Weekend Recap

the weekend review// Friday Johnny and I drove up to Llano for Tiff and Jason's rehearsal then ate an early anniversary dinner at a restaurant on the lake in Marble Falls. We both love the water very much, so it was a peaceful evening to be away from the glare of computer screens. Saturday was a beautiful wedding with Tiffany's incredible family and friends. Sunday was a day of getting back into the swing of things and catching up on laundry. And yesterday I drove up to Round Rock to shoot action sports with an old friend: Stephanie!!
Stephanie and I joined TSS (kids sports photography) around the same time in late 2005/early 2006. We both own our own photography companies now-- she owns a franchise of TSS. So she had me along for some action photos of baseball tournaments. I loved it. You can turn your mind off, stand just off third base and follow the plays.

I'm not a sports fanatic by any means, in fact, the only sport I semi-follow is the Spurs because of Johnboy. Outside of that, I could care less. But photographing a sport takes patience, timing timing and timing and have I mentioned good timing? ;) Thanks Stephanie for having me along. I know I still have much to learn, but it is a very enjoyable change of pace for this wedding photog.

the obvious// It isn't Monday, but the weekends/weeks just run together for me these days. ;)

[Photos from Ashley and Ryan's e-sess I'm finishing up. Aren't they a marvelous couple?]

Tiffany + Jason {Sneak Peek!}

Johnny and I drove out to Marble Falls Friday for Tiffany and Jason's rehearsal and 4th of July wedding, the ceremony was in Llano and the reception 40 minutes away in Marble Falls!

I will admit, I was looking forward to the fireworks at Tiffany's reception! I guess I just forgot to ask earlier, but I didn't find out until Saturday morning that the fireworks in Marble Falls were canceled altogether!! Man, I was bummed. So no pretty fireworks photo ops. :(

But Johnny once again kicked butt on his d90. Here's a shot he captured during "man and wife" time. Jason is so sweet to Tiffany...


Like I said, there were no fireworks at the wedding but on our drive home down 281 we caught not one but TWO town's fireworks shows!! Can you believe it? It was really really cool. We hit the last ten minutes of Blanco's (I think we were in Blanco??) show, pulled over along a bridge, rolled our windows down, propped the cameras on the dash board and clicked away.... not soon after we pulled over there were 5 or 6 other cars on the bridge pulled over too! Until a policeman ran us all off seconds before the grand finale. hehe


Anyway. It was a beautiful night, all around. More photos from Tiffany and Jason's wedding to come!

On a different note, I feel I'm waaay overdue for an {inkedFingers} Cupcake Party!!

Great news: I've got 2 dates set, a Sunday to consider in August and September. Still thinking about the location, but this one is sure to be bigger and better then the last 2 combined! And girlies, your fiances/husbands are invited this time! It's time we've let the guys in to our little secret. ;) Don't know what a cupcake party is? Just hit the label "cupcake party" below for past delightfulness.

Have a great rest of your Holiday weekend! And to everyone who already wished Johnny and I a happy 2-yr wedding anniversary by phone, email and fb-- THANK YOU!! It was really a lot of fun spending time with Tiffany, Jason and their incredible families yesterday!

Kelly + Darryl | {inkedFingers} Cinema

Thank you Kelly and Darryl for waiting sooo long for this. Finally. ;)

It really is just as enjoyable creating these videos as it is shooting them!

I ask you, Lovelies, for your candid feedback. This is the only way we can improve!!! It is our first integration of {iF} cinema with our photography. Do you like the blend? Would you rather see just video? Are the transitions too choppy? Thanks for taking the time to watch it!

(love)

Kheira + Evan {Married!}

Happy Anniversary Tam and Ram!

Good morning beautiful Brides,

Did you know? If you are an {inkedFingers} bride and we had the incredible opportunity to photograph your wedding, I will photograph your 1-yr anniversary for FREE?!

Do you know why I shoot your 1-yr anniversary for free? Because I love ya that much. And you get a free 8x10 out of it. And if you're marriage and undying devotion has lasted that long, you deserve something free. And you have the opportunity to buy gallery wraps and Christmas cards and Hanukkah cards and everyday greeting cards and bookmarks and calendars with those incredible photos!

Johnny and I went to San Francisco last year for our 1-yr wedding anniversary and we had Juliet Nicole photograph us on the coast. It was so much fun! Those are photographs we will forever cherish!!!! Thank you Juliet!

