A Dominican Vacation

Last week I traveled with one of my best friends and a couple of amazing families to the Dominican Republic. We played, we swam, we ate, we read, we rested...There's really no way to sum up how grateful I am for such an incredible week. The beaches, the weather, the people...the Dominican does it WELL!

Though Hurricane Irene might have wished otherwise, we had a fabulous time. I really love both of these families and their precious daughters (You may recognize Addison and Olivia from the biz blog.) And as I sit now watching the devastation that this super drought has caused our state this week, I must say we were kind of thankful to see that unfamiliar thing called rain for four of our seven day vacation.

 

Have I mentioned that I have the best friends in the universe?!

 

E Weds

I'm alive. I've risen from the rubble (or at least am beginning to).

Incidentally, due to all the photos I've taken over the last two months of not blogging I have a lot of catching up to do. I might lose friends if I don't start posting the photos I've taken from different life events.

Warning: the coming blog posts will inevitably be out of order. I apologize.

These are from one of my very best friend, Erika's wedding. This was a BEAUTIFUL day! I literally kept looking around thinking, "this is how I would do it, just like this." The details were perfect and personal. The party was fun, and Erika and Kyle enjoyed the people they love...perfect!

I only took pre-wedding photos that day. You'll have to check out Erika's awesome wedding photographer's blog for pics of the wedding. 

Mostly these showcase the awesome job hair and makeup artist, Erica Bargell did. If you need somebody, she's your girl. The morning of the wedding was super laid-back and restful...just like Erika! We laughed a whole lot!!

Hott bride! No really...she is GORGEOUS (and her hair is not finished in this one)!

E, it was so much fun to be with you on March 26. I'm so thankful an honored to have stood with you as you began your MARRIAGE!! Crazy! Love you, friend.

Mr. Clause

I LOVE CHRISTMAS! There are so many things I love about it. In addition to what we're actually celebrating during this season, I love the feel of the holiday. I love the chill in the air (when a random "cold front" comes through Austin). I love the brights SPARKLY decorations around my house. I love the smell of cinnamon and pine. I love the music. I love the giving. I could go on and on. I just love it. And I'm so blessed because I get to celebrate it WELL!

I mentioned in the last post that my holiday season bursts at the seams with Christmas events...which I LOVE! Because of my job I get to photograph Christmas parties, volunteer groups decorating for Christmas, Family Christmas portraits, Christmas Tree Lightings,Christmas Musicals, Christmas Weddings, Christmas Donations and more. Really...no one has it this good.

One of the cool things about it, though, is I get to see some of the same holiday symbols over and over again with different looks, faces and feelings. Different people celebrate so differently. Its really fun for me to experience.

Well, as I finished editing another Christmas event today, I realized that I've seen several GREAT Santas this season. They're everywhere.

I thought I'd invite you to be a part of my holiday celebrations. So...unless you're trying to preserve your perfect mental image of good 'ol St. Nick, I invite you to chime in about which of these holiday men you think does his job best.

Who do you think represents Mr. Clause best?

Authenticlause

 Everbody's favorite: Chicklause

Dressed2Beclause

Harley Clause

Mall Clause

Which ones your favorite? You got any great stories about or photos with Santa to share? I would love to add to my collection :)

Merry Christmas!!!

A Doubly Humbling Post

Recently I've found myself in several conversations where I discovered that I was WAY more familiar than I should be with FAR more television shows than I should even know exist. And while it's nice to be able to make conversation with just about ANYONE (who doesn't have an affinity for the tube), my investment in all things pop culture and small screen feels a tad ridiculous.

You wanna talk sitcom? I could go on forever about Modern Family, The Office, Community etc.

Drama? Bring on the Brother's and Sisters talk. Flash Forward? Lost? How about Parenthood?

Old stuff? Friday Night Lights. Prison Break...and that's just what I'm watching currently.

Oh...and there's too many more. I'm stopping here to at least nearly save my pride*.

That's the humbling part, now onto excuses...

As you may or may not know, I do a little bit of photography.What this means is, though I spend up to 2 hours at a photoshoot I have many more hours at home in front of my computer editing that same shoot.

As you can imagine, this makes for LOTS of hours at home at my desk. 

Enter fatty excuse for television craze number one.

Have you heard of hulu? Are you familiar with netflix?**

These two gifts of the world wide web have helped keep me fairly sane in the last couple years as I work to make my images as close to perfect as possible. Without them, I would have far too much time for the wheels in my head to spin off their axle (trust me, it's dangerous).

I won't bore you with all the details, but...

for those of you who don't spend much time taking and editing photos (and I sort of doubt anyone's coming here to learn about photography so that's probably you (although...certainly feel free to correct me if I'm wrong)), I thought I'd give you a glimpse of before and after post-processing.

The first image is straight out of the camera...the second is after my time behind a desk enjoying guilty pleasure television shows...

In every case, it helps to have ADORABLE subjects, so take that into consideration...I can't post-process that.

Also, feel free to divulge in the comments if you'd like...about your television obsessions. Maybe it'll make me feel better.

*who are we kidding? I felt ok until I started listing them.

**there are times that I turn on a book on tape or a sermon instead (one more attempt at making you think I'm not totally dumb).