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This is a wedding I second shot and I’m so glad I did because it was fantastic! I got the opportunity to work with Valerie from Belle at the Ball again and I was so excited because she is just a pleasure to work with! Before the ceremony we went to Discovery Green because Laura and Darrylle decided to do a first look. They were so happy to see each other they both started to cry which I thought was sweet and made amazing photos! After the first look we walked around the park and got some wonderful portraits of them and did their family formals. The ceremony was held at Annunciation Catholic Church in Houston, TX. This church is a Gothic European style church and it is absolutely breathtaking when you walk inside!! The reception was at the Parador and everything Laura and Valerie put together was beautiful! I just loved the ambiance of the facility.

Joel and I went to Imaging USA, the huge national photography convention. In short Imaging was a totally insane whirlwind of education and products. It didn’t help that I had a cold the entire time but with the help of dayquil, coffee, adrenalin and determination I had a wonderful time. Most of each day consisted of classes taught by some of the best photographers from around the world. Four hour-and-a-half classes everyday, can anyone say “information overload”? I learned so much amazing information, I hardly know where to start. We only have photos from the Expo because photography and video were prohibited during the classes. The expo had every photography product and service you could imagine. Everywhere you looked there was information on products and classes going on at several booths at once. It was a great experience and I can’t wait until next year when it’s in Atlanta, GA because I love peaches. I was ecstatic when I got to meet Jerry Ghionis! He’s famous to us wedding photographers because he is AWESOME!! We took a class from him and loved every minute of it!! This little girl was the cutest thing EVER!! Here’s one for us Canon shooters! Seeing these guys reminded me of one of my favorite state parks in Texas, Brazos Bend.

I’m really excited and I’m counting down the days to Jan. 14, 2012. That is the day Joel, our friend Angelica and I get together for our road trip to New Orleans, LA for Imaging USA.  At this point you are probably wondering what I’m talking about. Imaging USA is huge national photographic convention, expo and exhibition. It’s a great place to network with photography vendors and other photographers. The thing I’m most excited about is being able to continue my education. Photographer come from all over the world to share their experiences. They offer so many classes its overwhelming! I want to focus on classes that teach about business and photo technique, and by the end of imaging I want to be on information overload! I can’t wait!  

Walking through Lost Maples State Natural Area is like walking thought a beautiful watercolor. It claims to be the only place in Texas with a large population of Maple trees. For someone like me that is used to the mild winters of Houston, fall and winter seem like the lost seasons and I find the drastic change just amazing. In the 2 days we were there we hiked almost all the trails in the entire park. The variety is astounding with each section different flora, different scenery and different moods. The Maple Trail on the East side of the park is probably the most popular trail with many people walking their dogs and taking photos of the fall colors. On every trail I felt like a kid in a candy store. It was breathtaking everywhere I looked and a photograph could be made around every turn. After hours of hiking our first day the sun was getting low and we were tired and hungry and ready to get back to the campsite to get some rest and hot grub. We were so tired of trail mix and granola bars that we immediately fired up the trusty little camp stove and prepared the old staple of beans and rice for dinner. Due to a drought and subsequent burn ban we had to forgo the campfire so we crawled into the tent and due to exhaustion immediately crashed out. I woke up to the sound of people talking and kids playing. I rolled over and asked Joel if he was awake and if he would like to go take photos of the stars. I didn’t have any timekeeping devices on but knew it had to be before 10 pm because that’s when quiet time starts. I kissed Joel on the cheek to help him get up, grabbed our camera equipment and headed towards the trails to photograph the stars. It was really dark and pretty chilly. At least I thought it was chilly, I’m not a big fan of the cold. Joel and I held hands as we walked down the trail in the moonless darkness. We were not using flashlights because our eyes were adjusted and we could just barely see by starlight. We set up a tripod, remote and camera and got some amazing star photos. Joel jokingly said that next time we needed to bring a fisheye lens for [...]

I can’t tell you how much fun we had on this engagement session! Heather and EJ were totally adorable during the entire shoot and were naturals in front of the camera! They had the idea of shooting at Kemah Boardwalk and the beach in Galveston, TX. They chose those two locations because their second date was at Kemah Boardwalk (read about their first date in the survey below) and they are self described beach bums. Both these locations were perfect to show off who they really are. After the session I sent them a survey to find out more about each of them and their relationship. You can read the survey and view the slideshow at the bottom of the post.  Or view the Engagement slide show in its own window here. Leave a comment to tell me what you think. Thanks! Their wedding was on 11/11/11; take a look at their sneak peek here.   Here is a little more about Heather and EJ. Where did you meet? We met through Match.com. EJ “winked” at me through the website, and I “winked” back. From there, we exchanged emails and talked on the phone and webcam for about a month before we finally met in person. What was your first impression of him? I have two first impressions on EJ: the first was his profile on Match and the second was the first time I met him in person. One of the main things I remember from his profile was a picture he’d taken of himself using his webcam on his laptop. He had a goofy grin on his face, and he put a border around it. The border was pink and it made the shape of a heart around his face. I thought to myself, “This guy definitely doesn’t take himself seriously,” which made me laugh. The first time I met EJ in person, he looked like he was going golfing, but we were going to the movies. I appreciated that he put the effort into looking nice for our date though. He also shaved his face right before our date and managed to cut himself pretty badly on his cheek. So, he had a huge band-aid too. Luckily, he wore a t-shirt, shorts, and Converse shoes on our second date, and I was sold. What was your first impression of her? When I walked up to meet her [...]

