Recently I had the honor of visiting Whitney's class and telling them about my job.  I explained to them that my job in the community was to take pictures of what was important to people.  As a little project I gave each child a little disposable camera to go home and take photos of what was important to them. 

The results are in and I have to say there is some pretty cool art among each child's portfolio.  I went through and grabbed an image from each set and made a little black and white art print. 

While looking through the images, keep in mind that the kids were asked to photograph what was important to them. I hope you enjoy the tour of Ms. S. Wilson's extremely artistic group of kids.

Posted by danny at 12:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It has been a few days since we updated the blog so we will be pushing out a bunch of new updates over the next few days.  The holidays didn't stop the camera shutter so we have lots of cool stuff to show everyone. 

The other day Will Sexton rolled in to get a quick portrait taken.  I had photographed his little sister a few months back and her dad wanted to get a duplicate portrait with his son. 

Will is going to school in Austin.  He is working on a Digital Media Business degree which sounded really cool.  I have a BBA from UH and would have loved to specialize in Digital Media.  We wish Will the very best in his future! 

This was one of our favorites from the session. 

After we were done with the stuff his parents wanted we went nuts and coolified a portrait in front of his sweet ride.  Nothing better than a little fly Texas Monthly shootout!  Thanks for coming by Will!

Man I wish I had a picture like that when I had my 1978 Sky Blue Ford Fairmont.

Posted by danny at 10:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So all I ever hear about this girl is that she is little weird and unpredictable.  I have not heard her music and decided to go check it out.  Its unfortunate she is surrounded by so much drama because her sound is yummy like a hot cup of coco with a little wild turkey in it.  She has this old soulful sound that is mellow and smooth.  If you could see her sound it would look like thick smoke oozing out of your speakers.  I hope she sticks around because she could have a great influence on some great music.  Pick up the tracks and let your mind wander.

God Bless Texas and God Bless Johnny Cash!

Posted by danny at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Sunday after playing on the hill we headed over to the Railroad museum.  I had been told this was a really cool museum so we made sure to visit.  We missed Santa by one day but realized we were not at the rail-RAD museum.

In the station there were all these statues to look like the late 20s and 30s.  This one statue looked like she was actually watching James and Finn (otherwise known as Frick & Frack).

There was even a photographer working on a very long exposure...

Denise was busy talking on the phone with Santa.

The rail cars outside are not really blocked off like the flight museum.  You can pretty much go anywhere on any of the trains.  Be careful though there is lots of rusty metal, nails and creepy rooms to wander into. Steven and I decided to do a little ghostly images in the postal car.  Some of these cars would just give you such a creepy feeling. 

Look for the ghosts in the next two images.

One of the cars was a little more modern but for some reason we didn't want to go through it.  The kids were real strange and the hair was standing on my neck.  I took this image then got the heck out of there.  I didn't even want to look behind me.

There were three big engines on the tracks.  This was one of the big Yellow Rose engines.

Then there was the famous 555 engine. 

You could walk through the middle of these tracks and just take tons of great images.  The size of these machines is awesome.

Whitney and I found a really old caboose.  It was super creepy so we treaded lightly.  Whitney walked to the end of the car and turned around.  She froze in her tracks and just stared at the ceiling.  Eventually she ran back to me and we quickly left. This is one of my favorite images

While Denise ran off to find James, I watched Whitney play on the tracks.  She loves the movie Polar Express where the kids walk on the tracks in the North Pole.

She had a really good time playing at the railroad museum.

James was all over place.  He disappeared for a while but we caught up with him.  He was angry because he thought we lost him.  He loved climbing into the big engine and pulling the bell rope.

Being cool on the train.

Playing on the trains was a lot of fun but we were ready to get home.  This was one of my last images I took of the weekend.  Finn was throwing a rock in the air waiting to leave. 

We were glad Farrah and her crew joined us this weekend.  It was a lot of fun!

Posted by danny at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At the San Luis hotel there is this huge hill on next to the I-HOP.  After breakfast we took the kids to let them run around on this massive hill. 

The wind was still pretty strong but fun was had by all.  I had each kid show me how loud they could yell G-A-L-V-E-S-T-O-N! 

The kids rolled all over the hill and burnt up some serious energy.  James couldn't stop screaming!

My little Princess was having a good time rolling down the hill.

Finn was the king of the world at the bottom of the hill.

