A few weeks ago I got to see a longtime friend of mine while he was back on leave (he's a former Marine who's in the Army now). We stopped by his homecoming/birthday party and it was mucho good to see him. It was especially cool because the Patriot Guard rode in to show their support and say a big thank you, a much deserved one at that.

Chris isn't just a brave soldier serving us - he's a good friend. We go way back. Back to the days of him scaring me with bumble bees, the days of ridiculous jokes at lunch, and the days of walking around as a couple of old farts in Lil' Abner. If I wasn't so lazy right now, I'd scan a picture from that show and post it. I'm certain you'd get a good laugh out of it. I could tell countless stories, but I'll spare you. =)

The other cool thing is that we got to photograph his family while he was back in town. He goes on another tour in Afghanistan this Spring so we're glad we got to get the gang together before then. Here's a few of the pictures:

You may remember last month Dac and I headed down to Oklahoma to photograph the wedding of the fabulous Jared and Kylie. I met both of them through some mutual friends at OSU but it was fun kind of getting to know them better that weekend. It's so obvious they're great for each other and I couldn't be happier for them!

The wedding and reception were beautiful, Kylie was a gorgeous bride, and everyone had a great time!! All in all I'd say it was a perfect day! =) Here's a glance at the details and festivities:

It's that day again. The one we surely won't forget - September 11. In some ways it's hard to believe it's only been eight years. In other ways it feels like it was just yesterday. I'm sure it seems like an eternity to those who lost loved ones. My heart goes out to them!!

I remember. I was a senior in high school sitting in Mr. B's Web design class. Another teacher ran in and turned on the news. I literally couldn't believe my eyes. It hadn't been too long since I'd been there in person taking pictures of the famous New York skyline...complete with the twin towers. I remember sights like these...



Once it did sink it...it really hadn't. It had clicked that it was serious and real but I had yet to grasp how deafening it must have been to those nearby, how much pain those inside felt, how scared those who ran from the smoke clouds were. I don't know how hopeless the families at home felt when they hadn't received a call from that loved one yet, or how terrified the firefighters felt as they ran in knowing they traded the chance to see their spouses again for the chance of saving someone else's. I do know what it felt like to be a sad American that day and how the pride felt in the months that followed.

With all of the weekend's excitement and busy-ness, I forgot to mention one VERY important detail. My Oklahoma State Cowboys had a big win over Georgia!!!!!!!! Go pokes, Go pokes, Go pokes, Go! Not only that but they are in the TOP 5 now! YEAH! And, not only that, they've been featured on Sports Illustrated Magazine's cover twice in one month!! That's what I'm talking about!

Today we'd like to share what our post-processing (editing) process looks like. Dac handles the majority of our editing work. As a graphic designer, he really has a good eye for details and he does a great job of making our photos look their very best.

We try our best to take pictures that truly capture life or even just a moment and add a little sugar and spice to make them just that much better. Sometimes we make only minor adjustments, keeping the photo as close to real-life as possible, and sometimes we add some flair to make it more of a work of art.

To us, there's a delicate balance between great, straight from the camera photos (the cupcake, if you will) and the editing (the frosting) we apply afterward. You can have a cupcake by itself and it's great. I mean hey, I'd take it and be happy! =) BUT, there's just something about adding the right amount of frosting that makes it complete. That's why we do what we do and here's HOW we do what we do. Since Dac's most recently been working on Jared and Kylie's wedding proofs, we'll use one of their pictures as an example.

Picture 1: This is what our picture looks like straight out of the camera, when it is imported into Adobe Lightroom. We shoot in RAW format which gives us the most flexibility in post processing, but it also ends up looking the most "blah" right out of the camera. See?

Picture 2: This is what the photo looks like once it has been adjusted in Lightroom. Things done in Lightroom include basic color edits and adjusting exposure (how light or dark the entire photo is). This is what our "proofs" and the photos we give clients on a CD look like.