Just for fun

Just a quick post. We had an Intimate session the other day. At the end of the session I remembered about this mask that we had for a bridal show a number of years ago. I pulled it out and asked if we could get a few pics with the mask. I shot 6 or 7 images and here are two of them, I dig 'em hope you do too!
Yes, these were shot in our studio.

Legacy

The wrinkles in Flora's hands were more evident against the young skin of baby Olivia. Though they are separated by 97 years, they are connected through the blood that runs through their veins. Four generations of women, four lives, though each different, are tied together as family.
We had an amazing honor of photographing a four generation family as part of our Legacy session.

We are re-introducing our Legacy Limited Edition Session this month. This is an amazing opportunity for us to capture the relationship we share with one another before it becomes too late.
Desiree will be sharing, in an upcoming post and email, her story of why we are so passionate about these sessions. Her story comes from her regret in not taking the time to bring her grandmother into the studio to get pictures with our grandsons before it was too late.
The Medina family took advantage of the time they still had and we were able to capture their relationship and preserve that for their family forever!

Long distance love

Courtney and Steve are getting married in a couple of months and are living a couple of thousand miles from one another. He flew in for the session and left in such a rush he left his suit behind. So before the shoot they had to go suit shopping.
It was a pretty windy day, especially out at the airport. Not many of us get a chance to do a session like this.

Keri & Cody

Every time Keri and Cody come over I can count on Desiree being unavailable for at least two hours. She has really enjoyed being able to sit down and talk with them. We were really looking forward to this shoot.
We went out to Boca Negra canyon. We have been shooting out there for a number of years and have never run into any other photographers. This time there were several others around, nobody got in our way and we went where and when we wanted. For our next shoot they told us to do whatever we wanted to...
I really can't wait for that one! be watching for some fabulous stuff soon!!!

Kickin' it ol' school

We had a session set up for one of our secret locations. Just a couple of hours b4 the shoot our couple contacted us and said they really wanted to change the location and do it downtown in some retro styling that they are pretty fond of. I am so glad they did call. Even though it was freeeeekin' cold, we had a great time. The hat, the mink, the TLR, Classic...
We look forward to Kay and Charles' wedding especially the hot chocolate!!!

Hier Kommt Alex

Die Toten Hosen had a song title 'Hier Kommt Alex.' It was really the only smart title I could come up with. Anyway, we had a great time working with Alex and his family again.

Stephanie & Brady

Yes we were at the river again. We really do love this spot by the river. It has a beautiful look and can be really diverse. Anyway, I just wanted to get these up before I procrastinate and it be too late.

El día del desierto

The day of the desert. This way an entire day that we spent with an amazing couple from Dallas. We started the day before sunset in a small ghost town on Hywy 70 in southern New Mexico. We drove out to White sands and waited and waited and waited until the missile testing was over so that we could go in and do some images. Because this was the windy season and this time the wind was so bad that they had to close down I-10, we couldn't wait all day and decided to head back to this ghost town in the Organ mountains. On the way back there was a Sand dune that had overcome the security fence and we were able to pull over and climb up the dune and do a few pictures. After shaking the sugar white sand out of our hair, we hiked a mile and a half (the bride in her dress and tennis shows)up to a cool little ghost town up in the mountains. We finished the day with on the side of this huge rock ridge. On the way back to the car there was a Diamond Back Rattle snake right in the middle of the trail. We scared it off the trail and aside from a bit of a scare everyone had a great time. We ended up with dozens of crazy pictures and are excited to finally get them all done!

This was one of the first images of the day. It was just before sunrise. I found this little ghost town on Google earth. I was looking all along the hyways for a ghost town and I saw what looked like foundations and a wall. The wrecked car in the was was just a bonus!





Amongst the foundations was a single wall that was still standing. It had a perfect view of the Organ Mountains and was just cool. Dusty really knew how to work it.



This was one of my favorite images. There is one in this series that I like more where the dress falls down just over her knee. She is looking up a bit and it is just an amazing image...

OK ,so a little story telling. When Dusty and Danny asked us to photograph them they gave us really an open slate. They said 'we want you to do whatever you want.' Well tell us that and you are going to end up doing some things you probably never imagined you would do. We got some rope at the hardware store and pulled my gun out and thought we would tell a little wedding day love story!

Danny really didn't deserve that... but having a dead wife and a husband with a gun, just didn't seem quite right.

