Light Walk » Locations

Family in the Blue

wblj — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 22:02:21 +0000

Hannah and I were able to work with a wonderful family recently at one of our favorite places in the Austin area: Mayfield Park. The family was from all over, with one group coming from as far away as Denmark. It was great getting to work with them. We had a fun time trying to keep up with the little girl in the bunch; she was fascinated with everything except the photography… So we worked fast and moved around a bunch to try and keep her interested. Here are a couple of our favorite images:

Family in the Park

Girl in the Park

Winner!

wblj — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:06:50 +0000

Well, I really enjoy photographing things of and about Texas, as it turns out. Earlier this year I was driving around downtown Austin and came across a wonderful spot to capture the whole Austin skyline at dusk with a beautiful sunset and so I took the opportunity to photograph there for a while. I love the photograph! I actually have a larger version of this photograph hanging on display at the Lakeline Barnes & Noble (which is a wonderful place with beautiful art hanging in the coffee shop.)

But, the story gets interesting here; at least for me… I am a member of the Professional Photographer’s Association of America (PPA) and the local Austin Professional Photographers Association (APPA) as well and at the monthly APPA meetings we have photographic print contests. For the month of August we were allowed to enter a panoramic photograph that could be a maximum of 24″ wide (which is kinda small for a really wide panorama like this particular photograph) and I wanted to do some things a little differently from the original, large print. I ended up creating the following smaller print, squaring it up with a more traditional size (24×12) and creating an arching sky overhead heading out to space. The group of photographers voted and judged this print to be 2nd, so I was very pleased! The 1st place winner was of course a stunning photograph as well; you should be able to see that on the APPA website sometime in the next few days. All in all, I was gratified to be able to produce the kind of work that is recognized by my peers as having the qualities needed to be a “winner”!

The Space Above Austin

Did it Really Look Like That?

wblj — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:59:33 +0000

Sometimes when people see a photograph they ask the artist something along the lines of “did it really look like that?”. I get that question a fair bit, generally when the image is enhanced. I recently heard the best answer and it goes something like this: “Well, no, but that’s how I felt when I took the photograph!”. It is interesting that vision is a perception rather than an exact process; it’s different for everyone. We all perceive colors, light and shadow differently. So, I’ve taken to just saying something like “Yes! It looked just like that for me!”

Here’s one of my favorite examples of this kind of image; it has a very “cartoony” kind of look:

imageclectic Engagement Portrait in Downtown Austin

Family Reunion at the Golf Course

wblj — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:41:16 +0000

Recently we had the opportunity to photograph an extended family on the Crystal Falls Golf Course. It was a little warm, but we had a great time! The kids enjoyed themselves and we took advantage it that to capture so many great portraits. Here are a couple of my favorites of the group:

A Course of Fun

Family in the Park

Family Fun

wblj — Sat, 29 May 2010 23:32:11 +0000

Graduation season is here and Hannah and I participated by photographing a family with two university seniors. They graduated from two area universities so we were able to capture several different locations and groupings of mom, dad and the two graduates. This is one of my favorites; they’re just goofing off enjoying the moment on a bridge. No one is concerned about the cameras or how to pose or where to look – just life together in the moment. I love these opportunities to be a part of a family and their journey through life! Congratulations and best wishes to you both!

A double-graduation moment

Urban Graduate

wblj — Sun, 09 May 2010 16:15:55 +0000

As a follow-on to our earlier senior / graduate session with James, we went to downtown Austin to capture some urban images. This is one of my favorite locations for people photography; there is an alley and a parking lot across the street from the Old Spaghetti Warehouse on 4th that has fun textures. I decided it would be cool to do some multiple-exposure photographs to show movement and life, so there are a few of those here.

Senior in the Alley, Times Three

Senior at the Wall, Times Two

Senior Wall

Night Wedding

wblj — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:04:45 +0000

Earlier this January we had the opportunity to photograph Scott and Luci at Chapel Dulcinea at night; it was cold and awesome! That place is really something, especially when you have a fantastic evening twilight in the background. We absolutely love the view and the moments we shared there at the wedding. Even though some people believe wedding are more alike than not, I find that every wedding is unique and special and this one was filled with so many fantastic moments. We love weddings!

At the end of the evening my hands were frozen to the camera body, but I figure it was a small price to pay for a beautiful set of photographs commemorating a new marriage!

The Wedding is about to Start

A Long Aisle Walk in the Night

The Wedding in Progress in Chapel Dulcinea

The Happy Couple

Just A Kiss on the Wall

A Kiss Waits for No One...

Oscar & Amy

wblj — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:56:34 +0000

A beautiful wedding! A wonderful venue! A gracious and fun family! Oscar and Amy were married Saturday at the Intercontinental Stephen F Austin Hotel in the Capitol Ballroom and we were so impressed with the staff; they were very helpful and accommodating to us and to all that goes on in a wedding. Their Christmas decorations really helped give color and fullness to the ambiance. WOW Factor Design did all the flowers and they were stunning (I’m partial to red roses!).

Some awesome moments during the day and eveing:

The Maid of Honor presented the couple with a little “Onesie” with a Star Trek emblem on the front, wishing them many wonderful children.
The Best Man, Oscar’s brother, regaled the couple with tales of growing up and specifically how protective Oscar was in his life. It was very cool to hear this related over to Amy and how Oscar would certainly be as protective and loving as he is of his brother!
For several of the special dances, they would sing the song to each other that the DJ was playing. I love that!
The bridesmaids sang “Jeremiah was a bull frog” and “it’s a small world” to help Amy get dressed
Amy’s coordinator was amazing; she had something wrong with her right ankle and yet she was hoping all over the place all day. She started out with crutches but quickly decided that she didn’t have time for that so she ditched them and moved faster. That’s dedication!
Photography on the grand staircase was a breeze; the hotel has it decorated so it’s almost impossible to capture a bad image.

The Bride & Groom:

The Bridesmaids with Amy on the Hotel Staircase

Up Against the Wall

Just Married and Happy

Out on the Balcony

Beautiful Amy on the Staircase

Sassy Amy

Life is Good

Hotel images:

SF Austin Continental Wait Staff

The Big Christmas Tree

Mel the cool DJ:

Spinning those (real) discs

The theme for the wedding:

A Flapper Style

Other Fun:

Yes, We're All Trekkies

Dancin’ with a Cast

A Bridal for Amy

wblj — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:05:20 +0000

We had the pleasure of photographing Amy at Laguna Gloria this past weekend and captured some great images. This is one of my favorites. I love the location; it has lots of scenes that create wonderful backdrops and ambiance.

Amy Waiting

Capitol Angel?

wblj — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:55 +0000

The Capitol angel hovers past our vantage point

Sometimes being in the right place at the right time is everything. That’s one of the things that distinguishes professional photographers from the rank and file. Recently we were camped out at the Texas State Capitol (one of my personal favorite places to photograph at night) doing some building photography. When we got home and took a look at the photographs we found that we had captured this very rare moment when the Capitol angel floated by right during the exposure – what an amazing event to capture! You probably won’t ever get a chance to see her with your own eyes so I thought we might post this photograph so you can believe…