A Tribute To A Hero

Micah McDaniel was in our studio this evening for the very first time.  Micah flew from Colorado all the way to Northeast Arkansas to see us. (side note: some of his family lives here) We were so happy to see him, and photograph his first portrait session.

Micah’s daddy and his papa both are in the Armed Forces, in fact his papa is in Afghanistan right now!  Momma thought is would be a great idea to do something with a military spin on it.  I think we pulled it off!

My hat goes off to this family for their willingness to serve our country!  God Bless the McDaniels and God Bless America!!!

-Jay

Katlyn & Anthony Wedding!

We had the amazing chance to photograph Katlyn & Anthony Allen’s wedding today!  But it wasn’t just the wedding that was amazing!

We photographed the engaged couple in downtown Jonesboro, AR for a fun filled afternoon.  As you can see in these pictures, they were such a cute engaged couple!

We then took Katlyn outside in the cold a couple months later to photograph her bridal session!  Katlyn was such a good sport and so much fun!

And then today was their big day!!!  Everything was beautiful, but nothing outdid the Bride and Groom!!  They are such a lovely couple!

I want to say thanks to both of them for this opportunity!  We pray  God’s blessing upon them as they begin this journey called marriage! Congratulations guys!!!

-Jay

Eagles!!

This gallery contains 11 photos.

There is something about an eagle that captivates me. Maybe it’s because an eagle symbolizes courage, strength, and freedom.  It might be their size, their power, or their ability.  Whatever it might be, I love the eagle.  Thanks to a … Continue reading →

Creating a beautiful image!

As I was leaving the studio this evening, I couldn’t help but notice the lovely sunset.  Another beautiful work of art created by the Master!

So I decided to go get a picture of it.  But there is a difference in “getting a picture” and “creating a picture”  So to demonstrate to you the difference, I decided to put my camera on AUTO!!  The following photo was taken with my camera on it’s automatic setting, standing at a normal height. Notice the puddle of water on the edge of the road.

As you can see, my camera had no idea that I wanted to highlight the sky, so it’s automatic setting, said…it’s dark, so I need to slow the shutter down to lighten things up.  WRONG!!  So I switched back to my manual setting and adjusted my exposure for the sky. and I snapped the picture again and got this.Ok…so now we got our sky looking good!  That’s what I was after, however the horizon is right down the middle of the image, and again the camera position is not that flattering.  So I went to the edge of the field and got down low to the puddle of water.  I had my lens zoomed all of the way out to give it a wide angle. On my knee with my hand touching the water, I snapped this.Now this is what I was after!!  A much nicer image!!  And see how the puddle makes for a wonderful reflection?  Yes, I got my favorite jeans a little muddy, yeah my hand got a little wet…but sometimes it’s worth it to create a beautiful image!!

If you would like to see more images of tonight’s sunset, along with more photos from this year click HERE.  Have a great evening!

-Jay

Where is the sun?

I woke up this morning and walked outside with my camera in hand.  And there was no pretty blue skies to use in a picture.  In fact there was no sunrise to capture a reflection on the lake with.  Just a blank, dreary, foggy, cloudy day.  I made mention of it and Parker said, “The Sun isn’t even up”  But then I reassured him, it was still there. That the sun was as bright as it ever is! But the problem was the interference between us and the sun. The clouds and the fog had blocked our view of the sun.

Then I told him, it is the same with our relationship with God.  There are days when we wonder where God is, why isn’t he showing up today.  Is he even awake? But we have to realize, he is there.  He is as prevalent as he always is.  But there is only one problem.  We have too many distractions, or interferences between us and him.  I am glad even on those days, I know if I will keep the faith, the fog will lift, the clouds will pass, and I will see…..God is still there.    Hebrews 13:5 …for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

-Jay