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Showing posts with label Behind the Camera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Behind the Camera. Show all posts
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Ramon! As I previously promised, here is my post on Ramon. I had never met him before. He and his siblings grew up with my older sisters, they were in LULAC and did that kind of stuff together. So when his brother Tony was having a wedding at the Elegante the same night we were enjoying my niece's quinceanera down the hall, it was impossible not to crash the wedding to see old friends. We'll get to that in just a few! Anyhow, throughout the day, the hotel staff was buzzing about the decorations in the Ballroom. All the way from New York... buzz buzz buzz... Platinum Weddings... buzz buzz buzz... the brother of the groom... buzz buzz buzz... Finally one of the staff members said we should go look in the ballroom before guests arrived, so we did. Me and my sisters walked in the doors of the ballroom and literally let out a gasp at the same time. To say it was beautiful is an understatement. It felt like we were standing in an episode of Platinum Wedding. Or the other show with the David Toterra (sp) guy. The walls were draped from ceiling to floor, the ceiling was draped with chandeliers, there were vases taller than us filled with flowers that were taller than us. There was lighting that was out of this world, white lounge seating that looked like it belonged in a NYC night club... We couldn't move, we just looked in amazement at the glorious reception venue that was about to be filled with people! We ran out of there but I was determined to go back and meet the master behind the magnificence, and take his picture, of course!
As luck would have it, a few friends from that party came down to say hello and I quickly seized the opportunity to walk back with them. I asked someone to point out Ramon, and I made my way over to introduce myself. I don't know how it started, but soon we were laughing so hard we couldn't breathe. I don't remember the last time I have laughed like that. I was so amazed that this sweet man was responsible for creating a venue that was fit for royalty. In between laughs, I learned that he brought everything with him from New York, in three trucks! He'd been working on it since Thursday pretty much around the clock (it was Saturday). In addition to his business, he does a handful of New York weddings a year, and he has been featured in tons of magazines and an episode of Platinum Weddings. Since the official photographer was still there, I did not want to step out of line and start taking pictures, but Ramon was gracious enough to pose for a few for me. I can't wait for the next time I'll get the chance to spend a few minutes talking with him!
As luck would have it, a few friends from that party came down to say hello and I quickly seized the opportunity to walk back with them. I asked someone to point out Ramon, and I made my way over to introduce myself. I don't know how it started, but soon we were laughing so hard we couldn't breathe. I don't remember the last time I have laughed like that. I was so amazed that this sweet man was responsible for creating a venue that was fit for royalty. In between laughs, I learned that he brought everything with him from New York, in three trucks! He'd been working on it since Thursday pretty much around the clock (it was Saturday). In addition to his business, he does a handful of New York weddings a year, and he has been featured in tons of magazines and an episode of Platinum Weddings. Since the official photographer was still there, I did not want to step out of line and start taking pictures, but Ramon was gracious enough to pose for a few for me. I can't wait for the next time I'll get the chance to spend a few minutes talking with him!
Quick escape + shooting the Bird + Pwincess Mila
I tried to plan a little getaway for the night for me and Frank. I wanted to surprise him, mainly because if I told him he'd object to going since he hasn't had a day off in months and the grass is 8 ft high in our back yard. So I arranged for the girls to have a slumber party Friday night with my parents. I told my mom and sister that I did not want to tell Frank, but they understood that as 'blah blah blah.' Frank went to my moms Friday morning to drop off something, and she tells him, 'Frank - ya'll stay all weekend, the girls will be fine.' He just said, uh, ok. My sister also managed to half spill the beans by asking him, 'So, what are ya'll going in, the truck or the car?' Finally he asked me, where are we going, and why is everyone telling me to enjoy the weekend and relax. I replied with, shut up and get in the car :-) We had a nice time, a nice quiet time. I actually sat down for dinner and did not have to get up once to take a wiggly 4 year old to potty. And the girls had a blast at the slumber party.
We left Houston around 7a.m. Saturday to be on the LU campus by 9. I asked Frank to help me shoot a graduation reception, and while I was taking quick portraits of some of the grads, Frank got to shoot the Bird. No, not THAT bird, the LU Mascot, Big Red. One of the hostesses in charge kept calling BR 'The Bird' and that led to Frank calling him 'the Bird' even though I kept correcting him. Finally, Frank came to tell me he was heading outside to shoot the Bir... (flashed him my evil eye) ... Big Red as he departed in the red convertible. When Big Red was gone and the grads made their way to the commencement ceremony, I hugged Frank and thanked him for helping me. Again.
And because a blog post just needs a picture, here is one taken last week of the precious princess, Mila. She turned one. Happy Birthday Mila, I know you make your sweet mommie and daddy happier every second.
We left Houston around 7a.m. Saturday to be on the LU campus by 9. I asked Frank to help me shoot a graduation reception, and while I was taking quick portraits of some of the grads, Frank got to shoot the Bird. No, not THAT bird, the LU Mascot, Big Red. One of the hostesses in charge kept calling BR 'The Bird' and that led to Frank calling him 'the Bird' even though I kept correcting him. Finally, Frank came to tell me he was heading outside to shoot the Bir... (flashed him my evil eye) ... Big Red as he departed in the red convertible. When Big Red was gone and the grads made their way to the commencement ceremony, I hugged Frank and thanked him for helping me. Again.
