Dan and Amy

It's not every day that you get to photograph a couple who are arguably the best and most humble people you've ever met. Dan reached out to me and noticed that I didn't have any maternity photos on the site. He wasn't wrong. I've never photographed any maternity photos and never really jumped at the chance to call myself such a photographer. He asked if I was interested in photographing his wife for a maternity session. Of course, I jumped at the chance to be able to do that. It would be nice to branch out and photograph something other than sports and senior photos for once. I gleefully agreed and decided that we would do an early morning shoot at a local lake here in Dallas. We chose the early morning because.... well, it's July in Texas. We weren't trying to have a heat stroke for some photos.

Dan and Amy certainly had some words of wisdom for a young photographer with high career aspirations. This shoot turned into a wisdom-session and it's a conversation that I will never forget for as long as I live. One of the main reasons why I love being a photographer is because I get to learn so much about the people that I photograph and vice versa.

Thanks, Dan and Amy for trusting me to take photos of such an amazing time in your lives!

Black Lives Matter

I haven’t posted anything to my blog since July of 2019. However, I wanted to use my platform to bring attention to injustices and to talk about how a broken system has continually failed me and my people. With the death of George Floyd and countless other beautiful black men and women, we as a people are outraged, we are sad, we are upset, we are sick. We wonder why these things continue to happen to us. We wonder why the system that is supposed to protect every American somehow fails US. We are upset about being told that our protests and rioting should be done differently.

We cannot be too focused on the fact that Target was gutted or that businesses were destroyed or looted. It’s an unfortunate inconvenience where a broken system affects more than just the oppressed. Those businesses have insurance and everything from the building structure to the contents inside of them can be replaced. A life, however, cannot. We must keep our focus on the lives that have been taken from us unjustly and lead the charge in dismantling a failed system.

Do not be silent. Do not be complacent. Do not think that it can’t happen to you. We need each other so that we can make a better world for our children and our children’s children.

I support the Black Lives Matter movement and I support the efforts being made all across the United States of America. We want justice, we want peace, we want to live.

Here are ways you can donate money to organizations that are helping make this country better:

10 Black Lives Matter Organizations You Can Donate Money To Right Now

Here’s how you can donate to support the fight for justice right now

Take Action: A List of Ways You Can Stand in Solidarity with the Black Community

Greater Kind

When I tell y’all that I have some extremely talented friends, I really mean it.  This past Thursday at the Holocene in Southeast Portland, my friends Charlie Brown, Cory Limuaco and Samuel Eisen-Meyers headlined a show.  Their band is called Greater Kind for anyone curious or wanting to check them out when you visit Portland (highly recommend). 

I met Charlie and Cory at Thy Kingdom Come International Church my very first Sunday in Portland.  At one point, we were playing together every week at church and it was such a blast being around a group of musicians who played at such a high caliber.  I met Samuel at another music event and ended up photographing one of his shows at Mississippi Studios back in June!  Samuel is one of the best guitarists I’ve ever met and I have sense gone to a few other shows where he’s played at to support him! 

Anyway, I saw that the fellas were playing at the Holocene and I was going to go anyway to support them.  So, I told Cory that I’ll be there, camera strapped.  The venue was one that I had never been to before.  The sound was superb, the vibes were even better.  I even saw Charlie sing for the first time! That was an experience all in itself.  We’re going to have to give Charlie a mic at church from now on! 

I’m extremely pleased with how well these photos turned out.  The way the photos looked had me shook!  The back lighting was literally what that made this shoot so nice.  There was little to almost no lighting coming from the front of the stage so it added to this super moody look.   

Also, I'm available to answer any questions you all have about how I do this, what my settings are, how I edit, and even making connections to get you into venues like this.  I feel like I'm starting to really get a grasp on my networking and would love to spread that knowledge to anybody looking to do what I do!

Lastly, please do me a favor and follow these guys on Instagram (the images below are clickable)! Keep up with the latest gigs, see their posts, find out what they’re doing! These guys go on tour in Europe, they play all around the country, the play locally, they play everywhere! Support musicians any chance you get! It means a lot to them and it means a lot me when you share my posts and engage with me!

Orlando

I must say, I have been out of the state and traveling a ton the past 9 months.  I'm impressed and very happy with how often I've been on the move.  This time the family and I took a trip to Orlando for a mini vacation.  We didn't take a plane to get to our destination, but we took a drive from Texas through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and then into Florida.  I would've loved to stop in all the states longer than to just get gas.  All of the places that we drove through seemed to be some pretty cool places to take photos.

Anyway, we were in Orlando for a Mother's Day get-a-way.  No, we didn't go to Disney this time but had a good time exploring Downtown Orlando, driving out to Cocoa Beach, walking around the resort.  Shoot, I even went to a local barbershop and got my beard trimmed up.  I felt like a local and not a tourist this time around and I certainly love having that local experience while traveling to different cities.  Not only did we get to celebrate Mother's Day, but we got to celebrate Nana's birthday, and Aunt Rita's send off to Afghanistan.

I'm ready to go to another city soon.  I really want to go to Austin because why not?  It's only 4 hours away, but working Saturdays sucks because I can never just take a weekend trip anywhere without having to take time off.  *yawn*  Adulting at its finest.

Honestly, I think my next trip will just be to travel around Dallas a bit more.  I still haven't gone to the Cowboys stadium to do a tour of their facility.  Can you believe that?!  I've been to Deep Ellum a few times, but hasn't experience the nightlife there at all.  I'm really missing out on things to do and experience in my own backyard!  So I guess I'll do that first!