Rain Again!

Wow, I can hardly believe it's raining again this morning. What a week! It sure made everything green and beautiful this Spring. The downside is going to come this Summer/Fall when everything dries out and is ripe for wildfires. The grass is all going to be so tall that it will burn really out of control.

Well, it's afternoon now and it's looking like it's clearing up a little bit. Good thing, too, because we have an incognito engagement session booked for this evening. Should be fun, to stay tuned for pictures!

The iPhone

Just FYI, this is my third post in about 12 hours, so don't miss the two other new ones further down!

I've been enjoying Seth Godin's blog on marketing and business. He writes in a way that it's easy to apply to almost any business or industry and he is always pointing out really great ideas to consider.


This morning, I ran into his blog about the iPhone... Well, actually, it's more about how Verizon and other AT&T competitors are planning to deal with the mass migration to the only company who will be offering the new iPhone. Everyone I know has put off signing a new cell phone contract since December just so they have the option if they want to switch to get the new iPhone that only AT&T will be carrying.

The basic idea is that the competitors are slamming the iPhone! Surprise, surprise! When are people, politicians, businesses, etc. going to realize that doing so kills their own credibility and doesn't help keep any of their current constituency?

Seth makes a great point when he says to point out exactly how much they'll actually be spending to get the new iPhone, plus a new battery next year, plus $70 a month for service... "For that money, here's what you could get with our company!"

I love the iPhone in that it has raised the bar for all of the other cell phone companies and providers. I won't be one of the first to have one (unfortunately!) but hopefully before too long... =)

The Voto Family

Between rain storms, we managed to squeeze in family portraits for the Voto family. It was quite an honor, actually, because they live way down close to the OK/TX border and they were considering a couple of other photographers from Texas since it would have been just as easy to drive to Dallas. Turns out, their Okie loyalty helped tip the scales in our favor and we're hoping to hear that they're glad they made the trip up to OKC. =)

Our proofing company (Pictage) is saying that there may be a delay in posting new proofs. In the mean time, here are a few of our favorites from the session to help hold the Voto's over until the rest are released with the official proofing site.


Campbell was quite the runner! Quick as a wink, he was up and all the way over by the camera before we could get a picture with him in place. I actually liked how it turned out, even though we did end up getting a few good ones with everyone in place.



Here, Campbell and Bella were stalking a duck. It just disappeared over the hill and the two of them are on tippee toes trying to see where the duck went.


Sheer delight with her Daddy! Isn't that cowboy hat just adorable?


I think this may be my favorite from the session. I just love that hat and that she turned for a second to glance back at us.



The coziest feeling in the world! In Daddy's arms...


This was just priceless... On the way back to our cars, we happened across a rabbit that was contentedly eating along the path. I ran wide around behind him to get a few pictures of Campbell on the hunt.


Campbell actually got really close! I think he was about 5 or 6 feet away from the bunny before it took off a-running.


Campbell, of course, was close behind!


Thank you, Voto family, for driving all the way up for your family portraits! It was a pleasure to meet you and your beautiful family and to help you with pictures. We'll let you know as soon as the proofing site comes online and the rest of your pictures are ready to view.

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Actually, I don't mean that -- we can really use the rain for all of our reservoirs and rivers; it just came to mind since it's raining and nursery rhymes are the soundtrack to our everyday life these days. =)

It has seriously been raining for what feels like a couple of weeks now and I love it! Besides the fact that it slows business down for us, which can be a blessing, it's just plain relaxing and makes me want to nap and sleep in. I heard today that we're 10 inches over our average year-to-date rainfall. Pretty impressive following last year's drought that set records (worse than the "dust bowl" years).

Growing up, I hated rain because it meant that we couldn't ride bikes, build forts and run around outside, but my sweet Holly Ann has rubbed off on me and I really enjoy rain and storms now.

This morning, it started really pouring, so I ran out and snapped a few quick pictures trying not to get too wet in the process. You have to click on at least this first one to see the rain drops falling, etc. Kinda cool...


I seriously could have kayaked down the street and the ditch outside our neighborhood was like class III or IV whitewater cascading down into the pond by the golf course. Crazy!


(Hey, Dad, in this next shot you can see a little bit of your ivy starting to grow up the side of the mailbox. Thanks for bringing us some!)


There was so much water, I was hydroplaning and slipping just trying to walk on the driveway in my flip-flops.



