This has been such a great week!  I’ve gotten to spend time with long-time client friends and their kids, some photographer friends, and I got to meet some amazing new people, too.  Plus, I am getting to spend more time with my kids this summer, and that is the best part of all. I know this is a short week for most of you, so I hope you all have a safe and relaxing holiday weekend!

On Monday night I had the honor of speaking to the Austin Professional Photographers Association. What a friendly and talented bunch of people! It was a fun night and I got to visit with old friends and make a few new ones, too. Thanks, Tracey and Sue Ellen and everyone else, for inviting me out to spend the evening with y’all!

I also got to work with some clients who have been bringing their children in for years now, and I just want to say how thankful I am that you’ve let me share in their lives! I have some great images and I know you’re anxious to see them!  We were blessed with cooler mornings this week, so we didn’t end up soaked at the sessions.  I have suspended late afternoon sessions for the time being, unless they are in your home, because it has just been too hot for the little ones outdoors in the afternoons.

The kids and I also made pizza last weekend, and I took some shots of the process.  For the past few months, we’ve been trying to eat a healthier diet, and that means that I spend a lot more time in the kitchen.  We’ve fallen into the rhythm pretty easily, though, and everyone seems to feel better and have more energy.  I’ve also discovered that I really enjoy cooking when I don’t feel like I should be doing 20 other things instead, and when I know that the kids see it as a fun experiment.  There is something really satisfying about cooking from scratch, and enjoying the finished product after all that “work.”  The dough was surprisingly easy to make, and we had a lot of fun.  Here’s the recipe, if you’d like to try it at home with your own kids.

The dough, after being refrigerated overnight:

With sauce and cheese, ready to go into the oven. You can see Mac back there, asking “exactly HOW long will this take?”

Say cheese!

And finally, Charlotte showing off the finished product. I’d recommend getting more than one ball of dough out of the fridge, unless the pizza is just for you. It’s very popular at our house and that first pizza is gone before you can blink.

I am so far behind on blogging sessions that the very thought of trying to catch up makes my head spin just a little.  For those of you who I have missed, it’s not that your kid isn’t absolutely adorable. It’s just that I haven’t had the energy to resize and watermark and blog individual sessions.  I’d like to say that I will catch up eventually, but you and I all know that I probably won’t.    Here are a few from the catch up folder, as well as a couple of recent portraits, just so you can see a little bit of what (and who) I’ve been photographing for the past six months.  These were photographed on location all around south and central Texas: Austin, Corpus Christi, New Braunfels, Gruene, San Antonio, and Victoria. Enjoy!

Music is a big deal at my house.  We don’t watch a ton of tv, but the house is rarely silent — somewhere, there will be music playing. But when it comes to music, I’m moody.  Maybe it’s the fault of the artist in me, but I go through stages where I’m inspired by different styles and musicians, and during those times if you visit my house or ride with me in the car, you never know what you’re gonna get.  I change themes about every week or so, especially if I’m hard at work on a specific project… and my kids know that if they don’t like this week’s theme, at least it won’t last for long.   I have iMixes for portrait editing.  A couple for cooking (usually Motown).  Some for the gym.  And many, many for driving: my destination (or lack of a planned destination) usually determines what kind of music mood I’ll be in.

One thing that you may have noticed if you’ve followed the blog for a few years is that I am always inspired by good singer-songwriters.  I grew up listening to artists like Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, and Don McLean and that intimate style still influences my own life and work.  One of my modern favorites is David Wilcox, who has an amazing gift for putting images and experiences into words.  This is one of my favorites:

Photographers, be sure check out the video page.  I think it’s fascinating to hear a different kind of artist talk about some of the the things we face with our own work… things like sharing something you’ve created with the world and reaching (or missing) an audience.  I think you’ll be inspired, too.

One of the things I’m enjoying most about Victoria is how close we are to the beach.  We can make it to Rockport in about an hour, and even if we just spend a short time at the shore it’s like a mini-vacation for us.  My sister and her two boys drove out to help me celebrate my 33rd birthday on Wednesday, so yesterday morning we spent a few hours playing in the sand and sun.  For those of you who haven’t been to Rockport in awhile, it’s now a part of the Blue Wave beach program, and it’s a wonderful place to take the kids.

Just a reminder that I will be out on location this weekend, shooting our last round of Corpus Christi beach sessions for the summer. I might add one date in Rockport if there is enough interest (and we can settle on a date). I’ll return all calls and emails next week! I hope you all have a great Father’s Day!

Summertime is here!  I hope you’re all staying cool and having fun now that the big kids are out of school.  We spent today doing all sorts of “first day of summer” activities and now I’m exhausted. I think we’ll all have an early bedtime tonight.  I am determined to work less and spend more time with my kids this summer… and maybe take a real vacation (meaning one that has nothing to do with photography or photographers!).

I know that I’ve been a bad, bad blogger. I’m caught up on orders and phone calls and processing, though, so that’s something!  I’m planning on taking the blog in a slightly different direction this summer, if I can ever get back into the blogging mood!    One big shout-out: BETH, I am getting your emails but I don’t think you’re getting mine, and the phone number I have on file for you has changed. I hate for people to think I’m ignoring them, so I hope you check the blog!

