Monday thoughts

Back on schedule!!!

For some reason, I have every intention of taking it slower on Mondays since my weekend is usually packed full. But somehow, Mondays end up being just as busy. This weekend was no exception, and this Monday isn't either.

Just to recap the past few days:

-Thursday - had a photoshoot with Jac for a presentation I'm doing in September at the Woodlands Photography Club. To keep it short, the shoot started off weird because we had a visitor that decided to stay with us the whole time. It really threw me off, but whatever. It's over. Jacquie did a great job and she was such a great sport through the whole thing. Here's the crew, including Susan, who helped me with lighting and documenting for the presentation.

-Friday - Met up with Emily and Raul to do a session. They were soooooo great to work with. So incredibly sweet and encouraging the whole time. I really had a great time with them and I was able to try a few things with them. I'm so sad because I remembered that I wanted to get a picture with them before the night was over, but then I forgot to do it. :(

-Saturday - This was a crazy day for us. I'll talk more about the actual wedding later when I post the pictures, but we had our own issues. I dropped my lens on the tiled floor right as the ceremony was starting (I was in a room adjacent to the ceremony, but I'm sure they heard it.) During the pictures outside, a wind blew over our light and we broke the flash. And other such incidents that made it so crazy. I think we had our highest highs and lowest lows all in one day. One of the bride's friends came up to us and wanted to get a picture of us for us. How sweet is that??? That's never happened before. So here is our picture from the craziest wedding we've put ourselves through.

-Sunday - A long day, as usual. Went to bed really late on Saturday night and got up early for church on Sunday and then I had two sessions that day. Thankfully, it worked out because they were both in the same area. The first session was for baby Lydia. She was so sweet but I don't think she was too happy that we woke her up from her nap. Poor little thing.

Then I headed out for an engagement session that started in the heights and really changed course and we ended up in downtown up in a parking garage.

(Disclaimer: Don't look too close at those two pictures because they're both out of focus!!! Oh, you'd think I'd be able to pull off an 'in-focus' picture. But for the second one, I will say that the camera was on the corner ledge of the top floor of the parking garage so I couldnt' really see through the viewfinder to focus it. For the first one.............I have no excuse. :( )

Ok, a few other random things (I feel so chatty today!)

-I have been cleaning out some things because I got a new desk and furniture and such, so it's interesting to see what I find. I found this little doohicky. It's a remote control for my laptop. Sweet! So now I can watch episodes of 'Everybody Loves Raymond' on my laptop and not get up to change episodes. As if watching tv or dvds isn't lazy enough.

-I get on food kicks. This has been my snack of choice over the past two weeks. It's an apple cut up and covered in cinnamon. So yummy! You can get fancy and pour some honey over it, or maybe just dip them in peanut butter. A few years ago when I was in Greece, for dessert we were served granny smith apple slices with honey poured on top. There may have been cinnamon, or maybe that was my own twist on it - can't remember. Yummy!!!! I highly recommend it. And the more cinnamon, the better. It has some nutritional benefits, just can't remember what. But, does it matter? Something about antioxidants or something, not sure.

-Back in February, Ashley and I headed to Dallas for an all-day workshop with Mike Colon. I've admired his work for a little while now so I was excited to hear that he was coming to Texas. During the course of the day, he would use people to just pose for him while he took some pictures to show different things, like settings or whatnot. Just to show the differences betwen one thing and another. Since I was sitting right in front of him, I ended up being on the of 'oh-so-lucky' people to have pictures taken of me and then broadcast on the very large projection screen in front of a room of about 100 or so. Nice.......... Well, I figured people were getting bored with the same old pictures so I started making faces when he took the pictues. Seriously, I don't know why i did this. I don't have a copy of those pictures, but afterwards I got a picture with Mike and asked him to humor me in re-creating the silly face I made. For those of you that know, does this really sound like me? To actually want to have my picture taken? Don't think so. And this is the face I made in front of the entire room that was then shown on the large screen. Why, oh why???

-I'll be out next week as I'm heading up to College Station for a week long class at Texas School. I can't wait to study with Bry Cox for the week and learn some stuff.

Ok, I'm out for the day. I have so much to do and half the day is gone already. Oh, and not sure if you've noticed, but I made a few small changes to this layout. Can you find the changes? :)

Jordan, the lighting Master

A little while ago, I asked my friend Jordan to teach me a few things about off-camera flash. I thought I knew how to do it but apparently I didn't because it never seemed to work for me. I figured out a few things that day, but I've still had problems with it since. This weekend, I think I've come to realize that my flash may actually be malfunctioning, so I may have actually known what I was doing all this time. But here are the shots we took that day as we practiced with the flash.


