Friday night my last session of the day was of the wonderful Firat Family.  These guys came in all the way from Turkey.  They even weathered the storm with their family that lives here in Houston. 

I love meeting couples that have been together for a long time (even if I don't speak the language).  I wanted to know all about their wedding and the fun that they have had.  These two kids have been married for 37 years!  I think that is pretty cool especially when I found out that their wedding had almost 1000 people!  Talk about a party!

I think these two images tell the rest of the 13,504 days they have loved together. 

I'm sure when they got married they would never have thought that in 37 years they would be in Houston for one of the worst hurricanes ever.  But it is just one of those things that makes hanging with you spouse that much better.

Keep on rockin the love Ibrahim and Munibe we are glad you are here!

Posted by danny at 08:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I can't tell you how happy we were to see this sign in front of our house today.

These guys working were all business.  The tree crew was form Florida.  I didn't bother them at all.  These guys looked tired and they had plenty more trees to cut down.

The electric crew was from Iowa.  They too were pretty tired of climbing the light poles.  Apparently our part of the city is unique in that way.

Luckily behind my neighbors house there is an empty lot.  They were able to get their bucket truck in there to get some of the work done.  It takes almost 2 hours per pole to fix.  I couldn't imagine the number of these that had to be repaired in our part of town.

Thanks guys for getting in there and getting the lights back on! 

Posted by danny at 08:40 AM | Permalink

Some great friends of ours in Friendswood have an extremely successful studio that was destroyed during the hurricane.  Unfortunately they are having to move everything that was not effected out and into their home until they can get their business going again.  When Denise and I flooded after Allison we couldn't appreciate the help from friends more.  There is so much stuff that needs to be done you almost feel paralyzed.  I headed out to Friendswood to give Adam and Trish a hand with the cleanup.  Here are a few images of their aftermath.

Basically what happened was their roof ripped off the front of the building and then was tossed into the back.

Once the water starts to come in the ceiling just caves. 

The biggest damage was done in their production rooms.  This is where images are worked on digitally and then prints are mounted, framed and packaged.  Almost everything in the rooms were soaking wet.  The insulation was everywhere and didn't make the cleanup any easier.

The roofing metal was tossed to the back yard and basically cut into this set of trees.

Doing everything you can to save your equipment in critical.  It can always be replaced but it is not something you want to deal with.  Most of this stuff was drying out but it has lost a significant amount of life in the long run. 

Overall Trish and Adam were in good spirits.  They are grateful they made it through the storm and are ready to get back to work making families happy with beautiful images.

Posted by danny at 07:32 AM | Permalink

Since most of the kids in the neighborhoods are without electricity they are doing a pretty good job of driving their parents nuts!  Denise and I noticed this growing trend so we decided to provide a little relief. 

In our studio we have a large room that has no windows and is completely white.  I setup our computer with a projector and borrowed a sound system form the Chris Newlin of Eclectic Productions for a little family movie night. 

We had a few people drop in to say hello and few that hung out for the duration.  This kids watched Nim's Island while the parents hung out in the other various studio rooms enjoying wine brought in by Farrah. 

One of my assistants and awesome artist Gonzo of Aerosol Warfare painted his truck for the occasion.  Before the sun went down we had a little photo session.  The kids were all super silly!

Everyone else gathered round the newest baddest Art Car in Houston.

Eric just moved here from Florida and was no stranger to Hurricane weirdness. 

This one is for his Myspace page.

Farrah and Steven could resist the romance.

Gonzo made it a point to pose like a real gangsta with his woman.

 The whole night was a lot of fun and we are now planning on doing this once a month.  So keep your ears on for the next big event. 

Posted by danny at 08:48 AM | Permalink

Our first night staying at the studio was good but it is still not home.  On the way back to the house this morning Denise took a few images of damage along the way.  This is the South Hampton Pool.  It looks like everything is okay other than a really nice fence has gone down.

The gas station by our studio had the entire top canopy flip over on top of a van.  They have already cleared this as of last night.

James loves vans and was disappointed to see this one crushed.

On our way to the house we stopped by the Oubres to check in on them.  They were excited we stopped by.  The kids stayed with them while Denise and I continued to clean up at the house. Before we left David was busy teaching James how to put together a marshmallow gun.

Whitney had a super silly time with her good buddy Molly. 

The kids dressed up and then acted out their favorite books for us.  It was really funny watching them put the whole little story together.  When we returned from cleanup the kids were all outside playing.  They had painted their faces and were running around like a bunch of monkeys.

James was painted like Octopus Prime (Actually Optimus Prime from the Transformers). 

Molly was a fearless Tiger! 

All the kids played for the entire day and there was not one bit of drama to be found. 

I don't think James or Whitney even once came to us complaining or crying.  Its nice to see kids that can just chill out and have fun rather than bicker or manipulate each other. 