Crystal’s Wedding was is San Antonio this past weekend and I had a blast! Check out her wedding sneak peek. The wedding was amazing and now that she is happily married I can share her bridal portraits with you. Luckily during the session it wasn’t really crazy hot because it was cloudy day. We did the Bridal Session in the Sculpture Garden which is across the street from the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. We had a great time during her session! I hope you enjoy her Bridal Portraits.

Everything is packed and in its place. Clothes, check lists, maps, camera equipment, and enough music to last us way longer than a weekend. Joel and I are headed to San Antonio today to shoot Crystal and Roy’s wedding tomorrow. We wanted to make sure to get to San Antonio extra early to ensure we were at the wedding on time with no problems because this is just to special of a day to take any chances and that they are well taken care of. I have family in Houston, Austin and Dallas but not in San Antonio so I don’t go there often. I’ve only been there two times before and it is a beautiful place so I’m really excited to have the opportunity to share Crystal and Roy’s special day with them there. I’ve never had the chance to see the Alamo and hopefully I will have the chance to before driving back to Houston.  

I remember the day like it was yesterday… the day my nephew finally came into the world. I walked quickly through the hospital because I was so excited and anxious to see the new addition to the family. When I saw Max laying there for the first time, sleeping peacefully, I was so overtaken by joy that I couldn’t help but cry. I didn’t even have a chance to stop myself, he was so beautiful. That was one year ago. Just recently we drove from Houston to Dallas to visit Max (not “Maxi,” definitely not “Maxi”) for his first birthday. He has gotten so big so fast it’s unbelievable. It’s like he grew up overnight. Here’s one Joel took of us. He said I’m cuter but he’s wrong. We had a wonderful time at  my sister Amanda’s place. It was the first time Max ever had chocolate cake and he loved it. He managed to get almost as much in his mouth as on the floor. He also got a big pile of new toys but I think his favorite toy is still Greg’s piano. My brother-in-law, Gregory, is a composer and plays classical music professionally for his church. He  plays for Max all the time and is starting to give Max basic piano lessons. Max will pull himself up and play the keys, not just mash them with his palms but push each key with his fingers. It is so adorable! Someday soon he is going to learn how to play and write music of his own. Can everyone say “child prodigy”. My dad makes such a wonderful grandpa. Here he is singing to Max. He has the biggest most beautiful blue eyes I’ve ever seen. This is Joel holding Max. Look at all of that beautiful curly hair!

I love the outdoors. There is just something about it that makes me feel relaxed and like I’m being recharged. I’m really lucky to live only about 45 minutes from one of my favorite state parks, Brazos Bend. I love this park because they have great bike trails, you can fish, alligators live in the park and the Houston Museum of Natural Science has their George Observatory located here. Recently I had some free time and visited there with my boyfriend Joel and we camped for one night. It was Saturday night so that meant we could go enjoy the Observatory because they have it open to the public on Saturdays. We had to make sure we could view the stars that night through those amazing telescopes. So we went to get tickets right when we got there, before we even set up camp.  After getting tickets and knowing that we were going to see the stars we headed to set up camp. Then we set out to find the alligators. Brazos Bend is know for having them in the park. In the gift shop you will find all kinds of stuff with photos of alligators: shirts, post cards, mugs and much more. I have some post cards and a mug with alligators on them that I got from a previous trip here. Joel and I knew exactly where to find them…the fishing pier. They always want they fish people are trying to catch. The minute we walked up we heard people talking about the gator in the water and I was pleased. I’ve always wanted to get photos of alligators and now I had another chance. After that we headed to the George Observatory. I was really excited to finally get the chance to see the stars through those huge telescopes. They have 3 telescopes: a 14″, 18″, and a 36″. The moon was full so we couldn’t see too many different things. We did get to see Saturn. It was amazing because you could see the rings and the moons around it. I think it’s amazing to be able to see a really far off planet from Earth. We also got to see the moon. Seeing the full moon through a telescope is amazing but very bright. You know how when you are getting your photo taken in a dark room and the flash goes off then stays [...]

I’m so excited to be able to share these! I had to wait until after her wedding and since the wedding has passed I can post them now. When I showed Kimberly these photographs she loved them so much she started crying. Let me know what you think. Which ones do you like the best? These were taken at Hermann Park and the Sculpture Garden in Houston, TX. Thank you for stopping by to take a look. Enjoy!