Precious Images Photography

Sandra's Bridal Session

2007-03-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun shooting Sandra's Bridal session. We met downstairs at the Casa De Palmas Renaissance Hotel in McAllen. If you haven't been to this hotel, you need to go. They have some really neat areas and the food is great.

We started downstairs and the bartender walks by. I asked Sandra if she minded posing at the bar. Sandra had no problem with it, but the bartender wasn't too keen on getting his photo taken. He was a great sport and had some fun with us. It was funny because we saw him when we went back to do the wedding and he wanted to know how the photos turned out.

Sandra is such a sweetheart and we had a great time. She was up for just about anything we wanted to do. I had some photos in mind by the pool, but it was soooooo hot that day. We didn't stay outside very long, but we were able to get some great shots by the fountain, pool and entry way.

To see the slideshow, go to www.PreciousImages.net/SandraFBMG

Kandice's Bridal Session

2007-03-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

One of the hardest things for us to do is to keep bridal photos a secret! We do keep them secret, and only allow access to the bride and whoever she gives the password to until after the wedding. We get so excited about the bridal session photos though that we want to show them to everyone. Bridal sessions are a lot of fun, both for the bride and for us. It is a more relaxed atmosphere and we are able to joke around and try a lot of different ideas. Essentially, we have you all to ourselves for the time that we are at the session. Which is completely different than your wedding day. On your wedding day you want to get the photos done quickly so you can get to your guests.

We have had some awesome sessions recently. Some of the sessions are done a couple months before the wedding, so by the time we are able to post photos, we are in the process of getting the wedding photos up for everyone to view. So, to make a long story short, we are playing catch up for the next few posts with some Bridal sessions that we have done over the past few months.

The first is Kandice Duke (Krenek). Kandice is such a sweetheart and we have had so much fun shooting her and Jason's engagement session and then wedding. They and their family have become like family to us. Sounds weird, but we develop that relationship with a lot of our clients.

So, here are some photos from Kandice's Bridal session that we shot at Casa Rama in Harlingen.

Kandice loved to twirl in her dress!!

This bedroom was gorgeous and Kandice had a great time lounging on the bed.

The pool and backyard at Casa Rama are gorgeous. It didn't take much to get Kandice to take her shoes off and relax a little.

The front door is huge and makes such a great backdrop for a photo

As we were walking around the property, Kandice mentioned that they had this gorgeous bathroom and would we be up for taking some photos in the bathroom. OF COURSE!!!

We Have A WINNER(s)!!!!!!!!

2007-01-27T13:01:00.000-08:00

We want to thank all of you who stopped by our booth at the McAllen Bridal Fair on Sunday January 21st and congratulations on your engagement! We met a lot of neat people, rekindled some old friendships and had a blast!

One of the things that we always do is analize the data from the people that register for our engagement session giveaway to determine the most popular month for getting married. Well, this one was overwhelmingly July. The most popular date was July 7, 2007 (07/07/07). This didn't hit me until someone at the show told me that it was triple 7's. Most that are getting married on that date also indicated that they wanted to get married at 7PM.

Well, we didn't want to do anything that would be unlucky, so we decided to give away 7 engagement sessions from the people that registered with us.

And.....the winners are......

Kassandra Tapia of Weslaco
Claudia Olvera of Edinburg
Janna Frapafo of Brownsville
Sara Winters of Harlingen
Karen Rodriguez of Brownsville
Janice Martinez of McAllen
Dee Gonzalez of Edinburg

Congratulations to the winners and we look forward to working with you.

Check back on the blog to see their photos.

Swamped!

2007-01-27T12:59:00.000-08:00

We have been swamped since about July and it has really hampered us posting to the blog. We are not complaining, we have had a blast shooting weddings and family sessions. We have met so many wonderful people in the past 6 months. We love our job!

We recently attended Imaging USA in San Antonio that is put on by the Professional Photographers of America. It was awesome, and we got to rub elbows and hear different ideas from over 8,000 photographers from all over the world. We always come away with new ideas when we attend events like this and the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International convention. Look for some of those ideas to pop up here on the blog and website in the future.

