Run, Kenny, Run

Last year at the end of October, I received a phone call from my cousin Amir in the Dallas area. He told me he was about to tell me something and I couldn't under any circumstances share it with anyone until the news was ready to be passed around. Sounded bad, and I was right.

You see, the previous year I had shared with him some bad news that I told him he couldn't share with anyone until the news was ready to be spread. I had told him and his soon to be wife (at the time) about my mom's battle and ongoing surgery schedule with Acoustic Neuroma. My mom wasn't ready to tell anyone about it, but Amir is a person I had trusted with conversations and information for a long long time.

So after a few somber moments of talking, Amir proceeded to tell me that his dad (my uncle) has Pancreatic Cancer. Mind you, this is around the same time the news was concentrating on this deadly form of cancer, because Patrick Swayze was dying of it... so I knew the outcome. I quickly jumped on the internet, looked up the treatment for it, chance of survival, etc. Needless to say, I was almost in tears once I learned almost 95% of the people diagnosed do not survive past 5 years.

A few days after the phone call, my uncle Kenny went into surgery. I remember texting Amir all day back and forth asking how everything was going. I was as worried as anyone else was, and I had nobody but Thao to share this with since I had promised Amir I wouldn't say anything until his dad was ready to reveal it himself. After surgery, recovery, came the reveal. The cancer was benign and it was positioned in such a place on his pancreas that it had not entered his blood stream. Needless to say, he was about to become one of the 5% who survive this rather than becoming a statistic. My uncle has always been a fighter and he's an example to many, including myself. I call him randomly for guidance and sometimes just to say hi, give him good news, or tell him how we're doing. It would be hard for me to not have him around. very hard.

A few monts back, he emailed my family and I about a run that was coming up that benefited Pancreatic Cancer in Austin he was going to participate in. Being the forgetful person, I didn't see or read the email until it was too late... but fear not, my brother Fred made sure I remembered. I was supposed to have a client meeting in Austin today (which canceled) but I went up there anyway for the Purple Stride Austin Run/Walk.

My uncle didn't know I was coming, and he didn't know I was planning on taking pictures for him. After all, its the smallest thing I could do to show how much I care. So on Saturday morning, Fred and I woke up at the butt crack of dawn and headed to the Hill Country Galleria in Austin for the run. Here are the pictures I took of the run and the day.

Please look at the pictures and leave my uncle some comments to remind him how big of a battle he's battling, and looks like he's winning. I'm proud to have him as a family member and to call him my uncle.

Kenny, this post is for you! hope you enjoy it.




















These purple roses were given to the handful of survivors among the 1,100+ crowd. Unfortunately, my uncle missed this part. why, you ask? Well, natured called and he was in the bathroom.

The Miller Family | Tomball, TX Family Session

A few months back, Courteney emailed me asking if I would do their family pictures before her new baby arrived. To say the least, I was beyond flattered. Not because she emailed me or asked me, but because Courteney is an awesome photographer herself and she has access to God knows how many other photographers here in the Houston area... and she chose me.

So a couple of weeks back, during the heat and humidity of beautiful Houston, Texas we braved the elements with her beautiful daughter Ella and husband Chris, went out to a local park near their house for this awesome session. Here's a few samples from that session. Hope you guys enjoy.

Kelsey & Kendan | Austin, TX Engagement

I had the whole thing planned. Talked to Kelsey about it... was ready to go. My plan was to drive to Austin Friday afternoon, do her Bridals (coming soon!) while Kendan was gone for the evening, then do their engagement shoot on Saturday morning before coming back home to Houston.

As I'm driving into Austin, everything seems great. I was making good time, weather was ok - a little cloudy, but not too bad - and Kelsey was getting ready. The closer I get, the clouds grow darker. Being the photographer I am, I'm thinking 'well, I like clouds... this could be awesome'. Ya, right! As soon as I pull into Austin... RAIN! and not just normal rain, either. Rain with drops the size of coins and very little gap between those coin sized drops.

So as I get to K&K's place, Kelsey is ready to go, sitting there in her awesome wedding dress and veil. I had to talk her out of doing the shoot, because as you can tell, I like fields... and fields get muddy when it rains. Not to mention, I'll be damned if I get a bride's dress dirty in a field for the sake of a picture. So, she reluctantly waited until the morning.

So the next morning, early, we did Kelsey's bridal shoot (which rocked... and you'll see it soon enough), then we headed out with Kendan to take some pics of them. The weather was awesome, Kelsey & Kendan brought along some props and we rocked out the shoot in Kyle, Tx.

Here's the results of the shoot, and I'm sure they would really appreciate your love - in the form of comments - after you check out their pics.

Ready? SET... GO!

On a personal note...

I just have to share this.

My good friend Eric Doggett put the following video on his blog today, and I must say, I've watched it (probably) 30 times already... and no, its not because I like Coldplay either. The video below is about the journey of a guy who got fed up with being unhappy, something snapped, he made a change and lost 120 lbs in less than 2 years!

