the boy in a red beanie

I had so much fun spending time with Fita and exploring Fort Worth.

One morning, the two of us, along with one of his sisters, drove to some cool spots around downtown Fort Worth.

Fort Worth had so many amazing photo shoot locations. Sometimes you need to just explore your city, or someone else’s and see what you can find.

This one is a natural in front of the camera!!

This kid loves talking and telling stories!! I love that about him.

Thank you Fita for being so awesome!!

I spotted this old camper on the side of the road, and of course we had to stop!!

b r o t h e r s

I was glad I could spend some time with these boys last weekend. They mean so much to me. They are like family to me.

Hayes is already 10 1/2, and I’ve know him since he was around 2. He has grown up into an amazing kid!!

Hayes, I love how you are always filled with curiosity…about things around you, about life. You are the smartest kid I know!!

Vonn, you make me smile every time I see you!!! I love your joy that overflows to others around you.

Keep smiling Vonn, the world needs to see it!! Love you both!!

Where the Wild Things Are

“Let the wild rumpus start!”

Another fun session with J today!! We went for a ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ theme today.

There’s story behind J’s outfit for this shoot. I used it in a session with his older brother, years back. I sized it for J for today, making into something that suits him for this theme. I had designed it and my late Grandmother Ruth sewed it for me.

And his hat, well that thing has been around since J was around 4 or 5. It was part of a costume he wore for a Lost Boys session. And it was used again last year and then today. Each session I added onto it, to make it a bit different, and to fit the specific theme.

J, thank you for always being a good sport and helping me out!! Thanks for being so fun and cool for adding ideas of your own to our photo sessions!!

The kid with the long hair.

I’ve seriously missed working with this kid. It’s been way too long!!! I was so excited to hang out with him yesterday and get some new shots!!

Thanks for being so cool E!!

Can we just say, E has THE best hair ever!!!

Sometimes you get those shots, where your model is just being himself, belting out a song, and you get a great capture!! Love this kid!!

little Jean Ralphio

“I almost fell asleep during that sentence.” Jean Ralphio

“I made my money the old-fashioned way. I got run over by a Lexus.” Jean Ralphio

“I like your energy, Hombre.” Jean Ralphio

“Why don’t your turn that frizown upsidizity.” Jean Ralphio

“That’s too much responsibility. I got to find a way out of this.” Jean Ralphio

If any of you watch Parks and Rec and know the character, Jean Ralphio, you understand these quotes!!! His character inspired this photo session. I LOVE me some Jean Ralphio, he’s hilarious!!! J and Jean Ralphio both have some amazing hair!!

a boy named Darrell

I love this kid!! He's so much fun to work with. For every session, I get exactly what I am hoping for and more!! I love it that he also gives me ideas for the photos!! He has an amazing creative mind!

I've wanted to do this session for a couple of months now, and finally got the chance yesterday. 

I got the trucker hat from my dear friend Kelsea, when she was visiting. And the jean shirt, we actually found when we were doing some thrifting in Nashville. Kelsea actually eyed it first, and I'm so glad we got it!!

I knew I had to do some type of photo session with J, using that shirt and the cool trucker hat. Add on the sweet glasses, cut off jean shorts and the name tag...perfection!!

This kid is a natural in front of the camera!!

He had the idea of leaping into this field!! 

Darell, you're awesome!!

That 80s vibe.

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it" - Ferris Bueller 

"Follow your heart kid, and you'll never know wrong" - The Sandlot 

"Stay gold Ponyboy, stay gold" - The Outsiders 

/ Creative Colors /

We had a lot of fun on this session!!! We both used our creative imaginations for this one!!

I always love working with J, he has some crazy fun ideas!! I love having him share his ideas with me when we are working together, and implement them into the sessions. Like this photo above...he started to take the strong and throw it all over his head and said, hey, take my picture like this!!

Stay creative and fun little dude!!

The boy and a tail.

"All good things are wild and free" Henry David Thoreau 

Cy wears his coyote tail everywhere he goes. He loves that thing! One day, the end had fallen off, and he sewed it right back on. 

"Keep the wild in you"

"Brave and free and wild as the sea"

"I don't know where I'm going from here but I promise it won't be boring" David Bowie 

Those California vibes.

I love this session I had with Deonte, and the time we could spend together!!! I always try to see him and his family when I'm back home, and this one is serious model material!!!

I love seeing his character and personality come to life in these photos!!! He remembered our last photo shoot together, a couple years back. So needless to say, he had a blast!!

He seriously has THE best hair!!! The night before I helped him take out his cornrows, since my idea was to have his hair exactly as you see it in these photos!!!

I grew up with his Mom, Sarah, so I have known Deonte and his siblings pretty much for forever!! We always have so much fun when I'm in town!

Deonte, thanks for keeping it real!! Until next time!!

Y O U T H F U L L N E S S

I love working with Elijah. I love the outcome of the photos we take. They are always more than I have imagined. To see my ideas in my head come to life, it’s amazing.

Youth in the sunshine

"It's a beautiful thing to mature into yourself - to accept the world that we live in and make it vibrant, colorful, and beautiful" - Hayden Byerly

This boy right here is growing up to one amazing kid!! He has an amazing heart, he's compassionate and thinks always of others, he's got amazing hair and he's a ninja boss!!

