Sometimes as photographers we get in a rut- a creative rut…..  And sometimes if you don’t allow yourself some time and space, you will go crazy and become so physically and emotionally burned out that you are no good to anyone, including yourself.  Spring and fall are usually crazy times for me with my photography, but I really wanted to find a way to make this happen.  I have had an obsession with the beauty and art that comes with the celebration of Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, for a while now.  It is an annual tradition on the first of November that originated in Mexico.  It has been taking place for centuries where people celebrate the souls of their deceased loved ones.  Beautiful ornately decorated sugar skulls are created in their memory.  Alters are built and marigolds, candles, and sugar skulls are brought to the gravesides.

I had been dreaming up this “styled” shoot for about six months now, and finally made it happen (after MANY hours of scouring Pinterest for inspiration).  But not without the help of several people, mainly my friend Ashlyn.  I have known Ashlyn and her mom JonAnn for many years now, since she came to me for riding lessons when she was little.  I have watched her grow up into an amazingly talented, loving and beautiful daughter, sister, friend, and now wife.  I am so thankful for her to jump on board with my crazy ideas and help make this happen.  She spent several nights “perfecting” the makeup to get it just right.  I was blown away by the beautiful look she came up with.  I was thrilled that JonAnn could join us to help Ashlyn get ready and be my great light assistant.  Of course, being the horse girl that I am, we had to incorporate my most favorite steed, Sprat.  My sister Hayden spent the afternoon with me getting the paint job on Sprat just right.  And of course my other sister Lauren helped make sure my abstract equine skeletal system was pretty accurate, even though she couldn’t be there to help that day.  He is also wearing some great red Gypsy Tails in his mane & tail to tie the look together!  Carson was there to help assist- he made for a great light-test subject.  I can’t forget to thank my husband Tony for supporting me, even though he doesn’t always understand these crazy tangents I get off on

Since there were no changes of clothes or EXPRESSION for this session, I had to get creative with light (full sun, shade, backlit, and off-camera flash), lenses (24, 50, 70-200mm L series on my 5DMarkII), and various locations here at the ranch.  I have also edited a couple of these a little different than my standard “keep it clean and timeless” look to my editing style.  And the some of them were so full of color that I didn’t want to do anything to them….  So please know that these editing tools are just that, tools to enhance your art.  You will usually find more consistent editing style on my regular sessions….

We didn’t have many days to choose from to get this session done, so it was going to happen on this particular Sunday afternoon, rain or shine.  And it did just that!  It rained so hard about an hour before we planned on starting.  You can see in some of the early images there are raindrops.  Then the sun finally peeked through.  We shot right up til sunset, when we got the fun set of off-camera images at the end.  So, here are some of my favorites.  You can click here to see the whole session on a slide show to music!!!

Two weekends ago I had the opportunity to attend a workshop with David Stoecklein, a photographer known world-wide for his incredible images of the American West.  Cowboys, ranchers, livestock, landscapes, etc. are usually the main subjects, but he is adamant about telling a story with his images, and capturing a way of life that is too soon dying. 

He set up his workshops at the Saunders’ Twin V Ranch in Weatherford.  This family has been ranching for many generations and strives to preserve the “cowboy way” in everything they do.  Thomas went above and beyond to set up some incredible shots for us with his great crew.  Many thanks to the family for putting up with us and all their hard work. 

I mostly enjoyed hanging out with photographer friends and taking in the whole lifestyle experience.  Most of the time I wish I was the one horseback cowgirlin’ instead of behind the camera- that’s where my heart is, and the reason why I got into photography :)  

These are just a few of my favorites, but please click here for the slide show to music of the entire weekend…  it will take a few minutes to watch, but worth the wait!

I have been ready for a fresh look for a little while, just needed a little inspiration and encouragement.  I found that last November when I attended For the Love Workshop (for the second time, and yes, it’s THAT good).  One of the sponsors was Green Tent Design and Marketing, and they sent JD (Jim) McCulley to represent.  Of course he was one the many wonderful people I have encountered at these incredible workshops.  JD is an incredible designer and photographer, and I’m so blessed to have worked with him.  During the design process, they interview you to really get in touch with your personality, style, and needs to help you “brand” your business for marketing.  Through this process, I explained that I didn’t want to stray too much from the look I have, just freshen it up, and include something that is dear to me.  Over the years, I have come to love the scissortail bird that is a native to this area.  Me and the kids, especially Henley, really love watching for them and admiring God’s beauty in the graceful birds.  The tail parts in the middle to varying degrees while in flight, and creates the “scissor.”  They are a tan/grey color with a beautiful peachy/orange breast. 

