Swimming at the Y

I know that Sam looks scared underwater, but he actually loved it and was all smiles afterwards (as seen in the photo below it). And the lovely Miranda and Natalie are always happy to be models for me in the water.

Holiday Mini Sessions

This year I am offering $75 mini holiday sessions on November 8th at Mayfield Park and on November 15th at Mills Pond, both starting at 8:00 am. The session package includes a 20 minute photo session with your family and a 5x7 digital file of the image of your choice or a $25 credit towards your order if you do a holiday card with me (samples above). For more information you can download a pdf here. You can also call me at 512-968-6437 or send an e-mail to book a session. Also, if you did a session with me in the past year and would like to do a holiday card, please download the pdf to see pricing. Please pass the information on to any friends or family that you think might be interested.

Austin Wedding: Ryan and Karie

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I helped photograph a wonderful Austin wedding on Saturday with the talented Shannon Cunningham. The spot was beautiful and the bride and groom were resplendent. Shannon and I were joined by videographer Cory Ryan of Wild Parrot who was so much fun to work with. The wedding and reception were held at Mercury Hall. It was my first time there and I loved this place. It is small and intimate and has loads of charm. The following post of photos is really long, but I couldn't help myself. I loved so many. One of my favorites is the one of the bride giving her dad his credit card back. Apparently the family has a tradition where all the daughters give back their father's credit card on their wedding day, hence the bride's sad face. The last photo is of Miss Shannon doing her thing. Not only does it show the devotion of a wedding photographer, it also helps explain why I am so darn sore the next day.I am looking to do more weddings in the future, so if you know anyone who is getting married please pass on my name. If they book their wedding with me you will receive a $100 credit with Bonnie Berry Photography, so be sure to have them mention your name, so I can get your gift to you.

The Next Generation

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I just can't get enough of the kids at Ben and Sam's school. So I pulled out my point and shoot and went to town on Friday. This is Ben's girlfriend Olivia whom I LOOOVE. And I also covet her awesome Obama tee. Okay here is where Sam drinks the paint. Yep. He drinks it. What devotion he has to his art.

The Three Margarita Playdate

We had some friends and their children over the other day for some kid play in the toy room and some drinking for the mamas. I called it the Three Margarita Playdate, but I think I was the only one who actually drank three margaritas. But I suppose that a host cannot hold her guests to the same high standards that she holds herself to. Here are some shots (no pun intended) I took. If you are a glutton for punishment you can watch the whole slideshow here (it's slow to load so I suggest walking away while the photos download and coming back once they have).

Sam's Day

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Yesterday was Sam's day to stay home with me. We spent the morning walking the dogs and going to the liquor store to get ready for the "three margarita playdate" we hosted later in the afternoon (photos of that coming tomorrow). After his nap he had a dozen of his closest friends over. He had a ball.

Miss Maggie May

Maggie turned four years old and so her parents threw a big celebration on Sunday. We had a really nice time. The boys were in heaven. Ice cream and pizza and cake, oh my. Since Josh was visiting with his father, I was on my own, so that didn't leave much time to talk with anyone. The kids kept me busy even though I tried to ignore them. Sam kept crawling into hazardous situations and even my "he'll be fine" philosophy couldn't excuse my inaction. It was nice to be surrounded by some adults and to be drinking beer. Beer is always nice.

Austin Wedding: Mattie and David

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On Saturday I second shot the wedding of David and Mattie Parker with the fabulous Heather Thorne from Dallas. Heather did all the heavy lifting. I just showed up for a few hours to lend a hand. It was a beautiful wedding at the picturesque Balcones Springs and was adeptly coordinated by Courtney Rhode. They had the biggest group of groomsmen, ushers etc that I have ever seen. I think there were about 16 of them. Of course the bride and her 9 bridesmaids spent all day getting pretty and the men hung out and watched football until about 5 minutes beforehand when they got dressed. And they still managed to look good.

Hear, Hear

From Maureen Dowd's "NY Times" Coumn written with Aaron Sorkin:Call them liars, because that's what they are. Sarah Palin didn't say "thanks but no thanks" to the Bridge to Nowhere. She just said "Thanks." You were raised by a single mother on food stamps--where does a guy with eight houses who was legacied into Annapolis get off calling you an elitist? And by the way, if you do nothing else, take that word back. Elite is a good word, it means well above average. I'd ask them what their problem is with excellence. While you're at it, I want the word "patriot" back. McCain can say that the transcendent issue of our time is the spread of Islamic fanaticism or he can choose a running mate who doesn't know the Bush doctrine from the Monroe Doctrine, but he can't do both at the same time and call it patriotic. They have to lie--the truth isn't their friend right now. Get angry. Mock them mercilessly; they've earned it. McCain decried agents of intolerance, then chose a running mate who had to ask if she was allowed to ban books from a public library. It's not bad enough she thinks the planet Earth was created in six days 6,000 years ago complete with a man, a woman and a talking snake, she wants schools to teach the rest of our kids to deny geology, anthropology, archaeology and common sense too? It's not bad enough she's forcing her own daughter into a loveless marriage to a teenage hood, she wants the rest of us to guide our daughters in that direction too? It's not enough that a woman shouldn't have the right to choose, it should be the law of the land that she has to carry and deliver her rapist's baby too? I don't know whether or not Governor Palin has the tenacity of a pit bull, but I know for sure she's got the qualifications of one. And you're worried about seeming angry? You could eat their lunch, make them cry and tell their mamas about it and God himself would call it restrained. There are times when you are simply required to be impolite. There are times when condescension is called for! Read it all here.

The Toyroom

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These were from a couple of weeks ago and Ben actually looked at the camera. This is becoming a rare occurrence. The older he gets, the more annoyed he is by my taking pictures. I figure that by the time he is fourteen I may get one photo a year of the little bugger.

The Park

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We took the boys to the park the other day and I broke out my old Pentax dslr, which was the first one I owned. Sam is quite a big fan of the swings and giggles the whole time. It is priceless. I need to bring a video camera the next time.

The Fever

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Poor Sam had a fever yesterday so we picked him up early and he stayed home today. Josh came home early this afternoon to spare me so I could get all of my work done and I snapped a few of the two of them before they headed out on their manly Home Depot trip. There are also a couple from this morning when Sam was trying to help me work.

Good Morning Austin

What a great morning. I am in a good mood (I KNOW. It shocked me too!) I made pancakes this morning for the kids. It's 70 degrees and I drove with the windows down and the ac off. The sun is shining and the sky is beautiful. I couldn't help myself. I had to take the point and shoot out of my bag and play. People in other cars were looking at me like I was mad. But we know better, don't we?