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One of my favorite days of the year.. Or fourth year, I guess!! Here are some photos of my favorite people LEAPing.. Including one image no one has ever seen before!
ps :: Today is also the last day for early voting in Texas and Ohio.. if you live in either of those states, go vote now and save yourself the hassle on Tuesday 
Man, I am super overloaded with photos to edit right now.. One wedding and three engagement sessions, all AWESOME.. I hope to have some great photos for you all to look at tomorrow! In the meantime, here is something to keep you occupied.
Ernie Halter, one of my favorite musicians, is in the process of recording his next album. He has set up a webcam in the studio so that his fans can watch the entire recording process from start to end streaming live over the internet. Awesome! I think right now they are just laying down vocals, which is fascinating. As I type this, he is warming up his voice and making all sorts of crazy sounds. Totally takes me back to my high school choir days 
If you have ever wondered what the album-making process is like, definitely check out this link: http://www.stickam.com/profile/erniehalter
Note: You have to pause the automatic music player, or else you won’t be able to hear the webcam audio.
For those of you who don’t know him, Jason is pretty much obsessed with Tiffany & Co. He talks about it constantly, and is always looking at their stuff. Well, after church on Sunday, Jason and I decided to swing by Tiffany & Co to do a little ring shopping!! Eeeeeeee!! So exciting!! I have been wanting to do this for awhile but was waiting to take Jason along, since I know how much it means to him….
Jason and I in the car, on the way there.. I am suuuuper excited, he is not too happy about the prospect of spending money, haha! And afterwards with the purchase!!
Once I got home you know I just had to take some photos of the lovely packaging..
And finally..
What you have all been waiting for…
The big moment….
My ring!!!!!!!
HAHA, you suckers! I know what you were thinking of Not quite!! I have always worn a right hand ring, usually a simple silver band, but all the ones I have had in the past tarnished or broke easily, so I wanted something of a higher quality that would be able to handle all the wear and tear. Tiffany is known for their amazing quality, so I knew their 1837 ring would be the perfect fit (no pun intended). Here is another view..
Being a girl, I did of course have to sneak a peak at the engagement rings.. Holy cow! Now I truly understand why Tiffany rings are so legendary. Tiffany diamonds have this amazing sparkle and fire that you just don’t see in other diamonds. I have shot a lot of rings in my career, and while they have all been gorgeous, I have to admit that the Tiffany rings do stand out. I love seeing a company that cares so much about the quality and craftsmanship of their product, it’s a refreshing change of pace from the typical low-quality mass production that you see all too much these days.
In other news, I have so many great photos from Alex & Nick’s wedding that I can’t wait to share, and I also shot an engagement session for Alex’s cousin, who has the coolest house I have ever been to. Can’t wait to show those off as well!! Back to work
Now that Alex’s wedding day has arrived, I can finally show off these super awesome photos of her bridal session. It certainly makes my job easy when the bride is smoking hot and the location is this awesome!
This one was shot in the hallway right by the elevators. I just love the light and colors here!
And this one was taken INSIDE the elevator.. Again, perfect light!
This one is first in a series of “red” photos.. Since she is a redhead, it fits her well!
You know how I love my textures 
She thought I was totally insane for asking her to “Vogue,” but it turned out awesome!
Another cool texture shot.. This one is so romantic and dreamy
Showing off her sassy side (and let me tell you - this girl is the definition of SASSY!)
Another cool collage.. As I’m sure you have noticed, I took a million shots of her laughing.. I love her laugh, it’s just so fun and contagious! It really shows off the funny, happy person that she is.
And last but certainly not least….
Look at the bellboy hamming it up.. Priceless!!
I am pumped about their wedding tonight! I will have photos up soon
I have been incredibly blessed in my lifetime to be able to photograph some of the most accomplished people in the world. I have shot musicians, actors, comedians, athletes, scholars, politicians, religious figures, as well as some pretty stellar “normal” people who I am sure are going to someday be considered a celebrity for their talents. I don’t always agree with these people.. Sometimes I don’t even like them.. But I can at least respect the impact that they have made on the world.
