by Shelly | Jul 17, 2011 | engagement, SPCcreative, wedding |
When Laura and John asked me to photograph their wedding, I was beyond excited.
Laura and I first met several years ago through our positions in medical nonprofit public relations, and we’ve been involved in several projects together since then. Her gutsy “Take-on-the world” spirit has always impressed me, and the sparkle in her eyes only begins to reflect her generous caring heart. You’ve GOTTA love a gal who devotes her days to saving lives by promoting organ donations all across this great State of Texas.
And John . . . well, he is absolutely head over heels in love with Laura. Good choice, John! Great catch, Laura!
We met for engagement photos on the grounds of the beautiful Houstonian Hotel and Spa. This is where they had their first date and also where John proposed to Laura, giving her his grandfather’s heirloom diamond in a beautifully–set ring. Sentimental? Oh yeah!
After our session we just HAD to swing by Tasti Delite, one of their favorite hangouts for frozen yogurt. Oh MY! It is GOOD STUFF!
I can hardly wait until their big day — January 21, 2012 — and I’m sure they’re a bit excited as well!
by Shelly | Jul 1, 2011 | personal, SPCcreative |
We had a little surprise visitor this morning. Isn’t he handsome?
When I first saw that little reptilian head and the back of his shell poking up in the grass, I was afraid we were getting ready to have to confront a big honkin’ snake, so my “Mama Instincts” kicked in and I hustled both dogs back into the house.
THEN, I went back out to investigate, camera in hand.
SOOOOOOO HAPPY that it was NOT a snake because we had ourselves very a nice little visit.
Our guest told me that he had smelled water, and decided he should check it out. Said the places he and his kinfolk usually count on for a little refreshment had purt’ near dried up, and that things weren’t looking too good for the days ahead. In fact, he doesn’t think it’s ever going to rain again in Texas — or even in the whole world. Turtles are known for being a bit pessimistic.
Naturally I told him he was welcome to stay as long as he wanted and to partake of all the bugs he could find. Even turned the sprinkler on him for a little bit, and he was most appreciative.
I asked if he’d mind posing for a few natural-light outdoor portraits, and he perked right up. Did you know that turtles have egos? Oooohhh. This guy is quite proud of himself. When I told him that I thought he looked particularly intelligent, he said that I was darn right. After all, wasn’t he the one that found the green place with the rain maker thing in it?
When I asked his name, though, he just looked at me. Told me I wouldn’t understand Turtlel-ese, and that I should just pick something that I’d remember because names mean more to humans than they do to turtles.
Have you ever tried to name a turtle? It’s harder than it seems.
When I was about eight years old, I had a little green turtle from Woolworth’s. Pokey lived for a short time in our bathroom in one of those spiral dishes with a stiff plastic palm tree growing up in the middle of it. He was a happy and friendly little guy, until the night he took a bubble bath with my younger brothers. Jim, A desert tortoise, came to our back yard in Midland for several years in a row. Everyone knew his name was Jim because someone had painted J-I-M on his back in big red letters with fingernail polish. We figured it was probably the kid named Jim who lived in the Floyd’s rent house down the block for about a year . . . but wild turtles are not to be owned. That’s why he came to stay at our house.
This guy, however, was DEFINITELY not a Pokey or a Jim but he still needed a name.
He thinks he’s a Gulf Coast Box Turtle. At least no one has told him otherwise, so we nearly decided on Karumbe-Boaska, because it means Turtle-Box in Gujarati and it sounds super cool. We had to look up the word for Box on Google Translator. Don’t ask how we knew the Karumbe part.
In the end we decided to keep things simple and go with Sparky in honor of his intelligence and as a nod to Fourth of July Fireworks — of which there will be none in our neighborhood this year thanks to the drought.
Sparky was less than thrilled to make acquaintance with Lucy, so he announced that he’d be moving along. He is DEFINITELY a Sparky, not a Pokey. Maybe he’ll come back to visit, but he’s not making any promises. But thank you for turning on the rain maker for a bit.
by Shelly | Jun 4, 2011 | food, personal, SPCcreative |
Summertime, and the Livin’ is Easy . . .
Tomatoes are Ripe . . . and the Basil is tall.
Okay . . . perhaps I cheated. The tomatoes are store-bought.
My vines still only produce about five cherry tomatoes a day, but the basil is growing like crazy!
What’s a girl to do?
Splurge on the prettiest tomatoes the market has to offer, and make Caprese Salad of course!
YUMM-O . . . and so simple, sliced garden tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil from the backyard and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Salt and Pepper and you’re DONE! Mmmmmm!
Recently I’ve had reasons to go back through some of my older photography blogs, and realized how much I used to enjoy sharing a photograph every day. In fact, some of my dearest and most lasting photography friendships came out of the OLD circa 2007-2008 Dailies Community at Smugmug.
YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!
Lately though, it seems like the efforts to build my business have made it more difficult to just enjoy and create art for arts sake.
My wonderful clients DESERVE a fresh eye and the passion that made me ditch the daily commute and the regular paycheck. They deserve the passion that makes me get excited about the beauty of every day life.
So . . . Here’s something I saw and enjoyed today. That little voice in my head said that I really should share it with you.
I make no promises of a daily blog post that has little if anything to do with the business side of SPCcreative Photography, but maybe, just maybe, I’ll do better. Whaddaya think?
by Shelly | May 17, 2011 | family, SPCcreative |
Little boys grow up entirely too fast! I know. Mine sure did.
Fortunately, my friend Montse is wise enough to have figured that out. Her sons have entered that fleeting age where they bounce between being little boys full of mischief and silliness to young men with generous hearts and gentlemanly manners.
What better way to freeze this moment in time than a non-traditional family-lifestyle photography session?
Montse wanted to capture her family’s personality and activities, and she was super-enthusiastic about our session. She packed several sets of clothes, and had the kids bring a few of their favorite toys including light sabers (and Jedi Robes) , hand-held computer games and even the WII controllers. She and her oh-so-easy-on-the-eyes husband even hauled a laptop computer and a book to the park.
They’re going to keep on growing up, but Mom and Dad will always have these super-fun portraits on their walls to stir their hearts full of memories.
by Shelly | May 15, 2011 | senior portraits, SPCcreative |
For Kandi’s senior portrait session, she wanted a fun and funkly urban look, and I believe we pulled it off beautifully.
I had first met her mother last summer when she and one of her very good friends rocked the camera in a Trash the Dress session that I blogged about back in July.
Anyway, and I could hardly wait to see her again and to meet Kandi.
We picked a Friday afternoon to meet in downtown Houston for a walking session that covered just a few city-blocks where we found a great variety of settings.
Oh my goodness it was fabulous, and I can hardly wait to go back down there to shoot again.
Here’s the album we created with her favorite images. I feel certain that she’ll enjoy showing these off to her friends and family for years and years to come.
Enjoy your graduation celebrations, Kandi, and have a wonderful time in college. I know you’re going to SHINE.
