This past weekend I had the chance to meet up with some photografriends in Austin to talk a little shop, do a little shooting, eat a lotta food, and have a whole lotta fun. It was kinda like photo camp, minus the "one time, at [photo] camp" stories. We all met at a photography workshop last year, and we've kept in touch since and decided it would be fun to get together for a little educational R...R. It was kinda like being part of a band of paparazzi for the weekend... except the closest we got to a celebrity was around midnight on Friday night when we watched "He's Just Not That Into You" on the plasma screen. Obviously Chad and I were not well represented in the movie selection process. Oh, and did I mention that my rock star friend Karen found us a $2.7M dollar lakeside house to stay in for the weekend. Yah, ridiculous, right? It's for sale in case you're interested and have some spare change lying around. Let's go on a tour, shall we? Here's a view from the upper deck on the back of the house looking down onto the private dock.

The main floor had an open floor plan. Here's the circular dining room table for 10 and part of the kitchen.

The cool lights above the dining room table by day...

... and now by night.

Our little entertainment system in the living room.

More of the living room.

The down stairs living room and kitchen.

I stayed in one of the kiddos rooms

Another bedroom. There were 4 in all.

The stairs from the top deck on the back of the house going down to the lower level deck.

Looking up to the upper deck.

Did I mention the private dock... with ducks. BTW, that's Chad.

Here's the gang in a faux-Abercrombie image. Back row: Yours truly, Chad Slander Middle row: Sharon Sheara, Michelle Neely Poole, Melissa Andries, Karen Beyer Front row: Kimbrali Boyd, Monica Paredes

We had a little view from the dock.

Oh yeah, here's the back of the house looking from the dock.

Chad playing with Lightroom... at 3:30am.

Still not sure how this thing never tipped over with 3 women drivers.

Chad + off-camera flash = GQ.

Karen + off-camera flash = better looking than Chad.

This is what happens at photo camp... geekers.

I'd wager Karen's camera weighs more than she does.

It was grueling day 1, but we made the best of the accommodations. (BTW, this was an 18 second exposure on a tripod).

More posts to come from this trip, so stay tuned...

A few days ago had another session with the Morriss famiily. A couple years ago Janice, Christian and then-only-daughter Remi were one of the first families brave enough to trust me to capture a few memories as a paid photographer. In fact, they were one of the first few posts on my first blog. Things are a little different since I last saw this young, budding family; most notable is the recent installment of another beautiful baby girl. Riley is new on the scene and now chasing in the footsteps of her big sister, Remi. Here's a few images from our time at the new Croatian themed retail development complex called Adriatica in Frisco. First up, Remi looking, well, adorable.

And little Riley looked adorable with this bow in her hair...

... and with her hat...

... and she loved tickle-me Elmo.

Loved the Pebbles look Remi had goin'.

Love this image... both Remi and Riley are old enough to know "just one more" means nothing coming from my mouth.

Dad tossing Remi like a salad.

That's right, no extra charge. I ask you... who else is offering fun images and a complimentary case of all the itching you could ever want?? Be one of the first 9 callers, and I might even throw in some steroid cream just for fun. Any marketing 101 class will tell you to differentiate yourself from others, and in this saturated photography market, I believe I've found my niche. Anybody can hand out a lollipop for the kiddos, but it takes some long hours and some pretty crafty thinkin' to come up with those diamond-in-the-rough ideas like free chiggers for the entire family with every portrait session. Since visuals make everything easier to understand, here's a picture of what you could be lucky enough to get if you decide to book a session.

Funny thing is, I was trying to blame this one on the poor dog. I woke up at about 4 in the morning Monday and felt like my feet and ankles were on fire. When I finally got up a couple hours later, I was convinced Mia had brought the flea circus inside with her for a night cap, and the party had moved to my extremities. I tore all the sheets off the bed looking for evidence to support my hypothesis, but I came up with zilch. And while I was scratching anything within reach, Kylie and Mia were as comfortable and as smitten as could be... almost as if they were mocking my little case of drama. I suffered through the work day on Monday, but by this morning, my little tube of Target anti-itch creme had been rendered a joke by my mysterious foe, and the red dots ... welts were spreading. I called and got an appointment with my doctor this afternoon because I was about to scratch off a foot, and both she and the nurse that first came into the room laughed at me when they said I chiggers. Very unprofessional of them, but whatever. Coulda been worse... like if they were laughing during my annual physical exam where I have to do the who "turn your head and cough" gig, know what I mean? On a side note, while I have been attacked in several areas besides the feet ... ankles, I'm happy to report that the chigger nation was kind enough to spare the most sensitive areas. Is that TMI? Anywho, I'll try to bring home this train wreck of a post, and I'll skip the rest of the boring details other than the part where a light bulb went off in my head and I wondered if my friend ... client, Becky, and her two boys and her mom also were also now hosting some chigger friends after our session Saturday night where I had them all traipsing through knee-high grass. I finally got ahold of Becky, and she confirmed that her and the boys and her mom were sitting around the table scratching Sunday night. The funny part was that her 12 year old son, Michael, abruptly yelled out, "We're diseased!" I feel terrible that they've all got the itchies now, but I told Becky that when she sees all her cool images, all those itchy red dots will be a fond memory. More to come in a future post, here's an example of an image we got from the fields. Actually, if you look closely enough, you might be able to see the chiggers partying in the grass.