Jack Newborn

I really mean it when I say that the baby bug must be in the water! It has been a season full of newborns all around. Between friends, clients, & family (yes I'll be an aunt in 3 days!) babies have been all the buzz this season. There is nothing more quintessential to spring than the thought of new life, and boy has this spring been full of it! I've loved every newborn session I've had the privilege of doing, especially baby Jack's! Mary Kathryn Strong and I have gotten to know each other through the "Lubbock loop" and she is one of my new favorite people. It really started when we hit up the same Zumba class at Studio 57, but has since moved from ethnic dancing to backyard beer dates!!

The Strong kids are both adorable, and even though Jack is the new baby, his big sister Evelyn continues to steal the show. She is the MOST precious thing ever. The first time I met her she was full of all sorts of inquisitive questions. She covered everything from "my pretty wedding ring & who bought it for me" to "where my house sits".  She totally won me over and she is very socially wise beyond her years. We're buddies now.

Meet the Strong Family:

life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Ryker Newborn

One of my good friends Amanda Schaefer, and husband David, recently welcomed their new bundle of joy, Ryker William Schaefer, into the world on March 31, 2011. Amanda is one of my first friends in Lubbock to have a baby, so I've used it as a learning experience of what's to come as I prepare to be an aunt in 5 days!!! Since I'm self employed I luckily have the ability to create my own schedule, which gives me time to see Amanda and Ryker once a week or so. I've been able to watch every step of Amanda's pregnancy and witnessed how she has gracefully blossomed into a fabulous new mom. She's done it like a champ and handled everything with poise.... including the projectile poop experience we had during our precious newborn session... babies are cute- but they are dangerous weapons with pinpoint precision. Meet the adorable baby Ryker:

life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Ginger Maternity

My sister Ginger is going to be a mom in 10 days! In 10 days her life will go from peaceful evenings & bubble baths to sleepless nights & diaper rash. Yes, it's the final countdown to those sweet baby sounds, nursery rhymes, & little giggles which in turn means dirty diapers, endless feedings & tender nipples! All jokes aside, I'm elated about becoming an aunt. It's got all the perks of motherhood without the medical bills & temper tantrums. My sister and I are day and night. She's the practical stern one, and I'm the laid-back carefree one. I've always had a slightly more nurturing nature in comparison, so my family jokes that her kids will come crawling to my door for gummy bears & hugs.

Ginger & Brett are going to make the most amazing parents. I cannot wait to see the two of them raise an adorable little family in their adorable little town, Boerne (aka- Pleasantville). My mom, sister & I all had the most fabulous day taking Ginger's maternity pictures around Boerne's precious streets. We dipped into a mexican food restaurant for a few quick shots &  a couple of margaritas. Not alcoholic shots, photographic shots.... oh and don't worry...Ginger didn't get a margarita...the wonderful joys of pregnancy.

Ginger & Brett decided to have the gender of the baby be a surprise.... how fun right? WRONG. For someone as controlling as myself this past 9 months has been a roller coaster of it's a girl, it's a boy, NO! It's a girl? Tricky these surprises. I've decided the people that like surprises are obviously the ones that don't have to plan the nursery or the baby showers. Ginger asked me and my mom to decorate the nursery & boy has that been a task... Uh-Oh, I just said boy.... does this mean something? Nah- The day Ginger told me she was pregnant I said, "AHH!! I think it's going to be a girl on May 17th!". Come to find out, the due date is indeed May 17th, and the gender... we shall see!

I hope you guys enjoy these images as they are such a symbolic start to a new chapter in all our lives. That baby is going to rock our world & I can't wait. I love it already.

Life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Chase: LCHS Senior

I love Chase Stewart!! He's the little brother to one of my best friends in the world, Nikki Richburg, and is seriously as sweet as he looks. Ever since I can remember I've wish I had him as a little brother. He's always so fun to be around & he adores his big sis. Chase, Nikki, & I all got together to take his senior pictures a few weeks back. The shoot was a total success apart from us getting chased off what looked like  an abandoned property by an enraged pitbull. Scary I know, but the location had fabulous artistic appeal & I thought it was worth a shot. Looking back I now know we could have actually gotten shot.... that abandoned shack was no doubt occupied by some very scary characters! Yikes. Chase is a senior at Lubbock Christian High School and plans to one day study Law. He is extremely bright & is a great guy to know. I wish Chase the best in his future , as I know it will be full of endless potential. With no further ado, meet Chase.

