Old School

It's the beginning of the school year and what better way to teach how cameras work than to build one from scratch. It's funny in our high-tech digital world, the kids still love going into that darkroom and developing prints the old-fashioned way. I love watching them get so excited by the safelights and the trays. I usually hear "Wow, I've seen this in the movies!" at some point during the project. I happened to have my G11 at school this week so I took a few shots in the darkness on high ISO. An 8th of a second at 2.8 and it looks super cool.

Does this bring back and memories?

This is a pinhole camera image coming up in the developer. Yes, you can still buy black and white photo paper and Dektol developer.

Film cameras themselves are getting harder to find and even harder to get repaired but we don't shoot too much film, we just build our little cardboard box cameras and take pictures using paper as our film. The kids like it and I think it gives them a great foundation to the magic that is photography.

Beth and Clark are getting married!

This morning I met Beth and Clark to take some fun engagement photos. We went to a few different locations and got tons of geed photos. They are super fun as you can see from their images.

One of my favorite doorways. You've seen it before on my blog but I keep going back because the color is just awesome.

Love this rusted door.

A romantic kiss on the street.

And a sexy one in the alley.

The lens flare is fun.

Bare feet!

Aren't they cute?

Love her ring.

A cool little LensBaby shot.

My favorite.

Weekend Wedding Details

I spent this weekend with a gorgeous Indian couple and a few photographer friends photographing an amazing wedding. Thursday was the Mehndi ceremony, Friday was the Sangeet and yesterday was the wedding and reception. I had so much fun watching all the traditions and ceremonies. Here are a few photos from the wedding.

I love her tying her skirt with some help from one of her friends. Her wedding dress was stunning, and it was covered in rhinestones so it weighed like 30 pounds. The bracelets on her wrists were placed on her during a ceremony the morning of the wedding by her aunts and aren't supposed to be removed for a year.

I actually did a little research before the internet before the wedding so I would know what was important and it was incredibly interesting. Apparently during the ceremony the brides girlfriends steal the groom's shoes and hide them, then in order for him to get his shoes back he has to pay the girls off. It was so fun to listen to the groom bargain to get his shoes back so they could take photos. He ended up paying the girls $100 per shoe.

Thursday when I was photographing the bride having her henna tattoos put on I thought it would be cool to photograph their wedding rings in her hands.

Love the mehndi.

At the reception the bride and groom stand on a small stool and several different ceremonies take place but the fun one is saved for the end. Two small pots are placed at their feet and they step off the stool and crush the pots and whoever crushes it first is the head of the household. I swear it was a tie :) Everyone was cheering and having so much fun.

Traditions

This weekend I am photographing a super cool Indian wedding and it is amazing. There are so many traditions that make wonderful photos. Last night all the women's from the groom's family came and gave gifts to the bride and blessed her with rice. It was really a pretty ceremony.

The women all dip their fingers into the oil and rub it on the brides forehead then they push a few grains of rices into the oil until it sticks. Then they pick up a small bit of rice and shower her with it. It's really neat to watch.

Love this picture :)

Then after that there was a Mehndi ceremony where the brides hands and feet were covered in henna tattoos for the wedding. Tradition says that the groom's name is hidden in the intricate designs and he must find his name.

Scrapbook!

Wow. I am so very far behind on my scrapbooking. I had a little time tonight with nothing to edit so I decided to make a page. This is from when we went to Las Vegas in March. I'm pretty proud of the background. It's two photos I took at the hotel with a couple of textures overlaid on it to make it look like a paper. :) I liked the swirly painted walls at the MGM Grand so one day I just took a photo of them with the intent of using them as the background for a page then I was looking through my stash of digital elements and I found this glittery swirl that I downloaded from digitreats a very long time ago. It's a perfect match. I recolored it of course and I found a glittery alpha called Seduced by Sarah Bryan that I liked as well. The post-it flags are by the Scrappin' Cop. What do you think?

Shoes!

Gotta love shoes right? Well the last wedding I photographed the bride had some super cool hot pink shoes. Here they are!

First the advertising style close-up of the shoes. Aren't they cool?

and on the bottom...so cute!

Now for the journalistic side of the shoe photos.

Hadley is one!

Last week Hadley's mom called and said she was turning one. Already? You might remember her newborn (post 1 or post 2) or 6 month photos (post 1 or post 2) from reading my blog. Wow! It's fun to watch her grow in front of my camera lens.

What a cutie!

Yes, she has the most amazing blue eyes.

She loved digging her toes into the grass :)

Such a beautiful little serious face.

That's one awesome mommy!

Tyler's Senior Portraits

A few weeks ago Tyler and I spent the afternoon taking his Senior portraits out in Granbury. Boy was it hot. I think we topped out at 106-degrees that day but Tyler was a trooper and even put on his letter jacket for a few. I think his photos turned out awesome and here are a few of my favorites.

He wanted railroad tracks so we went there and had some fun. Seriously over 100 degress and in a coat. He is dedicated!

Really love this one, under the bridge.

Like that smile. I think he had fun. I did!

Love this railing and wall.

There was a flag in a window on the square so we worked it into a photo as well.

I like this closeup with the weathered wall behind him.

At the park.

So Tyler's dad brought his dog out for the very end of our session. What a great dog and I saw this old garage when we were driving to our last location so we went back and took the dog photos there. Perfect.

Puppy profile

Love this one. It's my very favorite. There's nothing like the unconditional love between a boy and his dog :)

Tony, Helio and the Dolls

I photographed a pretty cool media event this evening.

I took my LensBaby and had some fun in the photographer's pit. I like how the "Dolls" are all blurry on the sides of Eddie. You thought I was going to show you the real "Dolls" didn't you ;) Keep reading!

A cool LensBaby shot of Tony.

Love all the hands reaching in for Tony.

Helio!

Helio has a great smile.

I guess this is the ring you get when you win the Indy 500.

Set list with my favorite song: Better Days.

Now for the The Real Dolls :)

Gotta love pink stage light :)

More published photos

Here are a few more Cowboys vs Raiders clips from this week.

The Oakland Tribune

The Washington Times

The Sacramento Bee

The LA Times

Blogging the Boys

The Artesia News

The Albany Times-Union