Merry Christmas to all!

I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

And to all my customers, clients, and friends (by the way, many of those categories overlap)I would like to offer a heartfelt "Thank You!" for all your wonderful support this past year.

May you all have a safe and happy holiday season!

Pete

Seniors!

Just a few quick clicks from a session I helped out on the other day. A friend of mine asked if would like to give him a hand as he worked with these guys and since it sounded like some fun I joined in. We had a blast and these guys kept us laughing the entire time. Here's a couple from the session.

Christmas at Silver Creek

For the folks who attended the Silver Creek Christmas Party, I have put on the sales site some of the images from the playday held prior to the party. You can get to the site by clicking the Online Sales link on the sidebar.

The party was a great time! Thanks to everyone, especially Amy and Mixon, for putting to all together.

Sorry for the big lapse...

I have been out of town for a few days on assignment and still have a bunch of things I need to get caught up on, including this blog!

My apologies...

Some from the weekend...

As I had mentioned, it was going to be a busy weekend and it turned out to be about as expected. Here are a few images from some of the different events and sessions.

First off... Friday Night lights!

The Coppell Cowboys faced the Colleyville Heritage Panthers at Texas Stadium. Colleyville Heritage would go on to win this game 52-20. A tough end of the season for Coppell.











Then I had a great portrait session on Saturday morning with Catherine and her mother, Angela.



Later Saturday evening I went over to visit my friends at Vetro Art Glass in Grapevine. You probably have seen some other posts with pictures from my visits with these guys. Well, on Saturday they had their annual "Truth or Consequences" auction. It's quite an event and I would recommend it to anyone! People won some great pieces of art just for knowing some art glass trivia.



And for those pieces that the selected person didn't know the answer, it went up for auction. If the reserve price wasn't met, well....

As they say in the UK....It was a smashing good time!

A busy weekend coming up!

Well folks, since I had a few spare moments I thought I'd take a minute and remind everyone that it's still not to late to get those last minute custom Christmas cards made! I work with a great company who can still get these personalized cards out in time for the holiday season. Give me a call and let's get your family scheduled!

Now, with that out of the way. There are lots of fun projects coming up. Family portraits, high school play-off football at Texas Stadium, and several corporate sessions and of course, another seminar. I just love going to these learning sessions. This one is about some advanced lighting techniques that are used in wedding photography. With wedding season fast approaching it's time to brush up on the challenges surrounding shooting these events.

That's it for now! I'll post some from these events when I get a chance...

Another busy day....

When it rains, it pours! Did you know that is the slogan for Morton Salt? Just a piece of trivia from my History Channel television watching...

Yesterday was a pretty busy day and I pretty much criss-crossed the metroplex to take care of everything, but I was able to manage to get all the items on my to-do list checked off. The best part of the day was my last client, Tom. Tom had contacted me about doing some casual portraits because it had been quite some time since he had had any done of himself and thought maybe it was time to get one. Naturally I agreed, but not just because it's what I do, but because time flies so fast that we sometimes look up and realize we're five or ten years down the road, our family has grown and maybe someone has moved out of the area. Maybe it's our children away at school or our new job transfers us. Having pictures of your family together with you, be it at school or in your new house will certainly help make it your "home" much quicker. There's something about seeing your loved ones daily that just makes everything better.

Take the opportunity of the holidays, when your family gathers, to have a portrait done. They really don't take that long and the memory that it creates will last a lifetime.

Tom, here's just a quick shot from the session yesterday. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to work with you, I really enjoyed it and I'll talk to you soon.

Friday Night Lights!

The cooler temperatures are here and that really makes it feel like football weather! Last night I was in Coppell to help out a friend who among other things, shoots for the Coppell High School Cowboys. Tom is a great guy so when he asked if I could help out, I was more than happy to do so.

It was Senior Night, a night where they honor the athletes who are seniors and whose days of high school athletics, especially football, are winding down. It was really nice to see all the parents out on the field to take a moment with their young man or young woman who has been participating in athletics, or band, or drill team.

And then, it was time for football!







Coppell was hosting the Flower Mound Jaguars and it was quite a battle. The Jaguars jumped out to an early lead and by halftime things weren't looking to well for the Cowboys. But after halftime, and I'm sure a spirited lecture by the Coach, the Cowboys came out fighting. For a while it looked as though the Cowboys would overcome the deficit and although they narrowed the margin, they couldn't pull out the win tonight. They still have an opportunity for the post season and I hope that if they go on, that I will get a chance to join Tom and follow their progress.



All in all it was a lot of fun and seeing the good sportsmanship that both teams displayed was really something. Best of luck to both teams as they near the end of their schedules!

Hello again folks!

Yes, I know I have been slipping a bit on the blog end of things. It's been a crazy week! My apologies....


