Gratuitous Bug-and-Flower Time!

After shooting a portrait session for Joey at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens, I did what I love to do-- ran around the place scouting for pretty flowers, lovely bugs, and all things tiny to capture with my fabulously wonderful macro lens.

Sweet like candy to my soul is the macro. There are literally tiny things EVERYWHERE that we never get a chance to see up close, and the macro lens allows me to find those things and share their beauty with you. I squeal inside with delight when I see a butterfly swirling around a bright flowery bush, because I know that with enough patience, that bug will land and I can get a picture of its fantastic wings. Dragonflies and bumblebees are worthy targets as well... or any other bug I happen upon that doesn't scare the daylights out of me.

Don't even get me started on flowers. I wish I had 900 frames, and could line my walls with macro floral shots... but alas, I don't live alone, and not everyone has the high bright-popping-color-tolerance I do...

So I keep on snapping away, and rotate the prints out now and then. One of these days... ONE OF THESE DAYS... I will have a room devoted to nothing but the insanely fascinating artistry of nature. God's hands at work.

Becca & Sergio & The Dogs in the park!

We shot Becca & Sergio's engagement portraits in the centrally-located and wildly popular Discovery Green park in Downtown Houston. They brought their dogs along for a fun and frisky shoot! Halfway through, Sergio's mom and brother kindly took over as dog-handlers and took the pups to play in the dog run area of the park.

Absolute lovebirds, it was no trouble getting these two to be sweet and kissy-kissy with one another. Lucky for me, it also wasn't too difficult to get them climbing and having fun on some of the sculptural and playground pieces throughout the park!

As summer evenings in Houston often are, it was hot and humid. Winding down, we wandered over to the ice cream trucks, and the two of them got some tasty treats.

Their wedding is next weekend, I can't wait!

Michelle + Kyle... Getting Married!

Michelle and I go way back... way back to my days of being single, Aggie Happy Hours, Kay's and the Firehouse... days of being young and maybe just a little bit crazy (sorry, Pat Green, I stole your song line).

I'm happy to say that she's getting married this weekend to the love of her life, Kyle. I'll be attending as a guest (score! Don't have to work!), but promise to capture a few beautiful moments to share before I dance the night away on the arm of my handsome husband. Nothing like returning to Aggieland for a visit... I might even stop by campus and photograph a little bit of nostalgia for myself.

I'll have her bridal portraits to share soon as well, but can't reveal until after the big day.

For their engagement shoot, we headed over to Discovery Green (I'm becoming a regular at this location-- everyone falls in love with the big colorful walls) before it got too terribly hot... we did well! Best wishes to the beautiful bride and handsome groom this weekend... can't wait to celebrate with you!

I did manage to get THE shot during this session, the shot that every young single Aggie dreams of... awww... Michelle and Kyle's Aggie rings together with the engagement ring. WHOOP!

Tracey & Ed's Engagement Portraits

Tracey and Ed met me one Friday morning (the same day they'd planned to go grab their marriage license! WHEEE!) in Galveston for some couples portraits to display at their upcoming wedding. Having met Tracey, I knew we'd have some gorgeous flowing red hair against the great colors in Historic Galveston... but I'd never noticed what beautiful eyes she has. I hadn't met Ed, but I'd heard he's a jokester who never smiles in pictures, and that I had my work cut out for me.

Well... obviously Tracey brings out the best in her man. We have handsome and happy Ed, insanely gorgeous Tracey, and some cute little lovey dovey glances. I shot their wedding but it isn't quite ready for display yet-- I can tell you that Tracey looked absolutely classic and Ed made one great-looking groom... more to come on that!

Alma & Stevan in the Park

You may recognize Alma & Stevan from their wedding that was blogged about back in April. The following session was a post-wedding shoot, which they opted for when time constraints kept them from scheduling engagement portraits before the wedding.

It was a beautiful cool evening downtown. With the wedding planning over and the two of them having settled back into the everyday grind, this was a welcome outing for some silly fun-- in wedding garb! They were so happy and relaxed as they toured the park hand in hand, smiling, giggling, maybe even a little bit of dancing and prancing here and there : )

These are the kinds of shots that are often difficult to get on the actual wedding day, since there's such a tight schedule to keep and so many of your family members and friends are demanding your attention... not to mention brides and grooms are in "my head is spinning!" mode. Planning more relaxed session afterward is an excellent way to grab those shots you wish you'd had time to take on the wedding day!

Marcie & Ed... triumphing over rain!

Like most brides, Marcie was reallllly excited about taking her engagement portraits with her husband to be... but there was one problem, thunderstorms (we'd planed an outdoor downtown session). Did that stop Marcie? Oh no it did not. She went out and bought some cute rain boots and umbrellas because she was not going to let a little thing like the weather keep her from having fun and taking some great pictures! I will admit, I was looking a little forward to shooting in the rain (though I assure you my camera gear was not).

And now... Marcie has some cute rain boots and umbrellas that she never had to use for the photo session-- because the rain stopped miraculously just in time for the shoot. It was absolutely perfect weather for photography; my infinitely flattering and shadow-free diffused light coming through the cloudcover. A gift from the heavens. We must have allll done something nice that day!

I'm not gonna lie... it was cold. It was reallllly cold. It was somewhat reminiscent of me and my husband's trek out to the Las Vegas Red Rocks one December evening with Studio ATG (we had some really cool portraits done of us). Girl in dress freezing her rear off, changing clothes, walking around in giant high heels, grabbing for the overcoat every time we weren't shooting... Freezing assistant... Photographer jumping up and down to keep warm from time to time. Hey, it's great for snuggly-couple pictures, though. Nobody's makeup is melting on days like this.

I have to say it was worth it! Marcie is thrilled with the images, and so am I. Anyone who knows anything about me knows I think there is basically no such thing as "too much" where happy color is concerned; bright popping colors are my favorite kind of eye candy. Eureka, I have found it-- one of the most colorful places in Houston to shoot! Discovery Green Park. Not only are there these great little buildings that house the parking garage stairs (Synchronicity of Color), but the fun Jean Debuffet Monument au Fantome sculpture that used to be over on Louisiana. Among other things, I also enjoyed the big sloping hill o' yellow snapdragons.

We went over to Main Street as well, for a little of "the usual", which alwasy turns out well with the lovebirds. Warren's Bar is truly one of my favorite classic backdrops-- I love a bright green wall. Hear that Warren? Don't you even think about re-painting my wall a different color!

One final note-- please do your best to notice Marcie's shoe wardrobe throught the session. She brought a suitcase of shoes. A SUITCASE! Kindred souls, we are. If only I could take a whole suitcase of shoes every time I travel.