Today I had the distinct honor of being able to photograph a man that I not only respect, but also admire in so many ways. I know that politics can be divisive, and I just ask you to put aside your own personal political beliefs for just a moment. Barack Obama is a man who has brought hope and optimism back into the political scene. In a day and age where people are so apathetic and feel completely disconnected from their elected representatives, he has made even the most disenfranchised people believe that they can have an impact again. Even if you don’t agree with his stance on the issues (I certainly disagree with him on plenty of things), you at least have to admit that his eloquence, optimism, and ability to reach out to people of every race, gender, religion, and income, are deeply inspiring.
Barack is making the rounds in Texas right now, and today was his rally in Dallas. At the last minute I was invited to come capture some images of the rally, and I am so glad that I did, because it was an experience I will never forget.
The first attendees began lining up at 4 AM in the morning, and when I arrived at about 9 AM, there were people wrapped around Reunion Arena (former home of the Mavericks) three times, and continuing on into the parking lot - all for an event that wouldn’t even begin until noon! This photo does not begin to do the crowds justice, but you can see the three rings of the line.
Thousands upon thousands of people trickled into Reunion Arena, carrying homemade signs and completely fired up about hearing Obama speak.
Before Obama came out, there were a few “celebrities” who spoke, although to be honest with you, I only recognized one of them.. Emmitt Smith!! Yeah!! Although he said that the Cowboys were the only team he ever played for.. I guess he is repressing the ‘03-’04 seasons
Finally, the man himself appeared, and the crowd went bonkers.
There were Secret Service people EVERYWHERE.. One of them totally ripped into me when I accidentally stepped past a barricade. Those guys are seriously scary. See this one in the lower right? All business.
A little Texas love…
Check out the crowd..Keep in mind this was at noon on a Wednesday, and to get in you pretty much had to be there at 8 AM or earlier, and it lasted past 2 PM. How all these people got away from work I’ll never know.
A few shots of Obama speaking..
On this shot I overlayed an image of the crowd cheering him on.. I kinda like the effect. What do you guys think?
Finally I am going to leave you with my favorite image of the day. This is my new desktop background!
Regardless of who you support, I urge all of you to get out there and campaign for them, and most importantly, get out and vote!! Remember, if you don’t vote, you can’t complain about whoever wins
Well, this has been an exciting past few days, and it is going to get astronomically more exciting in the next few. This is my last “free” week before wedding season officially begins.. I am really missing shooting weddings, which is my favorite thing to do in the whole world, and I can’t wait to get back into the swing of things. Friday I travel to Houston for the wedding of two of my favorite people, Alex and Nick. I want to go on and on about how much I love those two, but I will save it for the wedding photo blog post! I also get to shoot a couple of engagement sessions while I am in Houston, and I get to hang out with my awesome assistant extraordinaire, Shelley and the ever-talented Collins Metu.
After their wedding, I have a week break, two in a row, another week break, two more in a row, a month break (late April/early May brides, contact me for discount last-minute coverage!), two more, a week break, and one more.. Seeing a theme here? I told myself I would take a break and do less weddings this year, but I can’t help it! I love my job
Tomorrow, I am SO SO SO excited, because I have been invited to a special Barack Obama rally in Dallas!! I have no idea how many people will be there or how close I will be, but rest assured I will be bringing my camera and hopefully I will get some killer shots of the maybe-President-to-be! I will also be mailing out a ton of prints, albums, and other products, so if you have ordered something from me recently, chances are it is going out tomorrow.
Sunday Jason and I went to our new church for the third time, and the message was all about generosity.. They talked about how different religions deal with wealth in different ways, whether it be money, or friends, or love, or career success, or happiness, but they all say the same thing.. We should share our wealth - whatever we consider it to be - with others. I consider my wealth to be my love for my friends and family, and my ability to do what I love. So, in the spirit of generosity, I would love to shoot a free engagement or portrait session for someone who truly deserves it. If YOU know someone who could benefit from a little generosity, send me an e-mail and let me know why.
How can YOU give back to others? Here are a few of my favorite ways..
www.kiva.org :: Help fund a micro-loan to a small business owner in a third world country. You get regular updates on your lendee and how their business is growing.
www.freerice.com :: Improve your vocabulary and end world hunger, all at the same time!
www.organdonor.gov :: Save countless lives simply by telling your family that you want to be a donor. This is too easy NOT to do!
