This little thing has been a nice distraction for my holidays. This is actually a perfect little fairy that I got for my perfect little daughter who still believes that everything is both real and unreal at the same time. She doesn’t yet realize (or care) about what is possible and impossible. She has this wonderful free-spirit that is delicate and innocent – a soft way of holding my hand with intent as her grip loosens while she falls asleep.

I got her this little winged muse for the holidays – a tiny jewelry box for little things that she likes to use to make herself pretty for me.

Having kids running around is very nice for the artist in me… (uh oh – stream of consciousness warning – but don’t worry I am not a blogger who listens to the same Enya song 37 times in a row) It reminds me that it doesn’t really matter what is real and not real that affects the state of mind… To her fairies and magical forest creatures are real and full of wonder. They affect what she thinks and what she does… Then as adults, we are not supposed to think about that stuff any more because it is for children, but don’t we still fill up our heads with other things that are not real? Not only do we fill our heads up with non-corporeal visions, but most of them aren’t any fun at all! So, I say, why not go ahead and fill up our adult heads with fantastical things that may or may not be real, and have fun with it? I fill my head with things that have a deep truth and a fantastical nature… I suppose you can see some of that bleed out in my photos… and many of these things that are in my head actually come true in unexpected ways. There are elements of my brain that are like Big Fish and The Fall — all of it is there and happening within various levels… I am glad movies like that exist and kids exist… reminding us of what is secretly acceptable.

Filed under the categories: Austin, Musings, Nikon D3X, Texas

Merry Christmas from my family to yours! See my three kids there? They’re so happy you come to the blog and, in so doing, help out the family! I love photography,and I love the family, so I can’t think of a better thing to share with you on Christmas.

And thank you so much for sharing the site with your friends and family. It’s helped us to grow to hundreds of thousands of monthly readers. Some come to just look at photos. Some come to learn more about photography. So whether you’re just browsing around for fun or here to get more goodies, I’m thankful! I hope you have a great holiday.

This is the first photo I ever took with my Nikon D3X. If you want to know more about this style of photography, see my HDR Tutorial (it’s free!). If you want to know more about this camera, I have it listed on my HDR Camera page here on the site.

In this photo are my three kids… See the older Ethan in the picture? He said, “Dad, that looks just like your old camera.” I tousled his hair and told him to just be quiet and pose for the photo and be as neoRockwellian as possible with the rest of my brood.

Have a good holiday week!

Filed under the categories: Austin, Nikon D3X, Texas, Travel

We have these amazing trees in front of our house, and they explode in color right around this time of year. I took Ethan out front to pose under the tree while I set up across the street to try to capture the mood.

I live in the Hill Country of Texas, just 20 mins (no traffic!) to downtown Austin. I don’t think this photo has captured how hilly it is (or how much pain I feel when I jog up this hill in front of the house!) But, at least you can see the sprinkles of red as the first of the trees turn for winter.

Filed under the categories: Austin, Texas, Travel

And now for something a little different. I rarely do this sort of thing… People ask me all the time to come take family pictures (or weddings and these sorts of things) — I always regretfully say NO because, well, I never really have a great excuse other than it takes too much energy to do something interesting. Also, sometimes I pretend to be too busy like George in that one episode of Seinfeld.

So I had an idea to make something unique and vintage and the muse here was up for it… and she had similar ideas around capturing some moments with her little boy. I’m happy with how these things are turning out…

Filed under the categories: Austin, Texas, Travel

We just finished yet another Halloween. We have this fun little neighborhood picnic at the top of our street before the festivities begin. I asked Isabella if she wanted to act like a princess for the camera, and guess what?

Filed under the categories: Austin, Texas, Travel

This is one of those places that I always drive by in Austin but never took the time to shoot… Finally, one day the clouds seemed right for the kind of shot I wanted, so I pulled over to make it happen!

Filed under the categories: Austin, Texas, Travel

My son Ethan hits the soccer field every Saturday morning. Yesterday I grabbed this one of him sitting with his friend Zach, who I coached last year. He’s a good player that responds well to a bit of good coaching… like most kids, methinks… However, this year I am happy to be behind the lens rather than behind the lines.

Filed under the categories: Austin, Texas, Travel

Here is Ethan out with his friend on a hot summer Texas day. It was a good water fight for dad to keep a distance with the 200mm VR to capture the action and stay dry.

Filed under the categories: Austin, Texas, Travel

I spent a steaming hot Saturday at the hot rod show in Austin… there was so much to shoot… I hardly knew where to begin! I figured you couldn’t go wrong with one of these red numbers…

Filed under the categories: Austin, Texas, Travel

Here is Isabella at Ethan’s piano recital. I don’t remember exactly what she wanted at the time, but she probably got it.

Filed under the categories: Austin, Texas, Travel

This is the coolest music store in the world! It’s called “Wild About Music” and it’s right in the middle of downtown Austin on 6th street. The store has everything on its various levels and I can’t even begin to describe all the memorabilia and music-themed goods inside. Be sure to have a look if you are ever in the neighborhood and you’re a music fan!

You can visit their store directly at this link.

Filed under the categories: Austin, Texas, Travel

I finally got through editing some of my backlog… as you can see from this Christmas shot taken at the Driskill in Austin. I thought it was so cool, I just had to upload it today.. even though Christmas seems a bit far away!

Filed under the categories: Austin, Texas, Travel