Hudson & Emerson

Christmas Eve is finally here and we get to slow down for awhile. Two of our baby planners went to Tinkle Town and the pee patrol earned their keep for these two sessions.

Kensey & Lacey and Hailey, Kensey & Jonathon

Sweetwater was well represented with two different families and two different sessions today. Kensey & Lacey shot this morning and Kensey (yes, that's right- two Kensey's in the same day)&Hailey & Jonathon were in this afternoon. We had fun both sessions. Jonathon gave us the biggest laughs of the day and was a good sport about the joke we played on him.

We also had two baby plan shoots today that I will share with you tomorrow.

Avery and Alexis

This great family knows the importance of documenting the aging process and producing heirlooms that can be passed down from generation to generation. After many sessions we finally made a breakthrough with Alexis today (thanks to some serious bribes by Melanie and Margie's zany antics).

Isaiah 40:31

DJ may well soar with the eagles. We enjoyed our shoot with DJ and his mother Carrie.

DJ is an accomplished tennis player and track and field participant at Jim Ned.

You Could Feel The Love

We have done family and children portraits for three generations of the Jones family since we started Hughes Photography. Recently Tyesha called us and said they wanted to make an appointment to update family pictures with their kids and her mother and dad. The morning of the shoot day, Sondra walked in the studio and said that they had some other family members that were coming into town and would it be OK if they were a part of the shoot. We said "Sure and oh by the way, how many will end up being in the photo.?" She said "about 10 I think".

Some of the family members from out of town had gotten off a little late. So, that evening when the last ones arrived, I did a head count and we had 28 people in our little studio.

It was actually a blast. There was so much love and happiness present that it was invigorating and heart warming. We could not fit that many people at one time in our little camera room. But we did all of the sub family groups and lots of brother, sister, mom, dad grandmom and graddad and grandchildren groupings. This great shoot went on into the night.

Grab It

My second professional camera was a D1x that I literally wore out in several years. When I replaced it, I sent it to Nikon to be reconditioned. Since then, I keep it handy at home and on short trips to grab shots when they present themselves unplanned and unposed.

The first shot was taken at the Tech/Baylor game a couple of weekends ago. I had not been to Jones Stadium since they built the magnificent press box and box seat structure on the west side. The blue theme really represented the cold, shady seats we occupied. Tech trailed the first half of the game and it all felt way too much like the Oklahoma flashbacks and fear that most Tech veterans are way too familiar with. Grahm Harrell (the obvious Heisman trophy winner), with a crushed left hand rallied the team and won the game.

The second grab shot was a group of windmills not too far from my home that was taken on a recent cold, winter day. The available light was really poor for rich colors. However, it turned out fine and represents an image and energy source that we will see much more of in the future.

My next shot was one of the first impressions I received when I drove into Rotan last week. I was asked to speak at career day at Rotan High School. They had students from Roby, Rotan, Anson, Stamford and Hamlin. I would generally rather eat a coffee can full of dirt than speak to a group of people. However, I truly enjoyed sharing my experiences and advice for seeking a career in photography to four large groups of high school seniors.

To get a real feel for these images, click on the photo to see the enlarged version.

Lovely Lillia

Lillia just finished the fifth session of her first year baby plan. It has been a pleasure over the last year to get to know Adriane, Andy and Lillia. Andy is a C130 pilot and a proud pappa. We learned yesterday that he is even a prouder pappa now. They recently found out that we will have another baby plan to start unfolding in about 7 months as they are expecting #2.

Eye See More Clearly Now

Several months ago I started having problems with one of my eyes. An old friend, Russell Dressen who is a great optometrist let me know that I had some kind of retina problem. I did some research and discovered that one of the premier, renouned, world class retina surgeons and researchers in the U.S. is right here in Abilene, Tx. And just so happens to be one of my loyal customers who regularly documents the aging process and moments in time with their great family. Lauri and Sunil Patel have 3 great kids and simply radiate good vibes as such a happy and positive family unit. Lauri is a retired family physician who is a wonderful mother and has a sense of humor that keeps you laughing all the time.

Dr. Sunil Patel is one cool hand luke. He has done laser surgery on one of my eyes twice now. He has brought that eye back to normalcy and I am so appreciative. The retina on one of my eyes decided to mimic my mind and became detached. He has skillfully welded it back to where it should be and I see clearly, now. That is very important to a photographer.

I apologize for being so irregular with keeping this blog updated. We have been booked pretty steady lately and I need to keep everyone posted with these new images. I promise I will share more and more regularly in the future.