Bella Photography

~THE BLOG HAS MOVED~

bella photography — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:41:49 +0000

Hey guys! The blog has moved to another WordPress site. Bigger and better!! Go check it out!

See you on the flip side.

A Bridal Session~ Houston, Tx Wedding Photographer

bella photography — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:26:37 +0000

I’ve been waiting ever so patiently to post this session. You see….when you take the bridal pictures, in most cases, you have to wait for a while to post it (so no one sees the dress). Well, Christine + Jaymee tied the knot this past weekend, so I am finally able to share this with you.

Christine, you looked absolutely beautiful, and I thank you for trusting me with such an important documentation of your lives! You are MAD creative and I cannot WAIT to blog your wedding and show everyone what a fabulous job you did on your details.

(C)Bella Photography Tx 2011

Oklahoma City, OK Memorial

bella photography — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:27:53 +0000

As we drove around Oklahoma City, it’s so very different from Houston. The freeways aren’t crowded with banners and signs, but more so open fields and natural beauty. The people were friendly, the sights were memorable, and they have some pretty good mexican food! After eating in Bricktown one evening, we decided to drive around to the area where the infamous Oklahoma City bombing took place.

April 19, 1995, at 9:02 am, one hundred and sixty eight men, women & children lost their lives due to terrorism. An incredibly sad thing. I remember seeing this on the news, but when you actually see the place that these events take place, it becomes much more real and close to home. The only thing worse than a foreign terrorist is one born American.

There is something so serene about these types of memorials. This happened almost 16 years ago, and still, you see little trinkets of love, memory and tribute that people have found a way to clasp to the chain link fence that stood originally after the bombing occurred. You read the messages, see the lanyards, smile at the pictures drawn by children and delicately touch the keychains that people leave in tribute of their visit. I only saw this at night, but I imagine that during the day, the place is only more beautiful. The memorial is open 24/7. You enter from one side or the other, both begin with a massive double paned wall. One inscribed with the time 9:01, the end of innocence for the city. The other, 9:03, for the beginning of healing. In between these two walls lays a body of water about a football field long. On the side, you see the chairs, one for each person who lost their lives. The small chairs represent the children. Across the water stands the survivor tree that represents hope for the city. It was so peaceful, and so sad. I said a prayer for all of the families that still undoubtedly grieve over this loss and also gave thanks to the architects who put so much thought into the design of this beautiful memorial.

(C)Bella Photography Tx 2011

Couples Shoot at the Las Vegas Neon Boneyard ~ Las Vegas, NV Photographer

bella photography — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 21:50:19 +0000

Last year, I bid on Lacy Dagerath’s mentoring session, an auction for F-Stop Breast Cancer. About 50 photographers were asked by Lydia Shannon to participate in a mentoring session to raise money for breast cancer awareness. I ended up with the winning bid on Lacy’s auction (yay me!) and started to think about what I wanted to get tips from her on. There were SO MANY possibilities! I decided on a photo session, watching how she interacts with her clients and listening to her tips. We were both on busy schedules, so when we knew for sure we would be going to Las Vegas for the WPPI convention, she mentioned that she had a shoot while we were there. I jumped at the opportunity! But that’s not the best part. About a week before we went, I found out that we were going to be shooting at the Las Vegas Neon Boneyard….the place where all of the ‘retired’ signs in Las Vegas go to chill.

That’s still not the best part. Aside from getting lost, we saw a whole other side of Las Vegas…..down the other side of Fremont street, there is a plethora of old hotels with the original signs….it makes for great photog eye candy and I just enjoyed the drive. Still not the best part! The best part was that Katie & Brad, two fellow photographers had AMAZING chemistry. Honestly? The best chemistry I have seen on camera in a while. Major props to the two of you. Pretty faces go a long way, but chemistry reaches beyond the photograph.

Anyway, I want to thank Lacy, as well as Katie and Brad for letting me letting me be involved in their session for the sake of learning. I had a great time and can’t wait to do another session here!

(C)Bella Photography Tx 2011

A Bridal Sneak Peek~ Houston, Tx Bridal Photographer

bella photography — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 21:54:50 +0000

Christine is a lovely bride of mine who lives in Dallas, but is getting married here in Houston. She has a cool sense of style and I can’t WAIT to photograph her wedding this April. Now, as the tradition of bridal portraits go…..you don’t see the dress until the day of…and in most cases, we photogs post the bridal blog the day after the wedding. This image has to be one of if not my FAVORITE of the day. She’s gorgeous, classic and brilliant. This one’s going in the studio. Just stating facts. Leave her some love if you’re feeling generous peeps. We had a great time shooting!

(C)Bella Photography Tx 2011

Baby Boy Kannon~ Pearland, Tx Newborn Photographer

bella photography — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 23:55:03 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to shoot my first newborn baby boy! I have had a few baby girls, but never a boy, so yay for boy props! Baby Kannon was not having a very good day, he was getting a cold, but for as much moving around we did with him, he was such a trooper! I’m not a stranger to this family…I took 1 year pictures of their baby girl Mika a few years ago. It was kind of a special shoot for me because it was a turning point in my change of ‘style’. I thank the whole family for being so calm and such troopers through all of our ups and downs that day. Posing for pictures is hard work!! I would also like to thank my friend Amber for lending me a few of these adorable props. You do not go unappreciated my friend.

