I have been a little slow with the blog recently but it is for good reasons.  One of those reasons is that we were busy with the kids before school started back up.  Whitney is now in First Grade and loving it!  She had a great first day. 

Early mornings are not too easy though.

I think taking this photo twice a year is going to make me old real quick.

Whitney met up with her good buddy Fronia who was sporting a yummy apple.  Sucking up to the teach early I see.

Once in the classroom the air was very thick.  There was a sadness that ached from every child's face.  It was as if they thought the parents were abandoning their young.  Whitney held back her tears and just went with the flow.

However when Whitney came to the studio after school she was silly happy to be in 1st grade and loved meeting all her new friends. 

Posted by danny at 09:23 PM | Permalink

Vanessa Del Fabbro is one of our rock'nest clients who also is a totally cool author.  Recently she threw a copy of her book The Road to Home my way and I must say it is awesome! 

The story is about two South African women that are vastly different in many ways.  Both are thrusted into each others lives and create a remarkable friendship amidst racial adversity and a uniquely different set of cultures in South Africa.  

Vanessa has a smooth way of storytelling that makes this book come to life.  Her storytelling and attention to detail remind me of other favorite authors like Bailey White and Sue Grafton.   Vanessa has put down a beautiful story that is thrilling, colorful and emotional.  It is definitely a must read!

Bravo Vanessa, and thanks for being here for us all!

Posted by danny at 07:57 AM | Permalink

This week I had the pleasure to photograph little Violet for her 7th month on planet Earth.  This is one little cutie patootie.  I just love to photograph really happy babies.  They can really light up a room.  I hope this little lady helps put on smile on yer mug.

Violet also has the coolest big sister. She was uber-excited to see that we had a little princess dress that fit her too. 

I can just imagine what trouble these two girly girls are going to get into.

Posted by danny at 01:02 PM | Permalink

This weekend I had a couple of clowns come by the studio for a project I am working on.  These two were a lot of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed photographing them.  Its funny to watch them work.  Their costumes are incredibly detailed and their makeup is very messy. 

The other day Denise stopped by this little shop near my studio called Impromptu.  They have a lot of great gifts for hard to buy people.  Denise grabbed these hilarious folders which were great props for a clown.

Just think, you can make a good living clowning around.  Its the big shoes that are hard to fill.

Posted by danny at 07:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday Denise and I celebrated our 9th anniversary by going to the Museum of Fine Art Houston to see Timothy Greenfield-Sanders Blacklist project.  If you have never been to the MFAH before and love photography this would be the exhibit to see. 

These 25, larger than life, 58 inch X 44 inch portraits of important African American icons are  beautiful.  There is also a film showing interviews from some of the film The Black List.  The portraits and documentary are an elegant portrayal of art and American culture. 

Timothy Greenfield-Sanders portraits were all done on 8X10 film.  To me, his work is inspirational because of the simplicity and confidence it portrays.  Recently I have been regressing a little from the Digital World.  My compadre Farrah and I have been looking for new ways to inspire our photography and our paths.  Together we have been going back to the days of film.  My Polaroids have been a great deal of fun but I have also gone as far back as pinhole photography to try something different.  Recently I purchased one of these little do dads:

This is a pinhole camera that uses a roll of 120 film.  While they do not produce the sharpest images, they do make you think about light and its effects on film more carefully.  There are a number of different algorithms and reciprocity factors that have to be taken into consideration when exposing film for long periods of time.    The results to me were mediocre but exciting to get developed.

First up was a couple of really long (5 minute exposures) in the house:

Next up was a couple form outside where the exposure is more like 10 seconds.  Whitney tried to stay still.

Most lenses have a max aperture of f22.  Most of my large format lenses can go as small as f45.  This little pinhole is an aperture of f256 (aka. pinhole).

For those that may be interested, there are actually some really fantastic photographers that use pinhole cameras.  One such photographer is Martha Casanave.  Her Pacific Coast images from a 4X5 pinhole are some of the best I have seen.  Grab a cup of coffee and brows through her website.  She has some really great art.

Posted by danny at 11:59 AM | Permalink

I recently received an e-mail from our Senior Minister at St. Paul's UMC, Dr. Jim Bankston, about a project being spearheaded by Interfaith Ministries (IM) and 25 other Houston congregations of various denominations. 

The Digital TV Senior Initiative has been coordinated to ensure senior citizens do not lose their connection to the community through local television service.  In February of next year the FCC has mandated that TV broadcasters will be converted to a digital signal and for most of us that currently subscribe to cable or satellite services, this will not interrupt our television service.  But many senior citizens in our community still use analog televisions and antennas and may not even be aware of the FCC mandate and how this will affect them.

It is easy to help.  Each household is entitled to receive 2 DTV boxes free of charge to allow conversion of analog televisions to digital compatible.  The Digital TV Senior Initiative is requesting that each of us apply for the two certificates, free of charge, and donate those for use by the senior citizens in our community.  The coupons that are received have a very short expiration date, so it is key to APPLY for your certificates today and quickly turn-around to the project.  You are welcome to bring your certificates by the studio and we can take them to St. Paul's on your behalf or feel free to go to the website to learn more about where you can drop your certificates.

The goal of this project is to collect over 4,000 coupons.  Once the coupons have been collected, volunteers will install the conversion boxes in the seniors' homes.  To register for your coupons, please apply online at www.dtv2009.gov or call 1-888-DTV-2009.

You can find more detailed information in the document at this link:

Dr. Jim Bankston Letter:

Thank you for your support to help the senior citizens in our community.

Posted by danny at 11:38 PM | Permalink

Saturday afternoon Sara and Dan rolled up on the studio to bring the sexiness.  We took the standard fun stuff with their puppies but I soon found out they had never been in a photo booth.    So I threw up some high key light and made them act like fools for the camera!

 I had a crazy good time hanging with you guys!   

Posted by danny at 03:31 PM | Permalink

Mr. Connor came by with his mom and dad Saturday to get his first portrait taken. 

He was such a sweet little guy and ate A LOT.  His bodily fluids were rather active too but dad rocked with coolness and ran with the whole mess.  You did a great job dad!

Mommy looked great and did a great job showing some love to the new man of the house. 

 These babies in the studio make Deinse and I just goofy about our third on the way.  

It was a long session but worth every minute photographing Connor.  We hope you love your preview guys! 

Posted by danny at 12:00 PM | Permalink