The downside to all this rain is that we've rescheduled a couple of our customers multiple times, just getting unlucky week after week. I think the worst case yet was rescheduled from today: the Branson family who happen to also be photographers (Branson Family Photography) were rescheduled for a fourth time today.

Thankfully, everyone has been very understanding and great to work with. We should be all caught up in another week or so.

Global Cooling in the News

On Drudge Report, I just read an amazing article by R. Timothy Patterson, professor and director of the Ottawa-Carleton Geoscience Centre, Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University on the subject of climate change. If you have any interest at all in global and environmental issues, this is a must-read. Here's a link to the article.

And here is a very well-thought-out Financial Times article and interview on the same subject of Global Warming featuring President Vaclav Klaus of the Czech Republic. President Klaus makes a great point that "ambitious environmentalism is the biggest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity."

Mr Klaus writes that “global warming hysteria has become a prime example of the truth versus propaganda problem” and the issue “is more about social than natural sciences and more about man and his freedom than about tenths of a degree Celsius changes in average global temperature.”

I couldn't agree more. Because we, individually, represent such a tiny piece of the universe and such a brief moment in history, we over-rate our own personal experiences and history and feel that we can track trends and possibly effect global changes. In anybody's book (evolutionists, creationists, etc.) the earth is at least 14,000 years old. We've been tracking and measuring temperatures for about the last 100 years and a lot of that is questionable. I like analogies and similes so humor me here...

Even if the earth is just 14,000 years old, 100 years is still like a drop in the bucket. Have you ever spent time on the beach? The waves come in cycles and are so interesting to just sit and watch. My simile is that we're like kids on the beach building sandcastles. Our frame of reference with the ocean is just maybe an hour or so, so we start building just a few feet up from the highest wave. Surely you've done this... But then, as the tide comes in, the waves slowly rise until one crashes right into the sand masterpiece.

It's the same thing, in my opinion, with environmental change. We see such a small view of the history of the global climate that we don't have nearly enough information to really understand the science of it yet. That is one of President Klaus's points as well.

-- UPDATED: 12:23PM 6/21/07 --

I just had to add this as well. It's good structure of thought as it relates to global climate change. It's a direct quote from the 2nd article, quoting President Klaus.

"I ask myself several questions. Let’s put them in the proper sequence:

• Is global warming a reality?

• If it is a reality, is it man-made?

• If it is a reality, is it a problem? Will the people in the world, and now I have to say “globally”, better-off or worse-off due to small increases of global temperature?

• If it is a reality, and if it is a problem, can men prevent it or stop it? Can any reasonable cost-benefit analysis justify anything – within the range of current proposals – to be done just now?

Surprisingly, we can say yes – with some degree of probability – only to the first question. To the remaining three my answer is no. And I am not alone in saying that. We are, however, still more or less the silent or silenced majority."

22% of All Statistics Are Made Up On The Spot

I just received an email forwarded from my Mom that said only 55% of the general population can read the paragraph below since the letters are all out of order. I'm proud to be in the top 55%! Also, we're ordering bumper stickers for our cars that boast, "Proud parents of pretty average kids." =)

Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

I've seen this before, but the new spin on this one was the elite feeling you get knowing that you're part of a select group that can read those mixed up words. I think the 55% thing was just made up and tacked on by some reader a few hundred people up the email chain.

An interesting thought, though... Has the Pentagon considered using this as a code for foreign missions? I mean, it would take a foreigner weeks to figure out what in the world that said, when we (we proud 55%) can just skim through it in minutes.

Just something to consider. And while you're considering, drop us a check for the idea. It's so simple, I'll bet it would work on those time-sensitive missions where minutes count and by the time the bad guys figured out the code, the bomb is about 10 seconds away.

The Kasulis Family

It's been amazing to see the Kasulis kids grow! It was 2 years ago that we last did their portraits, I believe, and their little girl was a little angel and a lot of fun as you'll see in the last photo below. =)


The newest addition! We have two girls, so we're always impressed at how tough little boys are. This little guy looks like he's already eager for a remote control, the way he's kicked back relaxing. =)


Their little girl was the sweetest thing. I love this progression of these next two pictures. She was holding her little brother's head in her hands and then she leaned in to kiss his forehead. What a sweetie!




You have to love those baby blues!


Here's where the fun was at... puddle jumping! We ended the evening by running and spashing through the biggest puddle we could find and got some great pictures of it. This is one of my favorites. She was so cute and her parents were great sports to let us snap some cute candids of kids being kids.