Life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Alexa: FHS Senior

Alexa Grissom is an adorable senior at Frenship High School. We've known each other for quite some time, as I had the pleasure of working with her sweet mom, Shannon, when I was in high school at "1 Posh Place". It was a super cute interior design "home goods" store where Shannon & I were allowed to exercise our creativity with custom bedding, floral arrangements, & custom painted furniture. It was more of a fantasy land for me at that age, and Shannon & I had a great time working together in such a "posh" environment. We've kept in touch sporadically since, seeing each other at the occasional Tech tailgates & church run-ins, however this past month we've gotten to spend more time working together. Shannon hired me to help her with some custom millwork pieces in her kitchen. They're going to be pretty stellar, and I can assure you once the construction is completed, I will be blogging them. Shannon has great taste & we've had a blast collaborating on her kitchen together. In the meantime, her daughter Alexa needed senior pictures, so we set out a couple weeks ago to photograph the adorable senior on her future campus, Texas Tech. Enjoy.

life's a flash, capture accordingly.

The Bailey Kids

I got to meet Jaxon & Harper Bailey a couple months back when their sweet mama, Linzi, wanted their precious pictures made. Linzi is sisters to one of my favorite child-hood friends, Kandis (Alderman) Brothers & I was so excited to reconnect with their family! Our moms keep in touch better than any of us. They're in a "mom's of kids from 2004" Bunko group, or something of that nature. The rules are, you have to come but you don't have to play. Rumor has it they spend most of their time catching up on all us kids & sipping tasty beverages instead. Now knowing about the festivities, I mentioned the idea of a 'bring your kid to Bunko day" since most of us are the reasons our moms know each other anyway! We'll see if that happens; sadly, I think they manage just fine without us. Taking pictures of Linzi's growing family was so fun. Her kids are so well behaved, & that Jaxon is going to be a little heart breaker!! Enjoy.

life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Braden

My cousin Braden is seriously the cutest thing ever. She's involved in almost everything her high school has to offer, but her main passion in life is acting. This girl has the most animated & captivating personality of almost anyone I know, yet still remains humble! She's quite the thespian and excels in every role she plays. She's my youngest cousin, and since I don't have a little sister I've always really valued our relationship. She lives in Ft. Worth, but was in town a couple weeks back and was interested in taking new head shots for her future career in acting. We had a blast during our quick session & I was so happy to contribute, after all, she's going to be famous one day! Her name is Braden Wilkerson, and she is truly a name to watch. Enjoy.

Michael Morris: CHS Senior

Meet Michael. He's a senior here in Lubbock at Coronado High School and is a fantastic tennis player might I add. I'm obsessed with his mom (and my new friend) Cyndy. My sweet friend Kate gave her my name to take her son's senior pictures, and next thing I knew we were at the shoot gabbing about all of our friends in common & had a date to keep in touch at the Funky Door :) Michael is off to play tennis on a scholarship at ACU. He is a very bright guy with a serious future in his sport. He's a name not to forget, meet Michael Morris:

life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Amanda Maternity & Baby Shower

One of my closest friends, Amanda Schaefer, was blessed with becoming a mommy two weeks ago. She and husband David welcomed Ryker William Schaefer into the world on March 31st, 2011. He has been the most incredible blessing to them both and it's been amazing watching the two become parents together! It's such a reality check when your family & friends start having babies! I still feel like I have the mentality of a 10 year old on occasion, but then look up to find a business of almost a year, a husband of almost two, & precious dog-child of almost four! Oh and now I have an accountant, which I don't care who you are, that means you're old. Yep, I'm a full fledged grown up; I guess don't mind, after all I get to make (and break) my own rules! It's pretty fabulous. Amanda & I have had such a blast together planning Ryker's nursery & baby shower, taking her maternity pictures, & as of last week, Ryker's newborns! Amanda is a born leader...in fact, she leads our group Bible Study & is the glue that holds us all together. She takes each challenge in her life so graciously and shines a positive light on everything that comes her way. She is such an incredible person and is already making the most fantastic mom.

