a wedding with brooks

Oh, wow...what a day! What a weekend! I had the pleasure of photographing with Brooks and Leighanne Whittington this weekend. They invited me to tag along with them and watch, shoot and definitely learn as they photograph. Learn I did. The couple, Shaun and Danielle were wonderful and welcomed the "third wheel" sort of speak. The ceremony was at the Four Seasons Hotel in Dallas, where the Bryon Nelson Golf Tournament is held. Lovely, despite the construction and the reception site, I think the Pavillion was amazing! I love a pretty place, and this was it.

vote for pat!

I photographed the Evans Family in Plano this weekend. My husband's brother married into this family when he fell in love with Emily, my sister-in-law. Pat and Chuck, Emily's mom and dad, live in an amazing place that has such wonderful light, that when the mention of portraits came up, I immediately suggested "home". Here's a few images to share. Thanks everyone! I had a wonderful time and love the pasture. Amazing light in the pasture.

I started blogging in April of 2005. It's almost been a year. I've switched hosting companies and my blog is in 2 main pieces. I found the other piece and wanted to include the link so others can go back and search the archives.

Last Year

Gosh! I've photographed a lot of different people in the past year. It was fun to look through and see everyone's faces again.

look what the DHL guy brought...

Yep...my new QB Sample!

Read all about it HERE.

nail biters, rejoice!

I've been a nail biter my entire life. Or at least as long as I can remember. And my good friend Melanie, (and blog reader!) encouraged me to try the stuff she uses. She has those amazing, strong, pretty finger nails that always seemed polished and oh, so healthy. Kinda like the Jergens hand ladies nails, you know? Well, I never made it by the beauty supply store, and she was apparently tired of looking at my horrible, poor, little nail beds. She surprised me on Sunday by buying me my first supply. Wasn't that so sweet! She's just that kind of person.

Well, I'm happy to report that the stuff works! It's really rather simple.

• start with clean, square filed nail
• put on coat of foundation
• put on 2 coats of polish
• finish with top coat

Melanie did tell me to reapply the top coat once per day to discourage chipping and after one week, remove all polish and start over. The base coat has some sort of ingredient that strengthens your nail and help them to grow. After 2 full days, I'm happy to report, no chips and my nails do feel stronger. Not that I've stuck them in my mouth to find out. Ha! Thanks, Melanie!

katie belle

Meet Katie. Isn't she a doll! And I had the pleasure of spending the day with her and her Mom and Dad, Kim and Robbie. I photographed their wedding in May of 2003 and kinda heard from Kim's sister that they were expecting. Hadn't thought about it for a while, and then Kim emailed me last month, asking if I would take Katie's 1 year portrait. Of course I said Yes!

She's adorable. Quickly steals your heart and has such a fun, vivid spirit that you can't help but want to spend time with her. She's very verbal for one and even if she can't form the words she wants to say, she says them in her head and signs them with her hands. So what if "hungry" and "please" are signed the same. I understood her perfectly.

sarah's friends

I'm really working hard to get caught up on my "tasks" and concentrate on making 2006 my BEST YEAR YET! I have lots planned and big dreams, of course, but one of the things I really want to do more of (and enjoy) is Graduate Sessions. This girl, Sarah, is part of that campaign. She's my Graduate Girl and friends of hers will learn a secret. All they have to do is ask her and wait and see.

Last week we spent some time together in downtown Lubbock. To see more of Sarah's session, click HERE. Posting more each day, so be sure and check back.

the sassiest, little, flower girls EVER!

You so have to agree with me. Don't you? Gosh, I could have photographed these three for hours! They were so much fun and such a fun age! I'm currently finishing up the uploading of Melanie and Brancent's photographs and have to give these girls another look. Played around a bit with the xprocessing action again that I used on my girls in an earlier thread. The middle girl (and right below) is the groom's daughter.

Life is...Adorable!

announcing....

the new and improved Online Viewing Ordering System!