As I have said before, I think that education is very important no matter what you do and photography is certainly no different. Today was another one of those times where I had a chance to attend a local seminar by a respected photographer, Don Barnes. We had a great time watching Don demonstrate various techniques and work in his studio, It certainly gave me some great inspiration! He has some one of a kind equipment that he has built and seeing it in action was great. Don, thanks so much for sharing your time and knowledge. It is such a pleasure to work with photographers who are willing to teach others from their experience.

Additionally we had a chance to meet a few of Don's clients and even take a few shots ourselves. I'd like to say thanks to all of those folks for sharing their time today and especially to Dianne and her daughter, Jenny, who were kind enough to let me post their picture to the blog. Jenny had just had her senior pictures taken and she was such a natural that Don asked her if she would mind coming back to help out as a model for the seminar. Once things started rolling, we asked Dianne if she would mind jumping in for a few and she did just great also. What a team!

Again...thanks everyone!!

Back from Albuquerque!

I went out to Albuquerque last weekend to meet my family and attend the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta . Although the weather limited some of the events, we still had a great time!





Along with watching the balloons we traveled up to the top of Sandia Peak on the worlds longest tramway. What a view! And if the view from the tram or the top isn't enough for you, just look at the picture I took of one of their maintenance workers riding on top of the tram car! They do daily maintenance on the towers and cables and these folks are up there every day, no matter the weather!




I was also able to take a bit of time to photograph a fantastic young woman, Krysta. This is just one quick shot from the session and there are so many more wonderful images to go through it's going to be tough to pick a favorite. Thanks Krysta!




Well, that's about it for now. Lot's of catch up to do from being gone!

Deborah and Alan

It was another crazy week, but this time for a bit of a different reason. My best friend, Alan, got married over the weekend and I had the honor of being the best man. It was a beautiful day on Saturday when Deborah and Alan exchanged vows near Cedar Creek Lake. I am so happy for them both!

I only took a few quick shots of the couple because of my duties as Best Man, but I certainly wanted to have one for the blog!

Deborah and Alan..... Congratulations and best wishes!!

Some from the weekend

Hello folks,

Here are a couple shots from over the weekend. On Friday I was in Coppell at the Coppell High School Cowboys vs. Lewisville High School football game. I was helping out a friend who usually covers the Cowboys games but Tom was out of town so I jumped in and lent a hand. It was their homecoming and it was a fun night for all. The Lariettes had a special halftime show that included their fathers in a special dance routine that brought huge cheers form everyone. And of course, the crowing of the Homecoming Queen was a special moment that won't soon be forgotten. Tom will be posting images from all of the others that were helping cover that game shortly. Please click on Tom's link above for more information.






Then on Saturday I spent a few hours at the ranch where I board my horse, taking some shots of folks participating in the playday that was being held. It was a little hot, but I think everyone still had a great time working with their horses. For the folks that were interested in having their picture taken, just click on the horse picture below to be taken to the gallery where you can purchase a print if you would like. These will be available for a short time, so please order early. Thanks!

Art Glass

Yesterday I did some work on a project with my friend David Gappa from Vetro Art Glass. I had done some shooting at David's studio a while back and now I am working with him to document a few of their larger custom installations. The one below is in the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders located in Fort Worth. It is a beautiful piece that is nearly six feet in height. This is just one of the shots I tried, there are many more that I need to go through. Shooting pieces like this is very challenging because the glass is so reflective that it is difficult to eliminate the glare. While you need a little to help showcase the "life" in the piece, too much is just not good.

Here's one of the shots from yesterday with a frame layout I had been playing with.

From "Where were you?" to "Where the heck has he been?"!

Sorry it's been a while folks...

There has been just sooo much going on that I have been slipping on the updates. My apologies...

Let's see, since I last updated there has been quite a few fun events: a triathlon, a 10K/20K race, a student vs. alumni rugby match at the University of Dallas during their 50th year celebration, a quick shot of the Sweet Hearts of the Rodeo in Fort Worth (Those ladies were a blast!) and even a trip to the
Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. Sometimes you need to stop and smell the roses and you can certainly find some there!

Here's some shots from the past few weeks.

Where were you?

Just a week ago I was visiting New York and seeing some old friends. As I snapped a picture of a changed skyline my heart was heavy with the thoughts of how the world has changed since that fateful day five years ago.

I hope that everyone takes a moment today to remember all those that perished in the attacks and their families who were left behind. Additionally, my thoughts turn to the men and women both here and abroad who are out there putting their lives on the line to help keep us safe. From the military members and emergency personnel, to the people behind the scenes that often go unmentioned, thank you all for your sacrifices that allow us to continue to live free in this great country.