We have implemented some items that will improve the workflow and allow us to get back on schedule. We will posting on a regular basis once again, so check back often.

True Love!

2006-08-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

We recently spent a Sunday afternoon shooting Olga's Bridal session. Olga is from Russia and gorgeous. She met her fiance, Griffin while they were studying together. Olga is truly an exceptional woman. We hear about the illegal immigrants in our country, but one of the things that I didn't realize until we started working with Olga's future in laws, was how difficult it is to get into this country legally. Everyone was on pins and needles to see if Olga was going to be allowed to come to the US to get married. Her interview was postponed once, which changed the wedding date. Fortunately, we had the new date open.

Anytime we wanted Olga to smile, we just got her to say "Griffin" and she got this really big smile! It was awesome and you could tell that she really loves Griffin, and Griffin is one lucky guy! Olga's wedding dress was from Russia and was awesome. I haven't seen anything like it before and it fit Olga perfectly. We did the session at the Harlingen Country Club. As we were walking outside to go to a spot I had scoped out earlier, Olga saw a golf cart and just had to sit in it. I had already thought of that, but I wasn't sure how receptive Olga would be. Once I saw her light up with the golf cart, I sent Norma to get a putter and we just started having fun! She didn't know what golf was, but I told her about putting and she hit the ball a few times and got it into the hole. We had a blast!!!

Here are some of my favorite images from the afternoon. To see the slideshow go to www.PreciousImages.net/OlgaB

Check back in a few days for the wedding photos and slideshow.

Rachel and Kenneth

2006-08-07T18:08:00.000-07:00

We are playing a little catch up here. We have had a crazy schedule for about the past month and it stays this way until about the middle of September. But, we are having a blast!

Recently we shot Rachel and Kenneth's engagement session at South Padre Island. It turned out to be a great afternoon and we had a lot of fun. We were disappointed though to find that one of our favorite locations to shoot at was undergoing some renovations. They are redoing the whole area and we hope that it turns out better than it was before.

Rachel and Kenneth had fun playing in the water and I got my feet wet also. I love it when the couples want to play in the water. Rachel had just returned from a missionary trip to Africa and she was wearing some sandals that she purchased on the trip and they were gorgeous.

Here are some of my favorite photos. To see the slideshow go to www.PreciousImages.net/RachelK

Beautiful Sunset!

2006-07-17T17:33:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday we shared the evening with Jackie and Andres shooting their engagement session and we saw one of the most beautiful sunsets that we have seen at South Padre Island in quite a while. We were originally supposed to do the engagement session the previous Sunday, but we were cancelled out by rain. I checked the radar on Thursday before we headed out and there were some showers off shore. We were still concerned about the weather, but we decided to go for it. After all, it would just be a little water.

Fortunately, the rain stayed away and we had beautiful weather. We walked out to the bay and the sunset was gorgeous. But, then as we were walking back to the vehicles I looked back and the clouds were lit up by the sun that had already set. Thank goodness for those showers off shore that were providing the clouds.

For those of you that don't know me very well, I love sunrises and sunsets. There is just something about them that gets my blood pumping. I love photographing them or just watching them. As a matter of fact, if we have the photos that we need for the shoot. I often encourage whoever we are photographing to just enjoy watching the sunset for the last minute or 2 of the evening. We all just soak it in.

We met Jackie almost a year ago and we have been excited about photographing her wedding ever since. She has one of those bubbly personalities that is contagious and she is such a sweetheart. Jackie and Andres get married next month and we can't wait to document it for them.

So, here are some of my favorite engagement shots from Jackie and Andres.

You can check out a slideshow by going to www.PreciousImages.net/Jackie

Rain, Please Go Away!

2006-07-10T15:33:00.000-07:00

Rain, please go away! I am sure that is what Mark was saying, praying and dancing to on his wedding day. Mark and Christina had a beautiful backyard wedding. Although they were prepared for rain (just in case), the rain stayed away during the ceremony and reception. Not so though during the day. I was in the area around 3PM and it had just poured. Mark said that thank God, Christina was getting her hair done on the other side of town where it didn't rain.