Orrrrr…
Donate blood! It takes about 15 minutes total and you get a free t-shirt, juice and cookies, and an excuse to act weak and sleep all day
Friday morning be sure to stop by and check out Alex’s bridals, which I can finally show off! That session was one of my favorites ever, you will love the photos!
As promised, here is the second half.. I am posting a ton of these because I just couldn’t narrow it down!
This one was shot in a little area behind the fire station.. Although it looks pretty, it was filled with bugs, trash, and lots of sharp plants threatening to tear Jena’s dress, but she was just as excited to shoot there as I was.. I told you she is my muse!
Next we headed out to a random field in the middle of Frisco to take advantage of the gorgeous blue sky (which was the same field Jason and I flew kites at last week!).
There were also a ton of hay bales just laying around, and since Jena is a bit of a country girl, I had to throw her all over them!
Busting out the cowboy hat and boots - I mean, we ARE in Texas, after all 
A little fun with the veil.. I am pretty sure Jena is considering not wearing a veil to her wedding (or maybe just a small one) but photos with big long veils are so dramatic and romantic, so I brought along a HUGE one just to use for a few photos. Brides, if you do a session with me and either don’t have a veil or only have a short one, let me know and I will bring my big cathedral length veil along!
Mmmm… flare!
Since the weather was so perfect, I tried to shoot mostly natural light for Jena’s session, but she said she wanted a few with our trademark dramatic light, so we got a couple of glamorous ones just after sunset.
And last but not least… Remember how I told you Jena has a thing for shoes? She brought along all her favorite pairs so we could do a cool collage that she is going to make a huge print of for the wedding! Such a unique idea! 
The gingham pair in the middle of the bottom row is the pair she will be wearing at the wedding. The decor is going to be all lime green and gingham.. Totally unique, and she has really done a great job of incorporating it all. I can’t wait until the wedding so I can show off all the fun details!
Jena Rhine is my muse!! Not only is she gorgeous and in great shape, but she is also a fellow photographer, so she completely understands what I am going for when I put her in an unusual pose or in front of a crazy background. She is just as creative and artistic as I am, so when we work together, pretty much nothing is off-limits! She is also a great friend, so we always have a blast together. It’s pretty much the perfect working arrangement!
Jena’s bridals were actually done in two locations, so I am going to split them into two posts, one today and one on Sunday or Monday. Our first location was a SUPER DUPER TOP SECRET, so if any of you out there know Justin, DO NOT mention this to him!! He is not supposed to know until after the ceremony, so if you see him, keep your lips sealed!
What better place to shoot a bridal session for a fireman’s wife than…..
A fire station!!! Funny story.. Jena originally picked this station because it was located close to where I live and it was in a fairly photogenic area. A few weeks later, Justin was transferred to that station - crazy!! So now when he sees these photos, it will be even more of a shock, because she is posing all over the firetruck that he drives on a daily basis. I just love Fate
Next we got her all dolled up in her dress (which is so perfect for her, by the way) and shoes.. Jena is a shoe fanatic. Wait until the next post and I will explain this more!
How adorable is her bouquet? I don’t think those are the flowers she is using at the wedding, but it’s still so cute! Very colorful, simple, and elegant, just like Jena
If you like these images you will DIE when you see the photos from our second location.. It is so beautiful, and also completely illegal
Leave a comment and let me know where you think we went next.. I’ll give you one hint: a photo of it was posted in the blog in the past two months!
Normally I hate holidays (too commercialized!), but Valentine’s Day is one of the very few that I really enjoy. My job is all about love, and the celebration of it, so basically Valentine’s Day is a celebration of everything that I am surrounded by. It’s a time for me to think about the many, many couples whose marriages I have been privileged to be a part of, and the people in my own life that I love and cherish. I don’t believe in the “If you’re single, Valentine’s Day sucks!” thing, because we all have people in our lives that we love, whether they be family or best friends or that special someone. It’s a day to remember the people closest to us and how happy they make us - what an awesome holiday!!