And because a blog post just needs a picture, here is one taken last week of the precious princess, Mila. She turned one. Happy Birthday Mila, I know you make your sweet mommie and daddy happier every second.
Today is the day!
Congratulations to Brandon and Tanesha, they tie the knot in just a few hours. The wedding is going to be at the Julie Rogers Theater. It was beautiful last night at the rehearsal, and the decorations weren't even finished! I can't wait to see her in her dress, I know she is going to look amazing.
My prayer for today... Sweet Lord, thank you for the opportunity to glorify you through the images we capture today. Shoot through me Lord so that there is no doubt who indeed is the real Photographer in charge today Lord, You. Please keep everyone involved in Your Grace so that stress and anxiety never touch us. Thank You for allowing me to serve You by doing what i love to do. Thank you for everyone who is helping me and Frank today Lord, from the colleagues at Frank's job who switched schedules to my family members caring for our babies all day. I pray that You bless them, Lord, and especially grant the babysitters extra patience today Lord! Thank You so much for all that you do, and thank You for the blessings to come.
My prayer for today... Sweet Lord, thank you for the opportunity to glorify you through the images we capture today. Shoot through me Lord so that there is no doubt who indeed is the real Photographer in charge today Lord, You. Please keep everyone involved in Your Grace so that stress and anxiety never touch us. Thank You for allowing me to serve You by doing what i love to do. Thank you for everyone who is helping me and Frank today Lord, from the colleagues at Frank's job who switched schedules to my family members caring for our babies all day. I pray that You bless them, Lord, and especially grant the babysitters extra patience today Lord! Thank You so much for all that you do, and thank You for the blessings to come.
I admit it...
I was so looking forward to this weekend. Not because we had a long one, but because I had an engagement session scheduled, in Houston, and the weather (though hot) was going to be beautiful, nice and breezy right around the time we were scheduled to meet. So I arrive at our meeting place a whole hour early, find decent parking, grab my gear and head out to get acquainted with the park. I circled twice around it in my car before I parked and I absolutely loved it. So, I'm exploring and getting all giddy because the park is perfect for an engagement session... then I decide to take a few shots and get a good white balance. My camera feels a little light, then I remember, oh yeah, my batteries are charging. In that same instant that I realize my batteries are indeed charging, I have a vision of them sitting on the charger plugged in the wall on the kitchen counter. Fully charged. At home. In BEAUMONT!!! I start digging frantically in my bag even though I already knew. I left home with all my lenses, memory cards, 1 camera body... and not one stinking battery!! I stood there, in the middle of the beautiful park, in shock with my mouth in the shape of an "O" while people walked past me staring. I grabbed my phone. My first instinct was to call Frank and yell at him to see if that would make me feel better, but he was at work. So, I called them. Thankfully, the bride and groom to be were understanding enough to agree to reschudule thier session. I appreciated that so much. When the shock wore off I sat down on a bench and sent Frank a text message telling him what I did. I knew he was going to let me have it. I could already hear it, the 'how could you forget your batteries' lecture. Then my phone chirped, I got his reply... Reluctantly I read my new message.... "need me to bring them to you?"
Sigh of relief. I love my husband!
San Antonio!
Thank You Lord for such an amazing day. Please keep me in your Graces and continue to shoot through me. I know all this is because of You, Lord, and I praise You for all your generosity. Thank you for blessing me with such a supportive husband. I appreciate him so much, I cant thank you enough for all that you have blessed me with.
Cloudy!
My Lord, I thank You for all that you have enabled me to do this far. I thank you for what lies ahead. I thank you for shooting through me. Keep showing me what you want me to do Lord. I trust You, Father, and I know you will lead me, i just need to listen. I thank you for standing beside me and giving me strength Lord, all that I am is because of you and your love for me. Thank You, thank You, thank You.
wow!
Hard to believe it's already here, but Merry Christmas! I hope you are blessed with the warmth and love that Christmas is all about. Happy Birthday to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
(image from http://www.yamchicago.org/beAware/)
Dr. Alaswad
We got the Baptist Hospital at 6am like they told us to, they did all the paperwork, etc., and finally took her back around 10. I was not very impressed with the hospital, it was not great and it was not bad. And it was not Texas Children's Hospital, by far. Then, the Doctor came into the room to tell us how the procedure went. SOLD!! He was great, he showed us pictures, drew a diagram, gave us his recommendations for treatment, etc. Then, when he was done telling us about that, he looked at me and said, "...Look, anytime, and I mean anytime, you need to have any procedure done on Emily, even dental work, you be sure they do a round of antibiotics right before and immediately after and that is very important to protect her little heart. No matter what, you be sure and you tell them about that and make sure they do it. You don't want to risk infection on her little heart..." He was very firm about this, stressing it at least 3 times. I knew he meant it, the way he was using facial expressions and hand gestures it was obvious that it's important to him that her little heart is always protected. And this was only the second time he saw her. Then, he closed with this... "...I want to see her again in a month, start her new medicine and keep her on a bland diet, and I PRAY..." he paused, looked up and clapped his hands together under his chin "... I pray to GOD that this works." And I believe him.