Here are some of my favorites from the evening. To see a slideshow, go to www.PreciousImages.net/Christina

Kandice and Jason

2006-07-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

You all might notice that there has been a recurring type of photo in some of our recent shoots. We have been fortunate to get a silhouette from most of the recent shoots that we have had. We enjoy capturing the silhouettes and when you have a beautiful sunset in the background, they turn out awesome!

A little over a week ago we did an engagement session with Kandice and Jason at South Padre Island. The weather cooperated and we had a beautiful sunset, looked for an alligator, got to see some ducklings and just generally had a great time. Kandice and Jason are such a great couple and we had a blast doing the engagement session. We can't wait for the wedding in October. It is going to be a blast!

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the session. To view a slideshow of some of our favorite images from the session go to www.PreciousImages.net/Kandice

Enjoy the photos!

Elizabeth and JD

2006-06-26T16:20:00.000-07:00

This post is long overdue! Elizabeth and JD just recently celebrated their 2 month wedding anniversary! Congrats!

Elizabeth made sure that we had some time between the wedding and reception to go to the bed and breakfast where they would be spending their wedding night for some photos. The place was awesome with some stained glass windows, arched entry ways and a really nice staircase. I am so glad that she budgeted the extra time for us to go there and capture some photos of them.

Here are some of my favorites

To view a slideshow of some of the images from their wedding click on www.PreciousImages.net/ElizabethG

Subscribe!

2006-06-25T10:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, I feel really bad about neglecting the blog for the past 2 months. I have made a committment to update the blog on a regular basis. I will be mixing in some older material with some recent events in the next several posts, so keep checking back.

We have added a subscription service to send you an email when we update the blog. You can enter your email address in the upper right corner of this blog. Add your email address and you will receive an email each time we update the blog.

Feel free to leave comments on the blog or email us at any time.

You can also enter your email address below to be added to be contacted when the blog is updated. You can always opt out of the email updates at any time.

Cluster Map

2006-05-28T09:22:00.000-07:00

I found out about this neat software that creates a cluster map for each computer that accesses the blog. The more people that access from a particular area, then the bigger the dot. This should be pretty neat. I know that we have had people access our website from places like Japan, England, France, Australia and some other neat places. Watch it and see how it grows.

FINALLY!!!

2006-05-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

Well we are finally getting caught up a little bit. As you know from previous posts, my schedule since the middle of March has been extremely hectic. First it was to Washington D.C. to meet with legislators for ASCE, then to Austin for a meeting, then to Las Vegas for Wedding and Portrait Photographer's International convention, then to Beaumont for an ASCE meeting, then to Ohio for my Mom's 70th birthday, then back 2 weeks later for my Mom and Dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary, then to Austin again. Mix in with that weddings, engagement and family shoots on every weekend that I was not out of town. So we have a lot of catching up to do with photos.

This past Saturday we had the pleasure to shoot Ernie and Nikki's wedding at South Padre Island. Ernie was leaving at 11AM on Sunday morning for the Marines. Our hats go off to him for serving our country and best wishes to him and Nikki for their future.

The wedding reminded me of some photos that I took in Washington of a soldier that appeared in several of my shots, but always from the rear. I finally caught up with him near the Vietnam War Memorial to thank him for his service to our country. It is due to people like him that we have the freedoms that we do. Keep up the good work!

I arrived to Washington early on Tuesday so I would have that afternoon to sight see and catch some photos. Of course, that afternoon was overcast and it drizzled almost all afternoon. I only packed 1 camera and 1 lense and no flash. Most of the time I had my camera under my jacket so it wouldn't get wet. Of course, while I was in meetings the weather was gorgeous!

Anyway, here are some of my favorites from that afternoon and early evening.

New Slideshow Software

2006-04-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

I am excited that we have an update to the software that we use to generate the on line slideshows. It will now allow us to time photos to the music and also to embed the slideshow into a blog or webpage. Sooooo cooooool!!!!!!

Check it out by clicking on www.PreciousImages.net/RGVRodeo This is from the recent RGV Rodeo in Mercedes, Texas.

A Month . . . or 8 Seconds . . . Time Flies!