I took Amanda's maternity pictures just a couple of weeks before Ryker made his big debut. Also, I'm posting the invitation I made for her shower & some quick snapshots I took at her & David's baby shower. Oh, and scroll to the bottom to see a sneak peek of Ryker's newborn shots! Enjoy.

check out these ADORABLE onsies made by Emily Owen. She customs each one herself!! Let me know if you're interested and I'll get you her info.

Painting by Kyle Miller (for baby Ryker). He's a TTU medical student and ALSO an artist!! Check out more of his work at the Funky Door!

Oh, and here's a fabulous sneak peek of what's to come from Ryker's newborn session!! Can't wait to share more!

Life's a flash, capture accordingly

The Rogers

David & Jenni Rogers called me a while back to help them with their new home. I consider myself more of a draftsman, working mainly on line drawings for remodels & new construction; however, David & Jenni's decorating job was too great to pass up! Jenni & I have very similar taste, with the main difference being I'm beige and predicatable and that girl loves her some color!  She has actually rubbed off on me somewhat and now has me thinking about adding a splash of color to my own house! Ryan of course has vetoed that based on practicality purposes.... My design projects are so much fun, however, as all interior designers know, it can be like watching molasses dry. No matter how prepared you are, things will come up, items will be backordered, and the thing you love most may simply be out of budget.... I think one reason I love photography so much is that it is instantly gratifying and very fast paced.  It's a great balance with my design work, as it keeps my impulsive side sane. David & Jenni's house is still in progress & turning out just how I had hoped! I'll show you the full home as soon as everything is complete, as I've mentioned before I rarely show design projects before they are finished. However, I have one part of the house that is too great to wait, the new baby's nursery! David & Jenni have been expecting their new baby for as long as I've been working with them. They wanted the baby to be a surprise, but they wanted the nursery to be super cute. I was thrilled beyond belief when they hired me to take on the job of the surprise nursery. This would mean I would be the only person besides the doctor who would know the sex of the baby! I worked up two schemes for the nursery based on Jenni's favorite bedding options, one for a boy & one for a girl:

We met to discuss the pros & cons for each, and the next week Jenni gave me a sealed envelope containing the sex of the baby! You have NO idea how pumped I was for this project (especially since my sister is having a surprise baby in a month and wouldn't let me do this for her)! I felt like I was on HGTV's, "While You Were Out". I had literally three weeks to order all the bedding & accessories...thank goodness it was all in stock!! I got the call that they had gone to the hospital on Tuesday, and by Thursday afternoon the walls were painted, bedding installed, & all accessories were placed. It was one of the most exciting projects I've worked on yet! I made the owls to go over the crib on CAD (my architectural drafting program) and had them cut out of a laser cutter. I painted them to match the bedding & hung the baby's name below! It was a very budget cognizant way to go about wall art!

James David Rogers III, aka Tripp's nursery before

I was able to re-paint these fun frames from Etsy to coordinate with the colors of the pictures I had taken the week before

custom line drawings of owls to match bedding for behind crib

Custom owls designed & painted special for Tripp

Framed fabric behind the rocker is an affordable way to introduce geometric patterns for wall art! Oh and my amazing mom made that custom owl pillow on the rocker.

This is a sneak peek of what's to come for the Rogers' fabulous entry!!

We had left over wallpaper and put it to good use in the hallway off of the dining room

* * *

We took their family pictures before baby Tripp was born but after I knew what "he" was to be! It was the hardest thing to not drop any clues! Luckily I was able to pick the locations based on the colors we were to use in the nursery...bright bright bright (which both schemes were to be full of color, so I felt safe choosing fun walls downtown)! However, Jenni just happened to show up in bright orange & green, she must have had that mother's intuition that it was going to be a boy! Here are the images we got of Peyton's 2 year pictures, Jenni's maternity, & the whole Rogers' family! I've truly loved working with them and feel blessed I've gotten to capture these milestones in their life!

life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Tribute to T Lazy T Ranch

