Littrell Photography

New Blog! What are you doing here?

2009-09-17T21:54:00.000-07:00

What are you doing here? Didn't you hear... our new blog is up and live! Come on over and give us a peek and by the way, we luv, luv, luv comments, so leave a few!

http://www.littrellblog.com

Can I attempt to catch up on the blog posts?

2009-01-16T15:41:00.000-08:00

Well, I can try! It's been so stinking busy that I had to drop something... I have been trying to keep Facebook somewhat current and always Twittering so stay in touch!

Ryan & Samantha's wedding at Stonebridge Country Club in McKinney was great! Great venue, great weather, great couple and just an all around great wedding. Here's the pics!

What a bouquet!

Samantha the gorgeous bride!

I'm a Dad of two girls, so you know the Flower Girl makes the blog!

Love how intimate this shot was (notice I said was, cuz I just shared it)

People always say are you traditional or contemporary?

Yes!

and yes! Seriously though, I like an edge to my photos but Mom wants pics too!

and some tosses!

Take a look at Ryan & Samantha's Album!
Take a look at Ryan & Samantha's Album!

HDH

2008-07-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, today is the third installment of HDH and if you can guess the tv show where I heard all these bands you'll get a $10 Starbucks gift card. If that doesn't get you commenting, then nothing will. First correct answer wins. No cheating, use your mind, no googling!

Rooney came on in one of the very first episodes with this song and I don't know if they were fairly new or what but I loved 'em.

They have since had another album that is greatness and you should definitely check them out if you don't already listen... Now make your guess!

HDH

2008-07-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

This is the second installment of a band found from the same TV show back in October 2003. I even have a song from Air on my website right now, they might not be for everyone, but they rock your socks off! Check out this live video of La Femme D'Argent below. I later heard Air on a movie called The Virgin Suicides, but wasn't a big fan as even for an art film was entirely too slow for my ADD.

Hump Day Harmonics

2008-06-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

Todays edition of HDH is... drumroll please...

The Dandy Warhols - Welcome to the Monkey House (actually the next twenty or so bands will all have a resounding theme that I will touch on, since I learned about each band from one source).

The Dandy Warhols stole the name from a play on Andy Warhol of course, but they have been around for a few years. When trying to come up with a new band, album or whatever each week, I decided to touch on source of music inspiration for several years or should I say seasons. I had actually heard of the Dandy Warhols from their song "Bohemian Like You" (video contains nudity) which got quite a bit of radio play. Then you didn't hear much from them again... until I heard "We Used to be Friends" and I was hooked! Actually the entire album (name stolen from the Kurt Vonegut book) is great, so if you haven't listened... go check it out.

Jarrett & Gina's E-Session

2008-06-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

Jarrett & Gina met me in the Arts District of Downtown D for some E-Shots, we just had their wedding last weekend but I am in blog catch up mode still so you may see those in December... seriously though I am catching up! It was great to have one of Jarrett's friends come up to me at the wedding and say, "so, you liked the Weezer album, huh?" So thanks to the blog stalkers, don't be afraid to leave a comment, I usually try to reply too! Enough of my babble, you came for the pics...

Wait, bamboo in downtown Dallas?

This was after we got kicked off the JP Morgan Chase sidewalk... we got the shots anyways... what is it with not being able to take a photo anymore?

Jarrett works for Dallas morning news, so we thought this was a must have

I asked Jarrett if he had some ups, and let me tell you he did and this wasn't his first jump on film!

Again, this doesn't have a downtown feel but I can find grass almost anywhere...

and a little different flavor with some Old Skool Action

Hump Day Harmonics

2008-06-18T22:36:00.000-07:00

Todays edition (yes, I know I missed a week) of HDH is the Phoenix, it's an older album but a goodie. It's Never Been Like This came out in 2006 but I bet it's new to you!

Take a listen... and let me know what you think!

Joseph & Hollen's Wedding at The Tribute Golf Course

2008-06-16T19:45:00.000-07:00

Joseph & Hollen had a great wedding at one of the best golf courses in the area, The Tribute Golf Course in The Colony. They had a great outdoor ceremony that ended with the Mariachi band playing on the Terrace for happy hour while we finished some pictures. They opted to do some alone time for some more memorable couples shots which I highly suggest everyone plan for.

The ceremony was at the Queen's Park Gazebo

The Reception was in the Royal Ballroom

Some Table Decor and the Lovely Hollen

The Bridesmaids Bouquets

Hollen's Bouquet and Tribute Picture

The Guys just patiently waiting, with a little visitor

Hollen's Dad getting ready and a funny one

Hollen makes her entrance and Joseph finally gets to see his bride to be

And now a happy couple and a quick relaxed photo

People make their way to the Terrace for drinks while the Mariachi plays on

The Mariachi a little closer from Mick

A quick shot while we roam the course real quick

This awesome little bridge makes for great photos

And I have been known to stop people and ask for their Fishing Pole, Bike, Golf Clubs, etc... so be up for anything.

The Tribute as the sun sets and a plane flies over...

Congrats Hollen and Joseph, enjoy.

Hump Day Harmonics

2008-06-04T21:55:00.000-07:00

Real quick before it's tomorrow...

Todays edition of HDH is Weezer, and their new Red Album which just so happens to be out TODAY!

Great song being played right now is Pork and Beans and this video cracks me up...

My day at the Cotton Bowl

2008-06-03T03:16:00.000-07:00

A while back I was asked to help out fellow photographer Ron St. Angelo (whom you may remember from his book signing that I covered) with a shoot at the Cotton Bowl with a few familiar faces. I'll refer to them in nicknames, but you should be able to tell from the photos who they were. For all the photographers out there, assisting, second shooting, changing backs, rolling spools and even just watching other photographers work will help your photography. You can never know everything and if you pick up on something while helping out, then it was all worth it, not to mention sometimes you get to play catch with legends. The background of the shoot was getting some older football players to do some retro, vintage shots in the Cotton Bowl and even had the guy that supplied the equipment for the movie Leatherheads bring all the helmets, balls, shoes and the works.

Here's Ron getting the Blad setup

and another on the field with my Quantum T5DR

We started up in the corner of the Cotton Bowl with this guy nicknamed "Roger the Dodger" or "Captain Comeback", I'll just try and call him Captain Comeback as this might be a long story, but one I had typed up that night while it was all still fresh.

As you can see it was a little bit of a production with Fox 4 and Time Warner both filming while shooting.

We started doing some throwing motions and started throwing the ball to me about 5 feet away. On the 4th pass, I said, I oughta start counting these and keep a running total. Ron told him I had been waiting all week to catch a pass from him...

We then went down on the field and got the lights set up and he was talking with Nita from Fox 4 and I went over to get him if he was through with her questions, while talking with her, he raised the ball and waved me "to go deep" and I took off across the field. Now the shots we were doing were with old leather helmets, so the ball he was throwing was a replica 1930 football, with no little nubbins for grip and about as fat as a watermelon. As I am running, I thought to myself, you can't let a single ball he throws touch the ground because this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. First throw down on the field is led perfectly as I have to reach as far as possible to get both hands on it and just sandwich it together. With my head, hands (holding a ball just thrown from Captain Comeback) way out in front of my body, I finally regain my step to some cheers from Captain Comeback, Nita and the other camera crew. As I am running towards Captain Comeback to throw the ball, cuz I don't want to embarrass myself trying to throw a watermelon 30 yards, I hear Captain Comeback tell Nita, "that was a nice catch", ok surely he's blowing smoke but I could care less. I threw it back and he waved me on again, same deal perfect spiral and I squeeze it in. Then again, and again, and again and again till the 17th ball while sprinting down the field sails over my leaping outstretched arm by a few feet do I hang my head and shame and tell him "I had to have at least one TO moment". We continued shooting the pics and on of the shots, he told Ron, "He's got some good hands!"

I'm freaking floating, Captain Comeback just told me I have good hands! Sure again, he's probably blowing smoke, but I don't freaking care... I just caught 23 of 24 balls from Roger the Dodger, the Dodger just threw me passes so hard it left my ring finger red and swollen and I could care less, even if it's broken. The only thing I wish, is that I could somehow hold a camera while catching passes, but I did get a pic with him afterwards.

A quick snap as he was leaving

I headed up to the dressing room to see if Moose had made it yet and Captain Comeback was out signing hard hats from all the guys working on the Cotton Bowl, I admire the guys that do that instead of the not now, I'm busy types.

Moose came next and I didn't dare let him block me, he squeezed into some old timie shoes that were about a size to small. He grinned and beared it for the shot and ended up getting some really cool stuff like below and in a Heisman like pose.

As soon as that shoot finished, I was helping Moose rip off the size to small leather shoes so he could get a little more camera time in comfort with Nita and Cody.

All in all, a cool shoot and even more cooler day that I will never forget.

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Now playing: Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
via FoxyTunes

Kyle & Katie's Wedding at St. Gabriels in McKinney

2008-06-02T20:23:00.000-07:00

Kyle & Katie had a great wedding a while back now and I am finally getting around to getting some blogs up on the site... St. Gabriels is an awesome church with some pretty sweet light inside, I can't wait to shoot there again. Andree Baca is the coordinator up there and was great to work with, so I hope to see her soon as well. They had their wedding reception at the lovely Bingham House, a very popular spot that I frequent at least a few times a year. If you don't remember Kyle & Katie's E-Session, she is the Starbucks Diva that even hooked me up with a Starbucks gift card at the wedding (how sweet is that) as a thanks. So here's some pics, and I am trying something a little new on the layout, let me know what you think...

It's all about the details...

Some getting ready shots (love, love the one when she sees her self in the mirror)

The guys

The church (gotta love Kyle, lifting one leg on the kiss)

From the Reception

Cake, bling and bubbles and it's happily ever after!

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Now playing: The Bravery - An Honest Mistake
via FoxyTunes

Hump Day Harmonics

2008-05-28T19:11:00.000-07:00

Todays music isn't actually out yet, but I have pre-ordered my copy and the first song released is Grrreeeaaattt-ness! Coldplay's newest album Viva La Vida is set to be released June 17th as of today and I can't wait. The Delacroix cover is pretty awesome too, I would love to go to the Louvre to see that painting.

Something else that's pretty cool is the iTunes commercial for this album:

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Now playing: Coldplay - Viva la Vida
via FoxyTunes

Wedding Biz, Has This Happened To You?

2008-05-21T21:06:00.000-07:00

Now for some humor and a great article talking about photography.

