Stars of Texas Juried Art Show

So the Stars of Texas Juried Art Show came to an end this weekend. I enter the show every year and this year won Honorable Mention for "The Diggers". If you are an artist or photographer and you didn't enter the show make plans to do so next year, the entry fee is low and the show just gets better every year. For anyone who didn't get by to see the show I am post my winning image and artist statement. Feel free to comment about what you think - I love to hear everyone's stories.



The inspiration for this piece comes from a very unlikely place - the public library in Woodward Oklahoma. When I was younger my mother used to take us to the library to pick out books to read. My favorite were a series of books about a little mouse. The best part about the little mouse books was that they contained no words - only pictures of the mouse involved in different situations and you got to tell your own story about the mouse.

20 years later I was stuck on a current project. In much of my art I try to get the viewer to interact with the piece, which is admittedly much easier with sculpture than with photography. That is where I was stuck - how to engage a viewer with a 2 dimensional artwork and my mind turned back to the little mouse books.

My memory of the little mouse books gave birth to a series of works that depict a climactic or decisive moment in a story - although what that story is is entirely up to the viewer. "The Diggers" is one of my favorite images in that series because it prompts so many questions - "Are they burying something or digging it up?" "Who are they?" "Why are they doing this?" "Who or what are they looking at?" "What happened leading up to this moment and what happens afterward?"

But the most important question is - what is your story?

Engagment Session: Carmen + Troy

I had the pleasure of shooting Carmen and Troy's engagement portraits back before Thanksgiving. Carmen and Troy are such fun, it's great to be able to photograph such a relaxed, laid back couple. They are getting married in February at the Star of Texas Bad and Breakfast so we shot their portraits out there on the trail. Here are the results.















And the Slideshow:

2010 Bridal Fair

Thanks to all the people who came out to see us at the Early Bridal Fair a few weekends ago. For those of you who didn't get a chance to make it by here's a look at our booth and the 2010 Promo Video!

I'm Back!!!

So.... I haven't posted in awhile, a long while actually but I have a pretty good reason. Introducing Archer West Hurt born 12/9/2009 weighing 5 pounds 8 ounces! He was born 5 weeks early which really threw off my very carefully planned maternity leave and caused me to neglect my blog for far too long. On the plus side I have many shoots to post in the near future!

I promise not to turn this blog into a showcase for my own child but I can't resist posting at least one slideshow of my precious little man.

Newborn Session: Remy

The end result of Leslie's Maternity Session has finally arrived! Meet Remy, the happiest baby I have photographed in a long time. Since Leslie decided to do a belly cast with her Maternity Session we were able to incorporate the cast into Remy's Newborn Portraits. We used it to represent an egg to add the feeling that Remy is newly hatched. I can't wait to shoot the rest of Remy's first year!



















And the slideshow

New Props!

I have acquired some new props recently - three brightly colored tutus and two antique trunks. They have quite a lot of potential and I'm excited about the possibilities. You'll have to stay tuned and see what I have planned for them!

Bridal Portraits: Kaitlin

I had the pleasure of shooting a Bridal Portrait session with Kaitlin a couple of weeks ago at Star of Texas Bed and Breakfast. Day After Shoots are a great chance to have a relaxed portrait session with out worrying about getting the dress dirty or making it to the reception on time. You can also use multiple locations that aren't available on the wedding day but fit your style or sentimental meaning.
Thanks to Don and Debbie for letting us tromp around on their land, there are so many great places to take pictures out there I thought we might never leave! As always fabulous hair and make-up was provided by Kalle Martin and Kelcy Potts.















And the slideshow: