About a year and half ago I was called to The Women's Hospital of Texas to help a family through Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep.  The Griebel family had delivered triplet boys on October 9th; 14 weeks earlier than they should have.   Sadly, Landon did not survive thus the reason I was asked to come to the hospital.  When I arrived at Landon's bedside I found this sweet gentle family that had suffered a great loss.   We visited for a moment and I photographed the family with little Landon as best I possibly could.  I could tell this family was going to pull at my heart but I did my job, got the images they requested and left the hospital. 

On most occasions I do pretty good keeping it together after these sessions.  I have done so many that I have a hard time remembering the families and babies but I think that helps me keep going.  The Griebel family is a little different.  They keep creeping back into my world and keep pulling at my heart every time. 

Three months after I photographed Landon, Abby called me and asked if I could photograph their family including Cade and Aaron home from the hospital.  I was more than happy to do this and was thrilled the family was doing well.  We enjoyed our morning photographing the family and added a portrait with a yellow rose for Landon. 

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep has been a large part of our life over the last few years.  Having the opportunity to help families through art is a tremendous honor and gift.  Knowing families like the Griebels makes it all the more rewarding. 

Last week Abby Griebel called me and asked if I could help them with an image for their March of Dimes fund raiser.  She was putting together a slide show about their time in the NICU with the boys.  The slide show is wonderful and everyone should take the time to see what a family goes through with children in an intensive care unit. 

The Griebel family is trying to raise $2000 for the March of Dimes March for Babies on April 27th.  The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature births, and infant mortality. Please take the time to watch what the Griebel family went through while fighting for their boys.   If you can donate a little cash that would be great.  But whatever you do make sure and hug your children every day and be thankful they are here whatever the circumstance may be.

To donate to the Griebel families team go to the following link:
http://www.marchforbabies.org/personal_page.asp?w=71002884&u=grieblets

On behalf of my family and the Griebel family thank you for your support.

God Bless Texas and God Bless The Griebel family

Posted by danny at 09:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Easter Sunday was a real blast with the family.  We didn't head out of town or do anything wild but we did get to hang out with family and that was fun.  After Church we headed over to the Braniff family house and had a little Easter celebration there.  The kids hunted eggs and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Whitney is a real pro at hunting the eggs down.

I was able to get them to sit still for one frame.  This is it Clark family so enjoy it while it lasts.

After the hunt we had a little lunch and enjoyed the company.  I love ham on Easter Sunday.  I also love taking photos of cured meats.

Once we were done we went to my dads house and hung with them for the afternoon.  My dad made these cookies on a stick that the kids enjoyed. 

Before the evening meal we all played outside with scooters and skateboards.  James has this little scooter that he loves.  My brothers setup their ramp and let him give it a try.  He is fearless and did not have any problem trying to catch some air.

The kids all took turns going down the driveway and off the ramp.  As usual I decided to get right in the way.  James was not thrilled I was in his line.

My dad had to have another operation on his foot so he has to roll around on this leg wheelie scooter deal.  The kids loved going down the driveway on it.

Stu was working the baby scooter.

Pickle had this strange little skateboard that he thought was cool (and that is important).

We had a lot of fun and the kids burnt out on the way home. 

Posted by danny at 08:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A couple weeks ago Farrah and I photographed Megan in her bridal gown.  Megan is the ideal bride, easy going and ready to get creative with photography.  Her wedding day is in a couple of weeks and we are pretty excited to shoot this wedding.  Here are a couple of my favorites from her session. 

We kicked out the Jams in stormy weather right off the bat!

Quick snap of my partner in crime.  That little device Farrah is holding is called a meter.  Without it we would be better off painting than photographing.

Megan is getting married to Philip who was in the A&M Core.  We grabbed a few with her wearing his boots.  The boots have been handed down for generations so this is sort of a big deal.

Keep tuned here for some more wacky stuff from the wedding!

Posted by danny at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The last couple of weeks have been nuts around the studio and home so the blog has been a little stale.  I hope to fix that with a few posts over the next few days. 

McLary came by this week to rock some portraits.  She is working on a modeling career and I think she will do great!  I have a few of my favorites her but there is a little slide show video with the a bunch more for your enjoyment.  You did a great job McLary! 

She has such a great smile!

Gotta love that long hair too!

Click on the little green arrow to see the cool video.

Posted by danny at 08:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had the privilege to photograph Jordan for her Sr. Portrait.  She is a very talented student and athlete.  She wanted to incorporate her track and field work in her portrait so we did a little something unexpected for the shoot.  I hope you enjoy the photographs as much as I enjoyed taking them.

These shoes had the sharpest spikes that have ever had been imbedded in my hand!  Whitney dropped one on her foot and quickly stopped playing with them

We hit the portrait with a little fashion high key as well.

And lastly the jumping over me with the sharpest spikes on the planet. 

Posted by danny at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A few years back my cousin Chad introduced me to Kathleen and Ricky over at the Hollywood Frame Gallery.  Ever since we first met these guys, we felt like family.  With big smiles and open arms they have helped us with crunch time framing, art displays and community awareness. 

Kathleen and Ricky hail from New Orleans where Kathleen (who did not want her photo taken) managed Animation Sensation, an art gallery specializing in animated art.  After New Orleans, they moved to Houston where the Hollywood Frame Gallery was born.  Over the last 12 years these proprietors have developed a unique market for creative custom framing. 

As you walk in the front door you are wowed by the creativity in the room.  They have hundreds of unique frames and styles to choose from.

Some of my favorite frames are these wildly cool and colorful frames.

In addition, they offer fabric wrapped mats that really set artwork off with texture and color.  Ricky is the craft genius that has everything correctly organized.

The Gallery also specializes in photo restoration and practice conservation quality techniques when framing artwork or prints.  Additional stylized techniques such as object mounting are available as well.  Recently they were framing pieces of Mardi Gras art where they mounted the matching coins in the mat.  These pieces were some of the coolest we have laid our eyes on. (Or at least the coolest until we see them next time)

Along with great framing they also sell great art.  They specialize in selling pet art like my very own pop art, Jim Tweedy's Friendly Doggies, Movie Poster Collections and Disney Collectors' Addition giclee' on canvas prints. 

Most of the Pet Pop artwork displayed by us is in Paraflex frames.  These frames can be fully customized to suit your decor and style. Each frame is a hard acrylic that you can mix colors such as purple with pink polka dots or sleek black and grey stripes.  Like everything else at the gallery, the choices are endless.

Small businesses in the area work hard for their customers and their community.  Ricky and Kathleen are the kings of giving and have spent plenty of time and money helping our furry community of pets.  Each year they help raise money for the Houston Humane Society in many different ways.  Currently they are one of the sponsors for the society's annual K-9 Fun Run. 

They also host events in their gallery for the Homeless Pet Placement League and the Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue.  Both of these organizations are great resources for finding a pet that needs a home. 

So if your in the neighborhood and want to see some top notch art or meet some of Houston's greatest business owners stop by the Hollywood Frame Gallery and tell them Danny sent you.  I'm sure they will make you laugh and inspire your art.

The Hollywood Frame Gallery is located at 2427 Bissonnet between Kirby and Greenbriar.  Or give them a call at 713-942-8885.

Posted by danny at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, Whitney had a little birthday party to go to at this crazy little place in the Heights called the Pink Polka Dot.  Denise said that it was the coolest place.  It is actually a party room within a shop called Olive Anne on West 19th.  It was a Hannah Montana party so there was plenty of high energy in the house when I got home.  I had to work Sunday night, but Whitney was waiting up for me so I could see her green "punked out" hair.  She had a lot of fun and the hair was terrific.  The only problem was washing out all the glitter. 

After the drama with washing it out, we had this neat little conversation while snuggling in her bed.

Whitney: "I love you daddy."
Me: " I love you too."
Whitney: "I love you from home to outer space."
Me: " I love you to the moon and back."
Whitney: "Is the moon farther?"
Me: "Yep."
Whitney: "Well I love you more than my green hair."
Me: " And I love you more than my dirty socks."
Whitney:  "You're silly daddy." (with an awesome little giggle) 

Then the snoring began.

Kids are cool.

Posted by danny at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Saturday afternoon I headed out to Quail Valley for a portrait of the Graves family.  We took the portrait on a golf course that I used to play all the time when I worked for Prudential Insurance back in the early 90's.  Its funny how you can remember almost any course you have ever played. 

The Graves family was a lot of fun to photograph.  Especially the little ones.  They were high energy and full of life.  We got this great portrait of the kids and their grandmother all snuggled up. 

My favorite portraits were of the little ones.  I love to get them to try and peer into the camera.  The sky was an awesome blue Saturday evening so we had to capitalize on it.

Posted by danny at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Friday afternoon Whitney's school has a function on Go Texan day called Kindergarten Roundup.  This is where all the next year's kindergartners get to come tour the school and learn about the programs.  Farrah's son, Sayer will be going to Roberts next year.  We are all so excited to have more family in the school. 

Part of the kindergarten roundup is a little entertainment by the current kindergarten class.  Whitney was very excited to be a part of the festivities!

Everyone in the room was fully dressed for the Go Texan day.  I need to get a hat like this.

First event was a little pony race.  Whitney was so excited I thought she was going to bust!

Then off she went to round the corners on her little cutting horse.

She was super cute in her pig tails.  Someone asked her if her daddy did her hair.  She chuckled like it was the funniest thing and said NO HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW!  Whitney loves to have her picture taken with her friends.  This is her little buddy Nadia. 

After the races the kids did a little line dancing.  It was too funny watching them get down.  Ms. Lane did a great job with the choreography.  Here is a little animation for your dancing enjoyment.

After the line dancing the kids sang songs with a little more dancing.  The Chicken Dance was a big hit.

Whitney did great and we were tickled that Steven, Farrah and Sayer could be there too. 

Posted by danny at 01:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Little Gianna came by the studio today for her 8th month portrait.  She is turning into a real fire cracker like her old man Matt.  Gianna wasn't feeling too good today so we kept things pretty simple.  I just love this curly little hair and those big blue eyes.

Thanks for coming by Gianna!  I hope you had fun too.

Posted by danny at 01:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)