Galveston Engagement Shoot - Sneak Peek {Engaged}

A sneak peek (and the final shot of the night) from my engagement shoot for Charlie and Elizabeth yesterday in Galveston, Texas.

That's the Galveston Pleasure pier behind them. I can't wait to share more!

Washington County Fair

I won Grand Champion and Reserve Champion (Adult Semi-pro Color Division) at the Washington County Fair!

The Grand Champion image was a shot I just a few days ago of a player from St. Thomas High School in Houston.  I knew as soon as I saw that shot on the back of the camera that it was something special.

The Reserve Champion shot is a light painting I shot of Independence Hall at Washington-on-the-Brazos. This is where the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed. I shot it earlier this year on Texas Independence Day - 177 years to the day at that very spot.

I just wanna burst. 

Shadows

I'm entering this image in a photo challenge on iheartfaces.com. The theme of the contest is "shadows." Most of the entries I saw on the site deal with physical shadows - you know, those things that follow you around all the time that no one ever really pays any attention to. But I wanted to focus on one shadow in particular that, sadly, is often treated the same way - our kids.

Kids are our shadows. The mimic what we do, exactly - often not until years later. It's important to remember that we're their heroes - their sunshine. They want to be just like us. They look up to us. They are what we make them.

The light you shine creates a shadow. Let's always strive to create shadows that bring light to the world, not darkness.  There's already enough darkness in the world. Always remember your shadow.

 

Read more at http://www.iheartfaces.com/how-it-works/grab-a-button/#u7DWe6DSJlfupbW5.99

St. Thomas Basketball Preview {Portraits}

Yesterday I got the honor of again shooting some photos for St. Thomas High School athletics. I shot wrestling, basketball and soccer.  This was one shot, however that I knew as soon as I shot it would be among my favorites.  This is a preview of the shoot from yesterday.

More to come...

Rise Above the Influence (Illustration}

I was contacted out of the blue a few months ago (while in Austin shooting photos at Zilker Park, if you must know...) by the SHSU Alcohol and Drug Abuse Initiative office about doing an illustration for their upcoming annual summit. I had just finished the Big Top Sammy Family Weekend illustration and noticed that the dates coincided, so when I heard that the theme of the summit would be "Rise Above the Influence," I thought there might be a way to tie in the two.

That's how Sammy ended up on a tightrope.

The original idea was to have Sammy as an acrobat above a three ring circus with no net and "influence" items down below him.

However, as I got started sketching, I quickly realized that the circus theme didn't quite work for this and I kept seeing all these influences swirling below Sammy, just below him, tempting and threatening him. That idea became very stark in my mind, and that's the direction it went.

I'm very happy with the final product. It turned out almost exactly as I envisioned it in my head. And it was a lot of fun to work on, as well, creating dozens of swirls and spending more than an hour creating the lined, confusing, grungy darkness shape that appears to be closing in on Sammy from all sides. That Sammy is the only real color in the design isn't an accident, either. He represents hope and color where the bad influences represent evil and death and darkness.

Wow. Did I just write that? That's deep. Coffee must've kicked in.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this illustration and I hope that the 8th Annual Drug and Alcohol Summit at SHSU is a great success.

Game Changers {Video}

I'm so happy to finally be able to share this project I've been working on! This is a short film I produced in conjunction with Brenham ISD for a new program they've gotten involved with called Game Changers. This video was shown to all the teachers and administrators in the district yesterday and had to stay under wraps until then.

Game Changers strives to make a positive difference in kids' lives and is a really worthwhile program. I got to work with some amazing people - especially Peggy Still and Heather Thielemann - during the course of this project. I hope you enjoy watching this as much as I did working on it!

Bluebonnet Barn {Illustration}