The Right Stuff

Now that I think about it, this may be our first portrait session with subjects in uniform. They sure make for great pictures! There's something impressive about a crisp uniform and this mother and son team were real troopers to don their coats in the heat and humidity to get some cool pictures.






Derrick and his mother are both in the Air Force, and Derrick has the most interesting job of being a machine gunner as a base defender. One of these days, I'd love to fire a real machine gun. My little airsoft gun isn't quite the same, I'm sure. =)


I think this spot would have been good for a good machine gun turret, too.


We had to get a picture with the Flaming Lips street sign since Derrick went to the same school.

Lots more to post from recent sessions, but I have to run out for another photo session and then it's date night with my girl! =)

Thanks for stopping by!

Oklahoma's State Centennial

Here's an interesting commentary on Oklahoma from our Great Aunt Dixie, a true Okie. I enjoyed it and thought it might help expand what many people know of Oklahoma. Enjoy!

"Oklahoma - A Mystery to Many Americans"
Commentary by Jeff Mullin

If someone mentions California, what do you think of? Hollywood, L.A., crowded freeways, beaches and Arnold Schwarzenegger? California, of course, is so much more than that. How about Maine? I think of cold weather, people with funny accents and lobsters. What if someone brings up Idaho? Does it bring to mind potatoes?

When people hear the name of our state, it seems the first thing that comes to mind is not Oklahoma, but " Oklahoma !" The 1943 musical, the first for Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein, is the first thing most people in America think of when they hear about the Sooner State.

Having people associate our state with a beloved musical is certainly better than some alternatives, like rednecks and tornadoes, but it certainly isn't representative of today's Oklahoma.

" Oklahoma !" is a delight. The story of cowboys and farmers finding love in Oklahoma territory features classic music and ground-breaking choreography, including the dream ballet illustrating Laurey's difficulty in choosing a suitor between cowboy Curley and farmhand Jud Fry.

It also gave us our state song, which never fails to bring Oklahomans to their feet, which can prove a bit unnerving for performers in touring versions of the show who, during stops in Oklahoma, must deal with a standing ovation before the final curtain comes down.

" Oklahoma !" is a classic of American musical theater and deserves its place in the pantheon of enduring entertainment treasures.

It is not, however, an accurate indication of where our state has been, is today and is going. Oklahoma is not only the home of Ado Annie and Aunt Eller but of the aerosol can. That wonder of the age was invented in Bartlesville. Oklahoma City is the home of the parking meter, while the shopping cart was born in Ardmore.

The electric guitar also was invented in Oklahoma, by a Beggs musician named Bob Dunn. The first "Yield" sign was installed in Tulsa.

The state has more man-made lakes than any other state, which give us more than a million surface-acres of water and 2,000 more miles of shoreline than the Atlantic and Gulf coasts combined.

The Sooner State has produced more astronauts than any other state in the union. Owen Garriott is a hometown Enid boy, of course, while Tom Stafford is from Weatherford, Shannon Lucid from Oklahoma City, William Pogue from Okemah and the late Gordon Cooper from Shawnee.

Oklahoma is home to Amateur Softball Association, Sonic restaurants and more F4 and F5 tornadoes than any other state.

Oklahoma is the third-largest gas-producing state in the nation and ranks fourth in the production of wheat, cattle and calves, fifth in the production of pecans, sixth in peanuts and eighth in peaches.
The state's colors are neither the crimson and cream of the University of Oklahoma nor the orange and black of Oklahoma State but green and white.

Environmental Protection Agency recognizes Oklahoma as having the most diverse terrain of any state in the nation. The state, according to EPA, boasts 11 distinct ecoregions, one of only four states to have more than 10.

Oklahomans practice 73 major religions. The largest is the Southern Baptist Convention, with nearly 1,600 church and more than 960,000 members.

Oklahoma gave birth to Dick Tracy (cartoonist Chester Gould is a native of Pawnee) and Donald Duck (Clarence "Ducky" Nash, the original voice of Walt Disney's Donald, grew up in Watonga).

Oklahomans have survived the Dust Bowl, any number of killer tornadoes, the 1995 bombing of Oklahoma City's Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and various oil booms and busts. Oklahoma is populated by people who are caring, giving, hard-working, patriotic and fiercely independent. Oklahoma is a good place to live, work and play.

The challenge in this, our centennial year, is to make the rest of America aware of what Oklahoma has to offer, besides beautiful mornings, fringe-laden surreys and a girl who "cain't say no."