Later this afternoon I ran back to the studio to take care of Milo (our dog).  On my way there I came upon this lovely "Yard of The Month"

Back at the Oubres we were cooking chili with a defrosted roast.  I used to cook CASI chili with a wild guy named Rob, who called anything made on the fly "Throw Down."  So we made ourselves some hard core Throw Down Chili.  We all sat outside in the front yard like a big humanitarian family and celebrated one of the neighbors 72nd birthday.  She was tickled that somone found a cake because she had not had a birthday cake in almost 50 years. 

The day was actually pretty fun and I think the weather had something to do with it.  It is pretty mild here right now so everyone is in good spirits.  Curfew was upon us so we had to get back to the studio.  Even with all the fun, the images of sadness are around us.  We have not forgotten all those that are lost, confused or without homes today. 

The electricity is supposed to be back on some time in the next few days.  Once that gets done, there should be more gas stations available so we can get to those that need our help.  I have two good friends that lost their home and both their businesses in Friendswood.  I spoke to them on the phone yesterday and could hear the sadness in their voices. 

If you have electricity and can get gas please reach out to those that need help.  This is going to be a long road to recovery that can be very trying on a mind.  When Denise and I flooded from Allison we were numb for weeks.  I still don't sleep if it rains at night.  Any help you can give to someone, helps them get trough all this and helps you make a better community. 

God Bless Texas and God bless people helping people!

Posted by danny at 04:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well we are back.  A little banged up, a little wet and a whole lot more grateful.  The last hurricane I went through was Alicia as a little kid.  I remember it but I don't remember it being quite that scary.  I hope everyone else made it through the storm safely.  Our ceiling at the studio has a fair amount of damage but everything was packed away safely.  The house fared well but we did have some large trees fall in the back yard.  I guess all those years of cutting mesquite at the ranch with Uncle Jimmy paid off.  Here are a few images for your enjoyment.

Our Street Before the storm:

And After the Storm:

The other side of the street before the storm:

And after the storm:

This is at first light on Saturday morning. 

 Here is our back yard:

These trees were tall.  I never really liked them, they had these awful little leaves that just got everywhere in the winter. 

These were quite loud when they hit during the storm.

We all need to rest but there is still plenty of cleanup to be done.  Hopefully the studio back up and running by Tuesday.  WE still don't have power at home but everyone is safe.  A little tired of been around each other, but still safe.

Posted by danny at 08:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

While we are praying that everyone is completely safe during the impending hurricane in our awesome city, I thought it appropriate to provide some much requested information about how to handle damaged photos. 

PLEASE NOTE:  THESE ARE RECOMMENDATIONS AND DO NOT GAURANTEE THAT A PRINT IS GOING TO BE SALVAGED.  IN THE EVENT YOU ARE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH HANDLING DAMAGED PRINTS, PLEASE SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP FROM A LOCAL PHOTO LAB OR PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO. 

In the event you find yourself a little waterlogged and your family photos get flood water on them please do the following:

Portraits in Frames 

1. IMPORTANT - If you can get to these first please do so.  The water in the frame will cause the emulsion on the print to stick to the glass. 
2. Try to take the frame apart and remove the print and glass from the frame.
3. Soak the glass and print in clean water for a few minutes so the emulsion can slide away from the glass. 
4. Once you have successfully removed the print, either hang the print to air dry or lay face up on a tea towel.  If you place the print on a tea towel check often to see if the print is dry before moving forward with any further restoration.  IF you need to stack the prints up after drying you can do so with pieces of wax paper between each print.

Prints and Negatives that are stuck together

1. IMPORTANT - If the prints are stuck together, do not try to pull apart.  If the prints are still wet you may be able to separate them for soaking them.
2. Get a large flat container full of cool clean water.  Agitate the prints in the water and repeat until all the debris has been removed.  You will need to change the water out often.
3. Either hang dry the prints indoors or do the same as number 4 above.  NEVER DRY YOUR PRINTS OUTSIDE.  The air will dry them too fast and make them curl.

CDs that are stuck together

1. Images on CDs are very fragile.  More fragile than prints or negatives.  (This is why we always recommend that you print all your family snapshots.  Don't leave them in the camera, hard-drive or on CD without a hardcopy print)  The metal sticker that holds the data on the CD is extremely thin and can be destroyed quite easily.  DO NOT TRY TO SEPERATE THE CDS WITHOUT WATER. 
2. Get a bucket of cool water and place your CDs in the water for a few minutes.  If there is paper stuck to the CD, don't try to remove it until it is easily removable.  Many people don't realize that the information is actually held on the BACK side of the CD and NOT the side that everyone tries to clean on their shirt when it scratches. 
3. After agitating and replenishing your bucket with cool water, the CDs should fall apart on their own.  If they don't you can try to remove them underwater or let them continue to soak until they can be separated. 
4. After separated, it is best to let them air dry on dry on a tea towel.  Don't try to hand dry them. 
5. Once this is completed you should try to read the CD and then make a new fresh copy as soon as possible. 