Man Stroke Woman - Flowers

Man Stroke Woman - Cake

There's been a good article floating around a lot of photographers blogs and forums, I don't know the original creator but I figured I would share.

Why are Professional Photographers so expensive?

In this digital age where everyone has digital cameras, scanners and home "photo printers", when people upload their photos to a local drug store website and pick them up a few hours later, we hear this all the time - How in the world do Professional Photographers charge $55 for an 8x10 when they cost just $1.50 at the drug store?

Here's why.

Simply put, you're not just paying for the actual photograph, you're paying for time and expertise. First, let's look at the actual time involved. If you don't read this entire page, at least read this first part.

For a two hour portrait session:

- one hour of travel to and from the session
- two hours of shooting
- 30 minutes of setup, preparation, talking to the client etc.
- 30 minutes to load the photos onto a computer (2 - 4 Gb of data)
- 30 minutes to back up the files on an external drive
- 3 - 4 hours of Photoshop time including cropping, contrast, color, sharpening, saving a copy for print and a copy for the internet and backing up the edited photographs
- 2 - 3 hours to talk to the client, answer questions, receive their order and payment, order their prints, receive and verify prints, package prints, schedule shipment and drop package off at Fed Ex.

You can see how one two hour session easily turns into more than ten hours of work from start to finish. So when you see a Photographer charging a $200 session fee for a two hour photo shoot, you are not paying them $100 / hour.

For an eight hour wedding:

- I won't bore you with the details, but an eight hour wedding typically amounts to at least two to three full 40 hour work weeks worth of time. Again, if they are charging you $4,000 for an eight hour wedding, you are not paying them $500 / hour.

Now for the expertise.

Shooting professional photography is a skill, acquired through years of experience. Even though a quality camera now costs under $2,000 taking professional portraits involves much more than a nice camera.

Most Professional Photographers take years to go from buying their first decent camera to making money with their photography. In addition to learning how to use the camera itself, there is a mountain of other equipment involved, as well as numerous software programs used to edit and print photographs, run a website etc.

And let's not forget that you actually have to have people skills, be able to communicate, make people comfortable in front of the camera - and posing people to make them look their best in a photograph is a skill all by itself.

Think of it this way - the next time you pay $X to get your hair done, a pair of scissors only costs $1.50. But you gladly pay a lot more to hire a Professional.

What about the cheap studios at the mall?

Please don't compare us to the chain store studios. But if you must, consider all of the time and work that we put into our photographs, compared to what they do. Good luck getting a two hour photo shoot at a chain store. Not to mention they won't come to the beach! And of course, look at our work compared to theirs. You get what you pay for.

The truth is, most of the mall and chain store studios lose money. In fact, in 2007 Wal-Mart closed 500 of their portrait studios because of the financial drain they were putting on the company. What the chain stores bet on is that you'll come in for some quick and cheap photos, and while you're there, you'll also spend $200 on other things. They don't have to make money, they are just there to get you in the door.

Conclusion

We hope that those who have taken the time to read this page will have a better understanding of why professional photographs cost so much more than the ones that you get from your local drug store.

Hump Day Harmonics

2008-05-21T20:28:00.000-07:00

Todays edition of HDH is not a new album but a little known band pulled from my playlist. It's none other than the Brooklyn based band called Home Video. I love Radiohead and the solo project from their lead singer Thom Yorke, and Home Video sounds very similar if not a little better... Great lyrics that are well written and the natural timbre of Colin Ruffinos voice is eerily close to Thom Yorke's so it automatically climbs my list of faves. As usual, don't take my word for it, go have a listen at ilike.

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Now playing: Home Video - Penguin
via FoxyTunes

Little Bro Has Grademuwated!

2008-05-21T19:54:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago, we made the long and boring trek to Lubbock for my brothers graduation, so I thought I would share a few pics.

Little Bro

This one took a little setup (I sent him a text and said look here for me)

Doesn't he look happy to be out in the real world...

The night before we swung by his Fraternity Lodge after some Moe's Burritos!

And Abby got in a little hoop action

And then she got a little help from Uncle Steve

Even Emily was all smiles at the graduation

Then I have to share a little of Abs personality... taken a split second apart in our hotel room.

Then another of Ems, since Abs had more... Just chillaxin and waitin on some dinner!

Congrats on your Graduation, Hoss!

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Now playing: Thom Yorke - The Clock
via FoxyTunes

Hump Day Harmonics - Narrow Stairs

2008-05-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

Todays edition of Hump Day Harmonics is the sixth and brand new album out yesterday from Death cab for Cutie called Narrow Stairs. As most know, I am a big fan of the Indie music scene and Death Cab for Cutie has been a longtime staple of my iPod pleasure. If you don't know who they are, you've more than likely heard them on "The Wedding Crashers", "The O.C.", "Six Feet Under" and I'm sure more. Ben Gibbard has one of those petite soothing voices that is almost a whisper and perfect mellow music, and the latest song (which they played the other night on Letterman) "I Will Possess Your Heart" is no different. The next bonus of this song... it's not the typical 3:30 - 4:00 minute industry standard song, oh no sir, you get your moneys worth with over 8 minutes of some very catchy lyrics. I guarantee you'll be singing it the rest of the day! Give the instrumental start a chance it takes a while, but well worth it. A couple of my other favorites so far are "Your New Twin Sized Bed" and the wow of "Bixby Canyon Bridge". If you feel like checking out some older stuff, a few other faves are "The Sound of Settling" and "Soul Meets Body" off some older albums.

Ok, Now Go Stars!

Casey & Brandy's Wedding at Fossil Creek Golf Course

2008-05-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

Casey & Brandy had a great wedding at the Fossil Creek Golf Course a little while back so I had to share some photos.

The wedding date

The Guys

The guys again

Brandy and Mom getting ready

admiring the necklace

The Harpist

Some after formal shots

Reception time and time for some favor details

The Rings

The outside of Fossil Creek

The Flower Girl and Ring Bearer

The Toast

and another congatulatory toast to you two, enjoy the pics and thanks!

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Now playing: Home Video - Penguin
via FoxyTunes

Happy Mothers Day

2008-05-12T05:27:00.000-07:00

Just a quick Happy Mothers Day to my Mom and of course my lovely wife.

My Mom
(When she's not smiling for the camera)

and Mom (with camera smile)

Then of course my lovely wife (actually all my girls minus the dog)

Hump Day Harmonics

2008-05-07T06:42:00.000-07:00

Hump Day Harmonics will be the new installment to force me to continually update this blog on a regular basis... So on Hump Day you'll get to learn a little about a new album, artist or just something I have been wearing out on the iPod. I have been posting about music for a while, but finally decided I could do something every week on it and never run out of stuff.

So today's first is a band that had their big hit early on in my college days with this very song that still makes it on my playlist quite frequently.

PORTISHEAD - SOUR TIMES

The new album titled Third is chock full'o more wicked vocals from Beth Gibbons who has such a unique voice as well as tons of electronic drum beats especially in my favorite song "Machine Gun". Now for the warning, this is not an easy listening track that you can just relax too, the last album I mentioned from Thom Yorke is one I could fall asleep too but this one is not that type of album. There are some other great tracks that aren't so hardcore though, "Silence" & "Deep Water" are much more mellow and Deep Water is great with the backup barbershop guys. This album debuts almost 11 years after their last album, so maybe there is more to come in the future. Take a listen and let me know what you think...

Here's the new album:

It's out, go grab a copy

2008-04-09T20:39:00.000-07:00

A while back I mentioned how Carrie Sellman contacted me about shooting some cake pictures for her. Well the cake in question was designed especially for this little spread in the Summer 2008 issue of The Bride and Bloom magazine that's out on stands now. The magazine is great for brides looking to get good floral, cake and decor ideas for their wedding. They even have sections for the guys as well as little bookmarks for him and her. Be sure and check out Carrie's site, even though we're losing her locally as she's moving out of the area, she still has some great cake! And I would know... but she also has quite a few pictures on her site from weddings that we've done together. Congrats to fellow Misfits member and Photographer Cesar on his pics including another cake from Carrie. Here's the magazine and spread and a few different pics of the cake.

The cover of the Summer 2008 issue

The inside spread and photo

A little closer scan

and a few pics

of the cake.

Thanks again Carrie!

Chris & Mandy's E-Session in Downtown McKinney

2008-04-09T19:22:00.000-07:00

Chris & Mandy met me in McKinney a few weeks back for an early morning E-Session. Their wedding is coming up soon in Comanche, OK and it wasn't to long ago that she was a Bridesmaid in Krystle's wedding. It's always nice getting friend referrals from past weddings or even better referrals from someone you worked pretty closely with at the wedding like a Bridesmaid. Chris and Mandy were up for anything, even laying in the grass with the wet morning dew without a seconds of hesitation. They were great to work with and I can't wait for her bridals and then their wedding (and maybe time to hit the Casino for some Poker afterwards). Check out the pics:

A little Coffee Shop closeness

A quick click as we crossed the street

Loved the color separation here...

Great feeling on this one

Lots of bright sun made for lots of shadow play

who doesn't have time for a quick fire escape kiss

some more shadow play to end the shoot.

Thanks you two, looking forward to a fun wedding.

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Now playing: Eric Clapton - Cocaine
via FoxyTunes

Jeromy & Mandy's Wedding at Rose Chapel in Ft. Worth

2008-04-06T10:58:00.000-07:00

Jeromy & Mandy of Red Brick Photography had their wedding a few weeks back (ok, a month ago) on Leap Year Day at the Rose Chapel in Ft. Worth. I have been trying to catch up on blog posts and hope to do so very soon. I need like two days to go through and blog everything! Here's the pics:

The Rose Chapel

and an overview of the buidling

Mandy's gorgeous cake

and if themes are your thing, then shoes and Batman were the theme for the wedding. Jeromy's cake of Gotham with Batman & Catwoman standing guard.

The sweet Batman cuff links Mandy got Jeromy

A sneak attack through the crack of the door

When the groomsmen are wearing Chuck's and the Bride has shoes like this, you gotta show 'em off!

Cuff links on!

A little paint by light before the ceremony...

and another just for the heck of it!

Couples are the happiest at the little moment walking down the aisle together.

The whole gang shoe shot!

A little intimate shot with the Mini-Frezzi

Their reception room has a great stage with some gorgeous color behind it.

Congrats you two!

