On Location Portraiture's Jpeg Blog

Send in the Clowns

In September, Valecia Sarmento and I did one of our concept shoots. We both do so for our portfolios, but I also do the shoots for print competitions and as a way of exploring new photographic techniques. By trying something new and different for myself, I find I can then add something new and different to my client work afterwards.

This September the concept was to create an album about a simple love story between two clowns. The location, naturally, was the State Fair. I still have a lot of work to do to get the album ready, but here are a few images from the shoot itself!

Sights of the past year

Most of these are from the past year - a handful are from the past 2-3 years. They are images I've taken quickly on shoots, some from moments noticed of a sudden, and some from vacations.

From left to right and top to bottom: the moon over Lake Ray Hubbard, hurricane damage from Katrina in Biloxi (this was a church - they're re-locating), another image from Biloxi, the bats in Austin, a detail from the spring, Joel Osteen's church in Houston, a lovely feller from Crowley Park in Richardson, a statue in Southlake, the sky over the Garland studio one evening, another sky image from the old studio, an intriguing critter from the circus in Rockwall, Chichen Itza, the deck of the Elation (Carnival Cruises), another image of the circus setting up in Rockwall, and a panorama image of Erin's parents' back yard (I want to start experimenting with panorama images in the future).

Sailing Away

Mom and Dad live in Annapolis, MD, and they love it there. One reason is that my dad has always been drawn to the water. For years, as he worked for the government as a civil engineer, he said he would get a boat when he retired. I don't know why I had my doubts, I suppose because he said it for so long, but sure enough, when he retired he and Mom bought a boat and took to exploring the Chesapeake. They're on their third 'upgrade', called the Odyssey.

The first image is of my dad with his brother, Bob, and their dad (my grandfather). The image is probably from the early fifties, and I've always liked the atmosphere of the photo. The second is another family portrait, taken just before I started working as a professional photographer. The third is Mom and Dad during Laura's wedding. The last three are from a trip on the Odyssey in 2006.

Erin and I will also be visiting Erin's good friend, Carolyn, and her family around this time. Here's an image of Carolyn as she was expecting Dax - whom we'll meet in person this trip!

Mama Lou

Mary Lou Herndon, whom I've called Mama Lou all my life, has taught me many things, but I think the first is the responsibility to hold up one's head in all conditions. She is the definition of the tough Texas woman. She lived in Mansfield until recently, and she now lives near my parents and my uncle's family outside D.C., and turned 93 this year.

The first image is of my grandmother, probably taken in the forties. The second is a 16x20 montage print I made for her a while back using family photos. The third and fourth are images taken in her home in Mansfield - I have many fond childhood memories of it. The last two are from a recent trip to visit my parents and Mama Lou.

20 hours to the East Coast

We're on the way today, driving to see my family on the East Coast. We're going to be out of town for 17 days, getting back on the evening of January 12th (although our first day back at the studio will be the 14th).

The first stop is my parents home in Annapolis, but a big part of the excitement this trip is that we'll see my newest nephew, Alistair George Ivanov - my sister's first child. He was born on December 20th, weighing 9 pounds. The first image below is probably my first attempt at family portraiture. It's my family, taken when I was 18 or so. The second is my sister, Laura, and her husband, George Ivanov, during their wedding a few years ago. And the last is an image my dad just emailed me of Alistair.

The Day After (but in a good way)

Here are some images from last year's Christmas with Erin's family. The young man is Bryce, Erin's and my nephew, who made an appearance in the blog previously (Brendan was still on the way!), and you'll also see Erin's mom and dad - Mike and Anne McGrew. I'd show images images from this year's Christmas, but like I said before, these posts were actually written before the 24th and are on a scheduler to update themselves. Pretty fancy, no?

The 26th has always been one of my favorite days of the holiday season. It's the day when everyone gets to relax, hang out, and maybe play with a few new toys. Erin and I are at her parents house today, hopefully just spending the day watching movies.

Bah Humbug!

Erin has been the music director of 'Scrooge' at the Pocket Sandwich Theatre for 11 years running this year. David Lambert has played the role of Scrooge for even longer. The first five images are from this year's show, and the last is a promo image of David I took a few years ago. It's the competition print version of it. It's also the lowest scoring print I've ever submitted. Oh well, I still like it.

