1 Guy, 3 Girls...and a Crazy House!

This is just a post to let Danny & Jess know that...we are alive and doing well! We acquired another baby for the weekend so the Whites could go on a needed vacation, and we were the surrogate parents chosen to care for their little one! We're all doing good...although it certainly is twice the challenge and double the fun with 2 rather than 1! Practice makes perfect...right? HA! Emma's found a new buddy to push around... Chillin' and watchin' a little Charolette's Web... Some people say walkers aren't good for kiddos and their development...I say, hummffff, really...what better time to hand over a set of wheels, a toy and a house with hardwood floors!?

News Flash!

This just in from the wire... The "Client Portfolios" galleries are corrected! Yippee! Thanks to The White's for their patience... To Mr & Mrs Stovall...your wedding/reception images are now posted too! Thanks to Janice for her patience...:) How exciting!

It's not your eyes...

Hey gang...If you've tried to visit your portrait gallery or other galleries on my web site in the last 24 hours...I promise your eyes aren't deceiving you; you aren't going blind; the world isn't shrinking...YES, the pictures are smaller (and hard to see I might add!) - so sorry! This will be a temporary thing and adjusted to all of our aging eyes out there very soon... Thanks for your patience - I just got way too tired last night and couldn't click on another thing! I'll post again when its all magically 'fixed'!

Series on a Stone Bench...

The White Session is now posted to my site...The Stovall Wedding isn't far behind...and with several upcoming sessions and a much needed vacation on the horizon, I thought I would take advantage of the lull before I get too far behind and post this little series from our trip to the Arboretum this past weekend! For the first time Emma experienced 'baby jealousy'...so we decided to take 5 with Baby Kate...and this is what I caught! What a little poser! I love it! :) Remember: Click Play; Then click the speaker to hear the tunes!

Cloudy...With a Chance of The Whites!

When clients call worried about it being cloudy for their outdoor session...I reassure them as much as I can because it is actually the BEST type of light! The colors are brighter and more vivid, everyone looks more relaxed, no one is squinting...and I'm not looking for that blessed tree in the middle of nowhere to soften the light a little! I hope the photo below is reassurance of all of that to clients and future clients... We ventured out to the Dallas Arboretum for a family session with The Whites...and the adorable Baby Kate...click HERE to see the rest of the fabulous previews from The White Family session!

~The Stovalls~

It's here...the 48 hour post...and just under the wire! Saturday I had the honor of shooting Todd & April's wedding...what wonderful people The Stovall's are to me...so encouraging! Congrats to Todd & April on your new beginning and thanks for a great evening! Jeremy and I wish you many blessings...D Just click "Play" and then click on the little speaker to turn on the music!

It's the little things...

Well, I got it...the Canon 24-70mm L series lens! AND...I got to try it out on a friend's wedding this weekend in Dallas...as a guest, of course. I'm still getting the feel for it but I am already so impressed...the lens, the results, the little details it picks up...it's those little details that make me happy... Congrats Todd & Rina...beautiful wedding, reception...and details!

Bokeh Baby...

OK - So I got a new lens last weekend (50mm / f1.4) that I am totally stoked about! It gives great bokeh! (That's my new word...and I plan to use it frequently...as well as the lens.) Bokeh is that fuzzy dreamy quality to a picture...shallow depth of field...and sharp where you want it; like eyes, the center of a flower, the beak of a duck, 1 bead on a light shade...I love it! Great for portraits; great for just picking up and shooting random things...like at Pops & Mimi's in Odessa, or a duck feeding frenzy, or a few flowers, or a few of your kids... I can't wait to use it in a session - it's sharp, fast, vivid and light - a great prime lens! I am in the hunt for another lens soon...The Canon 24-70 L Series! Now taking donations...just kiddin!

~The Williams Family~

Luckily yesterday wasn't as hot and humid as it was today because we ventured out to Lakeside Park in Highland Park for the Williams family session...

Great family, adorable and well-behaved kiddos...and oh, so photogenic!

The pic of the kids on the bench is one of my new favs! Don't they look like best buddies...

Thanks for a great session, and I hope you enjoy your preview! ~D

August 1997 ~ July 2008

A girl's best friend...

It's so hard for me to write as I know it is almost minutes it seems until we will have to say goodbye to our Penny forever. She has been with us through so much...she protected Jeremy from himself in college...'walked us down the aisle'...mourned with us through the loss of other pet friends...comforted me when Jeremy was out of town...and watched over our little Emma from the day we brought her home. She is the one 4-legged child who lets Emma use her as a pillow, punching bag and squeeze toy. Even now, when she doesn't feel, act or look like the same old Penny...She is a gem! She even humored me today when I forced she and Emma out to our old rail station to take a few keepsakes. I can look into those big soulful eyes and tell she isn't all together...but she will be with us together in our hearts and memories.

She will never be compared; she will never be replaced; she will forever be missed. We love you Penny!