David & Pam's Wedding at Wilshire Baptist Church

2008-03-31T21:13:00.000-07:00

David & Pam had a sweet little wedding at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas last month. Pam & David both looked stunning with their family and friends there to celebrate such a great wedding. David tops the list for the best gift given to his bride though! Pam used to do a little modeling and once modeled for an old Stingray and David now has the poster hanging very proudly of his new wife, so check out the gift of a rebuilt red Corvette Stingray!

This shot was easy to take from the front walk.

This one was a little harder standing in the South Bound Lane of Abrams! (even with the wide angle)

The stunning Pam getting ready

I loved this one as she headed upstairs

The wedding cake

David & His Sister

Time for Pam's surprise gift (notice the closed eyes)

and for the reveal...

and the shock of the gift!

The rebuilt Corvette Stingray just like she once modeled

Pam had to take a little seat in her new ride

Then she decided to be in the perfect parking lot light for some sweet available light shots.
Fotog note: 1/100 sec, f1.2, 1000 ISO, Available light, almost SOOC with a little contrast bump

The happy couple (Same settings)

Some table details

This one cracked me up with the guy over her left shoulder. He's really sad, but looked embarrassed that she was cutting her own beef in the wedding dress.

The lavender smelled great!

Congratulations you two and enjoy the ride Pam!

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Now playing: Landon Pigg - Falling In Love At a Coffee Shop
via FoxyTunes

Jason & Meagan's Wedding at St. Ann's Catholic Church

2008-03-31T15:51:00.000-07:00

Jason & Meagan got married last month at St. Ann's Catholic Church in Coppell. It is a great church and has tons of great picture spots out in the courtyard all ruined by the rainy day we were having. That didn't stop us though, we just used some of the great arches surrounding the courtyard and the windows inside. The Ceremony was also a great spot with an awesome ornate backdrop for the wedding. Although, it doesn't make it easy on the lighting difference of the couple and backdrop, but I pushed the edge just enough to not blow out the detail of the backdrop while still sticking to the "no flash" rule. Check out the pics...

Meagan's Dress

Jason's Boutonniere

Jason & The Guys, the Album Cover!

We always showcase the girls, but when you got this many guys...

And a Solo of Jason

All the gorgeous Bridesmaids

And a solo of Meagan

Her awesome bouquet

That ornate backdrop I was mentioning as Dad hands off...

This was one from that alone time I try and get every bride and groom to do, this was shot with a Mini-Frezzi video light held by my assistant Michelle.

Her cake

His Cake

The centerpiece

Ok, did anyone watch Sesame Street? One of these things is not like the other!

Their dance.

Congrats guys!

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Now playing: AIR - Napalm Love
via FoxyTunes

In case your looking for gift ideas...

2008-03-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

My birthday (Tax Day) is rapidly approaching and I thought I would give everyone some hints, I mean gift ideas. I'll be a little over 30...that's all I'm saying!

Blackrapid photo strap (cuz I use the hand grip and this mounts to the tripod nut)!

Of course, these are always good too! (Buy Red when you can)

Or these...

And of course after all those healthy drinks, this would come in handy (Buy Red when you can)

When used with one of these...

and you can never have too many of these...

Just in case I have some Sugar Daddy blog stalker that I don't know of... you can get me these.

This (Click Here) and That (Click Here)

Here's a peek at "This"

and "That"

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Now playing: Matisyahu - King Without a Crown
via FoxyTunes

Happy Birthday to my Lovely Wife!

2008-03-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have a wedding on my wife's birthday... but I did ask before hand if she really wanted me booking on her birthday and she said as long as got a good gift! We celebrated a little early and went to Cantina Laredo (yummy) last night and then ate some Sprinkles Cupcakes (if you haven't tried the St. Patricks Day cupcake with Belgian chocolate and Baileys Irish cream cheese frosting, you only have two more days) for dessert. Here's a pic of my beautiful wife (although, she always turns the frown face when I point the camera) so I decided I will just post those and maybe then she will smile for a few!

A little texture play...

Sprinkles Cupcakes which also does Cupcakes for weddings!!!

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Now playing: Stereophonics - Dakota
via FoxyTunes

Katie & Kyle's E-Session

2008-03-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

Katie & Kyle met me in downtown McKinney for an evening engagement session and because Kyle is a huge film, buff, so we hit it off and Katie works for Starbucks, so she's my new best friend! She has bribed me with lots of mochas, even though she doesn't work at a store, she's like Coffee Security at the headquarters here.

Show me some photos already...

Ok, don't tell Starbucks that Katie was in this little coffee shop downtown McKinney! Shhh... and drinking coffee....

everybody loves the red brick, but I love this shot...

This little spot is one of my faves, and I have yet to see anyone else use it... maybe cuz you have to go past a few smelly dumpsters!

It was a little chilly, but flare helps...

I love this one of Katie pulling her best model pose in the dry winter grass!

Look for their wedding in a few weeks.

I love this song, below.
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Now playing: Young Love - Find a New Way
via FoxyTunes

Matt & Christy's Wedding at First Baptist Church in McKinney, TX

2008-03-14T15:02:00.000-07:00

Matt & Christy had a great wedding at the First Baptist Church in McKinney a few weeks back and I had to share some pictures.

First off a few from their e-session at the Las Colinas Canals, Matt was right at home making Christy laugh

And being a little silly too...

I loved this one though and some of you have seen it on my website.

Now on to the wedding.

First Baptist Church in McKinney

Christy's lovely bouquet

and all the other bouquets

Matt relaxing a little before his "I Do's"

Loved this shot of Christy getting ready with the girls

Christy with a nice relaxed pose

All the guys just hanging out

A little video light play before the Ceremony

I do!

The sweet sweet cake...

and what's cake with out a little flare?

Ok, a little more flare

These two cracked me up, I caught Dad sneaking a bite of cake...

Then just a few minutes later caught Christy doing the same, like Father, Like Daughter!

Bling!

Leaving Bill Bates ranch in McKinney

And off to the honeymoon...

Congrats guys! Thanks to Alisa Curry with Living Vows for planning such a great wedding!

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Now playing: The Bravery - Bad Sun
via FoxyTunes

Year Round Skiing in Texas! Coming Soon...

2008-03-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

How great that I can finally make it to a mountain again real soon. I love skiing but haven't had the time the last few years to get away and go, and my wife isn't a big fan of the snow. Well starting Fall of '09, I'll only have to drive to Ft. Worth! Which may be every weekend or every chance I can get. Bearfire Resort is coming to Ft. Worth to be the first year round skiing vacation spot!

They'll have the first man made mountain and a synthetic surface to ski on covering 65,000 meters, which is about 16 acres of ski terrain. There will be a 600 room hotel, convention center, shops and retail and I'm sure there will be weddings! Not only will it be just ski runs, but snowboard half pipes, sledding, ice skating, indoor snow park for the kids with toboggan runs, ice climbing walls and more. My birthday is coming up next month if you're looking for my gift... a year round ski pass would be great!

See the website

See the press release on Snowflex

Remember the Alamo

2008-03-06T21:39:00.000-08:00

What better day to Remember the Alamo than March 6th... The Battle of the Alamo only lasted 13 days, but the holdout was enough to allow Sam Houston to regroup and take the Battle of San Jacinto. The Alamo shares a deep spot in my heart for family reasons as well as Texas pride, so take a moment and Remember the Alamo on the Anniversary of it's fall... March 6, 1836.

Must Listen

2008-02-21T09:36:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest album I have been wearing out, if you don't know Thom Yorke by name, you might know him better as the lead singer from Radiohead. He has branched out a little, not solo although this was a solo album. He said he's been working on this material since 2000 (Kid A) but it's a great mix of little electronic beats and the soothing voice of Yorke. My favorite song right now is "Black Swan", although "Atoms for Peace" is kinda cool, especially since it's a Dwight D. speech title and he was born in Denison like me.... If anyone can find a clean version of Black Swan (mp3), you'll get a special prize from me! I tried buying a clean version on iTunes, Amazon, WalMart, etc. and can't find it! Watch the video, also "The Eraser" video with the paint by light technique is used is cool. The linocut cover is sweet too!

LANGUAGE WARNING: Make the kiddos do the earmuffs!

A few weeks back

2008-02-20T20:54:00.000-08:00

My wife gave me a kitchen pass on one of my free weekends to go hang out with the guys and do some fishing! We all grew up together and went to high school together, so it's a lot of fun to still hang out with them and relax. Although, they almost all still smoke and about choked Jason and I out of the cabin! Worth the stink and the cough for some fun time I guess. Oh, and I fell in the river once... ok twice but it was the same fall kinda.

Here's the cabin in Beavers Bend

Just a stump outside the cabin

A little slow shutter on the moving river

The cool reflection of the trees across the river

The valley from above the dam

Miguelito showing off his beverage of choice

Austin was sick all weekend

Chef Bart (cookie) on the grill

Just in case you don't catch fish... you gotta bring the turf

Although we caught plenty of surf too

My old roommate Jason, I told them we needed some river shots and they turned into Cabelas models... what can I say?

Justin sporting the page 9 wader pose

Justin and myself (pic from Jason) holding some rainbows

This one cracked me up, they wanted a serious and Justin held it about half a second

Take two on the serious pose

Here's the whole gang in front of the dam

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Now playing: Thom Yorke - Black Swan
via FoxyTunes

Bride & Bloom

2008-02-18T20:58:00.000-08:00

Have you seen this magazine yet? If not, go grab a copy, it's great!

Ok, so I twittered this a while back but didn't want to share to much until I got the confirmation on it. I did however get confirmation from Carrie from Carrie Sellman Cake Designs that her cake and my pictures were approved by Bride & Bloom magazine for a little fashion spread deal they do at the front of the magazine. So be on the lookout this April for the magazine and see if you can find the cake? Should I share the picture of it now or make you wait????? Tell you what, if I get enough comments, I'll share the pic now!

Amy & Sean's Wedding at Tanglewood

2008-02-17T20:12:00.000-08:00

Catching up on blog posts

Amy & Sean started off my year with a great wedding at Tanglewood in Pottsboro. Here's a few pics cuz I know you'd rather see that than read my ramblings.

The big day!

Sean just hanging out and realizing before the wedding

My Boston buddy applying the makeup with the window light

Amy getting ready for the big day

Mom getting ready in the bridal suite

So, onto some details: The dress

The shoes... I couldn't decide which I liked more so leave a comment with your vote:

a. Left - b. Right

Amy's family has a florist shop up in Boston, so they did all the flowers which were beautiful

Some more details, the rings

You've met him before (on the blog) and I said then if you hire a bagpiper, you have to get Don Shannon! Again, which do you like best:

a. Left - b. Right

After the ceremony, their first walk as husband and wife

Sean and the guys

Then some nice intimate portraits

and another next to the piano

and in the tower

this truck was actually indoors, so I darkened up the edges a bit

The cake

and of course, some more beautiful flowers from the family flower shop

Ok, I won't make you pick the best... I think they look similar too!