2006-04-03T05:56:00.000-07:00

Wow! I am looking at my schedule for the next month or so and it is so crowded. It actually started last week. I was in Washington D.C. with a group of Civil Engineers from across the US lobbying our legislators for items that are important to our profession and the public. I did this last year also and as a result of our meeting with Rep. Hinojosa's staff, he co-sponsored the Dam Rehabiliation and Repair Act. It was a good feeling to know that our opinions do make a difference to our legislators. As a result of our meeting this year with Rep. Hinojosa's staff, we have been informed that he will co-sponsor The National Levee Safety Program Act. So, if you get a chance to meet with your legislator, please do. They do listen and are interested in what we have to say.

Recently we had the opportunity to photograph Steven Parker at the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show and Rodeo. We photographed Steven and Jennifer's Ranch wedding last August and we found out then that Steven was a bull rider when the groomsmen threw him off the hay bales that we had them sitting on for some photos. Steven landed on his feet and we were able to get a couple shots on his way down. Steven switched from bulls to broncs since the wedding. Steven drew a chestnut bronc that didn't seem to be too happy in the chute. The bronc came out of the chute in the air and I don't think he was happy that Steven was on for the ride. Unfortunately Steven didn't make it the 8 seconds necessary to get a score. Here are some photos of Steven coming out of the chute.

5 Generations

2006-03-23T05:46:00.000-08:00

We recently had the opportunity to photograph 5 generations of the Maggie Jimenez family. Maggie, her husband, daughter, son-in-law, and grandson were visiting from Georgetown, Texas to see Maggie's Mom and Grandmother. It was a blast. It was so funny watching the grandparents fighting over the grandson's attention and which one of them he was going to look at while I was taking photos. I cracked up several times.

Here a few of my favorites.

Sandra and Sal

2006-03-14T19:20:00.000-08:00

We had the opportunity to photograph Sandra and Sal's engagement session recently, and it was a blast. The session was at South Padre Island, and of course, the weather didn't cooperate until the end. A norther had blown in earlier and it was cool and windy. I didn't realize how cool it was until on the walk back to the vehicles at sundown I noticed that Sandra's fingernails were purple. I didn't remember them being purple when we started. I found out that Sandra's fingernails turn purple when she gets cold, and it wasn't fingernail polish....sorry Sandra!

Turns out that both Sandra and Sal are Optometrists and they met in Med school. Sal whisked Sandra away to New York, where he proposed to her at the top of the Empire State Building! Way to go Sal! They are really wonderful people and we can't wait to do their wedding in August! It is going to be fun.

We got some beautiful shots even though the weather didn't cooperate very well and we got some really great silhouettes.

You can view a slideshow of Sandra and Sal's engagement session by going to: www.PreciousImages.net/Sandra

Christy and Richard's Wedding

2006-03-06T19:26:00.000-08:00

In a previous post I mentioned what great fun we had at Christy and Richard's wedding. It was a blast.

There were so many photos to choose from (we took over 2,000!), but here are a few of my favorites.

This is a photo of the bonfire on the beach after the Rehearsal. It was a lot of fun making smores and hanging by the fire.....until it started raining!

This is a photo of Christy's hand while she was waiting to get her hair done.

Christy had her veil draped across this lamp. We turned the lamp on and used the light from the lamp for this photo. The veil was also in a place that made it easy to forget, which thank goodness her sister remembered. That are what sisters and brides maids are for...right?

This has got to be one of my all time favorite silhouette photos. While we were walking toward the beach, both Richard and I noticed that it was a full moon, and it was out. Richard wanted to make sure that I included the moon in some of the photos. In this photo it is between their faces, the sun was going down and every thing just lined up.

Thanks again Christy and Richard. Best wishes for you in your life together!

It's all in the Details

2006-02-21T19:18:00.000-08:00

"It's all in the details" is a popular saying and we use it at every wedding we cover.

During the excitement of the wedding you may not even have a chance to see some of the details of your wedding. We capture details of your special day that you may not even realize until you see the photos. As time slips by and you bring out those wedding photos on your 10th, 25th, 50th or 60th wedding anniversary; viewing the details will help you relive that day each time you view them. We want our photos of the details as well as those of you, your family and friends to bring back a flood of emotions each time you view them.