Our family ranch caught on fire in post last night, and to my dad's disbelief the cattle, houses, & his beloved excavator were left untorched, eeer untouched. My dad made a brief cameo appearance on FOX KJTV34 this evening describing what happened. He attributed the cease of the fire to the amazing men who were called to fight it in the middle of the night. Luckily no one was hurt, and my dad got rid of some extra (and very unruly) mesquite :) My dad is basically MacGyver & John Wayne built into one. When he isn't saving lives at his day job as a surgeon, he is home on the range putting out wild fires & raising cattle. If you don't know my family, especially my dad, you may be wondering why this is blog worthy....however... The T Lazy T ranch is like a big brother. Born before me in 1984 it has been home to some of our favorite Thames memories, many of which have occurred during our annual round ups. Round Up 2011 took place last month and all of our family was a part of it! Literally my sister's in-laws & my in-laws included! Both my sister & I got seriously lucky in the in-law department and had a blast sharing our family memories with relatives old & new. I took a few snap shots & video clips to share. Keep in mind, I'm still in the experimental phase with my camera's video, but I'm having a lot of fun making these little montages!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbPdaqB9h-s

Click Link to Watch Round Up Recap

The pictures posted are just quick snapshots of all our family!! Another fun weekend at the T Lazy T.

Cade: Frenship Senior

As a Frenship High School alumni myself, I was so excited to get to meet Cade for his Senior pictures. I'm friends (and KKG sisters) with his adorable sister Madison, as she was the one that connected the dots for our photography session. They are a wonderful family & actually led me to meet one of my future brides that I'll be photographing here in Lubbock in June! So exciting :) I was in Midland the day before our session & driving through Lamesa I realized how many neat textures & opportunities there were for great "guy" shots. Jamie, Cade's mom, & Cade were troopers & went along with my creative A.D.D. as we went from block to block in Laaaamesa of all places. We got some great images of a great FHS senior! Enjoy. Life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Alicia + Keith

I had the privilege of photographing Keith & Alicia in Midland last month. I'm  obviously out of order and behind on blogging my most recent sessions (I've got about 15 new & really fun posts I owe you guys! They include seniors, graphic design jobs, kid & family sessions, vacations, kitchen remodels, two baby nurseries I've designed, & two fun baby showers I've been a part of, so stay tuned). Now you know why I've been MIA, but trust me, I plan on getting this little blog caught up to speed very soon!! Keith & Alicia are in my husband Ryan's medical school class at Texas Tech University. We got to spend more time with them when they were here in Lubbock their first two years, however now they live in Midland for years three & four. Keith was part of the Intramural Softball Champion Team, (yes, medical students can be athletic & TTU's 2nd year guys dominated all of campus last year). Both Keith & Alicia are sorely missed by all of us still in the LBK,  but I did love getting to travel to Midland as it's always a good excuse to go stay with my sweet mother-in-law! Keith & Alicia are "parents" to one of the sweetest dogs ever, Jake, who makes a few star cameo appearances in these shots. They are a fun loving couple and will no doubt have very athletic genius babies one day :)

In the meantime, I'm so flattered to be a part of their engagement. A big thanks to Keith & Alicia for thinking of me to take their engagement session! Enjoy the images.

life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Wedding Debut

I'm so thrilled to share with you guys my first big wedding debut!! I hit the jackpot with Charla & Jon, (thanks JoBeth!) and have been in love with this couple ever since. Charla and Jon Lee, (the NEW Mr. & Mrs), found me a while back and asked me to be a part of their big day. I was completely thrilled, as I admittedly stalked them on facebook prior to accepting the invitation to shoot their wedding. I decided they were one of the cutest couples ever and perfect for my first big wedding job! As I've mentioned before on their engagement post, even if I wasn't their "photographer" I feel like we would be great friends one way or another. When Charla was describing her wedding details I envisioned it straight from a JCrew or Anthropologie ad campaign. Something so classic, so charming, and SO CHARLA! The wedding took place at the Hoffman Haus in Fredericksburg, Texas & was a complete dream. The evening was the perfect jump start to what I know will be an amazing marriage and hopefully a new chapter in my photography career! I'm giving a HUGE shout out to my second shooter Amy-Rose King, who shot along side me at this wedding. I couldn't have done it without her. We had such a fabulous time thanks to Jon & Charla & their wonderful guests. I'm going to let the images explain the rest. Enjoy & leave them some love!