Welcome, Kannon.

(C)Bella Photography Tx 2011

The picture below rings kinda personal with me because my parents took a picture of me when I was a baby, wearing my Dad’s welder cap

(C)Bella Photography Tx 2011

Lauren + Matt {In Love} Pearland, Tx Engagement Photographer

bella photography — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 01:56:14 +0000

Oh MAN does it feel good to be posting again! I had a few sessions scheduled for January but all were rained out, so when February finally rolled around, I was happy to take freezing sunshine over muggy rain. In that time, I got to know Lauren & Matt. We ventured out a few weeks ago to capture the early moments in their newly engaged lives! Lauren, thank you for braving the chilly wind and running through the field several times! And Matt, you were a trooper letting me give you a hard time and finally making you laugh! I’m so glad you guys had a good time and I hope to see MUCH more of the two of you.

I give you: Lauren + Matt

(C)Bella Photography Tx 2011

A Bride & Groom Shoot in Las Vegas~ Las Vegas, NV Photographer

bella photography — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 22:53:24 +0000

So last year at WPPI, I did a workshop with a few others and took these images. I hated the images I took and just filed them away. Well, last night during the big game, I decided to revisit and over~process. I just wanted loud, sharp images. And I feel good about them. Have a look…

(C)Bella Photography Tx 2011

Weekend in the Country:A Personal Post~Palestine,Tx Photographer

bella photography — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 20:58:00 +0000

So this past Thursday and Friday were supposed to be inclement weather days. In that case, I decided to drive up early to see my family. Nothing was going to stop me from seeing my family this weekend, and I’m so glad I stuck by that stubborn thought, because it was SUCH a good weekend. Promiseland Chocolate milk, popcorn, movies, outdoor activities, visiting with family, a traditional drive to Athens to visit the Sweet Pea Bistro and to top it off…..SNOW! It started Thursday night and went through Friday. We got about half a foot, if that, but it was soooo pretty! Sandy and I decided to build a snowman, but the snow was like Colorado snow….soft and it wouldn’t pack, so we did the best we could. I think our snowman (Charlie) came out so cute! We finally convinced Dad to come out and help us for a bit, but that turned into a snowball fight. It was all just an average smiling fight until my dad used the shovel to pound a pack of snow on me and so I packed a big snowball, and guess what happened? HE STRAIGHT UP TRIED TO RUN FROM ME! It was truly one of those moments I will remember FOREVER. I was laughing so hard watching my Dad run from a snowball….it was the best part of the weekend. Saturday, the roads cleared a little around 1pm, so we headed out for a bit. When we came back, Dad had a few guys come pick up some Red deer, and they had an ADORABLE little girl with them that I had to get a few shots of, so one is included below Overall, it was such a fun, relaxing weekend. I love being there. Anyway, enjoy the randomness of the pictures!

{{Dear John}} ~League City, Tx Engagement Photographer

bella photography — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 01:40:33 +0000

It is a very rare occasion when I am just as excited to tell the story of my clients as I am to share the pictures. How appropriate that it be the last blog of the year. Chelsea is yet another LSA alumni who saw prior work of mine and asked me at literally the last minute to capture some pictures for her. She also asked to shoot at a location that I really don’t choose to shoot at, but for her and her brand spanking new husband, I was willing to do anything, especially since he is fighting for our country overseas. Nick and Chelsea began as friends. She currently resides here, and he is stationed in the UK with the USAF. They would talk, and write, corresponding as much as they could. Letters back and forth for some time. Slowly, the friendship became stronger, and the like turned to love.

“Real love. Ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can’t-live-without-each-other love.” ~Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City.

So strong, that finally, they both realized they didn’t want to live without each other any longer. They were married, LITERALLY the day before we got together to take pictures. You can see it. In the pictures, you can see that love, the way they look at each other, the way they laugh, the hopes and dreams they can see in one another. But the story took a turn. Chelsea was going to move over to the UK right after they were married, but Nick recently got word that he would be deployed to Afghanistan for six months….so again, they will wait. But this time, they will be married. Chelsea accompanied Nick to London where they are currently having a honeymoon before he leaves for duty. She will come back and wait. We all will. And we will pray for Nick’s safety.

In this business, I meet a lot of people. Some good, some great, some become friends, some go their ways, but they all stay in my heart. Nick and Chelsea will absolutely be one of those couples. I had a good time that day, shooting pictures, capturing memories so fresh and new, but afterward is when something inside me realized that I will hold these two in my heart closely. I will think of them, I will pray for them, and I hope one day, to take more pictures for them. God brings people into your life for a reason, and I truly believe in this couple. Marriage is hard, I never realized how hard, until I got married, but I wish the best of the BEST for these two, because they deserve it. They fought for it, and now, they get to live it. Pray for them friends. Pray for their marriage, pray for his safety, and pray for her loneliness while he’s gone.

Nick & Chelsea {Just Married}

(C)Bella Photography Tx 2010

(C)Bella Photography Tx 201