This images was originally not one that we were intending on doing. We were in the parking lot at white sands waiting for it to open. We didn't want to spend an hour in the car just litening to music and waiting, so we hopped out into the parking lot, pulled out some old suitcases that we had for another image and started shooting. This and the next image are both from the parking lot of White sands.

This images was next to an old hotel that was nestled up next to the cliff walls of the Organ Mountains. It's in an old ghost town that has all kinds of cool little areas to explore and photograph.

the long (distance) engagement

Gregg and Amanda both work in advertising, both are in love with one another, both love spending as much time as possible together and each live a couple thousand miles apart. Gregg lives in Brooklyn, NY and Amanda right here in the Duke city. Gregg was in town for a few days and we were able to meet up with the two of them just before Greg had to catch his flight back home. They came to the studio and we went across the street and took a short walk through Old Town. And though I walked off a couple of times without Olive, (the dog) even she seemed to have a good time...once we got back to the studio! Anyway, Congratulations you two and we are looking forward to working with you two again.

A family night out

In 2006 we had the great opportunity to be a part of Keith and Jade’s wedding. It was an intimate wedding with close friends and family on a winery in the Rio Grande Valley. A few weeks back we were able to have them back in the studio for a family session. They just wanted a simple little studio session while their family was in town.
They came to the studio and we just relaxed and had a good time, during that time we were able to catch the personalities of each of them. We were cry excited to have them come into the studio and are excited for the next time.

Tradition

Tevia fought with something throughout the great musical "Fiddler on the Roof"- TRADITION. The wedding of Adam and Sarah was wrought with tradition and there was no struggle with it at all. From the full mass with Mariachi and the Lasso ceremony, to the reception with bizcochitos and La Marcha it was a true embrace of tradition. Though New Mexico is a culturally diverse state, It has such strong Hispanic traditions that have endured centuries and are still a part of our current culture. With so many reality shows on TV about crazy weddings and overly extravagant weddings, it is a comfort to see that there are still couples like the Arrossa Family who embrace their culture, its history, and use that in there lives to carry on the legacy of their family.
This last weekend we had a great opportunity to be apart of the joining of these two families to create one beautiful little family. Sarah and Adam were married at St Joseph's on the Rio Grande Parish in ABQ, NM.
It was an early ceremony, Desiree met Sarah At 8:30am to photograph her and her girls getting ready. The beautiful full mass ceremony was performed at 10:00and accompanied by mariachi.
The lasso ceremony and then communion ended the ceremony and the mariachi escorted the guest from the church.
The reception was later that evening at the Double Tree hotel. And, as often happens, there were a few hangups. Overall , however, the reception went off very well and everyone had a great time. Even after the lights came on and at 12:30 am when we left, the party kept going.
We had a great time with Sarah and Adam.

HS Senior Ambassadors

We are looking for HS Senior ambassadors who can help us promote our senior portrait program within certain High Schools. If you are interested in changing the way seniors still think about their senior photos, and think a few extra bucks in your pocket sounds nice, call us for more information on our senior ambassador program. We are still looking for a few more students from a number of High Schools in the area!

Cory found his Faith

It was at a wedding a few years ago that Cory and Faith met. Now in the old southwestern beauty of the Galisteo Inn, they are again together at another wedding. This one however is a wedding all their own. Cory and faith had all but a few of their closest friends and family with them for this intimate celebration.
The couple of hours before the wedding went well for Cory and the guys. While moms were taking care of last minute concerns and faith and her girls were trying to get ready in a room with NO A/C, the guys were putting the pool to it's full use. After a good hour or so of swimming, they got ready for the wedding in their small southwestern style, air conditioned room.
Meanwhile, back in the very warm room, faith and the girls were fighting back sweat and humidity to keep faiths hair and makeup, just perfect. All the effort worked, as faith walked out to the ceremony grounds and was the epitome of beauty.
The ceremony lasted just a short time and was a very personal ceremony, performed by a great friend. After the ceremony, we had a chance to walk around on the beautiful grounds of the inn and photograph Cory and Faith spending a their first few minutes alone together as husband and wife.
The dinner and rest of the reception went off without a problem. Aside from fighting with a few sets of twinkle lights who did not want to cooperate, everything was beautiful. We are very glad to be able to be a part of this wedding. Faith and Cory are to great people and it was a real privilege to work with them. Enjoy Cancun you two!!

Finally the Frushours!

We shot another family for our Legacy collection! We ran into the Frushours at the mall on crazy tax free weekend and they mentioned they haven't had pictures done of Hayden since he was born. We figured that since he's now two, it was time. We had a wonderful time shooting and playing, even though Hayden was more interested in eating cookies than doing pictures! It was a great opportunity for them to enjoy time together as a family and have great images to show for it. Thanks guys for coming in, and enjoy!