We took turns shooting so that he could show me how it's done.

Jordan's copping an attitude.

Does this shot remind you of the Planters peanut guy?

Not sure why I was looking directly into the light! But I seemed to really be intent on looking, even jumping up to see it.

It was a very bright day, hence the sunglasses.

A picture at the end just for fun.

Monday thoughts

I'm back from Vegas!
I have several things to catch you up on from the trip, but I'm waiting for a few moments to write all that out. All in all, it was a great week.

-For this week, I have several sessions I need to finish up.
-We also shot out first wedding of the season this past weekend.
-I'm so much closer to having my new desk up and ready to use. I'm already starting to transfer things over.
-Both Eisley and Levi Weaver are coming to Houston on the same day, different locations. Bummer!
-There is much to be thankful for!

Monday thoughts

Ah, it's Monday again and here are my many thoughts of the week:

-Due to my many activities this weekend and all the fun I had, I now have completely lost my voice. It's not just hoarse. It's gone. I can only whisper. The next few days should be interesting.........

-Yesterday I had two shoots with two fabulous couples. In the afternoon, I shot Gabby and Chris in order to re-create some formals from their wedding in Cancun. We had their three flower girls, their ring bearer, and one of the bridesmaids to get a few shots. It was a windy day, I tell ya and we were creative with the locations and backgrounds. Well, they don't know that yet since they haven't seen the pictures yet.

-Then I headed downtown to shoot Jacquie and Kris and to try a few new things. Things didn't start off as I had planned because I forgot one little piece that then prevented me from using supplemental lighting, and it was unbelievably cloudy. And windy. And cold. So we adjusted and went in a different direction. But they were great about it and humored me! Then we headed to dinner afterwards at a really neat restaurant and sat and talked a long while. If my voice was hoarse before dinner, then it was pretty much shot after dinner, but it was worth it.

-I'm trying to wrap everything up before leaving on Wednesday for Vegas. Trying my darndest.

-Is anyone watching what's going on in South America?

-I decided this weekend that I shouldn't be as bad at playing pool as I am since I live with a pool table. I need to practice more. Such a worthy goal, right?

-Saturday morning, I helped another photographer with his Indian wedding. If you haven't been to an Indian wedding, then I must tell you how colorful they are. The clothing they wear, men and women, are beautiful and adorned. The bride is very beautiful with her clothing and her jewels on her face. The families really celebrate this union through dancing and socializing and ceremony. I didn't stay the whole time because I was just asked to cover the time that the bride wasn't with the groom, but I was there to capture a good portion of it.

Monday thoughts, a day late

I'm working like mad to get everything out to everyone. I'm trying to get everything wrapped up before I leave next week.

"Where are you going?" you might ask. I'll be heading out to Las Vegas for a photography convention. I think most people go for about three or four days, but I've signed up for some extra workshops beforehand so I'll be gone for a little longer. I've also entered a few prints into the print competition that goes on during this convention. I'm doing it for the experience since it's my first time and I'm really not expecting anything really great to come out of it. But it's part of learning. The prints are shown below, but it's hard to tell what some of them are and there seems to be a glare on some of them. They look better in real life, I promise.

Let's see, what else is going on?

-Friday I had a spontaneous hang-out evening with my friend Angela since she was up on my side of town. We had dinner and watched 'Juno.' That's a crazy little movie. Cute and funny.

-I'm trying to make my appointments before I leave for Vegas and also to get lots of things done before the wedding season really picks up.

-I love lots of meetings and sessions in the works. On that note, I'm out, and off to get some work done.

Monday thoughts

The weekend was great! We stayed at a bed and breakfast in Chappell Hill so that I could get some work done and others could relax. I'm about to head out to a workshop with Mike Colon today so I can't say much else at this moment. But here are a few pictures for today from this weekend.

Monday thoughts

-In case you missed it, I changed the colors on my website back to the original ones. And I changed the third song. Other than that, not much change on the website.

-Everyone needs time to get away and think. This weekend is such a weekend. I'll be planning, brainstorming, organizing, etc. A few friends are going with me so that I'm not totally lonely so it will be fun to hang out with them in the evening.

-I'm gearing up for the Mike Colon workshop coming up in Dallas next week. I've really enjoyed his work for a while now so I'm excited to hear him speak and to see more of his work.

