Week 29......Catching Up!

Ok, the 365 shots in July were sporadic so I only have a few to show for the month. It was a busy time!
I volunteered with Vacation Bible School at my church and I was in the classroom with first graders. I really enjoyed my week with them and not surprisingly, I was tired each day when we were finished. It might have something to do with going up and down four flights of stairs 3 times each day.




Just playing around with stuff. This won't even be a "What is it" shot because it's too random.


Ok, I'm cheating. Yes, this shot was taken back in June and I already posted but I wanted to discuss it a little bit. Why do I do what I do? Because of comments like this one:

"Also, I almost [cried] when I saw the picture of my grandphather."

When people react like that, it absolutely makes my day. And this wasn't even a session. It was literally taken in a matter of 30 seconds and then we moved on. But it's important to his family because they say that that's exactly how they remember him, with those thoughtful eyes.

My little cousin Keith....Houston Children Photographer

Meet my little cousin! He has the cutest curls, and yes he really is that cute. This was what he looked like as a wee little newborn.

Marsha and Matt's wedding day - Part 2....Houston Wedding Photographer

Check out the rest of the images from Marsha and Matt's wedding day!

A big thank you goes out to Maureen for her help with shooting that day. We had met about two years ago and I was so happy that she said "yes" to driving in to work with me. You did a great job!


To see the rest of the images, go to my website http://www.karellephotography.com/ and click on 'Weddings,' then 'Digital Studio', and find "Marsha and Matt's wedding day." You'll see the images from the blog as well as the rest of the images from the session.

Marsha and Matt's wedding day - Part 1....Houston Wedding Photographer

I KNOW Marsha and Matt have been patiently waiting to see their pictures and I'm so excited to show them, too! It's been a crazy summer with some traveling and some work related things that have kept me busy so I've fallen slightly behind but I'm really, really trying to catch up.
Ok, enough of that, on to the pictures!!!!
The rest will be up tomorrow, so come back and check them out!

A few details.


Marsha, the lovely bride!


Beautiful!!


Matt, the groom!!


I realize this isn't for everyone, but when couples decide to see each other before the ceremony, it totally rocks!! And not just for the sake of taking pictures. I think it really helped them stay more calm through the ceremony just having those few minutes to come together and talk before the big day started. And then we also finished all the formal shots before the ceremony even started so there wasn't any waiting around afterwards. I highly recommend it!!!


Marsha and Matt enjoying a sweet moment.


A few shots from Maureen. Love these!!


The bridal party. Thanks for being great sports in the heat!


Moments before each one walks down the aisle.

365 - Week 28......Catching up!

I don't know about you, but I ended up with several t-shirts from high school and even more from college. I didn't want to wear them to the point of wearing them out so I stored them away in a bag and kept them.
Not too long ago, my friend Ana mentioned in passing that her sister had made her this really special quilt so I just asked her if she could make t-shirt quilts. One thing lead to another, and Ta-Da! I now have a t-shirt quilt and I totally love it!!!! Lee did an amazing job and I love how it turned out. Thanks so much!!!

365 - Week 27......Catching up! Part 4

Every photographer needs a good pictures of themselves so we depend on our friends to help us out in that department. After an informal meet up with Ashley and Matthew, we spent a little time shooting each other and trying out new things and learning from each other.

365 - Week 27......Catching up! Part 3

Yesterday, we met one of my friend's grandfathers and today we're meeting his grandfather, Mr. Boyd.
Although I spent more time listening than actually shooting, I enjoyed just letting him talk and just hanging out with him for a while.
More of his pictures to come!

365 - Week 27......Catching up! Part 2

I met Mr. Wilson through his grandson Steven and we did his photo session at their house. He also served during World War II and we took a little bit of time to look at some pictures and a scrapbook that he had from those years.
I will be posting more of his pictures later when I get a chance to look through them again.

365 - Week 27......Catching up!

Yep, still catching up on my "365" project.

You may remember that I've taken on a project for myself of photographing World War II vets because I feel that it is so important to honor them and their service.

I was connected with Mr. Snyder through Megan, a blog reader, and I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to meet him and his wife. They live in the same town where I shot Marsha and Matt's wedding and we met up for a very nice session. I enjoyed hearing his stories and I'll tell more when I actually have a chance to work on this session a little bit more and blog it.

Marsha and Matt - Sneak Peek!....Houston Wedding Photographer

I'm very close to having Marsha and Matt's pictures ready to show, but I know they're anxious to see something so I chose these two to show today.

365 - Week 26......Catching up! (Continued)

I told you I was catching up, didn't I? With a vengeance. And there's still more to come.

After arriving from Colombia, I was hit with a case of food poisoning. Not. Fun. At. All.
Enough said.
I rested up and later that week, I drove up to Marshall, Texas for Marsha and Matt's wedding. I took the opportunity to also walk around with my camera and just take some shots for fun. Nothing earth-shattering, but just fun.

I was struck by the old-town look, some of the abandoned buildings, and the historicity of it all. (And yes, that's a word......I think.......)



In case you're wondering, I may have shortened the life of my retinas by taking the next few shots. Geez.


Again, I don't know the name of this particular plant-life but it looked cool. Google, get with it, why don't ya?


Right in the middle of the old downtown there stands a courthouse that makes a strong presence. You can't miss it.

365 - Week 26......Catching up!

The day after the wedding I headed out to one of my cousin's house. He recently designed and built his own house and it's beautiful! And yes, it helps that he's an architect and I really enjoyed seeing all the neat details he thought of in the design. These are his two dogs and one is a new addition, a cute little puppy. The older dog isn't too sure of the little one, but the latest report is that she's warming up to the little pup. The little girl is another one of my cousins but I didn't even recognize her because it been about 12 years since I last saw her. The bottom two shots were taken outside the house at night when I was just playing around with some long exposures.