Thanks guys for letting me share in your beautiful wedding!

Where u been?

2008-02-15T19:05:00.000-08:00

I have had a lot of people asking what's up with the posts lately, so I thought I would do a quickie. I know, I know, I am a few weddings behind on blogging and add another one to that tomorrow... but not only is this turning out to be the busiest year yet. I am also reworking packages & prices again, new products, a new gallery and shopping cart software and not to mention trying to get some newer pictures up on the website. So today as I was working on some albums and uploading pictures, I found a new reality wedding show that I hadn't seen yet.

People always laugh at my contract when they see that I have a reality show clause, but I would almost waive that to do "my big redneck wedding"! I did say almost! If you haven't seen it, I'll give you some highlights and then you have to go watch it! This episode in a nutshell:
Pee Proposal
Bride size 28, orders dress off internet shipped in a FedEx box, no packing but was a size 8
Beer Can Archway
Venue - Flea Market
Bouquets - no ribbon wrappings, budweiser cans for wrapping
Bassett Hounds as ring bearer and flower girl
Released chickens, not doves
Newspapers, mason jars and weed flowers for table settings
Did I mention the bride couldn't find her teeth the wedding day, but mom offered hers

I'll just steal this part from the website:
Guests ate a wonderful meal of fried chicken, pulled pork and BBQ beef, and a cake of 4 layers and of 4 different flavored layers!!!!!! We then went outside and tried the mechanical bull and the rode away in our Chevy Trailblazer, pulling our beer cans. Oops! or was that the archway!!!!!!! Then we exchanged gifts. John gave me a stuffed animal he won. I gave John a bowling ball that said, "Think of me when you touch your ball." Then we went off to a honeymoon, and are the happiest redneck couple ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How about the vows?
“I wish I could put your love in a locket because your hotter than a hot pocket.
We did it in the backseat, we did it in the zoo, I don’t care where we do it as long as it’s witchu”

Here's the link if you have the time to watch. Link

Kyle & Lindsey's Wedding at First United Methodist

2008-02-02T14:44:00.000-08:00

I know I have been on a blogging hiatus as of late, but trying to play catch up as much as possible...

Kyle & Lindsey had a great wedding at the First United Methodist Church in McKinney to finish out my 2007 and then moved over to The Pantry for their reception. Here's a few pics to share in the wedding:

First United Methodist Church

and to share a few bridals from the Dallas Arboretum

We had some great light that day and Meagans friend was a great reflector helper!

and in case I didn't mention, Lindsey likes to pose!

They actually met before the ceremony to get all their formals done beforehand, if you're interested in this or a day after shoot, just let me know.

Lindsey and her bridesmaids, can you guess which one is her twin?

A little paint by light while we wait...

Then off to the ceremony

I loved this one of her dad lit by the spotlight

Kyle had to be reminded to say his vows to his beautiful bride and not the Minister

The happy couple

Off to the reception

Christmas lights in the background of the cake

A little artsy toast...

Some details of the bling

and of course, my reflector helper from the bridals was the lucky recipient of the bouquet toss

Congrats guys, I enjoyed the wedding!

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Now playing: Yael Naïm - New Soul
via FoxyTunes

Glenn & Sarah's Wedding in Flower Mound

2008-01-15T06:15:00.000-08:00

Glenn and Sarah had a lovely wedding at the Flower Mound Presbyterian church and then moved on to the Bridlewood Golf Course for the reception. They were such a cute couple and decided to meet before the ceremony for all the pictures to make for a quicker trip to the reception... and to leave us some play time with just the couple. I suggest this on every wedding! Spend 15-30 minutes after the formals and we'll get some way cooler pics like below! Here's a few pictures:

The Bouquet

The get away car after the ceremony with the ball and chain hanging from the rear view mirror and the lovely hood ornament

The hood ornament

The start of that alone time I was mentioning, heading out to the fairway

Some off camera flash

Available light PDA on the bridge

Out dodging golf balls on the course with some sweet light on the hill!

The first dance after they made their first entrance as a couple

Sure, I know how cute...

but how cool to have a guy doing caricatures at your wedding, was a big hit with everyone

Some details, not the food, the rings!

First dance with Dad, I'll be doing this same thing someday... twice...

Mother-Son dance, have I mentioned I love video lights so much, I went and bought my own!

Stealing some more video light, I love working with good videographers

I loved the Dad's shadow from the toast

Ok, everyone knows I am a cake hound and even have it my contract, but this was a first! The groom had Pokey O's instead of a grooms cake, and there is nothing better than a homemade ice cream sandwich with Blue Bell and homemade cookies.

Thanks Glenn and Sarah for allowing me to share in your special day and congratulations!
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Now playing: Angels & Airwaves - The Adventure
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Sarah & Charles Wedding in McKinney, TX

2008-01-07T14:07:00.000-08:00

What would I be, if I didn't blog one more wedding from the Bingham House... I am so far behind on blogging that engagements and other portrait sessions are totally out the window now. Charles and Sarah had a lovely wedding at the Bingham House in McKinney, TX and made my second e-harmony wedding that I know of. Sarah had the Japanese theme down right down to her bridals taken at the Japanese Gardens and the Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens. They were both Marines and there were a few Marine things I will point out.

First the rings... and I loved the engravings Semper Fidelis

The groom cake, Marine themed of course

The brides lovely cake...

The groom getting ready with the guys...

All decked out and ready to go...

The lovely bride relaxing before the "I Do"...

As a dad of two daughters, I have to throw in a cute flower girl...

The talented Don Shannon...

The guy is a bagpipe king, he's played for her Majesty the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Tony Blair, Sarah Ferguson, George W. Bush, Rod Stewart and even appeared on ABC's Good Morning America as well as playing for the Byron each year! This is the bagpipe guy you want, no doubt about it!

The vows...

Leaving after the ceremony in Pearl...

The First Dance!

Thanks guys, I enjoyed it very much!

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Now playing: Kasabian - Club Foot
via FoxyTunes

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T07:56:00.000-08:00

Last year I gave you Mele Kalikimaka, but since I didn't have a X-Mas song to share this year, I bring you Abby Montana!

Abby made out on the Hannah Montana and Disney Princess stuff while I raked in the iTunes gift cards, a GPS so I don't get lost on the way to your wedding, a whole slew of new duck calls and a new DVD Printer to print all your discs! Abby and Emily got a swing set for their big gift from Santa and brother elf and dad elf helped put together all day Sunday. Anyways, Merry Christmas and enjoy the video of my little toots!

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Now playing: Paramore - Misery Business
via FoxyTunes

Chris & Mindy's Wedding at the Bingham House

2007-12-09T19:08:00.000-08:00

Mindy and Chris had a lovely wedding at the Bingham House in McKinney a little while back and of course I have to share some of my favorites. Ok, I have been thinking of ways I can get more people to comment on the blog, so here it is. Mindy and Chris get a 5x7 print for every comment they receive during December. Enjoy the pics, as always to view their wedding images, type in the couples last name followed by the 6 digit wedding date. For example if their last name is Smith and they got married Jan, 1 2008... it would be "smith010108".

Some details shots to start, the lovely wedding ring

and of course the shoes

Mindy getting ready with some sweet light
coming in the window

Photographer/Boy Scout... always come prepared.
You never know when you might need my Tide/Bleach pens!

The lovely ladies

A nice relaxed portrait before the wedding

One of the cute little flower girls

The guys looking sharp...

Handsome bunch aren't they!

Flowers provided by my neighbor and florist extraordinaire...
Kate at RainFlorist Designs

Grooms Cake by the Pastry Connection and more
Rainflorist Design Flowers

The Brides cake by Carrie at the
Pastry Connection
some of the yummiest cakes, and I'm
a cake connoisseur

Mindy's sister happy as can be during the toast...

The lovely couple in front of the famous Pearl

Their exit to the start of their new life together...

Thanks guys, enjoyed it very much!

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Now playing: The Bravery - An Honest Mistake
via FoxyTunes

Rediscover

2007-12-07T21:21:00.000-08:00

I want to start something new and share that little unknown artist you haven't heard of yet. If you don't like it, I'll refund your download!

If you follow the blog, more importantly, if you follow my twitter... you heard me talk about listening to the new Rediscover CD. Ok, actually a piece of the CD. There's 6 free songs you can download from the new EP, just enough to get you hooked!

I promised the link, so here it is.

http://www.purevolume.com/rediscover

Ok, if you're not a Twitter follower click here and become one!

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Now playing: Rediscover - Kiss Me
via FoxyTunes

Drew & Karen's Wedding in McKinney

2007-12-07T20:29:00.000-08:00

Karen & Drew had a lovely wedding at the Bingham House in McKinney a few weeks back and I am trying to get caught up on blogging. This was actually a double header day at the lovely bed & breakfast here in McKinney.

Karen getting ready

I loved this one of the happy Mom

Drew and his best man in front of pearl

The lovely flowers

Exchanging of rings and vows

I love the moment right after the wedding ends and the smiles are from ear to ear

The carriage exit provided by Happy Trails Carriage from the courtyard

Cakes by The Cake Stand the brides cake

The grooms cake

What's a wedding in Texas without the Shiner Bock?

The first dance.

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Now playing: Rediscover - Shake It
via FoxyTunes

Give Thanks

2007-11-22T21:17:00.000-08:00

It's Thanksgiving, while I am always thankful the Cowboys play every Thanksgiving, I thought I would share some more Thanks!

First of all, I am so Thankful for my two lovely little girls!

I'm Thankful I have a lovely wife that understands I live on this computer in my lap! Did I mention she hates her pictures, so I have to sneak them like this...

I'm Thankful for the best family ever, my Mom and Dad, Brother and Sister!

And of course, a big Thanks for great friends! Even more so, the ones below that fed us for weeks after Emily was born. I'll see if I can remember all the meals...
Stuffed Apples! Yummy

Meatloaf and Chicken Fettucine!

Chicken and some yummy hashbrown stuff!

Some chicken spaghetti that was deelish!

These two brought brownies and Ziti!

The only picture I could find of Alicia was in the background of another pic...

I'm so Thankful for my great Family and Friends and of course the Cowboys winning!

