Weekend Update

Still no real news on the stolen equipment front, but we did shoot a beautiful wedding this weekend for Jessica & Matt down at the Oklahoma History Center.

Here's one quick one to share with you:


I stole the couple away from the party for a few minutes to stroll around the grounds and get some fun shots together before the rehearsal, and I'm glad we did! If you haven't been inside the History Museum, it's grand and beautiful. Can't wait to post some from the wedding once I get to retouch them.

Congrats, Matt & Jessica! We hope you have a wonderful honeymoon!

Check the News Tonight! - Updated 10:45PM

Quick update, looks like the story with surveillance videos, etc. will be aired as follows:

Channel 4 News at 5PM
*Channel 5 News at 6PM (Link to the footage)
Channel 9 News at 10PM
**Channel 25 at 11:30?PM (Link to the footage)

This all really depends on any other breaking stories, too, so please, everybody, let's make it just a normal day around OKC so we can get some air time for this heart-breaking story. Also, please tell your friends about this if at all possible! Someone out there can identify these guys and will be rewarded for information leading to the recovery of the images!

We're thanking God for the excellent coverage on the story and really good surveillance footage, I hear. So someone is bound to recognize the suspects and help us make progress on recovering the photos. Everybody has been so understanding and compassionate about it and willing to help spread the word. Please pray with us that we recover those images!

**Here are images of the suspects from video surveillance at Wal-Mart in Moore, around 4AM Monday morning.





* Updated 10:45pm
** Updated 12:15am

Update on Stolen Equipment

Huge thanks to everyone who has rallied to our support with love and encouraging words! This may be the darkest week of our lives, but there have been some really bright spots that have mixed tears of appreciation along with our tears of despair.

Special thanks to Carl Zoch and Kevin Paul who have graciously offered to loan us equipment for shoots this week. Couldn't have done it without you guys. You are both great people, besides great photographers and we're really honored to have such friends.

Here's the latest update, I talked with the family last night and filled them in on the lost photo situation. That is still our #1 priority and the only really irreplaceable thing stolen. Those conversations went much better than I expected and they were very understanding, telling us to stop beating ourselves up over it. That is a huge burden lifted for us. The hardest conversation is yet to come with the couple when they get back from their honeymoon.

The detectives have recovered some additional surveillance video that shows the suspects much more clearly and I understand that will be aired tonight on the news. If I can, I will somehow get a link to it if we can upload it here or on YouTube so you can see it even if you miss the news tonight.

Anyway, the news cameras are here and I have to run. Will try to fill everyone in again before too long.

Thank you so much for your prayers! Please do continue to pray that somehow the cards/images are returned.

We Need Your Prayers!

Over the weekend, we had our car broken into and all of our photography equipment stolen! It's so disheartening that I literally feel sick and haven't been able to sleep or eat well. We were visiting Holly's parents in Moore when the car was broken into right there in the driveway in front of the house! The real tragedy is not the equipment, actually, but the photos on the memory cards which were also taken. Irreplaceable and priceless.

Anyway, we're trying to pull everything together, but we're swooning with overwhelm at all that needs to be done.

Thanks for praying for us as you think of it!

The Bible verse from Romans 8:28 comes to mind... "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." I sure can't see how this will work out for good, but I know God can somehow do that. I'm praying I'll have an opportunity to share that with you.

Will Rogers Theater

Today the Will Rogers Theater was outfitted with brand spanking new neon signs! It was no small job, as you can see from the photo below. I was honored to be asked to photograph the facility for use on websites, brochures, etc.

I think this is my favorite image from the evening. I love how sharp everything is at F22 and how the lights flare with the long exposure. =)

Camera settings: 8 second exposure @ 24mm, F22, 200 ISO. No Photoshop retouching was needed.

It's really tough to hold a camera perfectly still for 10 seconds, so I was happy to use our new manfrotto tripod with the quick-release grip head. It's perfect for people like me who don't normally use a tripod and like to be able to move the camera wherever easily.

In other news... It's great to have our 2nd cinema display back from the Apple store and as good as new. It was slowly growing a dark patch like a beard across the bottom of the screen and it was time for a shave, so to speak. Now we have to catch up due to the lost productivity. =) There's never really a good time for things like that no matter how you try to plan for them.

Hope everyone enjoyed the absolutely wonderful weather today here in central Oklahoma! Apologies to everyone still enjoying winter up North. =) Have a great weekend!!

A Cool Headshot

We really don't do a lot of headshots, but we had a session on Saturday with Mario Maxwell that went really well and I thought I'd share it with you. We started off at the capitol and then ended up down in Bricktown for some more casual, fun shots.

Here's my favorite shot from the session, I think. Taken in a stairwell using some beautiful, soft window light dramatically coming from his right side.


Before the session was over, one lady stopped and conspicuously stared at us for a while before asking which pro team he played for. It's funny how we can all make assumptions that are totally off sometimes, and we don't even consider that we might be completely wrong. =)

Museum Cafe: Saints' Physician Appreciation

Have you ever eaten at the Museum Cafe downtown? It's a nice, small restaurant located inside the art museum on the ground floor, east side. Holly and I have eaten there before, but had quite forgotten about it until we had an event to photograph there last evening. What a cool place!

I'm actually surprised I haven't heard of more wedding receptions and rehearsal dinners taking place there.

Here are a few favorites from last night... just details of the facility, mainly. The reception was for St. Anthony Hospital's physician appreciation, so I'll save the people pictures for Saints to use. =)

Welcome!

In the area set aside for the cocktail hour

In the restaurant area for hors d'oeuvres. (My spell checker doesn't like pluralizing hors d'oeuvre - what's up with that? =)

The facility staff did a great job of creating a really nice environment. I love that last image of the blue candles on the tables with fresh flowers.

To see the rest of the photos or to order any photos from last night's event, visit the gallery here. Thanks for checking in!

We're Back!

It's been a while since we last blogged. Were you wondering where we were? =) We took the girls down to Disney World and has a blast! It was so tempting to blog while we were down there, but a nagging thought of that info finding it's way before the wrong eyes kept me from posting about it.

The short and sweet summary: It was so much fun just watching Addie (our 3 year old) practically hyperventilate over Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and some of the other characters. The rides were fun, but taking kids to Disney totally changes your priorities.

Anyway, I wish I could post pics and videos (Holly will soon on the girls' blog, I'm sure), but I don't have time to right now... On my way out to shoot an event for St. Anthony Hospital for a couple of hours this evening.

We have lots of pictures and updates, so stay tuned! We'll try to post them as soon as we've caught up.