Enjoy a few of our favorite detail shots from 2005.

Christy and Richard

2006-02-13T17:06:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was a blast!!! Saturday we photographed Christy and Richard's wedding at the Bahia Mar at South Padre Island. We had been working with Christy and Richard while they planned this gorgeous beach wedding. However......the big guy upstairs decided to send a norther our way Friday evening, but the wedding turned out gorgeous anyway.

It was such fun hanging with Christy and Richard and their friends and family this past weekend. They definitely know how to have a good...no make that a great time.

Thanks Christy and Richard for allowing us to be a part of your very special day!

Now I can show Christy's Bridal Session that we also did at the Bahia Mar in early January. It was a blast also. She brought along some of her family and future family and they were hilarious. We knew then that the wedding was going to be a good one. Special thanks to my new assistants and leaf holders! You guys can work with us any time!

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the session. You might notice that there are no photos on the beach. That is because the wind was blowing about 85 mph (really about 25 to 30 mph). We were able to get a few outside at sunset when the wind subsided a to around 15 mph.

You can also view a slideshow by going to www.PreciousImages.net/ChristyB

Los Fresnos PRCA Rodeo

2006-02-07T18:43:00.000-08:00

Well, we didn't have a wedding to do this past weekend, so we decided to go to the rodeo in Los Fresnos. This is one of the first rodeos in the country for the new year. The rodeo was a blast even though the wind was blowing about 30 mph. The wind really played havoc with the calf ropers who had a bad day.

We started off by looking at the animals from the Cameron County Livestock show. We had a blast watching the young ones with their hogs. It was funny to see a 40 pound little girl trying to get a 200 pound hog to go the direction that she wanted it to. They sure look cute with their ribbons though. Here are a few photos of some of the contestants.

One of the highlights of the afternoon was Trish Lynn and the All American Cowgirl Chicks. This is one awesome group of girls. If you ever get a chance to see them action, you need to check them out. You can go to their website at http://www.cowgirlchicks.com

Of course no rodeo is complete without bull and bronc riding. Here are a couple photos of the action.

We are really looking forward to Christy and Richard's wedding this weekend. They will be getting married on the beach at the Bahia Mar on South Padre Island. I will finally be able to release the photos of Christy's Bridal session. Check back to see the photos. We will have photos from the wedding posted within the next couple weeks, so check back often.

Adina and Phil

2006-01-31T20:35:00.000-08:00

We had a blast photographing Adina and Phil's wedding on January 28th. The ceremony and reception took place at the Bahia Mar on South Padre Island. A ton of emotions flowed throughout the ceremony, from laughter to tears, fear of the unknown to certainity about the future. They are such a fun couple.

We always get excited photographing at the Bahia Mar because the landscaping, bridges and waterways present some great photographic opportunities. As most of you know, we are in a drought situation. Just our luck though, it started to sprinkle when we were photographing Adina and Phil on the bridges. It started raining a little harder so we moved inside and took over the staircase to the second floor.

These are just a few photos from their day.

You can watch a slideshow by clicking on the following link.

www.PreciousImages.net/Romer

Best wishes to Adina and Phil.

"Snap Shots"

2006-01-23T18:28:00.000-08:00

We have been on a roll so far in 2006. We are proud to announce that we have started a newsletter that will be published 4 times per year for Brides. The newsletter is titled "Snap Shots."

If you would like to be added to the distribution list, just send us an email to info@PreciousImages.net and we will add you to the list. If you want to see the current issue go to http://www.preciousimages.net/snap_shots.htm

Following is one of the articles from the first Newsletter.

Most Popular Wedding Dates

Do you know what the most popular months for weddings in the Rio Grande Valley are? We tabulate the results of Brides that register with us during the various Bridal Fairs where we exhibit. At the last Bridal Fair in McAllen on January 15th, the most popular month was June 2006. Not much of a surprise there. Can you guess what the second most popular was? See below to find out.

We had almost 200 Brides register with us and this is the breakdown of the top 10 months that they indicated they are getting married.