Surreal Landscape

Well, I was playing around with my infrared converted camera a bit during this trip to NY. Infrared film has been around for quite some time as has infrared filters for film and digital cameras. These filters allow for some interesting effects but they are kind of tough to use. Enter the converted digital camera. Long story short, on some cameras you can do some "surgery" that allows you to take pictures of the infrared light spectrum. "Why?" you ask. Well, because you can I guess is the best answer. No, really you can get some neat effects and the huge bonus digital conversion gives you is the ability to handhold the camera and shoot more of less normally. Using filters it is next to impossible to do this.

Anyway, I'm beginning the journey to use my new camera effectively. Like any new piece of equipment it takes some use to get the hang of it. Here's a quick shot from today's attempt. Nothing special, but it was a lot of fun!

The overlook on Highway 52 near Ellenville, NY.

A wet weekend!

Well, the NY area got some of the remnants of Ernesto so it was a rainy weekend. And when it wasn't rainy it was cloudy and gray. I was still able to get most of my projects completed and still found a few minutes to swing by some of the places I remembered from when I lived in the NY area. Before I get into that, I first want to say a big thanks and congratulations to Cortney and Nance who have announced their wedding plans for next year and have asked me to be their photographer. Thank you both, I am really looking forward to working with you on your special day!!


One of the places I used to like to visit was a place called The Ranch It is always a good time to swing by there and watch the skydivers jump from their aircraft and float to the ground and today was no different. I've thought about doing it, but after years of watching guys jump from the back of KC-130's when I was in the Marine Corps, I think I'm better off just watching!


Anyway, these guys were busy today! They had two of their Twin Otter aircraft shuttling jumpers up to 13,000 feet and then diving toward the ground for a landing to get ready to do it again. These aircraft are pretty impressive. Very powerful for their weight they jump right off the ground and get these jumpers into position in no time.

New York, NY

Where has the summer gone? It's almost September already! Well, I am in New York at the moment, mixing business and pleasure. I just love when that happens! Yesterday (it’s today now here in NY) I was able to meet up with several old friends from when I lived in New York. It’s always a blast to see where our roads have taken us. One of my dear friends, Dora, has just retired after over 50 years of service with General Electric. Dora helped me out of more than one jam when I worked with her and I was very happy to have been able to see her on her last day with the company. Dora, thank you so much!

Last weekend I was able to attend a workshop given by one of DFW's, if not the country's, preeminent portrait photographers, Fran Reisner. As with any profession, ongoing training is vital for so many reasons. Whether it is to learn a new technique, networking, or just to get some fresh ideas, going to a workshop can really be rewarding. In this case it was fantastic! Fran shared with us not only her techniques and practices, but also her philosophy behind what goes into her work that makes it so incredible and in demand. It was a great experience with a fun group of folks and I look forward to adapting much of what Fran taught us for my clients so that I may provide them even more value. Thanks Fran!

(Don't wonder too much about the bears, they're just props, we didn't all just happen to show up with one!)

Getting ready to travel!

I have a trip to New York next week and I am really looking forward to getting back up there to see some old friends. It has certainly been a while. Where does the time go?

Speaking of friends... I was having lunch with my friend Alan and out of the blue in walks an old buddy of ours from the Marine Corps days! It had been probably eight or nine years at least since we has seen Chris, but some things never change.... We picked right up where we had left off and found that Chris will be moving to Texas shortly. Small world....


Take care!

Pete

I'm back!

I had been out of town for a few days and I am now starting to catch up around here. For you dragboat folks who ordered prints, I will get them going right away.

Here's a quick shot from my recent trip...

PLEASE NOTE: Cowtown Dragboat images

Just a quick note for anyone interested in the dragboat images: I will be unable to process those orders between the 11th and the 20th. If you are interested in ordering, please understand that your order will be processed as soon as possible. Your order is important to me and I apologize for any inconvenience.

Thank you!

Cowtown Nationals are online!

Basic sizes and set-ups are available. If there is something special you want, feel free to drop me a note with the picture number and what you are looking for and I will be in touch to discuss your needs.

Click on the picture to be taken go to the entire gallery!

Thanks!

One hot weekend!

Wow.... It was 100+ both Saturday and Sunday here in Fort Worth. Add to that some dragboats capable of doing 200+ MPH and you really come to understand the word "HOT!"

There were a few times when I was grumbling about the heat, but then I would take a break and hit the lemonade concession and that would help take the edge off. I really felt bad for those racers in their protective gear. That must have been a very uncomfortable wait for their turn at the starting line. Here's a few more from today's races. I will post a link to the complete series in a day or two so please check back.

For those teams that were nice enough to give me a lift with my gear back and forth, you know who you are...THANK YOU!!!

Have a great week everyone!

Pete