What is an {iF} anniversary session? It's a one hour shoot. One location. One 8x10. Because your One year anniversary only happens once. ;)

I get to talk all of this up because May 30 was Tami and Ramiro's one year anniversary. ;) They just got back from an awesome cruise and here they are showcasing their tans and undying love..

Call me Lovelies!
({iF} Anniv Session must be booked within 30 calendar days of your anniversary. Based upon photographer's limited availability.)

Here are a few more of my favorites from their wedding that Johnny and I took:

To Land, My Love

Good Monday morning! Because so much happens over the weekend I am going to pattern part of my blog from now on after my Lovely brides, see here and here for examples. ;)

the weekend review//
I actually made it to the lake yesterday with Johnny and Elle! I didn't bring my camera to prove it -- I think this was the first time I went without some form of picture-taking!!-- but we rented a double kayak, shoved Eliot in the middle and had sooooo much fun! Maybe I'll invite all of my brides kayaking one of these hot summery Sunday afternoons! If you saw a crazy very white couple trying to hoist their 60 lb golden retriever into their kayak, that was us!!!! We paddled all the way down to the bridge, past the railroad tracks, pulled over onto the banks and let Elle play with the other doggies for some time. But boy was it a long way paddling back! The bright blue sky and water lapping against the sides of the kayak, the smoldering summer sun and sunscreen dripping off of my face-- it doesn't get much better then that. ;)

the obvious//
I know I'm seriously behind on blogging the last few weeks and this week I'll finally catch up! John, Stephanie and I had the privilege of shooting Jill and Allen on Saturday at the Sun City Social Center in Georgetown and ooouuuu the party! Here is a sneak peek with some external flash goodness:

More to come!

And because it's Monday and we all love Mondays, here is a poem I wrote a few years ago to start your week off on a positive note. I bet you didn't know I was a rhymer, did ya? I might start posting a poem every Monday... maybe...

To all of my brides and their fiances. A love poem.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___

To land, my love, let's tie our hearts
To crystal creeks and snow
Let's watch the orange sun rise and set
And feel the north wind blow

Through drought or flood, the land we own
Will never fail to be
The land of "yours and mine"-- of ours
(Let's plant a lot of seeds)

To me, my Love, please tie your heart
To tears and smiles, to life
Let's make a lot of memories
And I'll call myself your wife

Through good or bad times, fights or joy
I'll never fail to be
The love, the life the laugh of yours...
The soil for your seed.

__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___

I will leave you with one of my favorite bridals of the beautiful Ms. Tiffany we took at Star Hill.


Have a fabulous week, Lovelies! More to come!

PS: Dear Milton, You won.

In Life

In life, it's not just the action... but the dream that gives way to action.

Sometimes dreams are all we have, a well-worn thought, an ideal. We hold onto them, supplanting reality with all that we hope for, hoping one day our dreams will... be. As Linda walked closer to Tony down the aisle, a string trio crescendoed in the distance and the anticipation became so palpable, I pressed my eye closer to the lens suppressing a tear.

This is what dreams are made of.


The heat in the garden that day was sweltering. Sweat dripped from all of our brows. But as Tony prayed, a breeze from the South rushed all around us and I was thankful to be in that moment, thankful to have the opportunity to witness two lives becoming one.


A big thank you to Meghann at Simply Chic Weddings for the referral and to Josh at Limelight for the opportunity.

Linda and Tony, congratulations.
I was reminded yesterday of His faithfulness...

What an incredible evening!!

{inkedFingers} Cinematography

I've always been fascinated with great cinematography. I'm not much of a movie buff (Johnny is.) but if the picture is artsy or the camera angles interesting enough to captivate my attention (because my attention span is so short?) I'll watch it. Amelie is definitely one of my faves.

So Johnny and I have tried our hand at videography a couple of times now with the new Nikon D90. It's safe to say we've fallen head over heels with cinematography: Johnny makes a great director and I play the producer. ;) In our case and at this time in our business I don't ever see us calling ourselves "official videographers" because we won't ever put our digital picture-takers down for video cameras. Nooo way. We will, however, capture snippets here and there. We will compile the coverage in a short film with cutesy music and throw in a couple of still images. We won't hire another person to shoot this: THIS IS our love. Making memories.

This video secures our entry into the cinematic world:
Click on: http://vimeo.com/5099543 if video does not appear.