Life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Doescher Family

So before I post about this precious family I just have to say that I shot my first wedding this past Saturday and daaaaang, I seriously cannot wait to share it. It was everything I hoped my initial wedding experience would be. The couple was beautiful, the venue was charming, and my second shooter, Amy-Rose King, well let's face it- was a BAD-A. The stars aligned and it was the best weekend ever. Oh, and it was my birthday, so that added some fun to the mix as well! I'll be working on the sneak peek this week, so stay tuned for my wedding debut!!

***

Onto the Doeschers, I love this cute family. Tanya is a new friend that came to me wanting pictures of her sweet baby girl Theia and I was happy to accommodate! Tanya and I got to meet for coffee prior to the shoot and she shared an interest in photography herself. I just love all these connections! She and her husband Charlie are a great couple and I had a fun getting to be a part of their "family" for a day. Meet the Doescher Family & enjoy.

Life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Charla + Jon

There's nothing better than loving new clients within the first 20 minutes of meeting them.  Jon, Charla & I met over a beer (and no, that's not what won me over) in Dallas a few weeks back before we headed out to take their adorable engagement photos. Within the first hour of knowing this couple, I decided that they had fallen straight out of a romantic comedy. They're funny, witty, charming, and very easy on the eyes! They're very in love and truly compliment each other perfectly. They had me laughing so much that I suffered from some camera shake on one or two outtakes (and no, that's wasn't from the beer either). They both live and work in Dallas and will be getting married this March in Fredericksburg. Turns out we have a lot of friends in common and from the looks of it, will probably become friends as well! I'm SO excited to be a part of their wedding day, and absolutely LOVE their style. The place they are having the wedding and reception is called the Hoffman Haus, and is hill-country-rustic meets Anthropologie. I know, it sounds perfect right? I cannot wait to photograph is and report back after their big day, so stay tuned all you fashionista people....and enjoy this fabulous couple's engagement session!

life's a flash, capture accordingly

I heart valentine's day

Valentine's day has always been one of my favorite holidays... I was the dorky girl in 2nd grade that really planned out her Valentine "goodie sack"...you know, the white one you decorated with pink & purple hearts and placed in front of the room for all your classmates to fill. To me it was almost like Christmas, but with arts & crafts and way more candy. I've also always loved Valentine's Day because since I was a kid, my mom would buy us all kinds of goodies and chocolate to overdose on. As the years pass and I find more people in my life to I love, the holiday continues to get better.... Now I've got my mom, Ryan and even his sweet mom who sent me goodies. Oh, and now I'm a mother, to my one-eyed chocolate lab of course, so that makes the day more special as well. Luckily Emma only require an extra belly rub and a treat or two... Basically Valentine's Day is the perfect time to reflect on how blessed we all are to have such special relationships in our lives. This year Jessica Weinheimer, a new friend who's husband is in Ryan's medical school class, wanted to celebrate her Valentine's day with a family photo shoot. We met in January for our session so that she could send out a special "Valentine's Day" card to all their loved ones. I was thrilled with this idea in lieu of Christmas cards, as it was a throw back to my coveted 2nd grade Valentine's day tradition (just more grown up now). The Wheinheimers have the sweetest baby boy with the bluest eyes you've ever seen. I loved spending time with them and look forward to hanging out in the future!

So...happy (belated) Valentine's Day, from the Weinheimers, and from me!

Enjoy.

Life's a flash, capture accordingly.

it's not just about photography.

Lately it seems I've been so busy with photography that I've neglected my inner designer.... Well, truth is I do just as much interior design work as photography, however each design project takes so much time and labor, that there are less opportunities to blog those topics. Also, with design, each part of the project goes through certain phases that aren't ready for public critique. I've learned with photography and especially design, that even though you have an image in your head, it doesn't mean anyone else understands the same projected outcome until it's complete. THAT my friends is why, I will always wait until a project is completed before I blog it. Design is like art.... it goes through a lot of messy phases, before it becomes a piece of distinction. With that being said, here is one of my most recent custom furniture pieces. The client wanted something custom because of certain size requirements that the space demanded in her bedroom. The piece is to have a flat screen TV mounted above it, and each of the upper "drawers" (which are really hinged panels that allow easy access to the TV's components) have wiring capabilities  for the digital technology required for the television. Also, the components to the TV are nicely screened behind poultry wire, which still allows a signal to pass, but camouflages the not-so-attractive cable boxes within the piece.