Posted by danny at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Mommy was rested and relaxed after her pampering Saturday morning.  The kids were ready for the aquarium and I-max.  We trucked it over to Moody Gardens and cruised through the aquarium before our movie started. 

Mommy and the kids posed for a photo op.  Don't ask me what they are doing.

The aquarium was all decorated for Christmas.  There was a tree with more of the huge ornaments so we saluted M.C. Escher and took a photo in a sphere.

The IMAX movie we went to see was Santa vs. the Snowman which by no means is good nor worth the money.  The movie is 3d so you have to watch it with these stylish glasses. 

After the movie we met up with Farrah and her crew for a little Festival of Lights celebration. 

The wind had really started to pick up and was almost unbearable.  The Festival of Lights was awesome and the kids enjoyed all the light diplay.

My camera ran out of battery power so this was the last image of the night.  We had fun and everyone got a good night sleep after all the daily activity.

Posted by danny at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As usual James was the first to wake up Saturday morning.  When we are getting ready for bed I tell him that we need to sleep because we have to "Make a New Day".  James gets up with the sun every morning and tells me "Daddy the Sun is out so the new day is ready!" 

Our hotel room faced the water and there was this awesome light coming in the room.  James wouldn't hold still long enough for me to photograph him though.

Whitney on the other hand was all about showing off her new fine jewelry in the morning sun. 

Man that's some fancy jewelry!

We let mommy go enjoy an little pampering in the spa while I took the kids to I-HOP for breakfast.  There was a pretty good storm coming so we had to hustle.  The kids tried every syrup available and deemed Poison Berry (aka. Boysenberry) their favorite!  The wind got really strong and the kids wanted to take "cool" pictures in the parking garage. 

Not real sure that is a cool face but he sure is a cool kid.

We got in the car and headed out to the Texas Lone Star Flight Museum to check out all the old War Birds.  Below are a few of our favorites from the museum. 

It was pretty cool getting to see these war planes up close.  It took a lot of sand to get in one of these planes back in WWII. I would have like to learn more about teh planes but it is not the kids priority to wait for me to finish reading.   

James and Whitney enjoyed the museum and we left right after a front blew through the area.  The wind was super strong but I had to get the kids picture in front of the sign. 

James loves planes, trains and sharks!

Posted by danny at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last weekend we decided to take a little time off and get away from Houston for a couple of days.  We decided to head down to Galveston and take the kids to Moody Gardens for their big Christmas Celebration of Lights. 

On the way we stopped in Friendswood to visit with our buddies Trish and Adam Taylor.  They have a super successful studio there and we couldn't wait to let Whitney and James run loose in their shop. 

They have this real cool sign at the front door making sure nobody used cameras in the studio.   They did let me take one picture inside though.

Trish and Adam are the Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep coordinators in the Freindswood/Galveston area.  They have driven all the way into the med center for families a number of times.  These guys are top notch!  If you live in Friendswood and can't get in to see us be sure and check them out at http://www.imagingstudios.com/

Thanks for the all the hospitality guys and have a great Christmas!

We left Friendswood and headed to Galveston.  After we checked into the San Luis Hotel we took the kids to the room to test out the jump-ability of their beds.  James was so funny because he kept telling people we were staying at a Show & Tell.  Whitney would correct him and say "No James! Its a Hoe & Tell!"  Either way it was cool.

James and Whitney wanted to eat so we took the to the Rain forest Cafe.  They gave the kids these blinking glasses which added to all the flare in the room.  After we ate the kids picked out something fun in the gift shop.  Whitney selected some fine jewels and James got a train.  Off to bed and ready for a dayof fun!

Posted by danny at 09:57 PM | Permalink

This afternoon Denise and I met Farrah and Julie at Garson Fine Persian Cuisine for lunch.  With the busy holiday rush for pictures we have not had a chance to have lunch together.  I have been to Garson's once before and it was rather tasty.  I looked forward to trying something new and chillin out with my buddy Farrah for a short while. 

I chose a chicken and crayfish dish for the day.  Since crayfish are out of season they substituted it for shrimp.  It was really quite awesome up until I noticed the cooks had sauteed my shrimp with roaches.  That's right, a roach.  And not like a piece of one where I wasn't sure if it was a roach.  It was a complete, long legged, brown speckled, dirty kitchen roach.  And to top it off, it was found on the bite I was about to put in my mouth.  So in conclusion, if you decide you would like your food sauteed with roaches I suggest heading on over to Garson's Fine Persian Cuisine.  I think the chicken and shrimp dish with roach sauce is an "off menu" dish so be sure and ask if the cook is preparing it that day first. 