Jacqie & Travis slideshow

We are trying to get our slideshows online for our couples. We are starting with Jacqie and Travis. Take a peak and let us know what you think! Click here to view show!!

Senior portrait sessions

Our ( j ) senior sessions mailer went out this week. It's the first this school year. Because we only do custom work for our seniors, we have not been advertising and only work with a select few seniors on a referral basis only. Because of the demand among groups of kids who want that total personalization with their senior photos, we are dedicating more time to our senior sessions in order to accommodate a few more people. This has also allowed us to do a bit of advertising.
We are very lucky in that we are able to work with only a select group of kids. Not so lucky when we have to turn so many away. But it works out well for us and all those that we are able to work with.
We have the ability to give all of our seniors a completely personal session, shot on nearly any location that they can imagine, using anything they want in the picture to show their personality.
To give you an idea: We have shot in bedrooms, on the mesa, in the canyons, in the foothills, downtown, oldtown, bosque, backyard, in a tree, rock climbing, in clubs, in cars, on cars, in dance schools, building tops, back alleys, botanical garden and in the middle of the street between traffic. Yes, we also shoot in the studio. Those sessions are usually done when our senior has a very specific vision that can only be captured in the studio. We have also shot with all sorts of imaginable props: cars, camping equipment, motorcycles, umbrellas books, cellos, friends, couches, chairs, microphones, bubblegum.
One of the beauties of life is it's diversity. We are all individuals with our own needs, wants, personalities, and passions. There is no reason that we can't express those traits that make us who we are. We have great opportunity to work with people to do just that; express themselves and have it captured, to be enjoyed forever.
Please contact us to get your senior sessions scheduled. Or if you know of someone graduating this year and know that the standard/traditional yearbook picture and session just won't do them justice, please contact us.

A "Legacy" series

We are releasing our legacy series in the close future and have been shooting some families, in the mean time, to use for our promo material. Today we were able to shoot the Fausett family. I have been looking forward to this shoot because I have not had a chance to spend much time with the youngest, Willy. He was a perfect model for the shoot this morning. Everything that we asked him to do, he did. He was easy to communicate with and in a great mood. --which can be, as most of us parents know, a real hit-n-miss at that age.
Anyway we had a great time look forward to looking through the rest of the images.


Thanks again you guys for coming over for our shoot this morning. I really enjoyed it! don't let it be so long before the next time we do your pictures!! Trisdan, we are going to be starting our photo classes soon, let me know if you want some information.
Your kids are truly beautiful, you are pretty blessed parents!
Take care!

On the river bank

It has been a while since we shot in this particular spot on the river. It was really overgrown with trees and weeds since we were there last, which made things a bit more challenging. Anyway we were able to meet up with the Gale family before sunset and take advantage of the light to get some really nice images of the family. Aside from the grumpy older brother, everything went well. The twins are way cute, each with such different personalities. It is really nice to shoot such a cute family! (next time we'll have to shoot your family in the morning before any of the kids run off to the pool and stay all day without telling you) Take care you guys!! We look forward to getting the rest of your images ready and out to you!

A beautiful Friday Wedding

While being deployed in Iraq Travis was not able to help much as Jacqie and her mom planned an amazing wedding. He only returned a few weeks prior to the wedding and minus a few toenails was in great shape for their day.
Jacqie also suffered a foot injury, being smashed in a door the night before the wedding. Though her foot was swollen Jacqie was able to tough it out and enjoy a great wedding.
We started the Friday wedding at 1:00 with Desiree meeting Jacqie in the presidential suite at the Hyatt in downtown ABQ. Once again Desiree's secret survival kit came in handy, being able to sew up a bridesmaid's dress.
While Desiree was photographing Jacqie, keeping her company and running errands, I was off to Corrales to meet with and photograph Travis and the guys.
Jacqie looked beautiful stepping out of the limo into the rose garden at the botanical garden. The ceremony was short and sweet and happened without any problem.
The reception at the Hyatt was amazing. They did a great job with the decorating, serving, and just creating a great atmosphere for the reception. Mille Fleur provided amazing flowers and Karen with Celebrations Coordinated the wedding and did a great job keeping everything together. It was a beautiful wedding and we had a great time shooting it. all 12 hours!

more images from Jacqie and Travis' Wedding

A few more?!

ol' skool

Bored with some of the slow progress of digital photography in our area. We've taken a retro approach to some of our recent wedding images. Photographers can often get stuck in the same ol' same ol' being content with knocking out the same cookie cutter images. Though they may be perfectly enjoyable images. They get old, seeing the same image with the people, being the only difference. I have been guilty of that on occasion.
Anyway, in trying to step out of the box, I went back into the box and looked at some really old wedding images and portraits a-la "American Gothic".
This is our interpretation of the old school image with a digital approach.
enjoy!

