Lots of posting to do today { Souhlake Family pictures photography}

Well, I'm back at work, doing well but seriously behind in my blogging of new sessions. I'm just going to say a bit and then post them all together in one post.

The pictures of two sisters in the pool are of a family I have been lucky enough to photograph for about 3 years now. They were so much fun and showing off for Miss Cathy all the things they could do in the pool. I could have stayed by their pool all day...Dad has done an awesome job landscaping their yard so it was a wonderful location for their session and then they put on their swim suits and we did some more natural poses. The image I'm showing here is a really cute, natural portrait, unposed and spontaneous, and you know I love capturing those moments!

These two little girls here in the black and white photo don't get to see other often...one is a cousin who lives in Malaysia and they were here visiting family. We all headed to the Botanic Gardens in Fort Worth, which is a great location for family pictures and this particular picture was towards the end when they were wearing their "twin" outfits and giggling. There's nothing quite like two little girls in giggle mode...I really love this portrait from their family photography session.

I have had a couple of little boy newborns lately. The one shown laughing here started our session off by trying to "get me"....I guess he was showing me who was boss. We all had a good laugh over that one...hmm, maybe that's why he was laughing in this shot, thought he got Miss Cathy! Gotta love little boys' plumbing.

The next picture is of a newborn in black and white...he was just so gorgeous, and photographed great. His big sister did an awesome job during our portrait session doing the "kissing" shots with him, and those are sometimes tough shots to capture. I look forward to photographing him as he grows up as I have done with his big sister.

Last, but not least, is Miss C. She is turning 3 and brought all her shoes...she is starting young on being a shoeaholic. Move over Carrie from Sex and the City...you've got competition. Little Fashionistas start young don't they? I love this picture of her in the hat....she kept crinkling up her little nose at me through the portrait session and that was so adorable.

Personal Update

I wanted to thank everyone for their kind emails, calls and voicemails this past week or so as my husband fell ill quite unexpectedly and then passed away at the hospital on June 6th. I can't imagine life without him and the past few days, after the funeral, have been so very quiet and lonely around the house. I am so thankful to have my four fur babies here with me. What will be hardest on me is Thursdays. That's the day I would pick up our little Gigi, bring her home for a snack and cartoons and then her Pops and I would take her to dinner. We all loved it and now I don't quite know what to do with my Thursdays. Gigi and I will have to find our way for sure. She is too young to know what's going on, but she keeps looking for him and that just breaks my heart. So again, thanks for all the prayers and support my wonderful friends, families and customers have offered up on my behalf.

That all being said...I need to keep busy and do need to support myself. So if you are needing a session please feel free to go ahead and book that. I will bring my "A" game and I really do love what I do and want to return to it.

Steven Zaragoza 5/9/54 to 6/6/08

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

-W. H. Auden
http://www.legacy.com/DFW/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=111166081

Daddy's little girls

I met a new family yesterday that were referred by one of my longtime customers and I was immediately in love with all of their hair. Beautiful blonde ringlets, mom and both girls had them. We met at a beautiful park in Southlake which is normally an iffy spot as it gets very bright sun throughout most of the day. We so lucked out and had some cloud cover so the light was just beautiful! And by the time we were done, it was about to rain, missed by a very narrow margin! The oldest sister "R" is so photogenic it's crazy (in a good way!). This shot of her is my absolute favorite from the whole session...it's to die for good! I did show mom on the back of the camera but when I opened it up later on my pc I was soooo thrilled, it looked even better blown up! I am showing it to mom in color and bw but posting the bw here, you know I love my black and white! The little one is 17 months old "K" and she has the sweetest little baby curls, love them and her long eyelashes. We played some in the water but she wasn't too sure about that part! Next is one of the images of the girls (shh, its a secret for daddy)...I love it, its so sweet and I think this one will melt mom's heart too!

Food Photography - Tips and Tricks that make your mouth water

That luscious-looking roasted turkey has been washed in dishwashing detergent, cooked briefly, painted with ten coats of food coloring, and blowtorched (to give it that lovely roasted look!)

Those natural-looking bunches of grapes are sprayed with baby powder deodorant.

The molded cream pudding is hard as a rock, because it contains ten times the amount of gelatin than a regular pudding would. (We don't want it to melt under those hot lights!)

The ice you see in that frosty beverage is most likely acrylic "ice," that refracts light better than real ice and doesn't melt.

The rich-looking syrup being poured over pancakes? Motor oil works well here.

Like that milkshake? It's a combination of food colouring, and whipped shortening! And don't go for the ice cream instead - it's shortening too.

That great looking bowl of cereal on the cover of your cereal box is actually cereal and white glue, instead of milk, to prevent the cereal from getting soggy. (No one wants to buy a box of mush!)