This year is especially meaningful to me because it is me and Jason’s very first Valentine’s Day together. I really wanted it to be special, but I also knew that I didn’t want to do anything expensive or fancy because we already spend WAY too much money on ourselves, and each other! So we agreed - no gifts, let’s just do something fun. I actually left all the planning up to Jason, and he totally come through. He took Monday off of work, and we drove out to a random field and flew kites all day! SO MUCH FUN!! I had never flown a kite before, but it was something I always wanted to do (and I mentioned it to him constantly!). It was pretty much one of the most fun, hilarious, enjoyable experiences of my life!!
The day started off a little rough.. This is mostly what things looked like for the first hour:
Basically I would throw the kite in the air, it would flail around wildly, and then come rocketing back towards me and slam into the ground (or into me). It was HI-LA-RI-OUS. I could not stop laughing!! Poor Jason was trying his hardest to get that thing airborne, and I could barely breathe from laughing. However, eventually we got the hang of it and Jason got it up and flying!
A collage of our fun flying experience:
As you can see from those shots, the sky quickly turned from a pretty blue to a very ominous cloudy grey. Here is an AWESOME shot Jason got of me flying the kite with the storm clouds approaching:
Gotta love the self shots!
All in all, despite being four days before Valentine’s, it was definitely the best Valentine’s Day I have ever had, and I can’t wait to go fly our kite again!
Remember how I am always mentioning how bad Jason is at keeping secrets? Yeah, he mentioned THIS special delivery to me about two weeks ago:
Still, despite totally knowing it was coming, it was a much appreciated gesture. I am totally a flower girl! I know a lot of girls think flowers are dumb, but I am SO not that way. Flowers are beautiful and happy and fragrant and you just can’t help but smile when you look at them. Jason buys me flowers quite often (which I LOOOOVE) but even still, sometimes I go to the store and buy a bouquet for myself just for fun. They are so happy!!
These were especially cool, because it was sort of a do-it-yourself floral arrangement kit! The flowers came wrapped individually, and each one had to be unwrapped, rinsed, clipped at the stem, trimmed of the leaves, freed of the outermost petals, and then carefully arranged in the vase. They sent lots of helpful books and tips on how to present and care for the roses. All in all it took me about 45 minutes to get them out of the box and in the vase, and at the end of it my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. It was just so FUN!! I am definitely no good at floral arrangements, but I still enjoy it quite a bit
Here are some of the details, including the packing instructions (Packaged by Anna - thanks Anna!), Jason’s note to me, and the mess I left in the kitchen sink afterwards.
I also got a great gift bag from my mom (our family always exchanges gifts for Valentine’s Day), some gorgeous Thank You cards and journals, and a gold puffed heart necklace I have been wanting for YEARS!
My gift to her was pretty stellar, and I want one for myself SOOO bad, but I can’t tell you what it is until she gets it
I hope that all of you are having a great Valentine’s Day, or as Jason and I (and Dave Barnes) call it, Balumtine’th Day! Don’t forget to tell everyone you love how much they mean to you. If you’re single and feeling blue, here are two great videos to cheer you up!
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=jmdnO3Kcrno]
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=tzq3srbYEUY]
Well, SOMEBODY got a tattoo…….
But it wasn’t me!!!
It was Jason!!! He already had tattoos.. One is a really cool crest, and the other is a Chinese symbol for “peace”… Which also happens to mean “cheap” in Japanese. HA! So, needless to say, that second tattoo is a choice he has grown to regret, so he decided to finally cover it up with something that is actually meaningful to him. He ended up picking a fleur-de-lis, which is widely considered the symbol of Louisiana (where he’s from), and this particular fleur-de-lis is actually taken from the back of the Katrina memorial in New Orleans.
Let me just take this time to say I am not generally a fan of tattoos, and if I had known Jason had tattoos he probably never would have gotten a first date, haha! But I am glad I was able to see through my prejudices Of course you KNOW I had to get some photos of the experience….
The stencil/sketch of the fleur-de-lis over the symbol.. I cannot believe they were able to cover it up!
Jason’s tat artist Billy Jack Gunter of Artistic Encounter, hard at work!
Getting cleaned up..
The finished work
My favorite.. Pain Panda during the tattoo process, admiring his new ink, and Excited Panda afterwards!!
Yikes.. I am in pain just looking at that. But not as much pain as Jason is right now!!!!