I've been in a photography cocoon for the last week, virtually shut-off from the outside world while attending Texas School here in Dallas, but last Saturday - the night before it started - photographer friend Lauren came into town a day early and talked her long-time childhood friend Ron into getting a little dressed up to do a just-for-fun mock engagement shoot.  Since Kylie and I's vacation to London/Ireland was ixnayed by the Iceland Volcanoay, I had a couple free weeks prior to Texas School open and was looking to do just go out and shoot for fun and try a few things.  Lauren and Ron volunteered to be the proverbial guinea pigs, and they were a blast and totally willing to do anything.  We had a ton o' fun just roaming around Deep Ellum just before and then after dark, and we eneded up with some really cool images. If you're a photographer and you haven't taken the time to get outta the rut and photograph something just for fun lately, I can't encourage you enough to carve out some time and just get out and do it.  For me, these kind of exercises recharge my passion for this photographic journey I'm on.  It helps me reconnect with the reason I got into this industry in the first place... because I love to create images.  These sessions are a time for me to play and experiment, and with that comes growth.  Sure, not everything works out, and occasionally there are a few ideas that are epic fails, but even in failure there is growth; discovering/knowing what doesn't work is just as important as knowing what does.  Sooo... break out your calendar and pencil in some play time where you can shoot for you.  What's holding you back? Anywho, where was I?  Oh, right... play time images with Lauren and Ron.  Here's my favorites from our mock engagement session last Saturday.

Man, Lauren's got some killer eyes.

Check out Lauren's killer pink leopard print shoes.  Yowsa.

Here's a pullback shot showing how the next couple images were lit.  Pretty simple set-up with an off-camera Nikon SB-900 + 22" Larson octagon softbox triggered by a Pocket Wizard on one side and a silver reflector on the other to provide a little backside fill light. I'd like to give a shout out to Mollie and Sara for helping out on this shoot.  It got dark about 30 minutes after we started, and I wouldn't have been able to do this session without them.  Thanks, ladies!  BTW, Mollie is another photographer from a forum I'm part of, and it was great to finally get to meet her - and about 23 other people on the forum - at Texas School.

Zoinks, Shaggy!

For this last image, I just had Mollie position the off-camera flash & softbox behind Lauren and Ron, and Sara held the reflector in front of them on camera right to bounce some light back in.  Loved how this came out.

Now that the proverbial cats out of the bag and they've seen their images tonight at their viewing session, I'm stoked to share the Pearson's family images here on the blog.  Stacey and Paige came in tonight, and we munched on some cookies (and some cookie dough for me before they got there - shhh...), sat back and enjoyed the show. Paige and Stacey are truly the reason I enjoy what I do so much.  Just. Good. Peoples.  Big hearts and even bigger faith.  Due to some truly heartbreaking circumstances where Stacey lost his brother Gregg to cancer in 2003 and Paige unexpectedly lost her best friend Jenny to a sudden illness just a couple weeks ago, they are so genuinely appreciative of what these images mean for their family now and in the years to come.  I love people who get it, and Stacey & Paige get it.  These are precious and fleeting moments in their lives - in all of our lives - and they now have some memoirs to remember this time in their journey.  It's certainly a sweet moment for Paige because being a photographer and, of course, the designated family photographer, she's rarely in the photos with Stacey and the kids. Sorry for the trip down Sentimental Lane... maybe it's the sappy music playing on Pandora as I type this post. I can't say enough good things, though, about this family. We had beautiful weather, beautiful light, and a beautiful time just playing outdoors at historic Chestnut Square in McKinney on Saturday.  Here are some of my favorites from our time with the Pearsons.

Sweet moment with Stacey and Emaline.

I was having a staring contest with Parker.  Look at that face.  I had no chance.

Love the expression on Paige's face in this Spanish lesson with little Bowden.

Emaline's a natural in front of the camera.  She could bust out a few princess looks on command... or not on command.

One of my favorite images to go along with the black and white image from yesterday's post.

Did I say we had amazing light??  While I emphasized the color in this image, the light and shadow on Parker's face and the catchlights in his eyes are all natural.

Emaline's eyes are uh-may-zing.