Take some time, look around and let me know what you think. Don't worry, if you have images on the old site, they will still be up and available while the transition is taking place. You will receive email notice in ample time when it is time to say "goodbye".

technical difficulties

RED X's ARE AWFUL!

I felt an explanation was in order for all "glitches" this bloc has been experiencing. I've changed web hosting companies and my blog is having a bit of trouble in the move. Not all the images switched and since I'm not as computer efficient as I wish to be, I can't fix it....yet. (I'm waiting for some tech guy @ media catch to call me. Yeah, like that's gonna happen any time soon.)

My main reason for the switch is to prepare for a new way for you to view your photos. I've used photoreflect for years and as much as I like their hosting services, I had out grown their interface and needed a better way for clients to view their images. I hated how it doesn't blend in with my website and that the colors were not easily changed. Also, there just weren't that many features that allowed for other product, besides reprints to be offered to my clients. I needed a better way.

I searched, I found and in a few days, I will launch the new interface. The new PLACE for you to see all your amazing photographs. It will be bigger, better and brighter. But most of all, easier for you. (and me...I'm all about easy.)

Hang tight during the next few days while all the kinks get worked out and I will keep everyone up to date with links to their galleries until the change and interface is complete. Until then, enjoy these photographs of me. In the first one at the top of this post you can see my husband Devin. And no, we are not about to be hit by oncoming traffic. We were parked at a stop sign, waiting.

Ida Lee's Birthday

Last year, I missed Ida Lee's 90th birthday celebration. I had a wedding to photograph. Because my job is conducted prominently on Saturdays, (not very many of you want to get married on a Wednesday, even though I usually have that evening free...hee hee) I miss out on a lot of family gatherings. It's sad, really, because when theis family gets together, it's FUN. Lots of FUN. It was a reat treat this year to be there and share in the excitement of another year with Ida Lee!

Her brother DJ and his wife, Nell were there. That made the evening especially nice. And we all helped with the meal, even though David had the hard part. RIBS. They were soooo good. The kids, (Kalyn, Summer, Dalton and Kate) had a wonderful time playing together, so that freed up the parents to really enjoy each other. Enjoy the wine, the food and the fellowship.

F U N

After the dinner, Ida Lee shared her favorite cable program with us., Big Joe's Polka. I'm not kidding. Apparently twice a week you can tune into Big Joe and all the Polka bands he features. Apparently this is a BIG hit in the upper Midwest. NOT that there is a thing wrong with it! The music is lively, and "hoppy" and the outfits the dancers were are soooo much fun to make fun of, Elizabeth and I had a grand time, doing just that. It was better than an Adam Sandler movie for me, and I'm sure he would have had a field day on this. But to see Ida Lee enjoy it and even get up and dance a few, well, that just made Big Joe dear to my heart, for a lifetime. Thanks Joe.

Wanted to share a few photographs with you. Family is so important that please, no matter how tired you are, no matter how much wine you've had to drink with your in-laws, please photograph these moments! You will love having the memories to look at one down the road.

If you would like to see the rest of the "party pics", just click HERE.

mini session with my girls

I've been itching to shoot. My 20d, which is my main camera is in the shop and I'm stuck with my old 10d, which is YUCH compared to the former, but I'm managing. I gave a quickie interview to www.bludomain.com for a blurb about "Photographer of the Day" and I mentioned that I like to sleep with my 85 lens. Well, mentioning that made me yearn, literaly YEARN in my loins, to shoot wide open with beautiful light. My living room has huge floor to ceiling windows that point south, which all natural light lovers know, is prime lighting. These are what I managed to squeeze off in 20 minutes or so, of my girls and of course our dog, Canon. If you are on the floor you are in his world. His domain. So, lots of lickey kisses.

You can read my online interview HERE. Scroll down to the bottom for "all about me". Excuse the spelling mistakes. I honestly thought they would edit them. Seriously...and some aren't even mine. Such is life and this only points to my motto that used to be a screen saver on my main PC...if you want something done, do it yourself. Should have used that in the interview, huh?