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Now playing: Moth - Revolution
via FoxyTunes

Bruce & Sharon's Wedding at Willowood Ranch

2007-11-18T10:40:00.000-08:00

Bruce & Sharon had a lovely wedding at the Willowood Ranch in Bells a few weeks ago and I'm still playing blog catch up.

The entrance into Willowood Ranch

The Chapel

The lovely bride Sharon getting ready

A nice relaxed shot in the bell tower before the wedding

Bruce's relaxed shot outside of the Chapel

One of the lovely flower girs

The other lovely flower girl

And the little ring bearer looking like a sharp dressed man

Speaking of Rings, here's the bling

and I don't usually show off all the ceremony or formals, but had to share the strong backlight coming through the stained glass for the first kiss

The Cake

and this little cake eater didn't need a plate at all, that's the way to eat some cake!

The lovely couple in front of the Chapel

and the final exit off to the honeymoon! Enjoy your pics and congratulations you two.

p.s. Something a little new thanks to the Firefox browser is this little nugget below to share what's playing on my computer as I post something. I'll also share it on twitter occasionally as to what's playing.
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Now playing: Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby
via FoxyTunes

Aaron & Stephanie's Wedding in Dallas

2007-11-09T11:44:00.000-08:00

Aaron & Stephanie had a lovely wedding at the Northwest Bible Church in Dallas and then moved over to the Addison Banquet Center for their reception. Aaron & Stephanie are a great couple and so much fun to work with, Stephanies sister gets credit for hooking her up with me though. Her sister works with my wife, at least for a few more months (their office is closing and transitioning all the jobs to the NY or London office). While it's tempting to go to London, I can't leave Texas! Here's a few pics to share in their day...

The Northwest Bible Church

Flowers done by May Flowers & Memorable Gifts

The Handsome Groom all ready like Rambo...

The Lovely Bride...

Oh, can''t forget the shoes...

The lovely Bridesmaids

Can you spot my flare? Everyone should wear 15 pieces of flair to express themselves...

The delicious wedding cake...

The first dances are always so much fun

Stephanies cousin Meagan has already booked me for next year, so keep an eye out

Stephanie getting down on the dance floor

Aaron has it so simple on remembering his Anniversary, because it was also his Birthday!

Again thanks to Tracy for sending her sister my way, Tracy and her Hubby...

The exit off to the honeymoon

If Stephanie's cousin wasn't enough, this couple had just gotten engaged a few weeks earlier and want to me to do their wedding in Kauai next year.

And of course, a big thanks to the lovely Cindy Mills for helping again on this wedding.

Finally, well almost

2007-10-29T15:17:00.000-07:00

Gmail is finally rolling out IMAP!

Google Blog

This is a must have, especially with all the emailing I do from the iPhone now! You get an email in Mail and reply and it doesn't sync with the iPhone, and then later you check the web and have all new mails, and it's a mess to try and keep up with. Which is why, if you ever get an email days later, that I thought I had already replied to, but didn't you'll know why.

They have this service with other companies that runs about $10 a month and adding another $10 a month fee to the ever growing long list of $10 a month fees is like beating your head against the wall, not very fun. So of course with Google, it's free! Just like my Blog, just like my email (ok the MX Record part of it). I have to pay for the domains, but every site I have is using the Google Apps for free to handle my Phone, Calendar, Email, Docs, Spreadsheets, etc.... Why? Because I want access no matter where I am!

Now for the almost part, mine isn't showing up yet but it's supposed to be coming!

Want free Google Stuff? Go Get it!

Blogger (get a blog)
Google Apps
Google Phone Service (GrandCentral)
All the google stuff you could ever want...

Jeff & Kati's Wedding at Trophy Club

2007-10-27T06:48:00.000-07:00

Jeff & Kati had a lovely wedding the day after my daughter was born, hence the reason it is taking so long to get stuff on the blog... They were married at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Colleyville and then moved over to the Trophy Club for their reception. I didn't realize it until the wedding day but Jeff and I actually worked together during college at the same grocery store.

Here's one of Kati getting ready...

We had a little time before the ceremony so we did some more paint with light.

Some lovely details...

One of the little ring bearers showing some teeth...

I loved this one of the flower girl during mass.

and this little guy just had way to much mass.

We had some time between the ceremony and reception so we dodged golf balls for a little while with a little wash out look

and then some of the happy couple and the bright blue sky

on the other side of the course we had some more vivid light and clouds where the sun was starting to fall

a nice candid moment from the prayer

of course some more detail of the bling

and I love being able to spot stuff like this, I caught this as she ran to mom about her tooth falling out, then later on in the night Dad said did you get a picture of her now that her tooth came out and I was able to say I got the tooth in hand!

and I have to find the card from this DJ, he was great! Starting handing out headdresses, fireman hats, sailer hats, etc. during YMCA.

and during AC/DC, he handed out blow up guitars, keyboards and saxophones...

and I gave Jeff a hard time about being a Redskin fan, even saying I wouldn't take a picture of his cake because of my strong beliefs, you know the Cowboys! So here is one of his cake, I didn't eat any for fear that it would make me ill or taste like hog or something.... GO COWBOYS!

Hope ya'll had a great time in St. Lucia and enjoy your pics.

Chase & Karyn's Wedding in Arlington/Ft. Worth

2007-10-20T21:04:00.000-07:00

Chase & Karyn had a lovely wedding in Arlington and then we headed to Ft. Worth for the reception. Karyn is a graphic designer for NBC, so I knew I had my work cut out for me to impress someone that sees great pictures all the time. It was a great wedding and I think an even better party, I think she told me the party lasted at least until 4am. What bettterway to follow that up than a trip to Vegas? Here's a few pics...

Getting ready...

The guys arrive in a stretched hummer...

More getting ready....

Bling....

The cute little flower girl...

Time to impress with some video light, I think they all dug this one....

Chase's brother making everyone laugh, I loved the video shadow...

Forgot to mention that Karyn is from Kansas, and they happened to get married on the day Texas played Kansas. Of course the guys were rooting for Texas, so I got to use the iPhone as a prop...

The gifts in front of the Ft. Worth Skyline...

Some first dance love...

Jeff & Kati's Engagements in Grapevine

2007-10-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

Last week I met Jeff & Kati in Downtown Grapevine for their engagements just as we caught the evening light. Here's a few from their session and I will get some up from their wedding in the next few days.

Catching the evening light.

Down by the trains.

A nice long intimate shadow.

We called this the corny shot, but I love it.

And a nice bounce flash off a shop window helped on this one.

Emily Paige Littrell

2007-10-07T07:52:00.000-07:00

Emily made her appearance Friday night at 8:32pm and weighed in at a whopping 8lbs and 1 oz and 20 inches long. She's perfect with 10 & 10 and just precious! It was a long first night and then had a wedding yesterday so, I have some blog catching up to do. If you are waiting to see your pics, I will have them up shortly, for now here's a few iPhone pics of my new baby daughter. I'll have more up soon.

E-Session Las Colinas Canals

2007-09-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Chris and Mindy met me over at the Las Colinas Canals for some Engagements. Mindy's such a trooper, she met me the next day for her Bridals. Here's a few from our shoot.

Senior and Siblings

2007-09-29T10:01:00.000-07:00

Last week I headed down to Downtown McKinney for a Senior session with KJ as well as a few for brother Tanner and sister Mica. Here's a few for you to view.

A few days back...

2007-09-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of shooting one of my favorite photographers book release party at Texas Stadium. Ron St. Angelo was the official Dallas Cowboys photographer for 25 years and went through the best and worst times of the Cowboys. Everyone that knows me, knows I am a huge Cowboys fan, so this was a dream gig! It helps that I talk to Ron at least once a week and when he called and asked me to shoot it for him, I jumped at the chance. His book, the Greatest Team Ever is a very good read with the stories from Norm Hitzges, but the images that Ron has collected, make the book! There was a handful of big names running around, like Chad Hennings, Daryl Johnston, Nate Newton, Joe Avezzano, Pat Summerall, just to name a few. Here's a few pics from the event, be sure and grab the book, it's a must have for any Cowboys Fan, X-Mas is sneaking up on us!

Chad Hennings, Norm Hitzges, Ron St. Angelo and Publisher David Dunham

Ron and Daryl "Moose" Johnston get interviewed on Ron's work

Ron addresses the media about the book

Ron takes a little time to autograph a copy of the book for a fan

Joe Avezzano holds on to his copy while talking with Mickey Spagnola

Of course, I had to pose next to a few of my faves! Chad, Me and Moose. Ok, 5-11 seems really short next to these two!

Ken & Nancy's Wedding at FCC Plano

2007-09-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

Ken and Nancy had a beautiful wedding at the First Christian Church in Plano, then ended the evening at the Hills Clubhouse. FCC Plano has to be one of the prettiest stained glass churches around, and it's burned down a few times. I hadn't been back in since the last fire and it's just as gorgeous as ever. A beautiful church and a beautiful couple, that makes my job so much easier. Ken & Nancy seemed so prefect for each other as they sat in my dining room looking through albums, little did I know Ken had waited 49 years to find his true love. The evening had another special event, Ken's mother was there on her 80th Birthday. Here's a few pics from the wedding:

The beautiful FCC Plano

The beautiful bride...

The beautiful bride courtesy of Felisha Mims Transitions of Beauty

More beautiful bride

The stunning groom showing off the bling

Grooms flowers

Ken and the guys

The beautiful bride courtesy of the lovely 1.2 glass

A little old school with the train

My fave! A little urban touch downtown Plano

The gorgeous sky we had as the sun was setting

Catching the train...

Her cake

His cake

The birthday lady and her son

Ken sporting the sprinkler

The exit to the '58 Rolls, i loved the basket being dumped

The lovely Cindy Mills helped out on this wedding as she starts getting into the world of wedding photography.

Jaymes & Lindsay Wedding at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens

2007-08-31T22:32:00.000-07:00

Jaymes and Lindsay had a lovely wedding at the Lower Rose Garden at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens, although it was a little warm, it was still a beautiful day for a beautiful wedding. Jaymes and Lindsay are so great to work with as Jaymes works with the Charles W. Eisemann Center in Theatrical Production and Lindsay does a little acting. Here's a few shots from their wedding:

Jaymes And His Boys!

The Shoes

The Flowers

The Lovely Lindsay!

