I haven't taken my camera with me everywhere I go this year nearly as much as I did for last year's Project 365, and while I've enjoyed enjoying the enjoyment (oh yes, I did) of getting together with friends and not having a camera attached at the hip (not to mention my friends being noticeably more at ease) , lately I've guilted mysef into taking it with me just in case. This weekend we went to a pool party at our friend's Dave & Beth's house on July 4th.  I was too busy being pool monster terrorizing all the kiddos (and gettting terrorized), but I did fire off a few images.  Trinity and Ava are best buds, and I love the moment and the expressions in this first image. And in case you're wondering, Ava (in the background) really does have a killer tan.  Every time I stood next to her I looked like the cream center of an Oreo cookie.

Ice creeaaaammmmmmm!

Littel Zane lookin' pretty GQ serious.  Check out the size of those catch lights in his eyes.

I can't take credit for this next image.  My friend, Tina, picked up the camera when Dave and I were playing basketball's "PIG" equivalent off the diving board.  WARNING: protective eye wear is strongly recommended to protect your eyes from bright light.  What can I say... the sun and I?  We haven't hung out much this summer. Anyway I look at this image, I don't see a happy ending to this gem of a dive.

Tina again on the camera.  I just thought this image of Dave was funny.

I'm presenting to the Austin Professional Photographer's Association next month, so I thought it might be a good time to actually get started on my presentation.  I was taking a trip down memory lane through some of my older images when I ran across the image below.  Seeing it again after a couple years, I was really drawn to it.

The simplicity of the image with the understated fence backdrop, the raw expression on little Max's face with the tear just starting to trickle down his cheek... it's one of my favorites that, until now, I don't know that I ever really paid much attention to.  I don't recall the circumstances behind why he shed this tear, and in fact I'm not sure I ever showed this image to mom Lana and dad Bobby because I probably thought 'this isn't a very happy image of their little boy,'  but this is probably an expression Lana & Bobby have seen hundreds of times, but I would guess they don't have it etched in time in a photograph.  In revisiting this image, it's clear to me now that the imperfection in this image is what makes it perfect to them.

I love Frito Lay.  Seriously.  Not because of all the snacks (although they do have several I have an affinity for, including those Fritos Honey BBQ Flavor Twists that are as mandatory as gasoline for any road trip I go on), but because I've been blessed with several amazing clients who work there.  If you've been following the blog for very long, you'll recognize Deborah's, Cathy's and Maureen's familes.  And now I'd ike to introduce you to Dana and her ridiculously good looking family.  We met up with them 2 weeks ago at the Frito Lay corporate campus in Frisco (oh, and did I mention the corporate campus just happens to be a killer place to do photography sessions, too?) and had a ball with little Austin, big sister Ava, mom and dad Ashley.  Kylie and Ava were pretty much best buds by the time we were done.  And me?  Well, I was happy as pie with the images we ended up with.  Here's some of my favorites from our time together. I've gotta give a shout out to Dana for the fantastic job she did coordinating the families outfits not only with each other but with the location.  Well done, mom!

A couple days ago we met this ridicuously beautiful family in Frisco for a family photography session.  I'll post more images after they've had a chance to come in and view them first.  Until then, here's a little preview. Mom Dana, little Austin and sweet Ava... love the interaction.

The kids didn't have a chance at being anything but cute with good looking parents like Dana & Ashley, right?

Great father-daughter moment.

Hey, remember Laura from the previous post?  Sure you do... it was only a couple days ago, right?  If not, scroll down to the next post or just click here and see if that doesn't start ringin' a bell.  Well, Kylie and I were going to be close to their neighborhood workin' hard at gettin' massages this past Saturday morning, so we planned a somewhat impromptu mini session at Laura & Jason's house afterwards to try and get a few images of their ridiculously cute newborn son, Jackson... and a few we got.  At only two weeks old, Jackson - as most rookies that age do - had his own agenda, and a photography shoot wasn't high on his list of things to do that afternoon.  Nonetheless, we did manage to steal a couple images without him knowing.  Here's a sneak peek...

And of course big brother Lincoln was there to oversee everything and make sure he got a little camera time, too.  It's not fair for one family to have two boys this good lookin'.  Really.

Dad Jason was outside makin' Lincoln smile, or Linoln was makin' Jason smile... I'm not sure, it mighta been mutual.  In either case, it's such a fun interaction that it makes me smile every time I look at it.