Last December, something snapped in me. I was overweight and pretending I wasn't gaining any more weight. I got fed up, and although I wasn't as dedicated and motivated as this guy is, I have managed to drop a good 30+ lbs so far in the last 9 months. At first, it was because of my brother's wedding. Then it became the "don't want to be fat again" thoughts. So today I sit here, lighter, leaner, meaner, and well lets just face it, sexier before you watching the following video.

It really is amazing what motivation does to you. I almost want to go out and run like hell just to prove to myself that I can lost another 30 lbs. But if I do that, my ginormous head would once again not be proportional to my body like it was when I was younger. Unfortunately, I can't lose the weight on my head!

I hope you watch this video and are as inspired as I am. Enjoy!

The lovely Nicole Webber

A while back, I had a Thursday wedding in Austin. I hadn't seen my good friend (& past bride) Nicole in quite a while, so I took a road trip for the weekend with another friend to Dallas to see and hang out with her.

She's such a photogenic person, but she's so nervous in front of the camera. After about an hour of walking around the neighborhood, we finally broke her shyness and got some killer pics.

She had told me she was looking into getting in the makeup artistry, which I think would be a great field for her! She's an amazing makeup artist and did an amazing job for her own wedding in Cancun. If anyone in the Dallas area is getting married and want a amazingly talented makeup artist, please let me know and I'll get you in contact with her. Not only is she a talented artist, but she's also a very down to earth and amazing person too. She's become a great friend and I love getting her random texts telling me she's thinking of Thao, Kami, and I.

Ok, now what...?

Social media these days seems to be everywhere. Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Linkedin, etc. I'm the type of person that would give anything social media-y a chance knowing the power of its connection. Hell, I even tried Google Buzz. What a joke!

So Apple recently introduced 'ping', their social media thingie. I'm guessing the idea of it is (so far) better than its execution. Social media + Music = Success? I'm a junkie for both, but its not taking off like the iPhone or even the iPad.

Seems that Apple tried to get it to connect to facebook, but something happened and Facebook blcoked it. Strike 1.

Then even though there's been over a million users signed up in just 2 days, nobody knows what the hell they're supposed to do on it. Strike 2.

I admit, I'm a sucker, I signed up... but I'm with the masses and have no clue what the point of this thing is. Maybe in due time, Apple will unveil their evil plan and explain it all to us, but it seems (just like Google Buzz) it has 2 strikes against it in just 2 days, and we all know that if people can't figure it out easily or see a point in it, they won't flock toward it. Yes, I understand the cult following of Apple and their products. I'm a big fan of them... I have 2 computers and an iPhone from them. I get them, their evil plan, and they've lured me in. I just hope this doesn't follow buzz as the butt of jokes in the social media circles.

Oh well, here's my page for ping. If anyone is on there, feel free to add me. I'd love to figure this thing out with you and actually put it to good use... whatever that use may be. I just don't think this will be anything like Facebook or Twittter.

Its true what they say!

It really is. I always heard parents telling Thao and I that kids get better with every stage. At 6 months old, we thought it couldn't get any better. Then the same when he was 1, when he started walking, talking, potty trained, etc.

Kami has been pretty vocal lately, and he know what Daddy's camera is all about. So today, Kami came up to me and asked "Daddy take a picture...?", and without hesitation, I grabbed my camera and wanted to take a picture. But I thought about it and figured since he's so vocal and understands everything we say now, I'd have a simple setup. I grabbed my flashes, stands, umbrella, and setup a simple lighting scenario in his room.

He was so awesome! he stood there, took direction, and was the greatest 2 1/2 year old model anyone could ask for.

Big News!

Thao and I just recently found out that we're expecting our second baby. We couldn't be more excited!

Above all, we want the baby to be (obviously) healthy, but I can't help but wish for a little girl. Everyone I know that is having a baby these days is having a boy. EVERYONE! My parents have always wanted a little girl. So much in fact, that they used to used to put our hairs (my brothers and I) in pig tails when we were kids and take pictures of us (No, I won't post any!).

We have a girl name picked out already, but we have no idea what we'll do for a name if its a boy. It took us 8 months and 3 weeks until we came up with Kami's name, so it would be a long and hard journey for a name!

So here's hoping for a very healthy baby girl.

And so he grows.

Today, we moved Kami from his crib to a big boy bed. He now resides in a nice (and big) Queen size bed in his room, complete w/ his whole zoo of stuffed animals. He was so excited about it, he kept asking us to go home so he could go night night on his new bed... at 7 PM! (he usually goes to bed around 9ish).

Even while I was putting things together for him, moving things in and out of the room, and cleaning things up in his room, he came and climbed on the bed and watched Thao and I work. So being the dad that I am, I grabbed my camera... which he of course loves.

My little boy is growing up, and as much as I love it, I also miss him being a little baby!