The Girls

The Bride Braving The Heat

A Little West Coast Flare Look

The Happily Married Couple

Jaymes and Lindsay

Jaymes wrote a song for Lindsay and their friends did it, I think it was weird for him to hear someone else play it

Jaymes & Lindsay E-Shots

2007-08-10T22:10:00.000-07:00

Jaymes and Lindsay are getting married tomorrow at the Botanical Gardens and I have been so busy, I haven't posted their engagements. So here are a few of my faves and of course, I'll have some more up from their wedding in the next few days.

We went downtown McKinney to get a little urban feel, they are getting married in the Lower Rose Garden of the Botanical Gardens, so it was a nice change of scenery.

I loved the simple intimacy they had and this shot has to be one of my faves!

I also love the "stalker" shots with the guys just so ever out of focus, I'm kidding, he's not a stalker...

You can't forget the sparks these two had... I asked for a kiss and they lit up like the sun.

This ranks up there with one my all time faves as well, I love the reflection in the glass and mirror as they are looking in at the vintage wedding dress and the "look at old things" in the window.

Shelby & Andrea's Wedding at FCC in Anadarko, OK

2007-07-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

Shelby and Andrea joined about 38,000 people yeterday with a wedding on the luckiest day of the year, 7-7-7! That had a lovely wedding in Anadarko, OK which was a bit of a hike, but Andrea is a photographer herself and sounds like she is building her client base up there in Anadarko. They were heading to Branson, MO in the morning and if you read this before, you'll have to go see Baldknobbers! It's been a long time since I have been there, but I love the mounains and the Ozarks have to be my second fave. Have a good time and talk to you when you get back.

The church...

The Lovely Bride Getting Ready...

The Dress...

The Shoes...

The Flower Girl (what a cutie)...

Being a Photographer, she was up for some painting with light (although, the room was a little bright)...

The Gorgeous Bridesmaids and Bride (of course)...

The lovely bride again...

The Happy Couple...

The Brides Cake...

The Grooms Cake...

They even had their very own bobble head dolls made...

And the exit into the bubbles...

Friday iSat in line for 7 hours...

2007-07-01T20:29:00.000-07:00

For my new iPhone, Jim (jimmages) and I went and staked out our spot at about 11:30AM, little did we know that we would already be about 180 people back. We made it and got our new iPhones, which I must say are GREATNESS! If you are on the fence, go get one, you won't regret it. It has to be the best $600 spent! We decided to waste some time in line and get some Hold 'Em in and were going to play heads up. I went to the car and got the chips and cards, and everyone started asking what the buy-in was? So I made a little money waiting in line, Jim won the first Tourney and I won the second. Just enough to pay for a few accessories. Have a look at our in line game.

Brad & Shannon's Wedding at Lantana Lodge

2007-07-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

Brad & Shannon had a lovely wedding Saturday at Lantana Lodge in Pilot Point on Lake Ray Roberts. It's been raining for at least a month straight, but held off long enough for the wedding. We did have to leave a little earlier than planned due to the lake rising five inches every hour and covering the only entrance and exit out of there. I did get a little worried when the guy standing at the flooded road said "be sure your windows are rolled up", although, we made it through with no problems. They were heading out on an awesome honeymoon to Rome and Greece, so I told her to eat lots of Baklava for me! I can't wait to go to Greece, cuz I will come back many pounds heavier. Ok, enough of my sweet tooth, on to the pics...

The Entrance, notice the water reflection...

The Dress...

The Shoes...

The Lovely Bridesmaids...

The Happy Couple...

Again with the lovely sky over the lake...

...and enjoying the Sunset!

Last but not least, a few pics of Shannon's Bridals...

If you want to look as lovely as Shannon, the hair and makeup done by the lovely Lisa Gordon

Alan & Gingers Wedding in Anna

2007-06-27T14:27:00.000-07:00

Alan & Ginger had a lovely wedding at the First Christian Church in Anna, being a fellow DOC I loved seeing such an old First Christian Church. They picked the church for the very same reason, the old look and feel that is has. This church I believe was built in 1890 if I remember the historical marker correctly. Because it is such an old church, the air didn't quite keep up with the Texas heat, but they were both troopers throughout the ceremony which was officiated by Gingers dad. You can see Ginger cooling off a little during the reception in the Texas heat, I had to throw that one in. Alan & Ginger were planning a nice cool trip up to Seattle first to see some of Alan's family that couldn't make it down and then up to Victoria, BC, Canada. They left on their way in style of course in the H3, after Alan set the GPS of course. Have fun on the honeymoon and hope you enjoy your pics.

Adam & Shannon's Wedding - Trophy Club

2007-06-03T21:28:00.000-07:00

Adam & Shannon had a great wedding over in Grapevine and then had their reception at the Trophy Club Country Club yesterday evening. They are probably on their way to their Caribbean cruise right now as I post this but I figure they might get a chance to check the blog from the boat. I dropped off some pictures at Adam's after we found out we we're having another girl and he started telling me about his parents having 4 girls and then 2 boys with him finishing up the bunch. I think that's gonna be past our limit at shooting for a boy! Anyways, they were all there and were a great group that never left the dance floor. To make it a little more fun dance floor, one of the sisters had twin girls & a another daughter, and another had triplet boys. Shannon's biological dad gave the most heartfelt speech I have ever seen at a wedding, and having a daughter and another on the way about made me break out the waterworks, so I had to share one of the pics below. Thanks guys and have fun on the cruise.

It's a girl!

2007-06-02T22:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a few sonogram pictures.

If you guessed girl, you were right and that means I get another wedding to pay for!

Sonogram Today...

2007-05-31T04:49:00.000-07:00

Leave a comment and let me know your prediction. Abby says it will be a little brother and a little sister, I hope she's only half right or I'll really get no sleep! The heartbeat has been in the 142-146 range and Cristi says she's carrying high, so leave your prediction.

Chris & Ambers Wedding at Lantana Lodge

2007-05-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

Chris & Amber had a lovely wedding at Lantana Lodge yesterday and I think they had a little help from upstairs. It has been raining here like Seattle as of late and even rained all yesterday morning. Heck, it's raining now! But for their wedding, the skies cleared up (a little) and let them have the outdoor ceremony on lake Ray Roberts. We shot their engagements at Austin College where they both attended school, which is one town over from where I grew up. I actually wrote my senior high school paper in that library, I of course didn't have the grades for AC. I was talking with the Judge that married them before the wedding (because I had like 4 weddings with him last year) and he was telling me how he talked Amber into AC instead of going to U of Iowa. So he kind of led them two together. I know Chris is a sous-chef in Sherman but I think they are talking about moving to New York here pretty soon, so you should be hearing his name soon at some swanky restaurant. Here's a few pics from their wedding.

Wee Tot with Little Lauren

2007-05-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

Friends Shawn & Elizabeth had me over to get some of their little Lauren in her big bright eyes. We just shot around the house in a few different settings, here in a year or so, we'll have to get her outside and get some outdoor shots.

Here's the cutie, I know Elizabeths family checks in every now and then because I always wonder how I am getting these Arkansas hits, so here she is. Enjoy them.

Aaron & Stephanies engagements at the Las Colinas Canals

2007-05-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

I met Aaron & Stephanie down in Las Colinas at the canals for some great engagements. If you haven't been there, it's one of those hidden gems that when you get there you can't believe there isn't more going on. It's like a mini San Antonio and I think I counted less than 10 other people the entire time we were there. Anyways here are the pics.

JJ & Ashleys wedding in Slidell

2007-05-28T19:33:00.000-07:00

JJ & Ashley contacted me a little late in the process after their photographer fell through but luckily I had it open. Hopefully they made their trip to Mexico, Ashley was still waiting on a passport on the wedding day. They had a great wedding in Slidell and then had a great reception at an airplane hanger with some great views as you will see below.

Ok, it's been a little while since I posted last..

2007-05-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

And a few of you are asking what i'm doing, so here's the latest and I will try not to take as long of a hiatus the next time.

Here's a few from Adam & Shannons engagement session at the Dallas Arboretum.

Ok, time to share some news...

2007-05-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

Yep, you guessed it! I'll be a baby daddy again. Cristi's due date is Oct. 13th, but I am hoping a little sooner than that. Yep, that's a wedding day.

The Birthdays

2007-05-07T19:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, so my birthday is the 15th, my sisters is the 16th and my brothers is the 19th... so we have always had community parties. Anyways, my brother came home from school in Lubbock and brought along his girlfriend for the trip. I'm sure we probably scared her off but here's a couple of pics from his visit home.

Here's one of my two year old holding my brother in one hand!

Here's the whole crew, my sister and boyfriend to my right and brother and girlfriend to my left.

Late Vegas Post

2007-05-06T20:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have taken a little hiatus away from the blog so time to get back on it. My birthday was tax day and we headed out to Vegas sans the little one! We were booked to stay at Mandalay Bay and I heard that they have remodeled some of the rooms and to ask for the "Gold Class" room. So I did and was informed that he had already upgraded us to "The Hotel" (their super contemporary hotel attached through the casino). So we head off to the elevator and push the top floor (ok, floors 63 & 64 are the top and house the Mix Lounge), the only thing I can think of is we got upgraded for my b-day. So we gambled alot, Cristi spent alot of time in the Spa or on the beach at the pool. I'd rather play hold-em! Anyways here's a few pics:
Stepping off the elevator and down the hall to the room. So far we have passed theCafe, theStore, theCoffe Bar, etc. I'm starting to see a theme here...

theRoom (Cristi checking out room-service)

theView from the 62nd floor

theBathroom

did I mention "theTheme" going on here... that's right theTP!

The outside of theHotel

Some Chihuly glass on the way to the elevators

The view at night

If you're there, check out the shark reef

the entrance into the Luxor

Here's a shot I grabbed while in the Rum Jungle, they have these cool glass fountains with the water running down them. The lights are from the bar area through the glass.

Robert & Jessica's Wedding at High Pointe Church of Christ

2007-04-09T18:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday I shot a lovely wedding at the High Pointe Church of Christ with Jessica and Robert. We didn't get to make the outdoor shots since it was snowing earlier that day (day before Easter in Texas), yep I said snow. I know I usually have these up earlier but we spent Easter with our folks and dial up and pictures just doesn't cut it. They delayed the honeymoon a week so hopefully it warms up a little bit before they have to head out. Here's the collage of a few pics to tide you over till they all get uploaded.

Here's a quick pic or few from Jessica's bridals at the Arboretum a little while back.

It was cute that as we were walking around this little girl came running up calling her a princess.

People always ask how I get such pretty pictures, pretty brides make it alot easier!