I'M PROUD TO BE AN OKIE!!!

I don't know about you, but I didn't know half those things about Oklahoma and Oklahomans. I'm a transplant, though, so that may be why. Pretty interesting, I thought!

What Were You Born to Do?

I couldn't resist posting this inspiring video. It's a clip from "Britains Got Talent." (I'll refrain from making a dental joke here since it would only serve to distract from the inspiration of the clip.) Here's a cell phone salesman with a dream to sing.


Phone Salesman Amazes Crowd

I can't help but wonder how many thousands of people out there are in the same boat: they have a dream that they've never followed. At the end of your life, do you think you're going to regret most: having chased your dream? or having never even tried?

I'm so grateful to be able to do photography and pursue our dream.

The Sellers Family

What a lovely family! The Sellers' were really enjoyable to be with as we photographed their family. Their little girl had a scar that was still healing over her left eye so they were a bit apprehensive about going ahead with the session, but I reassured them that it was easy to retouch and you won't see it in any of their photos. =)

Here are a few of my favorites from the session...

I love the candids! Smelling a flower...

We spotted a bunny!

Cute as a flower...

Family hug!!!

Thank you, Sellers, for allowing us to help you with your family pictures! I hope your move went well!

Think Tank Photo

Just a quick shout out to the innovative team at Think Tank Photo! My Airport Security rolling bag has been great all season so far and it's been a life-saver at weddings, especially. I was originally considering the Tamrac 651 Rolling Strongbox like Becker has, but the Airport Security bag by Think Tank Photo is slightly larger, has better features and a better guarantee at a better price. It has combination locks on both of the main zipper compartments/access points and it comes with a cable that you can use to lock the bag to something (i.e. a pillar, table, etc.) so it doesn't walk away while you're shooting. You just can't beat that!

Here's a picture of it, but they have several other really cool bags and other solutions as well.
Thanks for a great product, Think Tank Photo!

New Music, continued...

Okay, we have up Ben Heard's new song, "As I Am" featuring Paige (still need to find out her last name). It's absolutely awesome! If you have time, go to our website and skip to the 4th song and have a listen. I bet you'll find yourself listening to it more than once. In my case, my iTunes counters says I've heard it 85 times so far and it's still playing as I type. In my mind, I can hear the techno remix version of it already. =)

Hope you enjoy it! If you like it, drop us a comment and let Benj know, too. He has it on his MySpace page, which you can find here. If you have MySpace, check it out and you can even add his song to your profile if you like!

Gotta run, I have a lunch appointment with Rodrick at Happily Everlasting and Old Navy has some sweet white linen shirts and I need to replace one I just killed with bleach. =) Have a great day!

Sweeping Down the Plains...

How strong does the wind have to be to blow coffee out of your Starbucks cup with the lid on it?! Well, that's how windy it is today, at least this morning so far. We did an engagement shoot last night with Joshua and Marni, the same couple I photographed (in hiding) actually getting engaged (you can read about it here and see some pictures from the session, too) and the wind wasn't too bad. Most of our locations are somewhat protected from the wind, so as long as you put on a little extra gel or hairspray it works out fine. =)

Well, I'm on my own for a couple of days. Holly and Storie are off on a mystery trip with a few ladies from church and I'm having an extended two-day Daddy-date with Addie until they get back. Should be fun!

Here are a few favorites from the Ward family session that we just finished working on...










It's funny... Oklahoma City is like a big small-town. I thought Jen looked familiar and before the session was over we figured out that we had seen her once before at a movie we both attended back several months (years?) ago. She was there with a mutual friend and we met just once. Funny how often things like that happen in Oklahoma City. We have about a million people in the metro area, if I recall, but I run into people I know all the time. I have to say I really like that about OKC. I've lived in Chicago and Melbourne, Australia - both big cities - and it's nice that OKC still has that small-town feel even though it's not really all that small.

Last Weekend's Wedding

We actually did two weddings last weekend (one Friday and Saturday) with Happily Everlasting, so it was a really busy weekend. Was really nice to be able to take Monday off to help recuperate and relax a bit. Today we have a couple of shoots, so we'll be busy again making hay while the sun shines. =)

Here's a shot from this weekend that my 2nd shooter (Trinnica Jones of Shooting Star Photography in Tulsa) took of me working with the bride and groom. Behold the ninja photographer pose... Actually, I didn't know she was taking this picture.