Monday morning, several of us headed out of the city to visit a farm-ranch-thing that belongs to another cousin's in-laws. I could go into more detail about how people are related, but just know that I have lots and lots of cousins (1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation) so it just helps to say "cousin" and leave it at that. Ha!
On our way out there, we stopped several times to get out of the cars and walk around and take pictures. WOW. It's lovely out in the countryside. And yes, in case you're wondering, it DID rain that day. Gloomy but beautiful.



I don't know what these flowers are called but I found them on the side of the road. Again, Google needs to get moving with my idea.


In the first shot, that's my cousin on the left and my dad on the right. Once we finally arrived, we were immediately greeted by this cute little thing, the puppy.
Ok, the bottom right picture - they served this to us with crackers as a snack. It was amazing! It's mango ceviche and so easy to make. I will definitely have to try making this again some time.


Ok, random shots of people. In the first one, that's two of my aunts and a cousin. In the top right one, my mom, sister, cousin, and cousins's brother in-law in-law. No, that's not a typo. In the bottom left, that cute little kid lives there. He wouldn't talk to me - I'm so sad. Bottom left - my cousin again. We were both standing in windows and we both looked out at the same time.



After a great lunch, we went out to see the land and to see what they produce. Heaven!! They grow rosemary and roses and corn. Two of those things are way high on my favorites list! The rosemary field smelled amazing and it was so fresh. I wanted to just sit in the field and start nibbling. But I controlled myself.
Then we entered into the rose greenhouse-thingie. They had about three of these!


The top left is what I call the Rose Graveyard. It's a pile of old roses that just didn't make the cut. But I managed to find a few nice ones even if they didn't have any stems. Top right - do we look village-ified or what?


Back at the house, the guys were packaging the rosemary to be sold. Loved the smell! The far right shot is the owner of the land, my cousin's father-in-law. He was jolly and a delight to be around.


My trip was too short and alas I had to leave. The morning I left, I wanted to get a few last shots. I don't know if it was there before if I'd never noticed in previous years, but my aunt's bridal picture was hanging in the guest room. I don't remember how old it is but I'm guess it's something like 60 years old or so. I just HAD to get a shot of it so I moved it to a different room and moved furniture. And then I asked her to get in. It's so important to preserve history.
As you may know, I tend to like dogs. I mean, like, a lot. This little character, Bonnie, took a while to warm up to me but she finally did.

365 - Week 25.....Catching up! (Continued)

The wedding day! There are several from this day and they're just from the ceremony. I attend many weddings, as you very well may know, but this one was slightly different for me because I guess that's just how they do things in Colombia. Nothing majorly different, just some of the logistics that would have thrown me off if I'd actually been shooting the wedding myself.

This chapel had beautiful stained glass! The bride showed up in a vintage car with her mom and the ring bearer. Don't get me started on the ring bearer! He's too cute for words! The groom eagerly awaited the bride halfway down the aisle with his mom and dad by his side and with the bouquet to give the bride. I'd never seen that before.


She made her entrance with my uncle and with the flower girls and ring bearer.


Her twin sister gave a reading. Now, I'm not sure if this is the same for all weddings or just this one, but there wasn't a bridal party standing up there with her other than the kids.


For those of you that shoot weddings, you'll appreciate this. There were no "church ladies," no rules, no restrictions. The camera and video guys plus guests went wherever they wanted to. Kind of distracting but I got great light!





This little flower girl was fun to watch. She didn't hold still much at all. Immediately after the ceremony ends, the bride and groom walk up to the front and turn around for pictures while everyone watches. And they only take a few pictures with the flowergirls/ring bearer, and then with parents, and then godparents, and then they're done and they walk down the aisle and out the doors.

365 - Week 25......Catching up!

It seems I made a promise back in June that I didn't keep. I'm so ashamed! I promised to not neglect my "365" picture-a-day project but alas, I slipped again. However, I have managed to somewhat catch up and now I'll be blogging the past few weeks in the next week. Get ready!

So let's start with the week I went to Colombia. I went for just a week to go to my cousin's wedding so I'll show you the wedding pictures tomorrow. No, I didn't shoot her wedding. I just sat and enjoyed the evening and took a few pictures from where I was sitting.

(Hey, if you're reading this, don't be silent! Leave a comment down below so I know you're here. Thanks!)

My day of traveling. I don't often (ever) eat corn dogs, even though I LOVE them. So I decided to have a corn dog and lemonade for lunch in Miami. It was delicious! I also carried a version of trail mix with me to munch on the rest of the day. I looked at the back and saw this information. It's one of the most international foods I've ever eaten!


Each morning I was greeted with a glass of very fresh squeezed orange juice. We went on a road trip to visit a very small village about two hours from the city and yes, we were up in the mountains on a foggy morning.


I don't know what this flower is called but I thought it was beautiful. It was in my uncle and aunt's house right outside the room I stayed in. I wish I could google it by just submitting the picture of the flower. Google needs to come up with something like that so that you can find out names for objects that you are unfamiliar with.



The night before the wedding we gathered at one of my aunt's house and awaited the surprise serenade that the groom had put together for my cousin. It was so sweet! And she didn't know why we were all there that night and why we weren't leaving. She was surprised, I think.....
In the picture on the left, we were hanging out and watching a baby as he fell asleep. She didn't know what awaited her. In the middle shot, the singers and musicians entered and the groom made his entrance, too. In the right shot, she's taking it all in.


We enjoyed the serenade and also enjoyed meeting the other family. My cousin's twin sister is in the middle of the middle shot. The shot on the right has the happy couple and my mom and some of my aunts.