Julie and Tim Wedding at Bell Tower

We had the privilege of being there to see Julie and Tim tie the knot, at one of my favorite venues, The Bell Tower on 34th Street.  It turned out to be a perfect day.  Weather  was like southern California, where I grew up [for those that don't know].  My good friend and awesome photographer, Melanie Hall, was assisting me that day. We have fun when we work together.  Well, here are some of the images from that day. 

Finding New Inspiration

Today was an awesome day!! I attended Scott and Adina Hayne's All day  "No Rules" workshop, put on by the Professional Photographers Guild of Houston.  Every year, I try to attend one or two seminars of photographers that I admire their work and hope to capture one kernel of knowledge that I can take to give me that little spark to help me evolve my shooting style or new business idea or just find a little inspiration to continue in this photography endeavor.  The seminars that have rocked my world and shooting style the most in the past couple of years has been Jeff and Julia Wood's week long class in Olive Branch, MS.  [Yeah it really is in the middle of nowhere.] Kelly Moore's workshop in Austin, held by Pounds Lab, rocked my world and gave me the creative freedom to shoot the fun wild on location session and it was the first step in developing the style that I now have. These two classes have been thus far the most influential in shaping my photography style.
Today's workshop is probably going to be another milestone in my continual evolution as an artist.  I learned so much from both Scott and Adina about marketing and using flash in my outdoor images using these little gadgets called RadioPoppers.  They use a lot of flash in their outdoor shots. For those not versed in photography speak, it just allows them to create images that can capture both the subject and the beautiful deep color/textures of the sky.  It really opened my eyes to what the possibilities are and it's gotten me really excited about trying some new techniques at my upcoming weddings and outdoor shoots!!
Another thing that kind of sparked such a connection with them is their story. Scott and Adina have been doing this for only about 3 years and have made tremendous strides in such a short time.  Scott had worked in corporate america all his life and had a interest in landscape photography but not really shooting people. Adina was working with her family's business all her life and was looking for a change.  One day in 2007 they made a huge life decision to start a photography, mostly brought on by a choice to quit the old job, Adina, and Scott losing a job. Without much knowledge and money, they built a business in three years that most people would dream of building after 10 YEARS!!
My story is not too different from Scott's in that I started shooting about 6 years ago when a friend gave me a old SLR camera.  I dabbled in taking pictures for the next 3 years before I really took it beyond a mere 'really expensive hobby' to trying to earn money doing it.  Notice I didn't say, try to "earn a living with photography.
I've always been an engineer and many people know that I aspire to make photography my sole career but I am not there quite yet, but the journey's been quite a ride so far. I'm so excited about this year and all that it will bring.

I want to thank both of them for spending a whole day teaching us and inspiring me.

Here is a picture of them doing some live shooting of a high school senior, Heather, in the hotel bottom floor. Shot was taken with my trusty Iphone .  I love that thing!!
Have a great night!!

Eric and Carolina

Last week, I had the privilege of taking engagement pictures of some of my very very close friends, Eric and Carolina. For those of you who don't know them, they met at my dinner party about 1 year ago last October.  Both of them are my very good friends, but together, they are amazing people. I have not seen either so happy as when they are together!! I'm excited to be witness and a photographer for their wedding in Puebla Mexico in May!! It's going to be an exciting trip, as I've never been to Puebla before. I heard so many great things about it and the artsy community there that I am sure we will be able to capture images of them around the city before the wedding !!  Well, I took them on one of my around town photo safaris.  Here is what we came up with!!

Jeanne and Kevin

When Jeanne, a long time friend, asked me to shoot her engagement pictures, I was super excited. She's such a sweetie and her new man, Kevin, is really awesome. We had fun hopping around houston, over by their house near Beltway 8 and 290. I have never shot there before but had a blast exploring that area.  The weather was super windy but warm nonetheless.  Keeping her hair under control was an all day stuggle but we did find some very calm moments.  Some of the images are below!!

I really love the one of her on his back!! I always like shooting into the sun, it always creates some really cool effects, but often is hard to handle properly. 

Enjoy