As a professional photographer continuing education is very important to me. I am a member of marketing groups and various professional groups to help perfect my skills as a business owner, creator and image maker. The courses I am referencing here are called #emergeunleashedchallenges and #embarkunleashedchallenges taught by two amazing photographers, @Charlotte Reeves and @Craig Turner-Bullock. During these courses we are given briefs that we must then go out and creatively execute. These are the first and second of the series of 3 challenge courses.

I did some model calls and worked with some super dog models and parents! I filled in with my dog Redd and she did a great job. She is my studio assistant, always happy to get in the proper spot so that I can perfect my lighting for my clients before coming in for their photography session.

Learning from Charlotte Reeves and Craig Turner-Bullock is a wonderful privilege. They are so kind and really look at the work submitted for any possible improvements that can be made. The other students are super...

A great way to get through this hot Mason Texas summer is a Studio Portrait Session! My fun daughter Morgan came to visit us from Tuscon and we created some fabulous portraits during her visit. We had so much fun being creative and thoroughly enjoying our time together! Our dog Redd loves her Morgan, I think Morgan is the only person in the world Redd loves more than me!, and she got to pop in too! It has been way too long since I have had the pleasure of photographing my young daughter who is now 27! I use to photograph all of my kids all of the time when they were living at home, fun pictures along with studio portraits. I cherish them all so much now. Even the one's that at the time the kids did not "cooperate" and I did not love so much, now they are some of my favorites. Taking the time to have special professional family portraits done is one thing that will always give the feeling, "I am so glad I took the time and now have these portraits of my precious family". Many of these portraits are hanging in our home so I can look at them every day. I am excited to be able to...

Next week is the beginning of lots of fun events in Mason Texas, Round Up Rodeo! The rodeo begins on July 6th with team roping, then all through out the weekend there will be lots of fun things to do.

The rodeo will run for two nights, Friday the 7th and Saturday the 8th. Some events are aimed toward kids and then there will be lots of adult activities too.

One of my favorite musicians, Justin McFarland, will be playing at Peters Creek Vineyard from 5:30 to 8:00 on Thursday. The Square Plate will be serving Italian food to go along with the wine, or vise versa! To make reservations for dinner call The Square Plate at 325-347-1911. Folks can either go to the tasting room or eat in the restaurant. The two venues are located right next door to each other on the lovely Mason City Square.

I had the pleasure of photographing this super fun Beagle mix pup in the bluebonnets recently. Bluebonnets do not last long here but I found this wonderful field at a nearby park on a Texas Spring Day. I had my gorgeous model Dolly and the help of her Mom Havana too. I love so many of these images, and Dolly's Mom does too! We were out in the evening light which is one of the two times I have my outdoor sessions. The other is early morning, only a select few of my clients choose that time! The light is much softer and gives the recipe for creating beautiful outdoor portraits of pets and their families during these times of day.

Pepper has to be the most expressive little girl! I really do love photographing children around the age of 3. They are so full of wonder. As with pet portraits, capturing the expression is "the thing". It is not about posing, although that does play a part, it is about capturing.

A few tips with photographing young people.

1. Keep it fun

2. Be prepared and have your settings ready

3. Make sure they are comfortable in both their clothing and their environment

4. Patience and laughter

Please enjoy these special portraits of my little friend, Pepper!

Family gatherings here in Mason Texas and the Texas Hill Country are the perfect time to create some awesome portraits that will be in your family for a lifetime. What an extra special way to remember family adventures! Sessions at my studio, both inside and out, are super easy and where all of these portraits were taken!

I do travel to different venues too. One of my favorites out here is Red Sands Ranch on the Llano River!

This is my very first blog post so I am not sure how, or where, to begin! February 1st seems like a good day to start something new. Some might think January 1st but January 2023 has come and gone!

I want to tell you about an awesome visitor we had a few days ago, a Barred Owl! He was sitting on a fence post as we arrived home and he has been around for a few days. As I have read about this owl I have learned that they are uncommon here in Mason County. Barred Owls normally like wooded areas. We do have some Oak and lots of Mesquite but no extremely large trees as in other parts of Texas. I will be reporting this Owl to ebirds.org as suggested by Lee Kothmann with Explore Texas!

Our property has a wildlife exemption so bringing in different species of birds is very exciting. I love keeping the environment natural for the wonderful animals that stay here and for my photography clients too!