I designed this piece using my autoCAD program and had it built locally. Then when the construction was complete, I custom painted it to work with the client's new bedding, which was designed by All About Looks here in Lubbock.

Design is such a fun and innovative way to explore new possibilities for every aspect of our homes. Most say that form follows function, but I think it is imperative that they remain equal in mind when designing a custom piece. Without proper form, what good is function? Think about it.

Completed Custom Piece

Custom Piece Under Construction

Drawing of Custom Piece

Dimension Plan of Custom Piece

Life is in the details, design accordingly.

Santa Fe

I was sick for an entire month, starting three days after Christmas, all the way into late January. I have since learned that if your husband comes to you on Christmas day and says, "I feel sick", and you say, "Oh come on, suck it up, it's Christmas", your health may face a rapid decline due to karma. Ryan got better after three days, right about the time I first showed symptoms of the dreaded flu.... I worked (aka, painted a custom furniture piece in a cold, windy & very dusty garage) through what I thought was the worst of it, and then told Ryan how I was pretty certain my pain tolerance was better than his.... 4 days later I was in the fetal position begging for hot tea and Robitussin. It was miserable and I was wrong.... In the meantime, my brother, his girlfriend Allison, Ryan & I had all planned a fun New Year's trip to Santa Fe. I felt sicker than a dog, and was pretty selfish to go, considering Sage and Allison would be subject to my germs in a petri-dish of a car for the 5 hour drive. However, I know my brother, and if I had backed out it would have been used as ammunition in future battles. So I packed a months worth of medicine and tissues and we headed to Santa Fe, NM. I'm SO glad we did! Everything from the drive there, to the extra night we decided to stay was full of fun and complete nonsense. The four of us seriously had the best time ever. I was experimenting with my camera's video capabilities while we were there and stayed up last night making a little amateur video of the trips recaps, just for fun. Go check it out if you get a chance. Happy 2011!!

Click to watch our Santa Fe New Year 2011!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWLgFxjUfGc

And of course, here are a few random candids from the trip!

Enjoy

Life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Lily

My best friend Megan recently got a precious white lab puppy from her boyfriend for Christmas. I've been itching to make my way down to Ft. Worth to meet miss Lily and finally got a chance to do so last week.... You see funny thing is, Megan and I desperately wanted to get litter-mates so we could have a brother & sister! We've both been wanting white labs, and I was SO excited when her boyfriend, Clayton, informed & swore me to secrecy that he was putting his side of the deal into motion as a Christmas surprise for Megan. I got giddy and instantly called my husband Ryan to beg for our pick of the litter.... haha, it's funny the difference between marriage and dating... I was quickly pulled back to earth when Ryan reminded me that we already had a perfectly good one-eyed lab at home that was plenty expensive and spoiled all on her own. I couldn't help but reflect back to when we first dated, and I would drop subtle hints as to what I wanted for Christmas.... like, telling him in October that David Yurman came out with some new earrings that I'd been saving for.... something random.... But now, as a relentless married woman, I begged and pleaded and got down-right pushy before Christmas telling him to get me the dog or else!! Well Christmas came and went with no white snow and no white puppy...SO you can imagine my excitement when I finally got to meet Lily for the first time last week! Lily met me at the door and got so excited she peed a little at the sight of her incredible Godmother and then yelped when I picked her up.  It was an emotional moment, just as I'd imagined.... I luckily had my camera with me, as I was there to shoot an engagement session of a precious couple in Dallas (more on that fun day coming soon!). Being the nostalgic memory sap that I am, I persuaded Megan into taking a few puppy  shots with her new bundle of joy.... haha, a "puppy newborn" session if you will.... Meet Lily!

Life's a flash, capture accordingly