Don’t forget that we have beach sessions scheduled for near Corpus Christi the weekend of the 20th.  I do still have a space or two available.  For you non-beach clients who are considering a summer session, I’m not accepting as many sessions this summer as I have in years past so if you need to get on the calendar please call me ASAP.  We are currently accepting Victoria/Crossroads area appointments, and for you San Antonio/Austin folks my sessions in your area will be extremely limited after July.  Once school starts I just won’t be able to make that drive more than once a month, so if you want to do a portrait session, now’s the time.

And because a blog post without photos is boring… here is a snap of Bugs coloring in the kitchen last night.  I don’t often pick up the camera if I’m not working, and I’ve realized that I don’t have many photos of my kids just being my kids, so that is a personal project for the summer. 

I’d like to introduce you all to Carmelo.  He’s such a handsome little guy, and very serious.  He always seems to be thinking about something very important.  I photographed his big brother’s first year, too, and it’s always so much fun to meet the new siblings — each kid is so different!  I don’t think I ever blogged images from ‘Melo’s last session, so I’m going to combine them in this post.  Sorry, Amy!  I didn’t skip him… I’ve just been a bad blogger for the past six months. 

Here is Mr. ‘Melo at 6 months…

And here he is now at 9 months.  Isn’t he adorable?  Amy, I’m so glad he’s not walking yet! 

And since you’re here reading this, be sure to leave me a comment!  I’d love to know what y’all think about the new blog design.  This was the easiest redesign I’ve ever done — who knew that using a design that was created for photography would make things so much easier.    I thought we needed a new look for spring… and if I ever have time, I’ll update the portrait site to reflect it too.

I’ll return phone calls and emails starting on Tuesday.  I hope you all had a great weekend and that you had safe and relaxing Spring Breaks!

Long time no blog!  We’ve been very very busy this year and with all that’s going on I just haven’t taken the time to sit down and blog.  But I am getting lots of emails and calls about both bluebonnet and beach sessions, so it seemed like a good time to write a quick note to all of you about our upcoming events.

BLUEBONNET PORTRAITS

Unfortunately, it’s been another dry, dry year.  I finally saw a couple of patches of bluebonnets this week, out on a back road near Gonzales, TX, and even then they were tiny patches.  I think we just haven’t had enough rain to get a good crop of bluebonnets anywhere that would be safe for photographs.  So, we won’t be offering bluebonnet portraits this year unless you and your family have a big, full patch somewhere.    Let’s hope for a rainy fall and better weather early next spring, and maybe there will be enough flowers to offer them next year.

BEACH PORTRAITS

We have had a record number of calls about beach portraits this year, and I have finally had time to set some dates!  We’ll be down in the Corpus/Port Aransas/North Padre area the weekend of May 16th and the weekend of June 20th.  Spaces are limited because of the light (and I actually already have someone on the calendar for the first weekend), so if you know you’ll want beach portraits, let me know asap so I can get you on the calendar.  (And as an aside, because of the demand and the amount of planning involved, we won’t be able to hold sessions this year without a pre-paid session fee).  Beach sessions booked on one of these two weekends will carry a similar session fee/structure as our regular sessions do: $550, which includes a 16×20 classic wall portrait or a $300 print credit.  These sessions are perfect for those heirloom family portraits and are great for families with children of most ages (children who are not yet sitting unsupported might be too young for this location).  Take a peek at some of our beach portraits from years past for ideas of what we could create for your family.  Our studio number is still 210-745-0142 or you can reach me by email through the site.

I haven’t posted a sneak peek in awhile, but I got to spend some time with Seth and Noah this morning, and while I was downloading these I just knew that their mom would love to see this one.  Seth was such a trooper, letting us change his clothes and prop him up out in the grass at the McNay Art Museum. He is such a sweetie!  April, I am so glad that we started when we did, because as soon as I left the museum, it started pouring and the temperature dropped about 10 degrees.

During costume changes and breaks, big brother Noah and I traded lines from Madagascar.  He’s almost 4 and it’s so neat to hear about the things that are going on in his head.  One of my favorite things about this business is the honor of watching these kids grow up.

So here you go, Mr Seth.  A sneak peek just for you.

It’s been awhile since we did one of our Monday reviews!  The kids are home from school today for the President’s Day holiday and they have a few selections to share with you.  I can’t believe that they’re about to have birthdays again — my babies will be 5 and 7 in just a couple of weeks.  They’ve been picking out birthday presents since just after Christmas and I don’t want to actually get them anything until we get a little closer to the actual dates, because they’ve changed their minds so often.

Charlotte chose their Book of the Week: Purplicious by Elizabeth Kann.  Our friend Pinkalicious still loves pink more than any color, ever, but all the girls at school like black more, and make fun of her choice of favorites.  Charlotte’s classmates have entered the “you’re a baby if you like ____” phase so we found this book at just the right time, courtesy of the school book fair.  On a side note, when was the last time you actually went to a school book fair?  It’s still as much fun as it was when we were kids.  I love the smell of all those new books, and I love the special deals you can only get on book fair day.

I should have known without even asking what Mac’s pick for Song of the Week (and Movie of the Week, and Video Game of the Week) would be.  We live in the Star Wars Universe right now and I bet we will for the next few years.  I was 7 once, and I remember going to see Return of the Jedi for my birthday that year.  It’s good to know that the Force is strong in my children, too. 

Thanks to everyone who has emailed to ask when the Monday with Mac and Cheese posts would be back!  We’ll try to keep up with them every few weeks until summer break gives us a little more time again.