Those veggies that look as if if they were just picked and dew-covered? Mix glycerine into a spray bottle with water and the drops will stay on for about 15 minutes. (Glycerin can be used to give any food a juicy, glistening appearance.)

Want your Barbecued ribs to look mouth-watering? Half-cook the ribs, paint with wood stain and BBQ sauce.

Those french fries in a carton? Each one has been individually selected, from hundreds of fries, and secured to a styrofoam base inside the package so that they stand up straight and fan out nicely.

That hamburger that makes you want to run to your nearest fast-food outlet, is the product of a process that includes:

• frying the hamburger for 20 seconds on each side
• using red-hot skewers pressed against the meat to give it that "grilled" look
• painting the hamburger with food colouring to give it that plump, brown, juicy appearance.
• picking the best out of hundreds of hamburger buns (strategically gluing on extra sesame seeds if necessary)
• lining the buns with cardboard so that they don't get soggy
• snipping and spreading the burger from behind so that it looks bigger in the bun
• selecting only the most perfect condiments and securing them in place with toothpicks
• securing the top of the bun to the hamburger with toothpicks
• The finishing touch to a hot food photo-shoot? Artificial 'steam' placed behind the food to give it that 'fresh from the oven' appearance.

Look at me...I'm 3! {Fort Worth Family Photographers}

Miss L had her 3rd birthday last week so it was time to capture her in pictures around that big girl milestone. I put her in these rainboots for walks in puddles (of which we found none...) and poor little thing could hardly walk in them but she was a great sport about it...she'd take a step and go all wonky then keep on going!

I do keep a collection of accessories and props for children's portraits and little girls love to use them!

We did quite a few pictures with a hat on and she looked so cute in the hat! A few weeks before her session this little girl had done a little experimenting with her bangs (much to Mom's chagrin!) so we thought we might need the hat. But they really looked okay, could have been worse! I remember the things my sister did to poor Barbie's hair as a child...shudder! In the long run, it makes this child's portraits even more special. Her parents can show her these picture memories when she's older, and oooooh, think of the fun they can have teasing her with her self styled hairdo around the boyfriends!
Life happens so fast, you blink and your baby girl is grown.

She's a beautiful little girl and it was a beautiful day for pictures at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens....what more could a photographer ask for? ;)

Scottie Saturday

I do believe I am actually a "doggie doorman" more than anything else...with 4 dogs I guess that's to be expected. I was just up letting them out and my youngest dog is Brody...he cracks me up. Here's the routine...puts his front paws up on my computer chair and gives me a hopeful look...wants to go outside...check! Then we head to the back door via the kitchen...he passes 4 dog bowls and "hits and runs" each one. He literally runs by each one and must grab a bite and scatters food along the way. Oh, and let's not forget the spinning! He spins once we get into the kitchen area...almost to that back door, yippee! He makes me dizzy sometimes with all the crazy spinning. And one day he spun himself right into the bookcase...I admit it, I laughed a bit ; )

Now Max, the 8 year old is the world's laziest dog...seriously. I have to MAKE him go outside, he will sleep 20 hours a day and try to skulk off to the dog bed in the living room when I order a potty break for the group! His brother Marty has to sing and howl (the ole' Scottie arrroooo...), that's how he shows he's excited about the novelty! how exciting!, wow, we're going outside! (Like he hasn't been outside for days and days...) and he'll do this even if he just went outside 5 minutes ago.

And then there's Miss Duffy...the reigning queen and alpha dog. She will sometimes "deign" to go outside with the boys but really, why must I when the front yard is so much better and those pesky boys aren't allowed out in the front with me??? I really believe she lords it over them that she gets to go out front and they don't...nanner nanner nah! I never knew a dog could stick their tongues out and put their fingers in their ears like that ha ha!

While they do make life messier...I couldn't be without them. When I'm working on the computer too long Brody will come up and put his front paws up and whine at me...in doggie speak that means "Mama, I want to go snuggle on the couch with you. Enough work for today!" That little guy just melts my heart! They each have their own things they do that they know gets you...Duffy will come up and bump your leg with her head as if to say, "enough already...pet me!" She looks up at you with her eyes gone blue with cataracts and can't hear too much but she still knows love and knows how to give and get it. She's 12 this year and we're preparing ourselves that she is in the twilight years of her life. And Max and Marty who have been together their whole life must sleep "butt to butt"...I'm thinking Marty might not be so much into that but Max just keeps following him. Marty, who's the most "show" quality of the 4 and a big tough guy is the one who will be the scardy cat during a thunderstorm and want to sleep with you even while trying to not let on he's scared.

Oh well, they certainly keep life interesting....and yes, I need a life if this is what I'm finding to blog about on a Saturday afternoon!