Merry Christmas to one and all!

The Holiday Spirit

Erin and I are going to be on an extended trip this holiday season. We're going to be with Erin's parents in Rockwall on the 25th and 26th, then we'll drive to see my parents in Annapolis. We'll get to meet my one week old nephew, Alistair George Ivanov, visit with my sister and her husband, we'll drive down to Williamsburg to visit our old college and to see my good friend, Mark, and his family, we'll continue to Charlotte to see my brother and his family, we'll drive to Tampa for the annual PPA (Professional Photographers of America) convention, we'll go to Disney World for a day and a half, then we'll head home. That's some serious mileage, but we like road trips, and we're really looking forward to it.

In the meantime, I've set the blog to automatically update each day. I'll be posting about myself and my family rather than my client work. I get so busy the rest of the year to really write about myself, and I'm pretty much a guy who holds his cards close to the chest, but this will be a chance to share a little about who I am and what's going on in my life. To those interested in reading these, happy holidays to you!

These images are from an interesting party that was held at the Hickory Street Annex this year. The theme was 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' and the budget for the party was rumored to be $100,000. The party had Oompa Loompas and a Willy Wonka impersonator, and they took four days to set it up. I wasn't the photographer for the event, ah well, but I did get these images of the set-up before the party started:

Allie's Baby Portraits

Little Allie Boynton's portraits were photographed at the studio:

Michael & Stephanie in the City

Michael Kenney and Stephanie Schuurman are getting married in March. Their engagement portrait session was in the Arts district of Dallas, just walkin' around! It was also my first shoot with the extremely cool Nikon D3 - which I borrowed for the shoot from my friend, Jim Welborn.

Chris and Lisa-Kay's Engagement Portraits

Chris Pierotti and Lisa-Kay Stone's engagement portraits were photographed alongside White Rock Lake, where Lisa-Kay often runs.

Brandenburg M.S. Orchestra

Brandenburg Middle School in Garland is going to be performing in Seattle and need a promo portrait:

Michael and Amber

Michael Connel and Amber Roberts are getting married in Vegas, but their engagement portrait session was at the Mandalay Canal in Las Colinas:

Wallace and Beck Designer Folios

Here is the layout for Bailey Wallace's Designer Folio and one for the Becks:

Pruitt Family Portraits

I photographed the Pruitt family recently at the Dallas Arboretum:

Shuey Family Portraits

Here are the Shuey family portraits. I actually didn't post them right away - we did a bit of head swapping. Each of the four children was adorable, but trying to get all four 'looking' adorable at the exact same time was the challenge!

Thorson Engagement Cards

Emily Thompson and Alex Thorson are sending out 'Save the Date' cards for their wedding. I've designed two different samples (plus a slight modification on one). They are designed as 7x7 photo prints that will accompany their actual cards. Which would you choose?

 

The McNamaras in Texas Stadium

The weekend after the Cowboys beat the Packers, the McNamaras, Erin, and I took the Cowboys tour in Texas Stadium. During the tour, you're allowed to spend a few minutes on the field to take photos. So the McNamara's Christmas card this year will be all about the 'Boys!

Brendan & Bryce - Baby Portraits

Brendan and Bryce McGrew are Erin's and my little nephews, and they were in the studio recently for baby (and brother) portraits:

Scott & Katie Palmer

Scott and Katie are brother and sister and want portraits for their mother for Christmas (I'm going to assume their mom isn't a follower of my blog!). Anyway, here are a few from their portrait session at the studio and at Lakeside Park:

Jessica Brown

Jessica Brown is a senior at Naaman Forest - her portrait session was at the studio.

Ashly Luna's Bridal Portraits

Ashly's bridal portraits were created at the studio:

Beck Family Portraits

The Beck's had their family portraits created at the studio:

Scott Bryan's Senior Portraits

Scott and his sisters were at the studio for family and senior portraits:

Joe and Amy

Joe Scott and Amy Sheppard are getting married in Italy, but their engagement portraits were created at the studio. Joe is a good friend of Erin's and mine and is the writer/director for 'Ocean Front Property' - the film Erin was in a few years ago.