri Byer of the Austin Fairy Godmother Foundation.

Keri collects formal gowns for girls in need. Going to the prom, getting married, going to a reunion? Go borrow a dress, shoes and jewelry from your local Austin Fairy Godmother! This is a wonderful service she provides! If you have anything to donate, she takes current styles, dresses, shoes, jewelry, make-up, nail polish; anything that makes a girl feel pretty and happy. Contact her to find out how you can help.

Nycia did a beautiful job with everyone's hair. Yvette did wonderful make-up! She was a make-up artist in a past life. The location: Dunvegan Keep. This place is amazing!
The girls all looked gorgeous and I think they felt that way, too!

Debbie & Craig - March 29, 2008 - Corpus Christi

Ok, finally! Here is the link to my favorites gallery. These are my absolute favorite images from the day. I had to really get them down for the blog. Typically, I pick 10 - 20 favorites from the day, but I just couldn't pick. So, here they all are.

Debbie & Craig, I will be emailing you a link to the rest of the 900 and something photos for your private gallery in the next couple of days. Thank you so much for allowing us to spend the day with you and capture all the love surrounding you!

Happy April 1st!

Belly!

This is Mark and Myra. They are just lovely, and both beaming with anticipation! I have made a prediction as to what the gender of the baby will be. Can you guess?

Photographers, check out this website...

If you haven't already come across this site on the forums or in talking with other photographers, you should know about LensProToGo. It is a lens and camera body rental company. Paul Friedman and his staff are simply wonderful people. The customer service is absolutely outstanding, the prices are very reasonable, and the selection is vast! I am sporadic renter at best, but Paul has always treated me like I am his most important customer. They are an unexpected happy surprise in an otherwise anonymous-take-a-number world. You guys have made my day! Thank you, again!

Suzanne and Philip

See the slideshow


Their story touches my heart. Not only is it very sweet and romantic, but I can totally relate. Suzanne and Philip met years ago while working together. There were other things going on in their lives at the time so they went their separate ways. Some time later and after many years of life experience for both of them, Philip wrote Suzanne a letter. Six months later, they were engaged. Suzanne has a beautiful daughter with fiery red hair. Together, they make a beautiful new family.

Lots of coincidences have been popping up for me lately. Or maybe I'm just more aware of them. I didn't know Suzanne and Philip's story before I met them the day I photographed their wedding. See, my husband and I share a similar story and as their day unfolded I became more and more astounded at the similarities we share. It just reaffirmed that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing.

To make a looong story short...Bill and I dated in college for a while and then (due to my selfishness) went our separate ways and had very different lives. I moved to California, he moved back to Houston. I had a baby, he had an auditing job. We met up again after I moved back home to Austin with my daughter. I took a chance and called his brother to find him. To my delightful surprise, he was single and trying to get on with the Austin Fire Department and was planning on moving back. Coincidentally, he had been looking for me, too! The flames reignited, my daughter instantly loved him and we all just came together like three puzzle pieces. We got hitched in 2005 and almost two years ago had a fiery red headed little girl. Is the puzzle complete? I don't know, I think we need a dog. Crazy, eh?

Thank you for the honor of including me in your celebration!
Here's to a long and wonderful marriage, Suzanne and Philip!

Image of the day

I'm not sure why, but this image makes me want to eat chocolate and take a nap in a down comforter.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here are some of my favorite images from our trip to New Orleans. Yes, it was a while ago and I'm just now getting around to posting them. I'm kind of working backwards. I'll have some more images from another little vacation we took in August to visit my parents. So, stay tuned for those. In the meantime, here is some NOLA for you.

I wish I could remember the name of this band. They were playing at a little bar down the block from our hotel. It's so nice to be able to step out of your "home" and into the streets to the sounds of great music coming from every door. What a wonderful time we had!


















This was a wall that we passed by about three or four times a day. Look at the years and years of staples. I bet those staples could tell a story or two.
















Horse and horse stop.
















