{studio|detro}

We uploaded photographs of So Cal to the studiodetro.com blog and thought it would be wise to post them here, on our more personal site.  If you make plans to visit, please take me with you!

Now I don't wonder half as much as to how those San Diego wedding photographers end up with pristine color saturated photographs week in and week out.  Nor do I wonder why every portrait and event session is outdoors.  Just keep repeating: "at least we don't have earthquakes ..." (humidity, hurricanes, heat, lots of rain & penny sized mosquitoes - but no earthquakes!)

Enjoy!  And remember to include me in your upcoming trip plans ...

                               

Click here to download:

blog.zip (5647 KB)

Relaxing evening at the ranch. The horses are both curious and too lazy to come say hi to me while the camera is running. I did have a chance to photograph them when they eventually sauntered over.

Except for Chief, he's the one outside the barn and he barely moved 3 feet.  Grass feast.

They each acknowledge my presence and continue their normal activity (eating or picking on each other). We've mixed in some beautiful still photographs of the horses as well as observe them milling around.

We took the pup for a photography trip to a park near our house the other week.  Loving the way he attacks his "here" ... that dog hauls!

We're looking forward to the day when he gives on up the annoying garble and whining noises ... other dogs probably think he's weird.  Good thing he's so really really good looking.

             

Click here to download:

hut_in_the_park.zip (918 KB)

Senate

locate your Senator (but the Texans are below) - http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Texas: John Cornyn

send an e-mail
 - http://cornyn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm

write a letter -

John Cornyn
517 Hart Senate Office Bldg.

Washington, DC 20510

Main: 202-224-2934
Fax: 202-228-2856

John Cornyn

5300 Memorial Drive

Suite 980

Houston, TX 77007

Main: 713-572-3337
Fax: 713-572-3777

Texas: Kay Bailey Hutchison

send an e-mail - http://hutchison.senate.gov/contact.cfm

write a letter -

Kay Bailey Hutchison
284 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510-4304

202-224-5922

202-224-0776 (FAX)
202-224-5903 (TDD)

Kay Bailey Hutchison

1919 Smith Street
Suite 800

Houston, Texas 77002

713-653-3456
713-209-3459 (FAX)

House

DIY search: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_congressional_districts#Texas

1. figure out your district from the map
2. click the district link
find the representative's name on the wikipedia article
3. skim their bio and find their official site at the references/external link section at the bottom of their wikipedia article
4. find the contact form section of their website and send a message to them.

Find your district representative by zip code -

1. the four numbers after your 5 digit zip: http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp
2. find your district rep: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
3. write them a letter

Helpful instructions from http://www.essortment.com/all/writeyourcongr_rcem.htm:

Include your address and phone number, the date, their address and a salutation something like the following: To the honorable Senator First M. Last. Now reference the topic including any specifics about bills or issues by their specific numbers or however they are known.

In the body of your letter make it clear what you know about the topic, what you know about your congressman’s involvement with that issue, what you want and what you will do politically to get it. ... You will be most effective if you come right out and politely but clearly tell your congressman that if they want your vote in the next election they should vote the way you are asking them to on that particular issue. This makes it very certain where you stand and that you are serious.

You can write about several issues in one letter but may find it more effective to write a separate letter on each issue. If you have any genuine political influence yourself you may want to find a way of making it known as well. ... Sign and date the letter.

And we super love the little town of Gruene, Texas and spent a few hours tooling around enjoying the town and making some photographs (not mutually exclusive activities).  Two words: peach smoothie.

When I get another little window of time, I'll have the Southern California photographs up ... these are to "prove" that Texas is beautiful too!  Warmer, but beautiful.

                 

Click here to download:

gruene.zip (1021 KB)

Some helpful resources and rules of thumb for putting watermarks up on a smugmug pro account:

The concept and basic how to - http://www.smugmug.com/help/custom-watermark-protection

A bit more detail - http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1690196

Tips: Make sure you keep the gif or the png SMALL!  I set one up at 3000px wide and that was too large.  The suggested (example) size for a watermark across a portrait orientation is "800x1200 or so".  Make sure you upload the size you'd like to use as your watermark.  I have small graphics on the corners of my images and uploaded ones that were 200 pixels wide max.

If you want the images to be transparent, stick with a gif or a png (24) file.  And make sure you're saving a small one, and that image > mode > RGB color is set in Photoshop.

Hope that helps someone!

watermark in SmugMug
sign images in smugmug
put a brand on each smugmug image
size to upload watermark in smugmug
watermark won't upload in smugmug?

Several weekends back, we hit the Riverwalk and trekked over to the Alamo.  And we have some photographs to prove it.

I sure am loving photo-ing with Grant.

                                                                           

Click here to download:

san_antonio.zip (5265 KB)

Well, this is a post about being mobile.  We've been traveling and photographing almost at the same time. Check out the hot topics of: our backyard, our dog and the fog at the ranch.  (Don't yawn!)

Grant's photo of Hut and his indestructabone has to be one of my favorites!  That dog always pops his hiney in the air to play.  How can one resist the indestructabone with that kind of presentation?!

We've got some scenics documenting the summertime at the ranch.  And also a great diptych of the dogs playing with the sprinkler and Dad giving some sort of instructions that involve pointing (always!).  I love summer (and my dad)!

I visited a great friend in Dallas - Mary Kathryn - and, though she narrowly escaped being photographed herself, we did go out for gelato.  And her dog sits in chairs.  Makes "the flying Hut" look almost normal, right?

And I was showing off the posterous e-mail to blog function on July 6th for Mary Kathryn.  Thus the extra long post that day. 

We're both photographers, she and I, and we're loving how much our different styles and genre focuses actually have in common.  It's crazy!  So, we've always had a lot to talk about, now even moreso!  We made the Dallas SMUG meeting and I am so excited about seeing more SmugMug in my life, you should be too.

And, as the closer, we have documented "squirrel as chillin villain".  I mean really, hang out in our backyard = eat our ladder?! Heartwrenching drama.

                                   

Click here to download:

inandout.zip (5214 KB)

hi

The Katie

Katie's Blog
Katie's Website

I have a few more photographs to share of the time Katie and I spent at her place in Colorado.  And before we get to those here's a photo series she snagged of me:



The Pack

And back in Houston, I had a great opportunity to hang out with some great photographers:

Kim
Kim's Blog
Kim's Website

Julie
Julie's Blog
Julie's Website

Since there aren't a lot of foothills or mountain vistas in H-town we hit the tracks.

                   

Click here to download:

photo-friends.zip (3176 KB)