She had this one and a few others on display at the reception.

Of course, I have to show off my injury of the wedding! I lowered the light stand a little fast and my pinky took the damage...

I finally bit the bullet

2007-04-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

I have been a Nikon guy forever, I had just bought the new Fuji S5 a few weeks ago and was happy with the better dynamic range, better grain at high ISO (3200). Although it wasn't what I was seeing color wise, clarity wise from the guys/gals that I watch and keep up with that I think are tops of the wedding world right now. Here's a few of the biggest names in my book that I follow every morning: [b]ecker who just got a new [b]log, Jessica Claire, Jessica Strickland and others. As I followed their blogs, I saw a common theme that they all used Canon. I went back to an old post from becker that said he was a lifelong Nikon guy but Canon has better glass right now! So I bit the bullet and turned my Fuji S5 back in and picked up the 5D. I have a few more lenses to pick up for now but I will be shooting both for a while and maybe forever. So far I love the pics, but hate the feel of the camera.

Here's some I snapped yesterday when I got the camera home. I took my daughter outside to capture some color and our neighbor had her son Garrett out there. So he got a quick tots & fries session with the new Canon. Here's a few of the two.

How cute is my toots?

Garrett sitting in my jungle (I finally mowed today!)

Another one of the G-Man.

Ok, last one... more of my toots later!

Sunday at the Castle

2007-04-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday I helped Jim shoot a wedding at the Castle Douglas in Rockwall. This was my first time there and I must say the place is very impressive! Ron and Jeannie had a great wedding there. Just take a look at this place (Click to enlarge).

Yes, it is a huge Castle (I didn't know what to expect).

Here's a shot of the bride coming in the door with her father.

Here's some of the great light coming in through one of the lovely stained glass windows.

Of course, the only way to leave in style!

The 1958 Rolls Royce leaving the Castle.

Of course if you need a DJ, Seth Hoisington from Dallas Rhythms did a great job. One of the things I really liked is to walk up and see my exact laptop sitting there.

He uses a Mac to setup the next song and the great thing is this software incorporates his music straight from iTunes. As I was there, he downloaded a song request and had it playing in just a few minutes. Just think to be able to walk up and say, do you have Freebird and he can in a few minutes!

Rockwall Wedding Photographer Castle Douglas

Enchiladas and Tots!

2007-03-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

Dinner with friends turned into a quick Tots & Fries session with baby Lauren. I will be opening up the new part of the website when I get a free moment, for now here's the lovely little Lauren with the big bright blues and of course lots of bokeh!

Ahh, it' Josh!

Are we done yet?

The Elvis Smile!
For you photogs out there, all were shot at 1/200 f1.4 ISO 400 with some available light coming through a window about 15 feet away.

Christopher & Rachel's Wedding at Allen Heights Baptist

2007-03-25T18:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of shooting Chris & Rachel's wedding at the Allen Heights Baptist church in Allen. They are on their way to Napa Valley for the honeymoon and both are big wine fans, actually I hear that Chris could be a sommelier! Hopefully they'll be able to take a break from the vineyards, the wine and all the scenery to take a look at their collage. They were both great and just super happy to be getting married, I'm sure Rachel has heard now that as we were shooting the groomsmen and Chris before the wedding that I noticed a few people walking behind looking at the floor. I looked at one of the ladies and she came and whispered in my ear that the ring fell off the ringbearers pillow! It didn't take long before it was found and then Chris was let in on the secret, every wedding has to have a little stressful moment to make it a little more memorable. One of the pictures in the collage was great, I usually like to do something silly with the grooms after we finish the posed shots so I we had Chris laying across the guys chests when they decided to lift him overhead. The other shot I am including is a shot from shooting Rachel's dress and noticed a book on the shelf that fit perfectly, I think this is going on the website tonight actually!

Allen Wedding Photography Allen Heights Baptist Church

Saturday before my engagements

2007-03-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

I met with a new florist in town, that is actually right down the street from me. Actually, she lives a few houses down from me! Kate is the new proud owner of Rain Florist Designs and I met her son handing out coupons as I was walking with my daughter. He seemed pretty excited that he found another wedding person, because as you might have guessed Kate does some spectacular wedding flowers. I stopped by on Saturday just to meet and greet and offer to help if she needed any photos. She had some wedding planners and a bride and groom stop by as I was there and was glad to hear that she does alot of work with Karen at the Bingham House where I also get alot of referrals.

Barb also had a little booth setup in there with her Lattes on Location and I must say the Mocha was to die for (this coming from a picky Starbucks Mocha/Macchiatto guy). She brings her espresso machine to your function, say a wedding reception and serves her great coffees like the mocha like a mini Starbucks. What a great idea for a wedding reception!

Kate and Barb are great, very friendly and willing to help, so be sure and stop by and mention you heard about them from Josh. Kate had great deals on her wedding packages including free portrait bouquets and toss bouquets. I also snapped a few pics of her very lovely and uber wrist corsages that I am sure will be the hit of the prom! They are made with plastic coated wire so they just fold around your wrist, and I must say add a special something if you get some colored wire. Here's a few pics...

Shelby & Andrea's Engagements

2007-03-18T22:33:00.001-07:00

Well Saturday was a great day as I had another photographer (Andrea) and her fiance Shelby come down from Oklahoma for some engagement shots at the Dallas Arboretum. It got pretty warm as the day went on and the place was super packed! I had talked with Andrea and told her to get Shelby ready for some PDA that day, he just didn't realize he would have quite the audience! He was a good sport about it and they were very photogenic, Andrea has some great photogenic eyes that just draw you in. I'm a little ways into the edit right now, after our shoot, the wife and I celebrated her birthday dinner at Jaspers and my Prime Rib and Aged Gouda Mac & Cheese were awesome!

Seriously though, tell me they aren't smoking hot in this picture...

I love the DOF on the 1.4 lens!

I loved this shot...

The lovely couple...

A little more PDA...

There's those eyes I was talking about...

Just having some fun...

Hope you enjoy the pics (click 'em for bigger pics), I had a great time guys!

Happy Birthday to my Wife!

2007-03-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Cristi!

Today is my wifes birthday and she is now a year older than me! Ok, it's only for a month but I will let her know many times that she is a year older. I know she won't be here to see this post so I will give away our dinner plans for Saturday night. After I finish some engagments, we have reservations at Jaspers in Plano. We have the grandparents coming down to watch Abby for the evening, so tonight we just did El Fenix for a quick birthday meal. If you haven't been to Jaspers, you must go and when you do I suggest you try the calamari and you have to get the Aged Gouda Mac & Cheese. Abby and I got her a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake and Abby went all out and got her the Coach wallet to match her purse. I got her the Blue October cd she has been wanting, what can I say Abby gets a bigger allowance than I do. Here's a couple of pics, which are hard to come by as she is a camera dodger...

I lost a computer yesterday and had to replace it, I lost a few of the edits I had been working on but of course have all the photos backed up from the moment I get home. I will have to post some pics later of my new Mac!

Robert & Denise's Wedding at Cross Roads Chapel

2007-03-11T19:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of shooting Robert and Denise's wedding at the Cross Roads Chapel. Robert and Denise were married before and were apart for a few years before deciding to make it work and get married again. It was a great wedding and a great story of them getting back together, you could really tell they love each other very much. Of course they had their two sons as ring bearers and the cutest little flower girl ever. During the reception Denise announced that not only was it their wedding day but also her maid of honor and best friends birthday! How great to share that date with her forever. Roberts best man was a cut up and had one of the best speeches I have ever heard, you can see Steve with mic in hand on the collage in the upper right corner. Denise & Robert were on their way to Florida for the honeymoon so have fun you two and thanks for letting me share your special day with you.

New Website is Live!

2007-03-07T19:37:00.000-08:00

The new website is now live, take a moment, pick a song and sit back and enjoy the show.

http://www.littrellphotography.com

If you're here and you liked the site, leave a comment and let me know!

Late Post From Our St. John Trip

2007-03-03T15:44:00.000-08:00

Cristi and I spent our 5 year anniversary in St. john and stayed at the very awesome Caneel Bay. It has to be one of the best locations ever, if you're planning your honeymoon, look here! It was once owned by Laurence Rockefeller and is now smack dab in the middle of the Virgin Islands National Park. The rooms are great and have shutters that open the rooms up to the outdoors (we were woke up one morning by the Donkeys) but it is greatness. No TV's except for the one we all gathered around to watch Grey's Anatomy, Monday Night Football and such at the Breezeway Bar with tons of Bushwhackers (you gotta try this drink). When I tell people how big this resort was, they still can't grasp it! It's 170 acres and seven different beaches just at Caneel Bay. Everything is included, snorkeling gear, kayaks, sail boats and beach loungers. We ate at the Sugar Mill a few times that week, which is an 18th century sugar mill turned into an open air restaurant atop the hill. We had breakfast buffet every morning at the Caneel Beach Terrace, overlooking the ocean, the iguanas, the mongoose and of course the donkeys would walk along the beach every now and then. Here's a few pics, I could spend a week uploading more and still might so keep checking.

Mongoose just running around.

A friendly Iguana.

A big 'ol fat caterpillar.

Our guide letting us hold an urchin.

A shot of the grounds from the kayak.

Another shot of the grounds from the kayak.

A few friends kept coming around while we were kayaking, be sure and watch the video and you can see some more at the end.

Just a pretty plant growing out of the old Sugar Mill.

There is nothing cooler than swimming into a wall of fish!

Me diving down to have a look at something...

More of this huge school of fish swimming all around.

Ok, this really freaks you out while your face is under water and seeing some weird looking feet flapping in front of you.

I had to pop my head up and take a peek, I guess he was hungry and that huge school made it pretty easy.

Ok, last but not least... a little video.

Sunday at the parents

2007-02-26T13:11:00.000-08:00

Sunday we spent the day in Little "D" with my parents and had to go to the pond and feed the geese. Abby loves feeding the ducks and fish, and of course I love taking photos! Here's a few from Sunday at the pond.

The walk down to the pond. One handed as I was holding Abby's hand!

Abby tearing bread with her Papa (my dad).

Abby in the tall grass.

Same pic, with a cross process effect.

Been a while...

2007-02-26T08:42:00.000-08:00

Saturday Night! Here's my two lovely girls, can't keep her away from the chocolate though!