I hope this information is helpful but never needed.  Everyone be safe and keep a positive outlook on the storm.

Posted by danny at 02:34 PM | Permalink

The first time I headed over to the Big Bend area I did not go into the park.  We had an entire day to play on Sunday so we decided to go through the park then head over to Terlingua.  The trip was a pretty cool little preview of the Park and made us all want to go back and go even deeper.

The kids were excited about the mountains.  We had to keep James from rock collecting. He kept coming up to me with a handful of rocks and just dumping them in my shorts. 

On the road to the headquarters there is this cool lookout with a fossil exhibit.  The kids really enjoyed "mountain climbing."

On the road there were these really big colorful grasshoppers.  Its strange to see them walking across the road as your driving.  when we stopped we grabbed one to get a better look. 

There is also this strange looking cactus called a Ocotillo.  some stood over 10 feet high.  It was like a desert tree and had these gnarly barbs. 

The sky was really active all around us.  You could see storms miles away.  There are a few places where you have to watch for flash flooding due to storms all around us.  The ridge in the background is facing the Little Christmas Mountains.

As we were leaving the fossil exhibit a storm came racing across the Black Peaks. 

After we made it to the headquarters office we took the road to Terlingua.  This is beautiful road that winds and twists all through the park.  The next image is when the clouds finally start to break apart and show that awesome Big Bend sky.   This is the face of the Emory Peaks.

The trip to Terlingua was fun but we kept hitting spots of rain so the images are limited.  Keep tuned here for more form our trip.

Posted by danny at 10:11 AM | Permalink

Yesterday Alexandria Richard was brought into this world with a good set of lungs and a dad that has one heck of a fantasy football team. 

Jennifer and Keith were super excited to finally have this little girl here.  I showed up about 12 hours after her birth and we grabbed some super sweet images.

 I love being around first time parents.  Every touch, sounds and smell is new.  Instincts are in full gear and everyone is on a cloud.  These sessions are one of my absolute favorites because I get to share the fun with the family and help capture images that most people are not able to get. 

Keith is a lot of fun to hang out with.  I love photographing the dad in this session because they finally get a chance to be a part of what they started....

Keith and Jennifer are going to be great parents.  We are glad they are part of the family and look forward to watching this little girl grow up.  Congrats Richard Family!

Oh and Jennifer informed me that what I charge for this service is not much more than what the babies first day photos cost so I plan to increase my prices!  Thanks for the heads up Jennifer!

Posted by danny at 09:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

After we left Prada Marfa we headed to the Davis Mountains and the McDonald's Observatory.  Unfortunately due to the cloudy weather we were not able to witness the star party.  My little brother Stuart was so sad he climbed the walls to beg for blue skies. 

 The good thing about cloudy skies is that there are no shadows.  This makes for great portraits of two of the sweetest kids on the planet.

Every once in a while they can be sweet to each other too.

Cold and hungry we headed back to Fort Davis for dinner and some family fun.

If you are ever in the area check out the star party and the observatory.   The site is the highest, darkest, pollution free point in Texas.  You wanna see a big Texas Sky this is the place to see it.

Posted by danny at 07:42 PM | Permalink

For this recent trip to the Big Bend area I had a little entourage with me.  Everyone was itching to see this Prada Marfa deal I photographed back in June.  I got word from James Evans in Marathon that the storefront was vandalized.  Lee Millazo of the Samuel Owen Gallery in Marfa told me the town was not planning on restocking the storefront. 

As we drove up I hoped it wasn't true but sure enough the store was empty. 

The ominous sky made the whole site just seem sad and deflated.  My family had fun but Jimmy and I were disappointed that they didn't get to see the store in all its glory.  Even the Davis Mountains seemed a little sad. 

We did manage to get a quick photo of the flight crew before we headed off to the McDonald's Observatory.

Hasta Prada Marfa, it was fun while it lasted...

Posted by danny at 07:27 PM | Permalink

Well we are back in Houston after a long weekend in the Big Bend Area.  The weather and country looked completely different from my trip last June.  I have a bunch a new images but it will take a few days to get them up online or back from the lab.  Here is a little sampling while I get some needed rest and catch up at the studio from being away. 

This was the last hour of my trip leaving Marathon on 385 headed north.  The image is facing the Sugar Loaf Mountains.  All weekend the sky was dark and cloudy.  This morning I was given a gift of a magnificent West Texas sunrise. 

 God Bless Texas and God Bless my cell phone alarm!

Posted by danny at 08:45 PM | Permalink