Such a quirky image with Parker's dead pan look and Emaline's expression... priceless.

Parker's got his serious, GQ look nailed.  And I love the golden sun backlighting him as it was setting.

I didn't realize it at the time I took it, but this serendipitously turned out to be such a meaningful image for Paige.  Her friend Jenny's daughter, Malaya, was given a buterfly necklace by her school, and Jenny was so touched by the idea and what it repressented that she bought a butterfly necklace for herself, and she decided to wear it to brign a little bit of Jenny into the session.  Parker was also very close to Jenny, and at some point after she went home to Jesus, Paige explained to Parker and the kids that the butterfly necklace was symbolic of Jenny being in a cocoon for now but that one day when they see her again in heaven she will have blossomed into a beautiful butterfly.  Paige teared up when she saw this image and how sweetly Parker was holding the butterfly so sweetly.  I feel fortunate to have been in there in that moment to capture it.

A little off-camera flash to wrap up our session

Thanks, Stacey and Paige for allowing us the opportunity to create these memories of you guys and the kiddos!

Hello, blog.  It's been quite some time since we've seen each other, I know.  In fact, it's been 2 weeks since I last posted with you - the longest break between posts since I started blogging 3 years ago.  And frankly, well, it's been two of the best weeks I've had in a loooong time in regards to feeling rested.  Don't feel like you've been singled out, though; I've been neglecting/ignoring Facebook nearly as much, and I've enjoyed it equally as much. We had some invited guests stay with us this weekend, and one that was not-so-invited.  Claire and Jason Drumm and their two precious little girls, Sophia and Alaythea, came into town Friday night, and we had planned to spend the weekend with them just hanging out and doing a little family photography.  Unfortunately, I think the flu bug also decided to crash the party, and by early Saturday evening Claire, the girls, and myself were all feeling less than stellar.  As a result, our visit was cut a little short and they ended up having to head back to the Houston area Saturday night, but not before we squeezed in a little homemade pasta for dinner. We first met Jason and Claire last year when Claire contacted me out of the blue to ask if - as a surprise birthday gift for Jason - we could meet up for dinner in Dallas and give Jason and I a chance to talk a little photography.  We hit it off that night and have stayed in touch since, and Claire and Kylie worked out a time for them to come up and visit before they head out to LA where Jason will attend seminary school for the next 4 years.  These two are a true picture of what it means to love and serve each other, and we feel blessed that we have been directed to cross paths with them.  I only wish we had gotten to spend a little more time together this weekend. I'll post a couple of our 37-degree outdoor family session images later, but for now here's a few from our lazy Saturday morning sitting around the dining room table... before the runny noses, soar throats and coughing set in.  I just love this image of Claire and sweet little Alaythea.  I think this was right before her cheeks and nose started turning deep red throughout the rest of the day.

Ands here's Jason & Sophia practicin' their Picasso skills.  Great father-daughter moment.

Noah and his posse of 2x2's made the trip as well.

And on a side note, Kylie made some killer cupcakes for our small Super Bowl gathering on Sunday night, and she even topped 'em with some blue & white football tough guys to show her less-than-subtle allegiance to her home-state Colts.  Unfortunately they weren't enough to bring home the W.  My hat's off to the well-deserving Saints for a great game, though.

My friend's Debi & Francis are preparing to welcome home their first little one in just a couple days.  At eight and half months pregnant, Debi looks pretty fantastic.  I mean, when we showed up at their house to create a few images of her belly, I was expecting Debi to look, well, more pregnant.  She's always been physically fit, but if I didn't see her little bump, I'd never guess she was pregnant.  Yes, she looks that amazing. Here's just a couple from our quick session.

Debi & Francis have 3 Weimaraners, and after a little coaxing, we got the 2 youngest ones to jump in and break in the crib a bit for the baby.

I'm waaaay behind on blogging lately, but I'm finally getting around to posting some great sessions I've had recently, including friends Chris & Lindsay.  You can catch the initial post when I met up with them back in Ohio here. And now, some more of my favorite images from their killer session.  I. Miss. Autumn. In. Ohio.

Tucker!  Such a great dog.

Photo interuption.  Tucker needed a little attention before going on with the session.