The wedding was just beautiful. It felt like a destination wedding it was so exquisite. You can see from the photo that they had a great gazebo with white flowing material draped from it that looked just awesome in the breeze. We had a great day for the wedding, though it was a little warm in the sun for me to be wearing all black... Note to self: think about a good outdoor wedding outfit for next time. Maybe my white ninja outfit. =)

Felicita Resort in PA

How coincidental... I was just perusing the website of the company that created Becker's tasty new blog with over-sized photos and I ran across another wedding photographer's blog about a recent wedding at Felicita Resort. I took some photos of my parents and our little Addie there last Summer and I was really impressed with the beauty of the place. My parents bought a plot on the golf course and should begin building any day now, so I'm excited at the prospect of being able to take more photos there from time to time as we go back to visit. In the mean time, Mom is really enjoying being able to paint in their many gardens. Pretty cool!

Jaxon's Family Pictures

Here are a few favorites from a recent session we did with little Jaxon and his parents. As you can tell, we had a lot of fun just playing together and having a general good time to coax those smiles from the little guy. =)







This is such a cute picture! He's tolerating all the love. =)


By the time the session was over, Jaxon was plum tuckered out! I just love these shots of him crashing on Daddy's shoulder.



Thanks for stopping by! It was a really busy weekend for us, so I'm taking today as part of my weekend. It's great to be able to skip Mondays. =) Hope you have a great week!

Wallet Prints with Rounded Corners

I just found out that our new proofing company (Pictage) is sending out wallet prints that aren't die-cut with rounded corners. I'm so disappointed! This feels like a giant step backwards since we've been offering rounded corners on our wallets (I like the rounded corners much better) for years now and it just doesn't seem right to send a sheet of wallets to have the customer try to cut them out themselves.

So, we're taking wallets out of our Pictage catalog of available prints and we're going to handle all wallet orders separately through our other pro lab. All wallet orders will need to come to us via email and we'll take care of our customers' wallet-sized prints in that way.

I'm so sorry for the inconvenience and change in plans. I felt just sick when I saw some of our customers' wallet prints hand-cut out as best as they could. That's not the image we are striving for and I made several incorrect assumptions about Pictage since so many really big-name photographers use them for their proofing and fulfillment. I really don't know how Pictage can do that in good conscience charging what they do. It's a deal-breaker for me and we have immediately started looking for another proofing solution. The worst thing about it is that wallets are the prints that our customers give away more than any other size, so that's what we have out there representing our name and quality.

If any of our customers are unhappy about their wallet prints, please let me know and I'll take care of reprinting them for you with our other lab so you'll get rounded corners. We're 100% committed to your satisfaction with our work so we'll always do whatever it takes.

You know, we have worked so hard to build a reputation of quality and really cool photography and it's scary how easily just one oversight can tear down so much of what we've spent years building. Almost all of our advertising is just from word-of-mouth referrals, so we really strive to meet or exceed our customers' expectations.

Our sincere apologies to our customers who were frustrated over having to trim their own wallet prints. Thank you for your patience with us and your understanding. We really do have the greatest customers ever.

New Music!

Keep an ear open for a new love song coming soon to our webiste! It's absolutly AMAZING!! I've had it on repeat for several days in a row and still haven't grown tired of it. It's written and sung by Benj Heard (Holly's brother! With additional vocals from a girl named Paige - need to get her last name because she's amazing, too.) and is in the hopper for consideration for rolling with the end credits for an upcoming TV show.

This is by far the best song I've heard this year and I think it could easily make the charts once it's released. Benj has given us special permission to put it on our site once he's finished with the final mixing of it, hopefully in the next couple of days.

In the mean time, I have a couple of weddings to shoot, so I'll catch ya later!

Destiny's Senior Portraits

So last night we had a bit of a double-header: a senior session and headshots for her mom as well. Why not? I mean we're already out there all together and every has a blog and online profile that is begging for a really sweet picture, right? I did a headshot for my own mother not too long ago for her to use with her own website and blog and she just loves having a nice portrait to use for things like that.

Here's one of our favorites from last night's session that we went ahead and retouched early so we could post here. Destiny, I purposely put the watermark over a little bit so if you wanted to use the photo cropped for your MySpace or Facebook you could and it would still have our logo on it.


We don't mind if people use our photos for their MySpace and Facebook, we just ask that they mention where they got them done so their friends can find us! =)