I actually attended a wedding this weekend as a guest, although a guest with a big camera. Of course, I made the wife mad that even though I wasn't shooting it, I was still shooting it. Not to mention when I wasn't shooting, the other photographer and I were comparing notes, the upcoming season and tips and tricks and such. I did however get to dance with my two girls and we basically had to pry my daughter off the dance floor (more of that video later). My friend Jeff Nunn was shooting the video for it, so check him out if you need a videographer. My sister in law was the Maid of Honor and caught the bouquet, sorry Jeff I have visual evidence of the hands in the pocket.

Jennifer & Jeff

Jeff Nunn hard at work!

Jennifer being the pretty maid of honor.

Jeff hiding in the back (notice the hands in the pocket).

Jennifer fighting off the crowds! Notice my little one next to me, I wouldn't dare let her try and catch!

The First Kiss!

Vista comes out tonight....

2007-01-29T19:26:00.000-08:00

but, you could have had it all along! Of course I always push the Mac on everyone that visits this blog, so keep it going, a video for you all.

Vista vs. Mac OSX

Bride wigs out and then needs a wig!

2007-01-28T09:56:00.000-08:00

Just a video of what not to do on your wedding day! Always get your hair done beforehand by the person that will be doing your hair so you know what to expect... I would like to say I have seen worse, but this one takes the cake.

Just an update, working on a new website, logo still being designed, I might post some of the concepts that I have gone through here soon. Anyways, I am thinking about adding links to various vendors, like venues, DJ's, caterers, florists, planners and even hairdressers. Let me know what you think.

Doctor? I did go to school for 7 years...

2007-01-09T19:41:00.000-08:00

I have been playing Dr. the last few days and haven't been able to do anything but wash pukey sheets, towels and clothes. Not to mention the first time my daughter got sick was in the car, so car seat and backseat of the car (ok, I took it down the street and it was the best $37 ever spent after tip). I don't do well with certain smells and I have had my fill of them while holding hair and buckets trying to fight off the gag reflex. To add to it, my wife came home last night and started with the same bug...

I had to snap a pic of my daughter when she rolled over and the hand print on her face was the shape of a heart. I also decided it was time to show off my germ/smell mask. I can't count how many times I have washed my hands and sanitized the last few days.

iPhone has been announced!

2007-01-09T12:16:00.000-08:00

I have been looking at the BlackJack phone ever since it came out and debating on whether I should spend the money on one. The reason I have been going back and forth is because there have been rumors over an Apple phone as well as some patents out there for a touch screen iPod with phone capability. Well, I knew MacWorld was this week and it finally got announced that they are coming out with the iPhone!

This is by far the coolest phone out, and I will not be buying a BlackJack now. I will start saving though, no telling how much this iPhone will cost. It is a phone with email, google maps, Safari, Widgets, the works! It has a built in iPod to store all your movies and music and by far the coolest feature is the way it tilts and rotates what you are looking at on the screen. For example, an image shot vertically you can look at long ways, then say the next picture is horizontal, you turn the iPhone and the picture rotates to show you a full screen version.

Go take a look, they aren't expected until June so start saving and get the coolest phone that will be out with Mac OS running it!

Happy New Years

2007-01-02T17:16:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years to everyone and thanks for making 2006 great! Here's to good luck, prosperity and happiness in the new year. I have never been a resolution guy but have vowed to get back on my diet, after all my black eyed peas of course. I have a ton of goals for this year and hope to share lots of great things here next year. We spent new years eve day at the Cowboy game (thanks for that miserable game) and they lost to the Lions! The Lions had all of two wins until they played us. {Did you know? The Cowboys have lost the last game of the season 7 years in a row now!} I had playoff tickets to the Cowboys first home playoff game until they choked on X-Mas to Philly, so for football the year didn't end to well. Oh well new year and the playoffs are basically a new season.

I have quite a few audio books lined up, so hopefully I can get to all those this year. New website, ok a couple new websites, new products, new logo, etc. so keep coming back and checking in on what's new. We spent the evening with our neighbors and some other friends of theirs and ours and hopefully picked up some new work from our other neighbors and friends Heather and Greg.

********

I've been having some email problems so, call me if you have trouble getting through.

Mele Kalikimaka

2006-12-24T21:31:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry X-Mas and thank you all for visting the blog and making it such a great year! So, I give you my little one wishing you a Hawaiian Merry Christmas.

X-Mas Touchup

2006-12-21T06:23:00.000-08:00

My mother in laws best friend had an old beat up photo of herself riding a horse that she wanted to know if it could be fixed. I think she'll be happy with it when she gets an 8x10 of her new photo for X-Mas. I have a few more in the works, that I will share later, for now though let me know what you think.

You know you've spent to much money

2006-12-19T14:09:00.000-08:00

at Apple when they start sending you X-Mas cards! I got this great X-Mas card in today from the fine folks at Apple. If you're a photographer and not using Apple, shame on you! If you aren't a photographer and not using Apple, shame on you too!

The new Apple Intel Core-Duo is simply awesome, as you can see in the background of my new 15" Macbook Pro and for all you photographers out there... Adobe Photoshop relased the CS3 yesterday and it is much improved and faster for the new Macs!

Please, if you don't use a Mac and don't know why you should leave a comment and I will post some reasons why you should.

Time to start posting some bridals

2006-12-14T20:51:00.000-08:00

This year I think I spent more time at the Arboretum than any other photographer, so now that the weddings are over I will start posting some of the pics from some bridal shoots there. I enjoy shooting at the Arboretum because it has so many great backdrops, but you don't always have the best light out there. The day I met Shelby out there, was probably the most perfect light I have had all year and doing them as late in the year as we did I didn't expect much color, but I was wrong, it was very vibrant with all the fall colors. Shelby was very photogenic with great bright blue eyes, as you can see below. I know they just got home from their cruise where they were married and had a reception last weekend in Anna that my friend Jim Miller shot for them. So anyways, take a look, leave your comments that's what the blog is for. I did find a new favorite spot in front of the rock wall and I think almost had her talked into getting in the fountain, maybe if it had been after the wedding? We would have had to post them on Trash The Dress if she did!As always, click the pic for a bigger view!

TomKat wedding...

2006-12-07T18:29:00.000-08:00

Of course any big wedding that comes up or gets mentioned, I immediately start wondering who shot it and what do the pics look like. So, I have to go and do a little digging to find out... Surely by now, everyone has seen this image of TomKat together

The photographer that was lucky enough to shoot this wedding was Robert Evans, I mean what better marketing than having your name attached to every picture in People, Enquirer, etc. as well as every website in the world. Robert is not one of the photographers I keep up with, mainly because I haven't seen a blog from him... but I will save that for another post to come. I have a handful of photographers that I keep up with to see what they're doing, what's new on their blog, etc. So what makes TomKat pick Robert Evans? I wish I knew, but I imagine the fact that he also shot Brad Pitt & Jennifer Aniston's wedding. So how did Brad & Jennifer find out about him? The Bridal Bar, an LA based special events referral service

So an offer to any celebrities that might stumble across this blog, I'll shoot your wedding for free. I mean think of the marketing...

Cole & Susan's Wedding at the Chapel at Chestnut Square

2006-11-05T21:15:00.000-08:00

Cole & Susan were married at the Chapel at Chestnut Square yesterday and had a really lovely wedding, I really liked how Susan kept the same clean lines and theme throughout. You can see some of the details along the left side of the collage, just click the pic to make it bigger. The dress, the cake, the flower girl, the chairs, even the asparagus had a wrap around the middle (ok, that ones a stretch), but it was a lovely wedding in a historic setting. Cole got a friend's band (Ryan T, Briggs Band) to come play at the reception and they are a really good band if you like Pat Green, or my buddy Chance's band Spur 503. Last I heard there was a delay in the honeymoon, and had nothing to do with Cole's planning or getting out of work, but I believe they were headed to Mexico somewhere. Well I hope you guys enjoy your collage and even more so enjoy the honeymoon, I'll talk to you soon.

David & Tiffany's wedding at Cross Roads Chapel

2006-10-29T20:05:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of shooting David & Tiffany's wedding last night at the Cross Roads Chapel in Cross Roads. As far as I know they are my first eHarmony wedding, my cousin also found her match on eHarmony although they got married on a cruise that I couldn't make due to another wedding already booked. Davids daughter reminded me of someone during the entire wedding and I finally figured it out... Jack Bauer's daughter on 24. She wants to become a photographer so hopefully I gave her some good tips while she was snapping away, good luck.

David & Tiffany are on their way to St. Lucia for their honeymoon, hopefully the humidity has dropped some since we were over that way a few weeks ago. I still need to post some of their engagements from our shoot downtown McKinney, but I have enough trouble keeping up with my Sunday posts. Hope you guys have a great honeymoon and enjoy your collage, let me know when you get back.

Kent & Lisa's wedding at Lantana Lodge

2006-10-08T16:59:00.000-07:00

Kent & Lisa had a great wedding yesterday at Lantana Lodge on Lake Ray Roberts and had quite a party afterwards. They had planned on having one of the horses that they show at the wedding but it wasn't able to make the trip. I still think it's great that Kent, being a Texas A&M grad, has his weddng on the day of the Texas-OU game. They made a perfect couple and were very photogenic, not to mention Lisa has a notebook of photos from brides magazines that made it a great challenge to impress!

They are staying close to home and having a quick getaway so they aren't to far away from the horses, so ya'll let me know how it is out there. I had a great time at the wedding, and hope you enjoy the collage. Congratulations you two.

Jimmy Ray & Shelleys Wedding at Storybook Ranch

2006-10-04T17:29:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Ray & Shelley had a great wedding at Storybook Ranch last Saturday and it now ranks as one of my favrite places to shoot at. It's a great Ranch house with a saloon that looks over a creek for receptions as well as an old country chapel in the middle of the old west town. You can see the chapel and part of the old west town in the collage, just click it to enlarge it. Jimmy (the groom) was telling me that movies have been filmed there as well as some photo shoots done by that magazine that Hugh owns. I wish we would have had a little cooler day to be able to do some shots down there before the wedding but everyone would have been soaked by wedding time. Hope you enjoy the collage, and a big thanks to Jimmy for helping me with my electrical problem at my house.

Cole & Susans Engagments

2006-10-04T16:49:00.000-07:00

I think I am finally catching up on things since getting back from St. John, so here is some engagements I did before I left out of town. Cole & Susan will be getting married at the Chapel at Chestnut Square in McKinney early November. For now here are a few of their shots...

Down in St. John...

2006-09-26T17:15:00.000-07:00

For the week and will post some late engagement pics and a wedding on Saturday once I get back.

For now, take a look below.