my privilege

Years ago, I was working as a receptionist at a snooty office suite. The {rich} people who had offices there were nice enough, the office manager was and is a great friend, but I was not content. Everyday, I answered phones, transferred calls, and read books and magazines. I didn't even have a computer at my desk! Unimaginable! :) Really, it wasn't too bad...but I wanted something...more. More stimulating, more creative, more me.
I had always enjoyed doing my friends' makeup and hair and then doing "photo shoots" of them, so I checked out a few beauty schools and finally a photography school. As soon as I walked into the photography school, I knew that was where I was supposed to be! I completed the course and went on to teach there for several years. By far, the number one thing I loved about working there was forming relationships with a lot of really wonderful people who came through the doors!!
One of the lovely people I had the privilege of getting to know there was Roberta--Rob to her friends! :) Not too long ago, Rob contacted me via Facebook and asked me to do a shoot of her family. We met up recently at the Myriad Gardens in downtown OKC and God blessed us with some really pretty weather {in the midst of all the cold lately} for our session!

I haven't used any textures on my images in awhile, but I like how it added a little something to this one...

By the way, in case you are curious, I shoot all my own textures, but there are plenty you can get online.









Rob has been in the Air Force for I think twenty-two years, so she wanted some photos in her uniform...




Aren't her boys so handsome??
















Roberta~
You are a beautiful person, inside and out! Thank you for asking me to do this shoot! I am so glad we got to hang out! :) Thank you for being willing to invest so much of your lifetime in service to our country! It is an honor to know you, and I felt so privileged to document your family together!

~abi~

JeRayle, downtown Dallas

Several years ago, I lived in a house on a college campus with my sister and a couple of other girls, including one of my best friends, KC. We had so much fun and so many crazy times which I will never forget! I was living the good life...still am, for that matter. :) But I look back on those carefree, fun days {when the biggest worries and drama in my life had to do with silly boys or what I was gonna wear out on the town that night} with some nostalgia. It was a fun time for sure!
One of our neighbors at that time was a cool guy named JeRayle. He and KC were good friends, so I got to know him through her. At some point, I noticed some modeling photos he had posted on Facebook. With his height and good looks, it made total sense to me that JeRayle had gotten into modeling. I messaged him and told him I would love to do a shoot with him sometime. Luckily, he was just as into the idea! :) A few weeks ago, we did a shoot in Dallas, where he lives now. Here are some favorites...









Doesn't he have such a killer smile? :)




I really can't take credit for capturing this great laugh -- a crazy bus driver lady who pulled over to yell at JeRayle {"Smile! Smile! Smiiiiile!"} gets all the credit here! haha




Two of my absolute faves!!!








This is possibly my favorite from the whole shoot. Love his expression here!


My friend Brandie came along and helped on this shoot! She was great entertainment!! :) Thanks, Brandie!

JeRayle~
Wow, I am so glad we made this shoot happen! I had a great time hanging out with you! You have what it takes to make it big-time! Remember me when you are famous! ;)

~abi~

TAPS

This weekend was my first time to attend a TAPS event. TAPS=Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. They had a Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp at Fort Riley, Kansas, this past weekend. I attended along with my parents, siblings, niece and nephews.
It is a bit difficult to describe the weekend. Since it involved a lot of tears and many emotions, I hesitate to call it a "good" time. But it was good. As I was driving back to Oklahoma afterward, I was trying to think of an adequate description of what the weekend was like for me...And I think I came up with one. Please bear with me as I try to explain..... Have you ever cooked a microwavable entree? You know, the ones that come with clear plastic tightly sealed over the top? The ones you are supposed to jab a few times with a fork or knife to perforate before you start to cook it? Okay, so you know what I am talking about. I feel like those microwavable entrees are a pretty good picture of my grief. How? Well, first of all, anyone who knows me at all, or even reads my blog, follows me on twitter, or is friends with me on facebook, knows I lost my brother Jack just a few months ago, on September 29, 2009. So, much like a microwavable dinner with the clear plastic covering, my grief is visible to those who care to check. And there have been "perforations" - such as the memorial for Jack at Fort Lewis, his funeral, a song on the radio, a conversation that did or didn't happen, etc.; these perforations allowed some of my grief to seep out here and there. And this weekend? Well, it was like when you take that dish out of the microwave and first peel back one corner of the clear plastic. You know how the steam rushes out? This weekend was like that for my grief. It rushed out a bit. And it was somewhat of a relief. I know that it was just a small "corner" that was peeled back, and there's lots more grief where that came from, but it was a release of some pressure. So, maybe my eyes were swollen for the next twenty-four hours...That's a small price to pay for finding some relief, a bit of a release, from the grief I carry inside.