He had me at 'little heart' but he really really won me over at the end there. How amazing that he puts so much faith in God as well. No team of doctors ever said anything like that before! I know she is healed already Lord, thank You for sending us to your servant, Dr. Alaswad.
Can't get this off my mind
I thank God for her everyday. I pray he protects them both from harm or ill will. I pray for patience for myself. I ask God to forgive me every time I question things around me. I pray He forgives me for not knowing him before I truly needed Him. I thank God for loving me. I thank You so much Lord for blessing me immensely and I thank you for the blessings you have in store for me. I thank You for my partner, my husband. I thank You for my growing business and the talent you sharpen everyday. I thank you, thank you, thank you Father. I cannot thank you enough.
aaaaahhhh. That feels better!
big wedding today!
It's going to be chaos and excitement! My goal will be to help keep the bride sane. Like I told her, if nothing goes right, the only thing that matters is you walking down that aisle to him. Frank will join me at the church to take up the slack in the back while I'm waaaaay up in the front. I can't wait!
Shoot through me Lord, Jesus. I know I've been calling on you a lot lately, but you seem to manage to make things go right every time I ask! It's so easy so put it all on you, how can I not! I love you, Father God, and I'm so thankful for everything you do. Fill me and Frank with your Holy Spirit as we shoot this afternoon so that through our work You will be Glorified!
Shoot through me Lord, Jesus. I know I've been calling on you a lot lately, but you seem to manage to make things go right every time I ask! It's so easy so put it all on you, how can I not! I love you, Father God, and I'm so thankful for everything you do. Fill me and Frank with your Holy Spirit as we shoot this afternoon so that through our work You will be Glorified!
bad mommie!
I am a bad mommie. I have been putting off doing my girls' birthday party invitations since August 1st. The party is this weekend. I have made 2 unsuccessful attempts to take their pictures though, so I guess I can at least say I have tried. I normally get at least one good shot out of about 50 frames. But not this time. My 3 year old doesn't like to be told to take a picture, so she cries when I make her sit and smile. When she starts crying, baby sister decides she needs to cry too. Then daddy scratches his head, and that's a wrap. What was I to do, I'm a photographer and photo invitations are my thing. I couldn't have just a fill in the blank invitation, people would give me that "what-tha..." look. So, I did what I had to do. Any desperate parent would do the same. I cut and pasted! Behold, the portrait used on the 3 & 1 birthday party invitation...
Working on a new layout!
I'm little by little, or rather page by page, updating my website. I wish I had all the time in the world to do it all, but I don't so usually the website suffers by getting the least attention. One day I will be able to have an entire web team dedicated to making me look good online. Until then, I'll try my best!
When it rains, it pours.
I normally don't blog in the middle of the day, but I have a million things running through my head, and my blog kind of serves as a journal for me, so here it goes! So, last week we found out my dad has cancer. Today, we learned, or rather the doctor confirmed for us, that my mom has a brain aneurysm. I guess the thing I'm most worried about is loosing either of them right now, not so much for me - granted, a part of me will go with them when it is their time, but they have given me a great life. And many years, we are very fortunate to have both of our parents living at 76. But what I can't accept right now is how much my kids will suffer if we loose either of them right now. They are so attached to my parents it hurts! We can't drive by their house without stopping or the 3 year old starts arguing with us because she 'has to check on Gram.' She calls my mom Gram. None of the other kids call her that, I have no clue where she picked that up from. But my mom loves it. They argue back and forth about what channel they are going to watch, it's a fight my mom never seems to win. Micaela knows where all the snacks are hidden in my parent's house... all of my dad's candies, the brownies, cookies. She knows what drawer in my mom's room to dig through to find her stash of underwear or pajamas. When the doorbell rings at their house she is the one yelling COME IN! And that's just Micaela. My Emily, she can lay on the bed and 'talk' to them for hours. She has. They are deep into their novela and not paying her any mind of course, but she doesn't know that! She is happy with the occasional pat on the leg. The smile that radiates from her when either of them talk to her is the most beautiful thing i can look at. When I had to tell them she was going to need heart surgery, my dad didn't even let me finish the sentence before he stood up, grabbed her out of my arms, put one hand up and said, 'we'll be there. whenever or however long she has to be there, we'll be there.' And they were. To loose either of them now would be tragic. I would not be able to handle the void it would leave in my babies' lives. So Lord, it looks like you have your work cut out for you over these next several weeks. We have faith that You can do it Lord, there's no question in that. We will continue to praise You and thank You, You are truly amazing and deserve so much more than we give You. For everything You have given us so far, we are grateful. For the blessings and miracles You have waiting for us, we are grateful. We praise You, Lord, and we thank you for wrapping your arms around us and showering us with your love. We thank you now for the complete restoration of our parents. Fill their bodies up with Your grace and healing Lord. We know any sickness cannot harm them as long as You are with them. We ask this in Your name Lord, so we know it has already been done.
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