But to be completely fair, the owner did comp our meals.  Not one of us was able to continue our lunch.  There really is no saving yourself in that sort of situation. The manager offered a free meal the next time I came but she could tell I probably was not going to be coming back.  I'm just glad they didn't charge me extra for the roaches.

Garson Fine Persian Cuisine:
2926 Hillcroft
Houston, TX 77057

As a disclaimer I am sure I have eaten some pretty nasty things in restaurants.  But like most things, it is sometimes best not knowing what is in my food.  But I draw the line at identifiable insects in my food. 
 

Posted by danny at 04:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This month Whitney's class is learning about the community.  Part of this comes with the ever popular parent career day.  Tuesday I was scheduled to come visit the class and explain to them what I do at my job.  Little did Ms. Wilson know that my job is to get kids wound up and silly!

The night before my "presentation" Whitney and I went to Sam's club and purchased a bunch of disposable cameras for her classmates.  We wanted each child to take the camera home and photograph what was important to them.  In addition, I brought in some of our cool toys equipment for them to see in action.

While we were shopping, Whitney and I had a very interesting conversation about our event. It went like this:

Danny: "So what do I need to talk about tomorrow?"
Whitney: "Your job."
Danny: "But what do I say?"
Whitney: "You tell them what your job is then you talk about your job."
Danny: "But what did the other parents talk about?"
Whitney: "Their job!"
Danny: "But is there something specific I tell them about my job?"
Whitney: "I DON'T KNOW!  But I get to sit next to you in the little chair while you sit in the big chair." 

Now we know what was important... 

We had a lot of fun and it was really cool to see how proud Whitney was of her daddy.  The class is supposed to turn in their cameras by the end of the week.  We can't wait to see what these images look like.

Thanks goes out to the coolest Kindergarten class in the world! The SUPERKIDS of Ms. Wilson's Kindergarten Class

Posted by danny at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This smoked chicken is one of my favorite recipes.  Not only does it look rather cool, the technique creates the juiciest chicken you will ever eat. 

I picked up the recipe from a crazy Pharmacist cooker in George West.  If you are ever at a cook-off and see a rowdy bunch called the Drug Store Cowboys stop in, ask for Tim and tell him Danny from Houston sent you by.  You may not get to eat any BBQ or find out their secrets but you will definitely be welcomed.   

What your gonna need:

• Small fryer chicken. I like the Kosher chickens because they are smaller
• Some small oranges
• Yellow Onion
• Chicken Rub (Use a basic rub nothing with Chinese 5 Spice it will make the crust bitter)
• Cotton Ham Netting - You can get this at Butcher Supply Stores
• Any type of vinegar based mop.  Or just use orange juice with a little oil in it.

The big secret to this type of chicken is that the netting will keep the chicken real tight so the juices are forced to run through the meat. 

We always suspend this chicken in our smoker so the chicken cooks evenly.  This is not a one hour chicken either.  It is one that takes a good 5 hours to slow smoke.

Prep your chicken and stuff it with a couple oranges and half an onion.

Take your netting and slide the chicken in leaving enough room on either side to tie a knot.  The check will be suspended with the breasts facing town and the legs at the top.  So leave about 5 inches of netting on the top to tie to your smoke box. (Note:  this can get messy so make sure and wear an apron.  The netting is not easy to manipulate.)

Rub the outside of the chicken with orange juice and your chicken rub.

Get the birds on the smoker that is roughly 200 to 225 degrees.  You should smoke these for about 4 to 5 hours basting with your mop every half hour after the first three hours of cooking. 

Because of the netting the goodness inside just simmers and doesnt leak out.  This will be one juicy bird when your done.  After the chicken is cooked to doneness and the juices run clear the bird is ready .

Remove the birds and let them sit for about 10 minutes before you cut open the netting. 

For competition just split the birds in half.  Otherwise just get on it and start enjoying the feast.  For those that compete, be careful using this technique.  Some judges consider it "marking" your entry so you could get disqualified.  It will stand out in the crowd not only in appearance but in taste too.

Hope you enjoy the yard bird!

Posted by danny at 08:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cooking is just as much a passion as photography is for me and getting creative is always fun.  My kids love helping out and REALLY enjoy eating the goods once their done.  The best part is getting them to help me. 

