Rain, Rain Go Away

As I was driving to this session, the sky was dark and ominous and I was praying for a break.  Lord, just please give me a break - let the rain stay away long enough for this photo session to finish and then let the sky open up.  Well, my prayer was half-answered and I'm so grateful!  The session started off fine, but about halfway through, it poured down in sheets of rain!  But no fear, Mom was a great sport and her little man loved playing in the rain.  The day hadn't been ruined after all. Just look at some of my favorites from the day:



Babies are smarter! | Fayette County Boutique Baby Photographer

I wonder when the human race determined that in order to make a baby laugh, they have to whoop and holler, dance around like an idiot and talk like a moron?  But wait, what if all this hollering and dancing STILL doesn’t make the baby laugh, what does this mean?  I think it means that the baby is way smarter! This little guy was all smiles for about the first 15 minutes, but he had me, mom and dad and my assistant Brad (aka Hubby) dancing around and squealing like big jerks to get a smile – my poor neighbors, what must they think!  J  Thanks again Frankie and Holly for giving the world such a doll – it’s been so wonderful to watch him grow from THIS to this:

A Tale of Two Chairs

For those of you who follow Homegrown Photography on Facebook, you know that I posted a month or so ago about some chairs that I found on the roadside.  They were being thrown out for trash and as soon as I came up on them, I slammed on the brakes and high-tailed back up the road to pick those puppies up.  (For those of you who do not know about this and do not follow me on Facebook - shame on you! What are you waiting for?) 

Today, Brad and I decided to bring those pitiful chairs back to life!  We started by sanding with a pretty coarse grit sandpaper.  You want to make sure to sand so that the paint adheres to the surface well.

After sanding, Addyson and I wiped down the chair with a damp cloth to get all the dust off so that it wouldn't leave a funky texture when the paint went on.  (Pay no attention to the crazy hair!)

Then on this chair, we decided to use some spray paint that we picked up at HD.  This has a satin finish, and it worked like a charm.  I sure wish they would come out with a bigger variety of colors and I would never use regular paint again!

Now look at the difference between the chair before and after in this side by side shot - pretty snazzy!

Meanwhile - Daisy and Homer decided to start digging their way to China - too bad for Daisy...Homer already decided to lay down and take a break

On the next chair I wanted to use this turquoise ocean color...ain't it purty? 

Unfortunately, it did not come in a spray can, so I had to brush it on.  Thank goodness I keep Brad around, he finished it for me...AND decided that we should give it a shabby-chic finish like this.  We only put one coat on and went back with the brush so that you could see the streak marks from the brush...he's so crafty I tell you!

While I had him sweating over there with the paint, I was tackling the cushions.  These suckers had been sitting in the rain the day I got them and they were covered in nasty stains and a little mildew, so I wanted to get the fabric off and see if I could salvage the cushion.  A tip on getting these old staples out is to use a flat-head screwdriver to pull up on the staple enough so that you can grip it with pliers.  Then just pull those suckers out.  Please use caution when using the screwdriver forcefully so that you don't stab your hand like I did :)

The good news was that the cushions were in really good condition, minus a little mildew, so I sprayed both the cushions with some Clorox Clean up spray.  Not too heavy, just a light mist to kill any gross organisms that may be lurking there.  Let that dry completly so you don't mess up your fabric - okay?

Now, cut your fabric so that you have about 3-4 inches around the perimeter of the seat.  Then you get your husband to pretend like he is an upholstery guru.  We used a regular staple gun and it worked pretty well.  You want to make sure to pull the fabric pretty taut, but not to much that it distorts the cushion.  The corners are a little tricky, so they may not have a professional finish.  We treated the corners similar to the creases you would use when wrapping a present, but first we had to have an argument to figure out which one of us knew the right way to do it. 

We are so very pleased with the way these turned out!

Bow chicka bow wow! Right? Bueller? Bueller?

So now these chairs are going to be members of my ever-growing prop collection...and those Senior Reps are going to get the honors of being the first clients to use these killer chairs!  I cannot wait!

Before you go, I have to show you what my super duper talented husband made....LOOK

Yes, he made that bench...and painted it that cool turqouise color...you know you want one right?  Well, he's going to start selling them soon...so if you want to get your hot hands on one, give us a shout! (By the way, that isn't some super funky cool white design on top of the seat...that's just dappled sunlight through the trees reflecting on there - didn't have alot of time for the perfect picture - don't hate lol)

Peace out!
Britney & Brad

Freebird | Brenham, TX Photographer

This past Thursday started a new chapter in my life.  For so long I've wanted to break away from the 20th floor coffin that I was trapped in - also called my office.  You see, when I walked through the doors of my office, my soul died a little each day.  Oh please don't get me wrong, it's a very great paycheck and benefits package, but in return, I slave away at a job that brings me no fulfillment, no joy, and keeps me from enjoying the best years of my life.  It makes me feel guilty for taking time off to be at my daughter's school party or to take her to the doctor.  Once we moved to Shelby, I knew that I had to find a way to break away from the drama, the butt-kissing coworkers and the two-faced management.  This past Thursday - I finally did it - yes, I resigned from my job.  But it didn't happen without a lot of doubt.  I wasn't raised with the notion that you just quit your job with benefits if you don't have another "real" job lined up.  No sir, what would people think? How will you pay your bills...how will you make it - you're going to ruin your life!  Okay - but isn't my life already in ruins because of this job I hate?  So I finally decided to override the voices in my head and I decided that I was going to follow my dreams.  I've been wanting to put alot of my energy into making my photography business better and offer my clients better products.  The only way I could do it was by diving in full-time - without sacrificing my time away from my family.  So as of September 9, "Freebird" will be the theme of my life and I'm hoping my wings will soar.  I have a ton of ideas running around in my head and new opportunities are on the horizon.  Be on the look out for a new blog that will encompass all of my interests - Photography, Cooking and Country-Life.  I hope my readers will enjoy following me on my journey and pick up some pretty neat information along the way.  You see, life just isn't worth living if you can't share it with this sweet little lady

or wake up to this in the morning

Thanks for supporting me and get ready - changes are a-comin!