-I'm headed out today to shoot some seniors for fun. They are Ashley's clients, so I'm just along for the ride. It's a beautiful day, perfect weather, so it should be a really good shoot.

Monday

-I took some time today to sit and plan for the week. And the next week. And the week after that. The list I compiled of tasks to work on will carry me for the next month. Some of it includes going out of town (fun!), editing some photo sessions (fun!), going to the movies with friends (fun!), shooting friends (with a camera, fun!), getting a haircut (not totally fun, but necessary), and the list goes on.
And no, for those that know, this isn't THE haircut, just a trim. I'll probably cut my hair later this year at which point it will be donated to 'Locks of Love.'

-Soon I hope to be receiving a CD and DVD in the mail. The Cd is by Levi Weaver, who wrote and sings the first song on my website. Check him out then go over to CDBaby to buy the CD.
The DVD is 'Becoming Jane,' the one about Jane Austen. There are some scenes in that movie that really stayed with me long after I saw it. That's one way to measure the success of a movie, by the impact it has on you long after watching it.

-If I've had a lack of pictures for a little while, then I'll be making up for it in the next few weeks. I have lots to show you.

-It seems that several of you read my blog (you confessed it to me, there's no shame in it :) ), so leave me a comment! I'm sad and desperate and I really like comments.

................I blog for comments.........................(how pathetic is that?)

Have a great, productive, and significant week!!!

Monday has rolled around again....

-I don't know why, but I felt like temporarily changing the colors on my website to go along with Valentine's Day. But it will go back to the original colors in two weeks. So, go check it out.

-I ended up watching 'Bourne Ultimatum' again last night after the Superbowl. I really love that series because you just never know what he's going to do next. But if you've seen it as many times as I have, then you DO know what he's going to do next, but it's still exciting to watch.

-I have to admit, I may have only watched about four actual minutes of the Superbowl. And none of the commercials. But I was at two Superbowl parties, so does that still count?

-I don't have any pictures to show today, but I will have some soon. I have several from this weekend.

Monday thoughts

Yes, I have pictures to show, finally!!


These are just a few from early January.

-In the spirit of weddings, I've made plans to go see '27 Weddings.' Some of my favorite wedding movies: My Big Fat Greek Wedding, My Best Friend's Wedding, and Father of the Bride. Do you have other favorites?

-I'm working on submitting images to the WPPI 16x20 competition. WPPI stands for Wedding and Portrait Photographers International and they have four competition each year: the 16x20 competition, two 8x10 competitions, and an album competition. This is my first time entering so it's a huge learning experience. I'm not unrealistic: I don't expect to win or anything since there are some really big contenders, but I would just like to learn from it.

-I have more photos to post soon!

Monday thoughts

-I'm recovering from being sick this weekend. I'm doing better.

-I'm trying to keep a mental list of songs I want to add to my ipod: Brandon Heath's "I'm Not Who I Was", Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer", and others that I can't remember at this moment.

-I just found out this weekend that American Idol has included the song "RISE" by the Robbie Seay Band in several of their ads airing on Fox during the holiday season. This is so exciting for them considering their a lesser known band from Houston. Show them some support by purchasing their song from itunes.

-There are way too many workshops and seminars that I want to sign up for. If I traveled to every single one that I wanted to go to, I'd never get anything done and I'd probably end up spending over $10,000 after registration and expenses. As of right now, I've signed up for WPPI in Las Vegas, Mike Colon and Bob Davis's tour in Dallas, Yervant and Joe Buissink's tour in Houston, and Ed Pierce's seminar in Houston.

Monday thoughts

I'm glad the weekend's over, that's all I can say.

-I've changed out the music on my website. This week, we have:
'Only This Moment' by Royksopp
'Warning Sign' by Coldplay
'Intercessional' by Andy Hunter

-one of my goals this week is to update the galleries a little bit, or at least add some pictures here and there.

-Will Houston ever know the thrill of a cold December?

-I have had a two-weekend break from weddings, but we're gearing up for another one this weekend. Gotta un-rustify myself.

Monday Thoughts - edited

Ok, a few things:

-Since I'm not able to upgrade my jukebox on my website and I do want a variety of songs to be played, I'll be switching out the songs every few days. You'll hearing songs from Colplay, Kevin Max, Royksopp, Andy Hunter, and others, including the original three songs I had. I'm a music nut, I can't help it.