Small Town, USA...

When it comes to patriotism...I'm a big pile of mush! I love everything about this country and even respect those that say they don't. After all, that's part of what I love. However, if it's a flag, a veteran, a soldier, a parade...I'm the first to stand and applaud and probably cry...so don't give me crap about it, ya hear...:) The older I get, the more I appreciate what my Grandaddy fought for so many years ago in the skies over Italy and Germany during WWII.

So...what can you say about a 'Small Town July 4th'...Quaint, charming, fun, quirky? All of the above! It's home, and I love it because it is patriotism at it's simplest!

May God continue to bless America...and all of our military families and heroes - thank you for serving!

After the rain...

Notice how after it rains everything seems...brighter...cleaner...softer... Well that's what happened today...right in the middle of the summer heat...Just when everything turns that wonderful crunchy brown, flowers and plants wilt, water bills sky rocket and gardners all across Texas pray for even the smallest of sprinkles if for nothing else but than to get rid of the stifling heat...we got a much needed drink. Everything seemed to be brought back from near death...and all was made new again!

I can only imagine...

Tonight...in the middle of my haste to 'get things done' and getting from one moment to the next, I was interrupted by a light tap on the studio window - it was my best half asking me to come outside. SO...although now irritated, I went...the wind had picked up...the air had gotten a little cooler (hey, 90 is friged after the heat we've had lately)...and suddenly I was thankful J took the time to make me stop...can't you imagine God right in the middle of this...coming down in a blaze of glory...coming to take His children home!? Look closely...you might just see...or are you like me...do you need to go and 'get something done'?

Not just any school picture...

Well...I can honestly say that Emma's school pictures are rockin!

Kuddos goes to Elizabeth at The Shepherd's School for asking Amy Teichman to be the person to tackle the GINORMOUS job of capturing all of those munchkins...what a challenge in just a few days!

I am impressed!!! No tacky backgrounds with wagon wheels...no fake fruit or balls they can barely hold...no platforms and foam covered in furry cloths to sit on (contaminated by other children...if you know what I mean...I know, I have a kid, remember? I know what they do...even when you ARE looking...)...no ugly chair to stand behind...and most importantly - NO FAKE SMILES!

I love them! Thanks Amy for the great pictures!

And, thanks to the best little school in Dallas County for making the dreaded 'school picture' something to remember...and smile about!

Under Re-design...

I used 're-design' cause I just don't like the word 'construction' - design sounds SO much more fun, right? Yeah! I think I am trying to convince myself...or my re-designer (J)! :)

Anyhoo, if you've been to my website lately...well, it's changed...again. It's one of those things where knowing what you want in your head and making it actually happen are 2 very different challenges.

So, please be patient with the site; it is a creation in process. Please let me know if you can't find something; chances are it's just lost for the moment! And for goodness gravy crumminittly ~ someone tell me if they are a FlashPlayer guru!

beautiful LIFE!

http://www.tinstarphoto.com/

Wild Horses...

Everyone loves a baby...and I am no different from 'everyone'! The pasture next to Ree's house has been blessed by 4 foals this spring...and they are such a joy to watch. Their curiosity has finally gotten the better of them as over the last few weeks of repeated visits...they have finally gotten up enough courage to see who these humans are...up close!

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there...and to my "One and Only"...Wild Horses couldn't drag me away! Love D & E

The Eyes Have It...

Two posts in 24 hours! Holey Moley!

Well, I'm trying to 'practice' each day...so tonight we just ventured out in the backyard and took a few. For the first time Emma said - Take my picture Mama! The 4 words a mom/photographer loves to hear...especially from their own baby!

I love eyes, and Emma has the best! There is so much going on behind those eyes. The second picture is the reason I call her "Princess Crazy Hair" (Her Dutch / Indian name, of course) and the last picture is definitely my favorite - all messy! She's becoming quite the little model!

Fish...and so much more!

Well, our family day was postponed due to food posioning (don't ask, but I am TOTALLY bummed about the place it came from), so we gave it a whirl on Saturday at the Dallas World Aquarium! OK - first, if we had to do it again...we would NOT pick Saturday...it was packed! Second, save up...it's a bit on the pricy side, but the money goes to a good cause...check out the link on their conservation programs. But the time together and photos were well worth it all!

Work in progress...

If you know anything about our circa 70's house...you also know it was a foreclosed home that sat vacant for over a year...no care, no love, no style (was there a style in the 70's...besides crappy?) and definitely no place for nature to call home! So, we have become green thumbs out of necessity...before the fire ants and dahlia grass could become the rulers! Now...the fire ants are at bay...and the dahlia grass is retreating! God has returned to our little piece of earth; birds, frogs, butterflies, spiders...and, of course, Emma!

Check out the little series on the progression of Sunflowers in our new butterfly garden! Within the next year, everything will be established enough to begin portrait and family sessions...right at home!