We get asked a lot from our clients what they should wear for their sessions.  Our biggest tip is if you keep it simple it makes it simple.  When your selecting clothing for an outside portrait , think of the colors that work well with our green landscapes.  The Sylvester family hit it spot on with their dark blues against the greenery.   If your not sure about what to wear staying neutral is helpful.  Combining colors works as long as you stay within the same hue.  If your looking for a great place to find color combinations check out Color Lovers website.  http://www.colourlovers.com/  They follow color trends in all aspects of media.  They even have a great little app where you can look at colors based key colors you find.  Great for that mad dash to Gap for your families portrait attire.

Winter Street Fall Artist Show- Oct 6th

What is great about this little app is that the kids have a part in dealing with their misbehavior.  There is a time-out timer for each child as well as a Wheel of Punishment!  This is funny but the kids don’t really like it.  We sat down with them and decided on their punishments.  Basically they would have to determine their punishment by spinning the wheel.  Some of the punishments are simply apologizing for the behavior, while others consist of time spent doing something they are not interested in like reading.  You can also setup different wheels for different kids.  For example, one of Zoe’s (3) punishments is to draw a picture of her apology, bBut the older two have to write a letter of apology.

When I brought this app to the kids’ attention their first reaction was quite interesting.  Whitney said she wasn’t going to spin the wheel.  James on the other hand broke down and said “This is the worst app EVER!”  Either way we have had some fun with the kids on this one.  So far the only thing we have had to do was threaten “The Wheel of Punishment” and it has been helpful.

When you download the app one of the default punishments is “Say Goodbye To Fluffy!”  Not sure who fluffy is but I hope its not a family pet.  That would be pretty awful.  Maybe Fluffy is the name of a bike or favorite snack.  Either way, I don’t recommend anything that drastic.  Hope you enjoy the app and let us know what you think.

Ripe Apps website – http://www.ripeapps.com/
Apple Store Download – http://itunes.apple.com/app/tymoot/id423231052

Over the summer our family has started to attend local bicycle groups on rides throughout our cities bike trails.  Thursday nights we join a group that rides from Market Square to Bohemeo’s off of Leeland.   Our children love these bike rides but Denise and I love that they are safe and with a great group of bicycle enthusiasts.  Locally we have seen a vast improvement of our bike lanes and paths throughout the city.  This not only allows for a safer ride with children but makes it easier to get around town. 

Locally there is a new proposition due out this coming November.  Proposition B is a bond proposal to improve our parks, playgrounds and bike paths along the various bayous in our city.  A local organization called Parks By You is hosting a block party on September 6th to help support the proposition and local small businesses along the Mid-Main Corridor.  These small businesses are restaurants like Natachee’s Supper and Punch,  Tacos a-go go, The Sparrow Cooktop and Bar, Sig’s Lagoon, My Flaming Heart, Julia’s and The Continental club.

Here is a rundown of some of the events going on that evening:

6:00 p.m. Free Clory Martin performance @Natachee’s
6:30 p.m. Cocktails by YOU @ Double Trouble
7:00 p.m. Free BEETLE Happy Hour Show @ The Continental Club
7:30 p.m. Movie screening of PeeWee’s Big Adventure @ Natachee’s
8:00 p.m. Free Luke Lukas show @ Pachinko Hut (the backyard of the Continental Club)

One of the events happening that evening is the free screening of Pee Wee Herman’s Big Adventure.  If you are my age you remember this cult classic vividly.  We are planning on riding bikes to the block party from our studio at 2427 Bartlett.  If you want to join us we will be leaving our studio at 6:45 to get there before the movie starts.  This is about a three mile ride that will follow along bike routes and lanes. 

If you want to join us, but have questions, please feel free to call the studio (713-942-2272).  We will be happy to help you out and answer any questions.  If you don’t want to ride that’s cool, just make sure you come out, enjoy some great fun and support some local businesses.

Links to check out:

Event Flyer on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/352697661477040/
Parks By You – http://parksbyyou.org/
Parks By You on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/#!/parksbyyou
Bohemeos – http://bohemeos.com/
Natachee’s Supper and Punch – http://www.natachees.com/
Pee Wee Herman’s Big Adventure – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089791/

During my photography workshops I talk a lot about finding your own creative eye.  We talk about ways you can improve your style and learn where style starts.  One reference I use a lot is from Steven Pressfields The War of Art.  If you are a long time creative this book will kick your butt into gear.  If you new at finding your creative, this book is a must read to get you started.  Mr. Pressfield makes the creative exciting, manageable and enjoyable.  His book will take you through the steps of minimizing distractions and maximizing creativity.  If you are looking for something or even pick up as a gift than be sure and check this one out.

To celebrate the arrival of the Reliant Series of Dog Shows to Houston, Danny Clark Photography is having a very special dog rescue charity promotion.  For every Special Doggie Digital Portrait Session purchased on-line, Danny Clark Photography will donate $50 to the Dog Rescue organization of your choice.  The more sessions sold, the more money that will go to these worthy organizations whose mission it is to care for and advocate for our furry friends.  Be sure to share this with your friends so that we can support these special organizations.

Regularly sold for $600, the Doggie Digital Session includes a 30 minute in-studio portrait session for up to 4 dogs ($25/ea. add’l paid at time of reservation) with your choice of 10 digital image files* on CD for only $350.  That is  $250 in savings

If you are able to come visit us at the Reliant Series of Dog Shows Wednesday, July 18th through Sunday, July 22nd, to purchase your session,  you can get an additional $51 off AND a whopping $100 will go to the Dog Rescue Organization of your choice.  Only if you purchase at the show.  We hope you can come by to visit the Danny Clark Photography booth (booth #235) at the show, but if not, purchase your Digital Doggie Portrait Session on-line today.  Click here to find out the details and to purchase on-line with your credit card.

Yesterday was a very sad day for our family. We came home to a huge pile of tree debris in our front yard and a giant 12-15″ diameter limb from our old Oak tree cut down by the City of Houston. James and Whitney literally started crying as we drove up to the house asking, “why would anyone do this?” My stomach just sank as we got closer to see the actual damage to our beloved tree. I angrily called 3-1-1 and was told that the city can cut down any tree. I asked, “in my front yard?”
“yes”

We were never contacted prior to June 19th regarding issues with our tree limb over the street.  If we would have, we would have found an arborist that specializes in large trees to help more appropriately prune the tree.  There are several other magnolia trees and others that come lower to impinge on normal vehicle traffic that were untouched on our street. This tree is one of the things we absolutely loved about our home when we purchased it. We have lived in this home for nearly 10 years and have never had any issues. UPS delivery trucks don’t even hit it, but giant 18 wheelers (that shouldn’t be in a residential neighborhood) would on occasion. With care, even they could pull all the way to the other side of the street and get by with no issues. So why would our beautiful 70 year old Oak tree be targeted? The limb where our children’s swing used to hang?  Neighbors have come over to ask us why we did that, so we have decided to make sure everyone knows that we would never have chosen to mutilate our beautiful tree. (See image below) This is just the beginning of our fight, even though this destruction can never be taken back, we will make sure that whoever is responsible will know the damage they have caused and that everyone we know is aware of how our city cares for priceless Live Oak trees in our community!  Please share our story with your friends.

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I usually keep the wide angle on my camera all the time now but I love the fish eye with video.  It has a fun whimsical appeal and pared with apps like imovie you can create a great little video right on the camera.   Below is the video from this weekend.  Have a great weekend and never have a reason not to take a photo!