Open Mic Night

For the past two days I've been watching my favorite photographer, Jasmine Star, prep for a wedding through creativelive.com live video stream. Her big advice to photographers is to figure out what it is about you personally that sells you -- what is it about your personal photography style that works to your advantage.
I've been putting a great deal of thought into this and I've decided that one of my biggest advantages is my desire to tell a story -- the journalist inside of me. I'm not satisfied with snagging individual moments but I want to also get the moment leading up and the reactions after -- I want the scene to be recreated in picture form before you when you look at the pictures. So, the goal is now to keep finding the people who are looking for a photojournalist to capture their story.
For now I'll continue to tell the stories around me! Wednesday night was Open Mic at the UNT Baptist Student Ministry, a student organization I've been an active part of since my first semester of my freshman year of college. This week is First Flight Week for thousands of new freshman at UNT -- and it was just this week that it dawned on me that it's not called First FLIGHT week at every college . . . it's because we're the Eagles (duh). Thanks for helping me figure that out, cousin Joshua.
Anyway, I am constantly blown away by the amount of sheer, raw talent that walks these Denton streets, and was again reminded of that on Wednesday by the mix of rapping, crooning, strumming, and stand-up that made up Open Mic Night.



Dustin Aguilar (he's actually the the new campus missionary for international students at UNT -- excitement!)





Leighton Pustejovsky

Tyler Collins

I wanted to end the post with my dear friend Brittney Bell. This is how she tells a story, and not just when she has a microphone and a captive audience. No, she uses all these expressions on a regular basis, and I love her for it.

Jonas + Jill - Wedding (SNEAK PREVIEW)

Here's a quick glimpse of Jill and Jonas' first look before the ceremony.

A first look is when a bride and groom opt to see each other before the ceremony in any number of creative ways. This provides a way for the couple to share a private first wedding day moment together -- and provides this photographer an opportunity to snag pictures like these:

Pure, intimate wedding day reactions between just the two of them and a camera to capture it all.

A first look afforded us plenty of time before the ceremony to capture wedding portraits of just the two of them, pictures we wouldn't have time to snag after the ceremony. I love it when the couples I shoot choose to do a first look, because it gives me an opportunity to intimately capture their first moments together on their wedding day and helps the rest of the day to run smoothly and naturally.

If you're interested in hearing more about first looks or if you would like me to share my experiences (as a former bride myself in addition to my photographer experiences) with first looks, please e-mail me (jilliandaniels@my.unt.edu) and I would love to share them with you!

The pursuit of photography

I know the goal was to dial down on the computer time yesterday, but last night I couldn't stop -- I was in a photographic whirlwind! I found a jackpot of four professional California photographers' blogs that I got lost in, which led to me taking notes, jotting down ideas and observations from my own photography, and then started having all these questions I wanted to ask these photographers who've been in the business way longer than me.
James tried to keep up with me, but finally succumbed to sleep during an episode of 'Hey Arnold' (his new favorite show to watch on Netfix recently) around 1 a.m. He tried so diligently though.

Before I knew it, it was 4 a.m. James woke up from on the couch and came where I was at the dining room table. "I know you were taking pictures of me," he said groggily. Can't slip anything past this vigilent fellow. It was time to stop the photography research for the night (morning?) and go to bed.

But I went to bed completely and entirely excited about photography, where I want to be as a photographer and the journey of getting there.

Seven hours

Yesterday I worked with pictures on my computer for seven straight hours.
I made myself sick.
Not actually sick, but I did have a headache and my stomach felt like I had eaten airplane food.
So today I've it down several notches on the time I spend editing/researching wedding photos -- I just get over-eagar, okay?

I also spent a lot of time thinking about who I am as a photographer. I spend so much time looking at dozens of professional photography blogs and websites that I worry about loosing my own signature photography style in the attempt to make my work emulate other photographers'. I don't really know what to do with these thoughts, just know I'm thinking them. Reflecting on the subject.

In other news, yesterday James and I bought 20 bananas at Kroger. And this morning I woke up with the Strawberry Shortcake theme song stuck in my head (I babysat a 4-yr-old and a 2-yr-old several days last week).

Have a happy Monday!

Jill, Bridals

It has been such an pleasure to work with Jill throughout the past few weeks -- engagements, an almost bridal session, and then this bridal session I'm posting -- all leading up to her wedding yesterday! She is a beautiful bride and a beautiful person. I'm excited to finally be able to post just a few of her bridals: Ladies and gentlemen, meet Mrs. Palomino.





We started the session in a library. We were very quiet.










Kelly and Rachel came along to help, which turned out to be especially helpful when the bride needed to climb up onto a desk and then prop herself up in a very narrow window "sill."

And I quote: "I love my shoes almost more than I love my dress."

Braving the forest . . .

In the words of Tyra Banks: fierce.

Alas, the mosquitos were biting so we had to rush that bride out of there. Big, red, mosquito bites are terribly unbecoming.

Wedding pictures to come!!

While we're on the subject of babies . . .

Here is one of my in-law's baby chickens that just hatched while we were visiting them this week. This one is held here by my sweet nephew Ethan, who did a very good job watching over the chicks while he was in Graham.

Myla, baby portraits

Meet Myla.




Myla is 11 days old. She is my new niece.




She is daughter to Maribel, my sister-in-law.




She sleeps on a soft, white blanket.




She's got a great outlook on life.




She looks very sweet in pink bows BUT . . .





. . . do not, I repeat, do not take homegirl's pacifier away from her.




She has tiny baby ears.




And she wears tiny, croqueted baby shoes . . .




. . . on her tiny baby feet.




World, meet Myla.
Myla, meet the World.

Soteapan

I went to Soteapan, Mexico a couple weeks ago to work with a missionary couple who have been friends of my family for many years. Jonnie and Juanita work with the Popoluca people in that area -- making relationships, communicating the gospel of Jesus and discipling. I was so blessed to be able to work along side them, meet their friends and make new ones.
Two days of the trip we hiked down and then back up the mountain into the town of Nuevo Mexico, a village of 12 small homes. The town official insisted we stay at his home with his family and that evening we showed the Jesus film on the side of his wooden house. The hike into the valley was three long, grueling hours of . . . hike, but it was well worth it -- the two pictures of people walking through jungle are from that hike, and the laundry line is from down in Nuevo Mexico.
Blanca Flor is the name of the little girl towards the bottom. She would laugh and laugh and laugh. I got to spend a lot of time with her and her cousins (last picture).
Enjoy a glimpse of the trip!