This is a GOOD Bad Habit! | Brenham, TX Commercial Photographer

Yesterday I had the opportunity to hang out with one of my oldest friends (well....she's not my OLDEST friend - but one of my friends I have known for a really long time :) ). 

She is an awesome jewelry designer and has FINALLY decided to get on the Facebook bandwagon - and she enlisted my help to get her all setup.  I had the great honor of photographing some of her new jewelry yesterday and I can't wait to show y'all!

Please become a fan of her Facebook Page HERE to get updates on her latest jewelry creations!  If you're interested in purchasing some of these pieces you can visit her Etsy page http://www.badhabitz.etsy.com/

FYI- These would be WONDERFUL accessories for your next photo shoot - hint hint :)

2011 Senior Rep Program

Calling all 2011 Seniors - do you have what it takes to represent Homegrown Photography?  Do you want a free Senior photo session and earn free prints and products?  Well here's the deal:

Homegrown Photography is currently searching for outgoing and funky 2011 Seniors - one Senior from EACH of these schools:  Cy-Fair, Cy-Woods, Brenham and Bellville. These 4 Seniors chosen will represent Homegrown Photography and tell all their friends and classmates about their awesome photo session and pictures.  When friends or classmates book their photo session you recieve print credits towards the purchase of your senior pictures - and get entered in a drawing for a $100 gift certificate to your favorite store! This is everything you get:

1 hour photo session with unlimited wardrobe changes ($100 value)
20-30 fully edited proofs
4x6 Brag Book with all proofs from session
50 rep cards with your picture and Homegrown Photography's information to pass out to friends
$20 print credit for every referral booked (*referral must present rep card and pay session in full before credit is received)
*Booked referrals will receive $20 print credit


The Fine Print:
You must be 18 years old or have parent/guardian approval.  You must sign a model release so that Homegrown Photography can use your images for advertising on our blog, facebook, etc.  You must represent Homegrown Photography EXCLUSIVELY and in a positive manner.  Representing another photographer will result in termination of Senior Rep status - print credits and all other items will be considered null and void.

So do you think you're up to the challenge?  If so, go HERE to fill out the application.  All applications must be received by Monday, August 23rd.

Good luck y'all!

The Visitor by Brad Voelkel

Although some people may find it odd that we live next to a cemetery, you couldn’t ask for a better set of neighbors. They are quite, mind their own business and they never complain. Every day there are 20-25 cars that stop by there to pay their respects to friends and family.

There is one particular man who has caught my attention. He stops at the cemetery daily just before sunset and sometimes around lunch time. He is an older gentleman maybe in his 70’s. He drives an early 80’s Chevy van and he is always by himself. He sometimes sits in his van out front and never gets out. At first I thought he was a caretaker for the grounds there but I never saw him working. A couple of weeks ago I decided to watch him a little closer to see what he was actually doing.

On Monday this week I walked out on the front porch and I heard a trumpet play briefly and then stop, it was coming from the cemetery. I walked out into the yard but I didn’t see anything or anyone. I thought I was crazy or that the place was haunted and went back in. About 10 minutes later I went back outside and noticed this man’s van parked by the street. I stood out of sight and watched the man as he finished a beer, picked up a black bag, walked to his van and drove off. I thought to myself, great - the town drunk hangs out in the cemetery and drinks…

This evening just as we got home from eating supper this man’s van pulled back up to the cemetery. This time I stayed on the porch and watched him a little closer. He got out of his van with two beers and a black bag. I watched as he walked over to a gravesite and sat down. He opened a beer and sat it down on the grave and then he opened another. He sat for a minute talking while drinking his beer. About 10 minutes go by and then he starts to open his black bag. I thought to myself this must be where he keeps his beer…but to my surprise he pulls out an old trumpet. He plays a couple of short tunes like he was warming up or something. Then he put it back in the black bag and went back to his van, got in and sat with the door open. It looked like he was waiting for something or someone to get in. Another 10 minutes or so go by and he gets back out of the van with his trumpet and walked back to this grave and stood at attention. He picked up the trumpet and began to play Taps! When he was finished he saluted, turned, and in a marching manner walked back to his van and left.

This evening after I saw this, something told me that I should write this little story and share it with my friends and family. I said to myself, I am going to walk over to the cemetery that terrified me as a child at 9:45pm and see who this person was that this guy was playing Taps for. I got over to the grave which is covered in flowers and read the name and details off to Britney my wife who wrote them down for me.

Name: Emmett Lee Keith – 2nd Marine Div PFC Col 3 BNH - WWII
Born: 6/18/1921
Died: 6/19/1944 (today is June 19, 2010!!!)

He died the day after his birthday and at the young age of 23. As I moved flowers back from the headstone I noticed Emmet was also a Marine and a veteran of World War II. This young man may have given his life for this country but I am not 100% sure.

After talking to my parents who have lived in Shelby for the past 8-9 years they told me that this man has been visiting Mr. Keith’s grave for years although they were unaware that he did it daily.

I am not sure what drove me to write this story or to walk over to this young man’s grave in the middle of the night to find out that he died on this day 66 years ago. But a feeling of warmth surrounds me now knowing that I have given Mr. Keith some recognition - along with his faithful friend who visits him daily just to have a short conversation, share a beer and sign the day off with the most beautiful rendering of Taps that I have ever heard.

Happy Belated Birthday my neighbor and Rest in Peace…