Here are some photos from the weekend:

My nephew Daxon on the bus-ride to the base; my dad and mom...


My nephew DJ, my brother Abe, my nephew Jace, me, my sis Amber, my niece Laila, my sis Mandi, my dad, my mom...


They had essential stuff for us on the tables, including these, of course...


We all made name signs so it would be easy to get to know one another...


There were also pipe cleaners, candy, and play-doh for us to fiddle with/enjoy. Smarties were some of Jack's favorite candy, and I twisted his name while listening to one of the speakers...


This is Darcie. She led the seminar, and she was awesome! She said some things, out loud in front of everyone, that I thought I had only felt in my heart. And she was hilarious!! {Sorry I caught you mid-sentence here, Darcie.}


This guy was pretty cool, too. Now, I know nothing about medical stuff, so I might have jumbled this in my brain, but I am pretty sure he told us that he had technically been dead for something crazy like fifteen minutes before he was revived! He offered to answer any questions from us about that whole experience.


Here is Abe molding some play-doh while listening intently...


And here's a little dude I shaped...


While we were doing our seminar, the kids were all enjoying the Good Grief Camp. Here's a pic Laila snapped of DJ writing a note to Jack. They tied the notes to balloons and let them go.


We did the same thing. I liked that our notes were written on tissue paper, since I figured that would disintegrate before it would end up in a stranger's hands. Here are some images from our balloon release, which was perhaps my favorite part of the day.










They had some old school Cavalry horses and tents there to show the kids...


Jace made a new friend, and got some signatures on his arms: one sig was the K State mascot, the other was a K State football player! TAPS and Fort Riley really went all out to make this a special, healing day for the kids!!


DJ and Laila met football players and hung out with soldiers also. And they made this very cool collage all about Jack. Didn't they do an awesome job??


Here are some of the great soldiers who volunteered their time that day to hang out with the teens and kids!


I'll end with an image from the slide show of fallen heroes...


If you are still reading, I just want to say thank you! You might have noticed that this blog has taken a subtle change in direction lately. I have been posting more personal stuff than I ever shared before, and I am really loving having this outlet to share and record my feelings. I appreciate all of you who will stick through this change and growth with me.

Love,
~abi~

denice rocks the dress!

I believe I mentioned here in a previous post the fact that after my brother Jack died this past September, some amazing ladies/photographers/friends covered a few weddings for me. One of those weddings I was unable to shoot was for two very cool people, Buckshot and Denice. My friends Heather and Lindy kindly agreed to shoot their wedding, which was just three days after I found out about Jack. Now, I hope you can all comprehend how much their {Buckshot, Denice, Heather, and Lindy!} understanding and compassion meant and means to me! I will be forever grateful!
Even though I missed out on shooting her big day, I told Denice that I would love to photograph her in her wedding dress, if she ever felt like slipping it on again. And during the holidays, after I tweeted a photo of a Christmas light display, she suggested we do a fun session with the lights! The idea made me ecstatic, of course! Not only would I get to hang out with Denice again {she really is a very cool chick!}, but I would have the chance to shoot a completely different session than anything I had done before! Which is saying a lot, since I have been doing this for eight-plus years now!!
As we were discussing the session, Denice told me that a friend had suggested she do a "Trash the Dress" session, which she had never heard of...So, she looked it up and was a bit horrified at the idea of actually trashing her gorgeous dress! I happen to feel the exact same way...even though I would shoot the pictures if someone actually wanted to trash their dress! haha! So, we decided that we needed to come up with a name for post-wedding bridal sessions that don't involve dress destruction. And Denice suggested "Rock the Dress" which I think is perfect! As she put it, it gives the brides a chance to "rock" their dress with different/funkier hair, makeup, accessories, etc.
So, I am excited to present to you Denice's Rock the Dress session!!!











I absolutely-completely-freaking loved all the fab accessories Denice brought along for the shoot!












Denice~
Thank you!!! For being so cool , for being so understanding, for talking with me even when the conversations were difficult! YOU rock! :)

~abi~