1. June 2006
2. December 2006
3. November 2006
4. July 2006
5. October 2006
6. August 2006
7. March 2007
8. May 2006
9. September 2006
10. April 2007

What does this mean to you? If you are planning your wedding for one of the top 10 months, then you need to get contracts and deposits to the vendors that you want for your special day. They will be booking dates quickly. The top 10 months represented about 80% of the brides that registered with us.

i Do ..... iPod

2006-01-16T17:36:00.000-08:00

i Do ... iPod
We introduced our newest product for 2006 at the Bridal Fair in McAllen yesterday (Sunday January 15th). It was a tremendous hit! The technology to allow us to use the iPods is very new. It is great to be on the cutting edge of technology.

Precious Images is the first and only photographer offering your photos and slideshows loaded on the iPods in the Rio Grande Valley.

We were overwhelmed by the response at the Bridal Fair. So overwhelmed, that we ran the battery down and were not able to demo the iPod the last hour of the show. We apologize to those of you that were interested in seeing the demonstration but were unable to because of the battery. Give us a call and we will be happy to consult with you and give you a demonstration.

The possibilities for the iPod are amazing. The iPod can be used to proof your photos (we will use the same image numbers as those used for your on line proofing), and it is like carrying your wedding photos and slideshows around in your pocket. Now, you can show your engagement, bridal and wedding photos to anyone on your iPod.

We created a package called the "iPod Collection" that includes engraved "His" and "Her's" 30GB Video iPods loaded with all of your engagement, bridal, rehearsal and wedding photos. We even put all of your slideshows on your iPod. That is COOL! It is like carrying around your wedding album and DVD player along with you! Don't worry though, you will still have plenty of room for tunes, podcasts, videos and other photos.

We also have the His and Her's iPods that you can add to any of our other packages. If you only need 1 iPod, or if you want us to add the photos and slideshows to your iPod, we can do that also.

We will be honoring our Bridal Fair Show prices until January 31st. If you like our work, and us (since we will be spending a lot of time with you on one of the most important days of your life) then contact us to reserve your date. We require the retainer amount and a signed contract to reserve the date. The remainder of the balance can be made in payments.

If you have any questions or would like to set up a consultation, please contact us at
(956) 493-2810.

Locks of Love

2006-01-09T06:54:00.000-08:00

Dixie has been a friend for a while now. As a matter of fact, she is lovingly referred to as my ex-wife at the South Padre Island Convention Center. Mainly because during the last Texas Section American Society of Civil Engineers meeting that was held at the convention center, she was always after me for money!

Dixie Rowell is the meeting and event coordinator for the SPI Convention and Visitors Bureau. Dixie was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2005 and just recently began her chemotherapy treatments which was beginning to result in hair loss.

Her co-workers and friends didn’t want her to go through this trying time alone. They had told her that they would shave their heads if she lost her hair. Of course a lot of people would have just said that and then forgotten about it, hoping that no one would remember. Not these people.

On Wednesday January 4, 2006 eight co-workers and friends got their hair whacked off. A lot of other friends showed up to show their support, both for Dixie and their soon to be hairless friends.

Dixie returned from a chemotherapy treatment with her husband Clifford while heads were being shaved. A lot of emotions, tears and laughter were in the exhibit hall portion of the convention center as the heads were being shaved. It was hard to tell who was more touched by the show of support, Dixie or Clifford.

Dixie decided that she might as well shave her head also. Clifford was going to the barber shop that afternoon to get his shaved.

Dixie says that it may take up to nine months before her hair grows back. Her co-workers and friends have committed to keeping their heads shaved until Dixie's hair grows back.

Please keep Dixie in your prayers and thoughts.

And, if you see one of these great coworkers or friends, tell them thanks for their support because they are true friends and those are hard to come by!

Best wishes to Dixie for your speedy recovery!
Ralph and Norma

Click here to see a slideshow of the photos

Starting 2006 with a Bang!

2005-12-31T10:11:00.000-08:00

Well we have decided to create a blog that we can update on a regular basis to let you all know what we are up to. I think it will be fun. We will post photos of some of our most recent work. Right now we are anticipating updating the blog weekly. So check back regularly to see what we are up to.