MOM-E-2-B

OK Stephanie, here is your sneak preview of your images. I just randomly went through the session and pulled out three that popped out at me. I know going into the session you weren't quite sure what direction you wanted to take it so hopefully we were able to capture something that you will love.
I look forward to looking at the rest of the images and getting them ready for you. I am also looking forward to September when we can welcome Daddy's little boy, and photograph his first few days with you two. Keep resting, keep your skinny ankles! You look great. Derek, you should be proud that you have such a hot pregnant wife!!
Thanks again you two, we had a great time.

Long delayed post

We had a visit today from one of our favorite clients ( we have many favorite clients). We have had the great pleasure of working with her family for a while now and have been able to photograph them a few times. They have been blessed to two very cute girls and one devil. (most almost two year olds are devils though) Anyway, our last shoot was at the park where we were able to capture the kids just playing together.
We look forward to working with you guy again Mika. (sorry for the delay)!!!

Let there be light - ning

We were driving home from a wedding a couple of weeks ago and stopped on the side of the road to try and photograph some of the amazing lightning that was crashing over Albuquerque. We don't get as many thunderstorm as other parts of the country but when we do, they can really be great.
Somebody asked me how to photograph lightning... Well the first thing is to find a nice thunderstorm. Second, find a nice camera. Third, DO NOT TAKE MY ADVICE AND PHOTOGRAPH LIGHTNING. YOU MAY GET STRUCK AND DIE! Finally, set your settings to somewhere around 400 ISO f8 30sec on s tripod.
Click here to see some of our lighting images.
http://www.jonesregistry.com/lightning

"Rock -and-Roll"

Tonight we asked Lisa and Michelle to give three words that described them. Michelle didn't hesitate to make the devil hands and laughingly said "Rock - and - Roll". That kind of attitude makes life worth living. To be able to say something like that without hesitation, is to be able to see the good in life and enjoy it for what it is. We then asked for some favorite songs and they gave us a list of country songs. So the three words really should have been, "Coun - try - girls".
Anyway, we had a great time walking around the school campus taking pictures and chasing run away dogs. We are looking forward to the wedding and can't wait to see how Michelle looks in her dress and cowboy boots. Lisa whatever you decide to wear, you should include your riding boots I dig 'em.

Easton 6 Months

Yesterday we had another opportunity to photograph a baby from a couple whose wedding we had the honor to capture. Chad and Marissa are the lucky parents of little Easton, a six month old who is all boy. We shot in his bedroom which made the shoot very easy. Babies are most comfortable at home in a familiar setting. Instead of looking around at all of the unfamiliar things, Easton was completely relaxed, letting his personality show like nothing else. I know I say this of a lot of babies but Easton was a real pleasure to work with. He is a very hansom young man and Chad and Marissa are very lucky.
We are looking forward to our next shoot!

The Lucky Couple 7,7,07

Dianna and Paul chose the century's luckiest day to be married. After an intimate ceremony and a small cake reception the, the entire wedding took a cruise through the quiet northern New Mexico town of Espanola. (unfortunately no lowriders were in the party).
Following that, the rest of the afternoon was spent riding golf carts around the beautiful Black Mesa golf course, taking pictures. We had a great time driving from beautiful spot to beautiful spot - just playin' around. Everyone was relaxed and having a great time, no schedule to keep on top of, no guests to make sure to say hi to, just the bridal party enjoying the afternoon together. The best man was having such a great time he asked if Dianna And Paul could get married again tomorrow. We also enjoyed our time photographing this very lucky couple, lucky to have been married on the day they did, lucky to have such great friends surounding them, lucky that the golf course let us free reign, and of course lucky to have Desiree and I there to capture every moment of it. Congratulations you two!
The images are online click here.

A honeymoon baby?