"It's up to you whether you have a good day or not - not anybody else. It's about saying; 'You're going to have an amazing day'. Self-Confidence goes a long way. Be confident in who you are." Gavin Casalegno

"I try every day to make a little difference in someone's life. Not something catastrophic, but just simple tokens of gratitude." Brandon Larracuente 

"When you're a boy and you're young, the world is a wonderful place." Montell Martin

T R A C K

I had this idea for Elijah for a while and was happy to accomplish it. I thought he would be perfect for this session, since he’s been on a track team for the past couple of years. 

The day we planned to do this session was a beautiful day. We packed the car up and we were about to head to the location spot, and all of a sudden it started to rain really hard.  

We waited a while to see if it would let up, but ended up having to wait around one hour. We ended up going to plan b for location, away from the rain. This location worked out just fine for us. It’s always good to have a plan b with your location, when you never know what the weather is going to be like. The weather app said it was sunny and warm, but when we looked outside, seeing the dark clouds and the raining falling, we knew we had to think of another idea, or wait until another day. 

The light was pretty good too, right after the rain. But…..we were attacked, literally attacked, by mosquitoes like crazy!!! We were fighting them off left and right. I would snap a few shots and than have to smack my arm, to get them away. We got some good shots…but we had bites on our arms and legs.

I can’t say it enough, I love working with this kid!! He always enjoys being my model in many of my shoots, and helping me see my ideas and creativity come to life in the photos.

Thank you again E for helping out, even if you had to fight off the mosquitos!!! You’re awesome, kid!!

T R U M P E T / B O Y

I loved working with this kid again, using my Dad’s old trumpet!!

A boy in black and white

Once again, another session with this kid. I seriously love this kid and working with him, he's the best!! 

"There are no ideas too wild and no dreams too big."

"Never stop doing your best just because someone doesn't give you credit"

"I promise if you keep searching for everything beautiful in this world, you will eventually become it." - Tyler Kent White

"And than I realized that to be more alive, I had to be less afraid, so I did it, I lost my fear and gained my whole life."

"Anybody with artistic ambitions is always trying to reconnect with the way they saw things as a child." - Tim Burton

The boy with the cool hair

I love this kids hair!!! I knew that I wanted to mess around with his hair and get some cool shots!

He is seriously a natural in front of the camera, and I'm never disappointed when working with him. 

J, you are one cool kid!! I'm so happy to know you, and have the opportunity to capture these moments for you!!

The boy in the red suspenders

I took these photos of J in the red suspenders a couple of weeks ago. I meant to get this blog up sooner. 

Some of these shots, I was playing and experimenting with different light techniques, and shooting through things, to give different texture, shadows and shapes on my subject. 

This shot had some paper with holes in it, on the flashes soft box, getting a different texture come through with the light. 

This shot had an old film slide up to the lens. 

This shot, as well as the one below, had a film negative held up to the lens. 

Thank you J for being so awesome and always up to work with me!

the nomad.

So I had this idea for a while now, for this personal project with E. And honestly, in the end, it came out a bit different than the idea I first had, but I'm totally happy with the outcome!

An idea first came to me while watching a movie, I saw this type of tent set up, kind of old and torn. I jotted down the ideas in my head at the time and added more ideas over time. Once I saw the final outcome of the photos, the way the photos are, with this 'tent' and my amazing model....to me, if gave off that nomad feel to them. 

A nomad is one who travels from place to place, maybe even living in a tent or something outdoors. That is just how I feel these photos give, that nomad feeling. 

There have been many times where I felt like a nomad, as I traveled the world. I know I spent a lot of time in Madagascar, but even over there, I was traveling around at times...sleeping on church floors, in tents, on the floor of bamboo huts, wherever we could find a place.

I know I have said it time and time again, but I seriously LOVE working with E! He's the coolest kid in town! I'm seriously thankful for him and his family, and so happy I can document his life as well as his siblings from time to time. And I hope they will continue to let me document their lives for a long, long time!

And he has the coolest hair!! I've always loved his hair!!

"But if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?                                  And if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like you've been here before?" - Pompae by Bastille

growing up.

Yesterday I spent some time photography this kid. He had been helping me with my classic portrait shots, but I wanted to do some other photos with him this week. I wanted to experiment with a few things, lighting, movement, etc. 

I've pretty much seen this kid grow up right before my eyes. I've know him since he was around 2 or 3 years old, and I can't believe he's already 11 now! He's one amazing kid!

These shots, I wanted to have my camera in slow shutter, to see the movement when he flipped his hair around. This kid has some awesome hair!

I think this last shot was his favorite of the day! He loves painting! I told him to think of anything he wanted to paint and go for it!

"Find something you are passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it". Julia Child

the lost boy.

I recently did some photos with this awesome kid! I had some things I wanted to experiment with, and had the idea to turn him into a 'lost boy'. 

I love hanging out with this kid!

In this shot above, I held a small crystal up to the lens, once focused on my subject. That is how I got the bit of a cloudy look in the corner. 

In the shot below, I had some foil on the right side of my subject, to see what type of reflection I would get. 

The photo above (and below), I held a prism near the top and side of the lens, to see what type of reflection I would get. The photo above is my favorite!

This kid loves singing the song 'Lost Boy' by the artist, Ruth B. As I was taking these last shots, he started singing the lyrics. 

"I am a lost boy from Neverland

Usually hanging out with Peter Pan

And when we're bored we play in the woods

Always on the run from Captain Hook 

"Run, run, lost boy," they say to me,

"Away from all the reality."

Neverland is home to lost boys like me

And lost boys like me are free..."  (Lost Boy by Ruth B)