Congrats to Mere!

Hey everybody! Exciting news!

Mere has been selected to have her album featured at WPPI (national photographer conference) at the FINAO booth!! It's kinda not fair - I've been at this for over a decade to get accolades like this, and she just officially launched her boudoir line, Secret Sessions, not long ago! I'm super proud of her - she has a way of doing these shoots that I don't think anybody else has: She's super creative, super fun, and makes the girls feel super comfortable and super beautiful.

Below is part one of the album - the first 7 spreads. I'll follow up tomorrow with the next 7 so you can see the album in its entirety.

After getting permission from our client, we're excited that we can show you her images. Julianna contacted us shortly after we launched ArkansasBoudoir.com and we photographed her at the Mayo Hotel in Tulsa while we were staying there last weekend.

Talk to you soon,
Dale

MIscellaneous Monday

Hey everybody,

It's been awhile since we've done a Miscellaneous Monday, but today is perfect for one. Lots of random little bits I wanna depart to you.

Mpix Pro - Last month I wrote indicating that I'm going to be a new guest blogger for Mpix Pro. Well, today they posted my first in a line of many! I'm super excited to help photographers out through their blog! If you're a photographer, head over to MpixPro's blog, read my entry, and leave a comment. Or better yet, a question.

Tecmo Bowl - Remember this Super Nintendo game from forever ago? My childhood BF and I have been playing weekly for the past 4 months and it's time for us to play our super bowl. I know it's not as exciting as the REAL super bowl, but to me it is. We used to play this like crazy as kids, even keeping our own statistics. Go on, tell me I'm almost 30. But also tell me good luck. The game is tomorrow.

Meredith's Play - Mark your calendars! This is your save the date notice for Meredith's musical. Last year she rocked out as the lead in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This year, she'll be Mary Magdelene in Jesus Christ Superstar. She's such a breathtaking performer; I hope you can make it! The dates are March 25-28th in Joplin, MO.

Charity - Here's an update on my 2010 goal of giving: So far this year I've been fortunate enough to give 1370 dollars (a weird number, I know) to various charities, and we're already in the works to give in February. We're definitely past our pace from last year! Yay!

Yo Gabba Gabba - I'm super excited about Ellie's Valentine's Day present. I got tickets for the two of us to go to see Yo Gabba Gabba live: Party in My City - in St. Louis in March! We adore Yo Gabba Gabba so I know she's going to love it!

100000 miles - I passed a hundred thousand miles this weekend on my way to Columbia, MO, to see our good friend Samae and for 2 shoots. More on the shoots later, but I can't believe I've driven that much in such a short amount of time. I will say, however, that passing 100000 miles has quite the effect on my relationship with my car. We're in love again! :)

Balloon Animals - On said trip to COMO, I got a fun little present for Ellie: a balloon animal making kit. We busted it out last night when we got home and, to my surprise, I'm good at making balloon animals! I made a fabulous little purple giraffe! Ellie said it was the best giraffe in the world. I definitely prefer the balloon ones to the real ones.

See? Wasn't that all so random?!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

Shane and Jennifer tie the knot - Portraits in the snow!

Hey everybody!

Here it is! I've been so excited to show these to you. Jennifer and Shane were super pumped about their portrait session, even though three days before their wedding the sky opened up and dumped a ton of snow on top of Tulsa. I love their enthusiasm and their willingness to go the extra mile for great portraits. It was worth it!









Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate you coming back day after day, and it's a great motivator to keep things fresh and fun for you!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

Shane and Jennifer tie the knot: the wedding story

Hey everybody!

I'm excited to share Jennifer and Shane's wedding story with you. Never before have been invited to Laser Tag with the guys. So, when Shane told me to be in the lobby of the Mayo Hotel at 9:15am, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited. Here we are in the midst of our laser tag game. I lost by the way, but I'm blaming it on the fact that I had my camera and was also trying to shoot pictures. I think this picture is of me getting shot right in my camera. ;)


While I was playing with the guys, Mere was photographing Jennifer's preparation for the big day...


And here is the shot of their first meeting, which was so sweet. How about that lobby at the Mayo Hotel?!! It's a pretty fab place for a first meeting if I do say so myself.


I'm in love with their reactions:


Daddy giving her away. I love the look of them in the foreground with the gorgeous church in the background.



Shane's father sang during their unity candle lighting. The entire family has amazing voices. Shane recorded the song for their first dance. Personal touches like this really make a wedding special and memorable.


Mere never gets to make the blog, so here she is. We took some really amazing portraits of Shane and Jennifer in the snow, which we'll put on the blog tomorrow.


Some rockin' breakdancing by the guests. I used to be able to dance like this. Just kidding.



Some of our previous couples, Rachael and Ted and Jim and Pam, gettting down...


And two of our future clients... ;)


Party time...



Shane and Jennifer's wedding ended with them running through as the guests covered them with fake snow. However, fake snow wasn't needed with this winter wonderland wedding. It was hilarious to see, though, as they ended up spitting out excess snow - they really got bombarded with handfuls of fake snow. It was such a fun way to end the evening!


I can't wait to conclude this with all the portraits we took of Shane and Jennifer. Make sure to come back tomorrow!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

Scene Setting: the Mayo Hotel - Shane and Jennifer tie the knot

Hey everybody!

It's scene setting day here on the blog. Today's scene: the Mayo Hotel - the gorgeous boutique hotel in Tulsa. When Jennifer and Shane first brought us to the Mayo Hotel, Meredith and I became obsessed with how beautiful it is. We were literally counting down the days before we got to photograph there.

To add to the Mayo Hotel's beauty, Jennifer and Shane added so much more in their details. There were over 5 THOUSAND (yes, thousand) red roses in the ballroom alone.

Here in the Mayo Hotel lobby, Shane and Jennifer had their first meeting.

And here in the ballroom, Shane and Jennifer had their first dance.


Jennifer couldn't have been more excited to trudge around in the snow for amazing portraits. Was she questioning her decision after wearing these shoes in the snow? Nope!


Okay, the scene is set! So get ready for their wedding story and SNOW portraits!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

Feeling Fresh!

Hey everybody!

Today I want to share two fabulous people with you who have made my life a little cleaner and a little fresher. No, not my cleaning lady, though I suppose she does too.

First, do you love the new clean look of the blog? My friend Marina at Penny Lane Designs cleaned up my blog and made it look pretty and neat for me. Thanks Marina, I love it!!

Second, one of my photographer friends, Will Duris, made a big improvement to my iPhone site. I liked it before, but I LOVE the design Will created for me. Check it out by going to my website, benfieldphotgraphy.net on your iPhone. If you don't have an iPhone and really wanna see it, I uploaded a screen shot of it below. I asked him if I could put his info on here for my photographer friends and he said I could, so if you love it and want it for yourself, email him: willduris@gmail.com



Thanks friends, for cleaning up my life and making me feel all fresh!

Talk to you soon,
Dale