Saint Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square.























Window of beer.
















The windows in New Orleans hold such interesting stories.
















Bring on the good stuff!
















An old foofie dress in the history museum























Here we are in Lacy's favorite pub. I want to say his name was David, but I'm probably wrong. Lacy, correct me here. Bill, my loving husband is on the right. I'm not sure why these boys are looking at me like that.
















Kickin' it with our new BFFs, Lacy and Andy, who incidentally, we met while shooting their wedding a little over a year ago. We love you guys! Thanks for the good times! We'll be back, soon!

Cleaning House

I have been organizing and cleaning lately. Well, when there is time. I feel like I can't bust out unless the house is uncluttered. and by bust out, I mean really reach my full potential, whatever that may be. My house is a very lived in place. We try to keep it clean and organized, but by the end of the day, just bending down to pick up a cheerio is an ordeal, so sometimes it doesn't get done. Not to mention the piles of filing that I need to do. Also, not to mention the shelves of lovely little boxes that I have purchased to put things in to make my house seem more organized than it really is. So, as the business gets some much needed organization this tax season, so do the shelves in my bedroom and closet. In doing so, I came across some old assignments from my darkroom photography days. It's been fun and disappointing at the same time to look through these. Some of them were really great and I was proud of my 16 year old self. Others were really half-ass, like you could tell I procrastinated until the last minute because I was too busy listening to the Smiths and brooding over how lame it was that I had to wake up and go to school at all. Ah yoot. It's wasted on the young, no? I think so. Anyway these were some that I was proud of. The rest you don't get to see. ;)

Lake Travis, a boat and a beautiful family

Look at these gorgeous people!

Super Catch - Up Time

I am posting a bunch today. This is The Duncan Family: slideshow and see the pics below. This was "a day in the life..." sort of session. I photographed the kids getting up, eating, and going out to play. It was a ton of fun!

Stay tuned, more posts to come...

I need to post more

I know. I'm not slacking, though! I'm busy! For realsies. I will be making a resolution this year to post at least once a week. Promise!

For now, I want to talk about the lovely people at KISS Wedding Books. I've ordered a few albums from them lately and they are just the bees knees. These folks know how to run a business. I don't think anyone can beat the quality, turn around time or customer service. I love you guys. You make me and my customers very happy. I just know you guys are going to need more help with all the business you're gonna get.

I intend to post lots of pictures very soon (I'm way behind, I am sorry!). In the meantime, a very Happy New Year to you!

Hugs!

Image of the day

Today's image is of my littlest. I just had to share this one because of the colors. Have a very nice day!

Brandi and Daniel's Wedding

Brandi and Daniel's wedding was absolutely beautiful. These two could not be more perfect for each other. It's obvious how in love they are! At the end of it all after their spectacular sparkling exit, Bill and I felt so honored to have had the chance to spend the day with you and the people who love you most. We wish you happiness and love!

Check out their slideshows, too:

Engagement Session
Wedding Day
Wedding Album

A Fall Sale!

Announcing: A Fall Sale! The first five people to contact me and book a wedding, special event, or portrait session by October 31, 2007 get a free print ready CD of all of your session images. These files will print as large as a 5 x 7 - great for scrapbooking or desk prints!
Contact me to book your session today!

Did you know???

I am changing my packages and pricing structure. You'll love it! Simplicity is good.

Stay tuned, but here's a teaser...four hours of wedding photography that includes a beautiful coffee table book is only $1500 US dollars!

There will also be a contest coming up to win a super great and valuable thing! Check back tomorrow for details.

squeeze!

Finally posting some of Brandi's bridal session.
I had a great time at Brandi and Daniel's wedding and am currently editing those images. Look for them, soon.
In the meantime, take a gander at this gorgeous doll!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Help to find a cure! If you're a jewelry maker or even if you're not, slip these babies on a chain and go! Click here 100% of the sale goes to research! Awesome.

Brides, another nifty slideshow