This weekend in Arlington, Tx, the SWPPA will be holding their annual convention and print competition.  It is an exciting time for  photographers in the 5 state region of the Southwest.  Outside of the national convention this one is the largest in the US.  There are many speakers giving programs on all of the various genres of photography.  Also hundreds of major national photography vendors such as Canon, Nikon, Adobe will be on hand showing the latest and greatest in photography wares.  This trade show is a feast for the eye and a definite income depleter.  Photographers are suckers for new gadgets.

One of the special highlights of the show is the annual print competition. Each photographer is permitted to enter 4 images to be judged by an international judging panel.  It is a great way to test one’s skills against their fellow photographers.  Each image is judged on its IMPACT, CREATIVITY, TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE, COMPOSITION, LIGHTING, STYLE, PRINT PRESENTATION, CENTER OF INTEREST, SUBJECT MATTER, COLOR BALANCE, TECHNIQUE, AND STORYTELLING.  It is always a highlight to the convention.  I encourage all photographers to enter.  It is a wonderful way to improve one’s photography skill and art form. I always marvel at the wonderful work that other photographers are doing.  This area of the country has some of the finest image makers in the world. Here are my four entries for this year.  I hope you enjoy them!

"Light's Sweet Embrace"

"Seafarer's Sanctuary"

"Serene Senorita"

"The Gate To Love"

We have been honored to have many our our brides featured on Julian Gold’s billboard. This time Analise Spalten and Mallory Belt are the “chosen” ones. They look wonderful. Be sure to let the girls and Julian Gold know you saw the images. It is tough to beat the styles and service you get at Julian Gold’s Bridal Salon. The billboard is located near the railroad tracks at The Quarry Market. Swing by and check it out. Here is a quick glance.

For all of the blunders the government makes, one thing they still do right is take care of the wonderful cemetery’s that honor our brave men and women who have so valiantly served to make sure our freedoms are secure. American is an exceptional nation. Let us never forget that. We are a nation determined to preserve life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all. My father was one of those brave men who fought in WWII. I took my mother to The National Cemetery at Ft. Sam Houston today to place flowers on his grave.
Every time I go there I get chills up and down my spine. The sight is so inspirational. Those tombstones are constant reminders as to why this country is the greatest of all. I am proud to be an American.
Pray for our country and our soldiers.

My father's grave.

This is my mother placing flowers at his headstone.

What a natural beauty!  Emily has a look that is extremely natural.  Her beauty matches her compassionate spirit.  The world is hers to conquer.  We all wish her the best.  Enjoy the images.

Check out Rebecca’s video we created from her vast collection of images from her senior portrait session.

I met Rebecca through her sister, Anne. We are photographing Anne’s wedding next month and are really looking forward to that event. Rebecca is a graduating senior from Boerne and wanted to update her senior portraits. I hadn’t photographed a senior in a while and frankly had forgotten how much fun seniors are. Rebecca was a fantastic subject and I think we captured the many versions of her infectious personality. I hope you enjoy her images as much as we do.
I think I would love to start photographing more seniors. Since I do not advertise, if any of you know of a current senior who needs an update or a current junior who is thinking about their senior year and their senior portraits, have them call me.  I would love to tell their senior story too.

I created two renditions of this image. Which one do you like best?

Be ready for some fun!

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Natalie and Chad are getting married soon so we thought it would be a great idea to capture some special images of the two of them prior to their big day. We choose Rio Cibolo as our site since Natalie’s mother had chaired the Cattle Baron’s Gala there this past year. The springtime setting was fabulous and truly fit their personalities. I think we got some great images of them. Enjoy!

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I know Nicole had to be missing Ricky.  He has been in the Middle East helping preserve our freedom.  Nonetheless when you are engaged and in love you want to be with your man.  Ricky was home on leave for a couple of weeks but had to return on Monday, so we took advantage of this time to create portraits of the two of them to mark their engagement.  Nicole wanted do something special on the streets of downtown SA.  She wanted to create a similar image to the famous photograph of  the sailor kissing a girl in Times Square at the end of WWll.  Alfred Eisenstaedt, the photographer, was in the right place at the right time.  We put our own touch to this iconic image.  Enjoy this image and a few others from the session.  Thanks Ricky for your service to all of us.  I for one am grateful to you and the other soldiers who sacrifice so much.

Brittni and Chris are to be married in Mexico this summer but wanted to create some wonderful images together at the McNay.  We had a great time.  They proved to be very relaxed with each other and I think we got some super images for them.  Enjoy!

Mallory is from El Paso and marrying a San Antonio boy, David Berchelman.  They have been a great couple to work with.  Mallory could not make it here early for her bridal portrait so we did it the week of her wedding at Mission San Jose.  It was a blast working with her.  She was very relaxed and just let things happen.  We got some beautiful portraits along with some stunning animated images.  I tried a new painterly technique on a couple of the images. I have been trying to perfect this for a while.  Comments, good or bad, are welcomed.  Enjoy the images.

This is the new painterly look I have been working on.

Here is the "before" and "after" of the painterly look.

This next collection is a group of fun animated images of Mallory as the session ended.  Too cute!!

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