Today was a great day. Lance and Megan, a beautiful couple we had the great pleasure to photograph came in today with their beautiful little boy Jackson. Born 9 months and 15 days after their wedding. Jackson is one of the best babies that we have been blessed to be able to work with. He was very good and we took a ton of pictures of him. I pulled this image out of the many just randomly. He had so many great images that I would have been proud to show any. A baby like this makes my job easy!!
Megan and Lance, you are two very lucky new parents. Congratulations!!

more NOLA

I'm slowly working through my new Orleans images. As I complete them I will post a few of the images that I like. I am working on a book and an exhibition please comment on the images and let me know what you think as they come up. I would appreciate any input!
Thanks

The end of the night

There are moments in our life that we wish would last forever. And more moments that we wished we could forget. Most weddings have ups and downs and there are always little bumps that get in the way and keep the road from being smooth. It's those bumps that, though irritating and sometimes rattle us to a point of apparent exhaustion, strengthen us and make us more grateful for the smooth times in life.
Brian and Amanda had a beautiful wedding. A beautiful ceremony, wonderful friends to celebrate with and 8 amazing cakes from flying star (of which I had not a bite, dang it.) Amanda was the epitome of grace and beauty in her dress, Brian, well he looked ok too. As great of a party as they had and as amazing a union as they created today, there were a few bumps. Fortunately, they were surrounded with people who had great senses of humor and a great love for them. These are the things we will remember decades from now when we tell stories of our wedding day.
Yes there are things that everyday will come up and make us wish we had stayed in bed, but when we do get up and make the best of the time we have, we are still able to come home again and look into the eyes of our best friend and know that everything is as right as rain.
We had a blast being part of this wedding. Brian and Amanda have cultivated a group of people that anyone would be proud to call friends. It was a real joy to be able to spend the day with them.

Snowy May Afternoon

Liz & Coleman are gettin' hitched in a couple of weeks. (very very short weeks, if you ask Liz) Anyway, we had a chance to shoot a session of their entire (soon to be) family. We did this at the top of Sandia Crest. It was cold and snowy but we had a great time. I had had oral surgery just an hour before the shoot and was afraid that the pain and/or numbness would alter the outcome of the shoot. Well, with all the hiking my blood started to flow and the numbness quickly went away. the cold also kept the pain down. All in all it was a great shoot. Liz and Coleman make quite a couple and Desiree and I are really looking forward to shooting their wedding.
You can't tell from the images but it really did snow and it was very cold!!

Jenny Joins Jones

We've been waiting for a while for Jenny to finish school in Arizona and join us here in ABQ. She just finished in last week and is here ready to get going. Jenny is an excellent photographer who will be shooting a lot of kids and HS seniors. We are looking forward to having her work with us and are looking forward to have her work as part of our studio's portfolio.
If you would like to schedule an appointment with Jenny just give us a call. Bring an idea that you think would make a cool portrait and we will make it happen for you!
Check out Jenny's personal blog or send her an email: jenny@jonesphotoart.com

New Orleans a walk through the streets

I (seth) recently had an amazing opportunity. I have been wanting to take a walk around the streets of ABQ and photograph life. This is a hard thing being so close to home. I always have some more pressing issue that i need to take care of and I just don't make the time to get out and shoot. I was presented with a chance to go to New Orleans a couple of weeks ago and do some work during Jazz Fest. Desiree and I talked and although it was going to put her in a bind, we decided that it was a great opportunity to get out and do some work that I have wanted to do for some time now.
I only spent three days in the city but saw quite a bit in that short time. New Orleans has been through a lot and although there is so much of it that is and will be in ruin, the city seems to be thriving. I look forward to visiting again. Keep checking for info about the exhibit of the images from my trip. I plan on having a gallery show here in the studio!

00 -'g-town'

On a soccer scholarship to Georgetown, Seth is waiting for high school to end. He came to us with some ideas for a cool photo shoot and we had a great time making his ideas come to life.
We started the shoot at his high school soccer field and ended up in the alley next to our studio with some lights and a fog machine (a James Bond-esque look.) It was fun to be challenged with a shoot like that.
Good luck at School Seth. We'll see you in the MLS soon!

A beautiful time

Lately we have found ourselves shooting more and more portrait sessions - which Seth loves a lot. We are able to really open up our creative minds and run with ideas and interests. We had the chance to work with one of our favorite clients this week - Teal and her daughter Alyssa.

This session found us all in Teal's bathroom shooting her and Alyssa in the shower. Aside from the lighting difficulties we had to work through, the images came our beautifully. It was truly a pleasure to be able to preserve these intimate moments for teal and her daughter.

Unfortunatly, moments like these are what we so long to remeber but too often forget. We are so blessed in what we do to be able to ensure that these memories will not be forgotton but live on eternally. Thanks teal!