SMU vs Cincinnati

What’s up, guys! Can you believe that it’s almost November?!  I swear it feels like we started October yesterday.  It’s all good though because we’re getting closer to my favorite holiday… THANKSGIVING!!!! Anybody else a big fan of doing nothing but eating and sleeping your life away?

So about two weeks ago, I applied for a photo credential on Southern Methodist University’s website. They messaged me and asked who I was shooting for and I told them that I was just shooting for my blog.  Per their policy, they only grant passes to people who are shooting for a media outlet.  Well, they messaged me back earlier this week and told me that they made an exception and that they will let me photograph their game against Cincinnati!  Super stoked?  Heck yeah!

I do remember when JMU came down back in 2015 to play SMU during their homecoming.  It was the first time I had ever heard of SMU but JMU came and managed to beat them in an upset!  Ever since JMU came to play them, I’ve been wanting to go to SMU for a game and check them out.  I must say that the school has amazing facilities!  I always drive past the football stadium but I never stopped to check it out.  Now that I’ve seen the stadium, I want to go walking around campus and see what else it has to offer.  Seems like a pretty cool school to be.

The best part about this entire experience was meeting one of the photographers who has been a Staff Photographer at the Dallas Morning News since 1989.  Steve is one of the photographers whose photos are always running through the DMN and I have always wanted to meet him and some of the other photographers.  Steve was so cool and talked to me for a few minutes about his career with DMN.  Right before the game started, I asked if he would take a selfie with me because he was one of the photographers who I look up to! So, we took our selfie, got ready for the game, and he told me that I have a great career ahead of me.  Talk about filled with joy.  It meant a lot to hear that from someone who has been in the field longer than I’ve been alive.

Moving to Dallas and making the connections that I’ve made so far is truly amazing.  I am forever grateful for the connections that I make and people that I meet.  One of these days, I’ll get my breakthrough and when I do, y’all will be the first to know! 

Leslie

Leslie in Richardson, TX

Ok, ok. Listen, I know it’s been a few months since I’ve posted any new content but a lot has happened since the last post in June, and I’m pretty happy with where I am in life. I’ll write another post soon with updates on what’s been going on! With that said, I linked up with Leslie and Fredy in Richardson after work and crushed these photos! I was trying to shoot with Leslie for months but had so much going on that we couldn’t get anything done. After taking a few months off, I must say that I am pretty satisfied with how these turned out!

Kelsey in Downtown Plano

Downtown Plano is a hidden gem!  Check out these photos from a spontaneous photoshoot with Kelsey!

Fitness

It's that time of year again, guys!  Kelsey is back to help me create more fire!  Literally fire because we were supposed to shoot earlier that day but it was literally 100 degrees, so there's that.  Anyway, whenever she comes home, we just go ham with the photo sessions.  The ideas that we come up with all the way down to the execution makes us such an unstoppable team.  I can't wait till we schedule our next shoot.  I promise that it'll be even better than this one!  Also, if anyone knows how to get us a Nike sponsorship, let us know! *winky emoji*

This was kind of my first little fitness shoot that didn't involve athletes during competition.  What do you guys think about it?  I want to do more shoots like this with athletes of other sports.  Be on the lookout!  I'm going to be working with everyone I can to keep things interesting on the blog!

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!