Anyway, I really struggled with using a bird because they are so popular right now in the photography industry in logos….  but JD really encouraged me to go with it because it is so personal, and I have a true love for them through frequent encounters here at the ranch.  Who cares what anyone else is doing, right???  Here’s my scissortail on the barbed wire, and the circles represent the lens of a camera….

So, here it is…  the original Green Tent design on the left, and my color changes on the right.  I’ll still use both, just probably the brown one more with my equine/livestock marketing, and the fun green one for my lifestyle portraiture to really catch the eye of one of my favorite subjects- high school seniors!  Watch for some fun t-shirts with the logo this spring   Thanks so much JD- I highly recommend him and the team at Green Tent!!!!

Sorry to take such a long hiatus from the blog, but once Thanksgiving hit, I warned you I wouldn’t be around much!  I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and a good start to the new year.   And fair warning… this post is a little wordy, but it may have to last you a while again, so it’s worth the read :)

We didn’t have to travel much this year, so it was nice to be around some on the weekends.  Had a great Christmas filled with joy and togetherness.  Henley turned five earlier in December, and got a new horse for her birthday- “Rosetta.”  You will have to check out the slide show of pics from her big day here.  Then after Christmas, Lane turned 16 and got a new car- Tony and Lane’s mom surprised him and I hid out in the bushes being Lane’s personal paparazzi until the big reveal- he should get used to that considering he wants to be Mr. President one day, you know.  Pics of his big moment can be seen here.  Last weekend, Carson had the first of several stock shows this season.  He had a great show, sold his goat in the sale, and ended up with Reserve Grand Champion Breeding Female with one of his little Red Angus heifers, “Mulberry.”  He won his first buckle and was all smiles for a few days.  Read the whole story here about his weekend and the wonderful friends a family who came to support our young showman!

On a personal note, not many fancy New Year’s resolutions here…  I am going to make a better attempt to journal more and spend more time in the Word.  I want to spend more quality time with my kids, and document more with my family.  I am going to try to take better care of myself- drink more water, take better care of my skin (sunscreen!), and of course exercise more.  I want to have more date nights with my husband.  Tony is such a wonderful supporter of anything I want to do, and I fall more and more in love with him every day.  And of course, make more time to ride, my first passion in life.  Basically, just get my priorities right.

As for this business, I feel truly blessed by the friendships and contacts I have made.  I have really enjoyed the people side of my work- portraits (especially the HS seniors!), commercial, etc., but I’m really ready this year to get focused back on the equine and livestock side of things.  I have always felt like I have a good balance between the two, which keeps me creatively fresh and not too burned out.  But I’m ready to tilt the balance back to my horses and get more into the cattle side of things.  Since we have “re-branded” our marketing this past year to include our registered Red Angus herd as well as the Quarter Horses, I feel especially drawn back.  You can visit the newly redesigned “blog site” for Cross B Cattle Company that Colleen of Equine Essentials has worked so hard on.  I’m going to try to connect more with people on our website through the blog like we do as photographers- updating with current fun pics and information to keep you coming back for more  

I have had the opportunity to work with a wonderful marketing company, Green Tent Design and Marketing, to create a new logo for me.  Within the next few weeks, I’ll reveal the grand “re-branding” of Cross B Photography, so stay tuned!  In the meantime, we’re hitting the stock shows, I’m getting back to the barn on a regular basis, and shooting a few sessions in-between!

Henley introducing her new horse “Rosetta” to her pony “Chaps” on her birthday…..

Lane turned 16 and got a new car…

Carson and one of his show heifers “Mulberry” that will keep us busy over the next few months hauling to stock shows…..

I’ll be gone all week with wonderful people to worship, fellowship and learn at For the Love Workshop.  Watch this incredible promo video for a glimpse

A few weeks ago, a fellow photographer friend Lauren Clark asked me and several other ladies to join her in a new farm blog adventure.  We all have some sort of experience to bring to the table.  Here’s a little bit about it in her words:

“I started this blog to create a resource of information on living life to the fullest in the country and out in nature. I believe that people were happiest when they lived on farms surrounded by their families working the land together. My grandmother still tells me stories like this of raising their own food and the fun times they would have as a family on the farm. One story she always tells me about is when she was baptized in the river behind her house and the entire community came to swim and eat watermelon with them in celebration. When did we lose this? Was it when children were put in front of televisions instead of sent outside to play, create and use their imaginations? When we all moved into suburban houses surrounded by malls and fast food restaurants instead of having our own land to take pride in? This blog is for those people who dream of living life a step back or two in time, into the old ways of living off the land and being kind to the earth and the people you love the most.

In this blog you will find inspiration in all of the different contributor’s posts through tips and tricks, photo essays, DIY ideas, recipes, healthy living and fun farm facts. Read up and enjoy!” -Lauren

Soooooo….  go check out Farm Revival and bookmark it so you can keep up with all the fun infomation coming your way!