-I'm working on a slideshow for the trip I took to Colombia. It will be snazzy!! (I hope :) ) It's a group effort since we have pictures that each person took, and we also have short interview clips from each of us about the trip. I'll see if I can post it here when I'm finished with it.

-I finally watched 'Ocean's 13.' I like it. It was ok. I also saw 'In America' and it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. I have two movies in queue: 'Amazing Grace' and 'Beyond the Spear.'

-I was hoping to have a lower-committment December, but already in the first two weekends, it's getting crazy.

-I need to start working on Christmas cards. I want to order my own, so I need to get moving on that.

**-edited to say: Goode Company makes the best pecan pie. And as one who doesn't particularly care for pecan pie, that's saying a lot. Does anyone challenge this?

Monday Thoughts

After a two week absence, it's time for more rambling thoughts:

-I went to see Eisley and Mute Math at the The Warehouse last night. Rock on!!!!! I love Eisley's sound and lyrics. They harmonize real well. If you've never seen Mute Math, they are quite a sight. The drummer is fun to watch and then Paul, the lead singer, jumps all over the place: on top of the drums, on top of his keyboard. At one point, the drummer took one of his drums and gave it to the people in the front to hold for him, then he stood on top of it! From there, he grabbed onto the truss above him and monkey-barred his way back to the front of the stage. Crazy!!!
To give you an idea of how unique they are, here's their video for 'Typical', recorded and filmed backwards!!
(Ok, I wasn't able to show the video here, but here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b13rc6DY74A)


-I just got back from my two weeks in Colombia so I'm trying to catch up on so many things: e-mail, phone calls, work, deadlines, etc.

-Ok, no more thoughts. I'm stuck watching Mute Math videos on You Tube. Here's another one with the drummer in it, but it's not about their music. Check it out, it's pretty neat.

Monday thoughts

Maybe I should change it to 'Monday Ramblings' because I feel like I'm just rambling.

-I love checking things off my of my to-do list, and today I was able to check off about three or four major tasks. Yea!!

-I just got back from Florida, but I'm leaving again on Saturday for two weeks to Colombia. I'm going on missions trip with my church and then I'll be spending a week with my family.

-As we landed in Ft. Myers, I could see the lights that outlined the edge of land, and also the moon skimming across the water. So cool!

-I ordered some cards with pictures of my dog Daisy and I kind of ordered the wrong style. I meant to order 'folded' but instead ordered 'flat.' Oh well. I'll try to show them this week.

This week, I've been listening to Royksopp, Coldplay, Starsailor, and Viva Voce.

Monday thoughts

I played around with a lensbaby this weekend to see what I could do with it. So, below you'll see some pictures around the house.

Last week was a tough week. My family had to put my dog to sleep after dealing with some pancreas issues. She was 15 years and two months old.

I'm looking forward to flying to Ft. Myers this week to shoot a wedding on Saturday for Jacquie and Kris, and then a trip to Colombia the week after that.

I've been listening to Starsailor, my ipod, and watching 'Everybody Loves Raymond.'

Monday thoughts, a little late

Ok, so I'm a little bit late in my Monday thoughts.

It was a busy weekend and it hasn't slowed down yet.
-I shot a wedding on Saturday for Brenda and Mike up in the Woodlands with the assistance of Jordan and Stephanie.
-Then on Sunday after church, I went to the Greek Festival with my friend Susan and we had a great afternoon.
-On Monday, I drove to Austin and back for a family portrait session.
-Then things went badly on Tuesday and my family had to put my dog to sleep. They found a tumor in her pancreas and she'd also been dealing with pancreatitis. She lived over fifteen years and was loved by many. It was a long day for all of us.

This week I've been watching 'Ocean's 12' and Season Three of 'Everybody Loves Raymond.' And I've been listening to Robbie Seay, Shakira, and my ipod.

Monday thoughts

I'll probably try to make my Monday posts about some random thoughts, and they might mostly be about music or what I'm currently listening to.

1. been listening to Levi Weaver lots this week. Other things I'm listening to: the new Robbie Seay Band cd and Carlos Vives.

2. I'm part of the ipod family now. I just got the new 8G ipod nano. My originaly plan was to get the 30G, but somehow I was talked down to the 8G. I think maybe they're trying to really push the new nanos.

3. I'm looking forward to the MuteMath concert in November with Eisley opening for them. Super excited!! If you haven't seen their video for 'Typical,' you have to see it! The whole thing was done backwards.