Whitney and I wanted to smoke an apple pie to go with or dinner but we decided to try something different.  We still have not decided on a recipe name so suggestions would be helpful.

Here are the ingredients:

• 8 apples - whatever kind you like granny smith works best though
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 3 Tablespoons of cinnamon
• 1 Teaspoon of nutmeg
• PreMade refrigerated pie crust

Generally you would do this in the last couple hours of BBQ for the day.  I don't know why you would want smoked apples without a bunch of BBQ chicken, ribs and other goods to go along side it.  The smoker can be relatively hot (around 250 to 300) degrees.  Once you are there than start getting the apples ready.

First you want to peel and core your apples.  We use this handy dandy apple peeler.

Mix the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl and roll each apple completely coating them. 

Set the apples aside and roll out your pie dough.  Cut the dough into four pieces.

Take each piece and wrap the apples with the dough. 

Set the apples on a pan with the exposed apple side down.  Make sure and use a pan or glass dish you don't mind roughing up a bit.  It will get rather nasty in the smoker. 

Since this was a test recipe we first tried to cook the apples in our little pot smoker. 

Unfortunately it was going to take too long for the smoker to get to temperature so we moved it to the big smoker.  Cooke the apples on the hot side of your smoker for about one hour.  Most smoked pies work best with a fruit or nut wood.  We use Cherry, Apple and Pecan wood for the process. 

We also threw in a real apple pie.  Some people don't believe me that I smoke pies but here is proof.  They are delicious and top off any great BBQ meal.

When the apples are done the crust will look golden brown.  This is the same for the pie.  Remove from the smoker and let sit a few minutes.

These little nuggets of happiness ROCKED.  Our neighbors came by and tried them out just to confirm they were as super-ramma-lamma-ding-dong good as we thought.   They may send you to the hospital if you add ice cream to them so be careful!

Oh and the Apple pie kicked butt too!

So try it out for yourself and let us know what you think.  It is a ridiculously easy recipe that kids can help with. 

Posted by danny at 07:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since the weather was a balmy 75 today with a 100% humidity I decided to take James to the zoo for a little father son time.  James loves the train and that is the highlight of our outings.  Going to the zoo with James is super fun because he doesn't mill around.  He checks out the animal, says "yeah that's cool" then moves on.  Whitney isn't like that.  She likes to meander through the zoo and watch the animals. 

The zoo is decorated for Christmas with lots of ribbons and ornaments.  They had these giant ornaments hanging from the trees. James was fascinated with our reflection.

Since we were there relatively early we were able to see a lot of the animals getting fed.  I had never been to the zoo in the morning before.  It was completely different because all the animals were moving about and very active.  We went to the reptile building and these turtles actually stopped eating and looked at us when we arrived.  I told James we needed to leave since it was obvious we were disturbing them.

We cruised through the zoo and headed out to the train.  James likes to sit near the back so he can see the whole train in front of him.  I love the sticker on the top of the cars.  I wonder how many city meetings took place to decide what was going to be put on these trains.

The weather was beginning to get better so we headed over to the Sam Houston statue.  I have always wanted to take his picture under this statue.  He thought it was a really neat deal but the money in his pocket was more important.

My little man is growing up too fast.  He was ready to leave and go home to play with his train.  He had enough of the statue. 

My little Houstonian.  with his pocket full of money and big ideas about trains.

Posted by danny at 09:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Few people know this but my wife's favorite type of food is Soul Food.  We both have lived in Houston a long time and have grown to love Soul Food.  Today we took our good buddy Chris from Eclectic Production over to This Is It Soul Food and I can tell you THIS IS IT!

We didn't go crazy on our first outing so I passed up the Ox Tails but I did get into the steak. Denise and Chris partied with the smothered pork chops.  We didn't take any pictures but if you could imagine a large plate with brown food on it that was pretty much the deal.

My favorite thing about the whole meal was the lady serving our plates.  Chris kept talking to another guy in the line holding everyone up.  The lovely lady behind the counter said, You better move on ahead or else you gonna get a whoop'n!  I knew right then and there this place was great.  They have a mission, get you fed and out of there!

The sweet tea was sweet and the candied yams were candied.  Bottom line the food was awesome and we will definitely use them at our next open house!

So swing by their kitchen at 207 Gray just 5 minutes from downtown Houston.  Your belly will thank you for it!

Posted by danny at 02:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)