Happy Halloween! Ellie reads "There's a Monster at the End of This Book"

Hey everybody!

Happy Halloween! To celebrate, Ellie wanted to read "There's a Monster at the End of This Book" for you. Also, in brand new information, she's announcing her blog: diary of a daddy's girl! Check it out when you get a chance.



Talk to you soon,
Dale

Ellie's Halloween Costume!

Hey friends!

Look at this lovely Indian girl! Inspired by the India weddings we've photographed this year, Meredith and I thought it would be FABULOUS to have Miss Elizabeth dress in a gorgeous Indian costume. We showed her pictures from the weddings, and told her how fancy she could be, and she loved the idea! That girl does love anything FANCY!!!

So, we went all out, again avoiding the "costume" route, and got a REAL India girl saree, henna tattoos (temporary, of course) for her Mendhi on her hands, and a Bendhi for her forehead.

(if for some reason the pics aren't showing, you have to click on the yellow box - sorry!)

Here's Elizabeth getting some makeup applied by mama Mere...

Adding the Saree...

Aw... LOVE.THIS.GIRL.

After viewing the wedding images, and Deepa's dance, she thought she could rock the pose...

I asked what other poses she knew for a girl from India. Her response:

What a sweet girl.

Happy Halloween!
Dale

P.S. Did you vote for Art Feeds today?

Ashley and Scott's Little Rock Engagement Portraits

Hey friends!

We met up with Ashley and Scott last week in Little Rock for their engagement session! They're getting married in Little Rock in June and we're really looking forward to their big day! Ashley is SUCH a sweetheart, we knew she was a Benfield Bride the first time we met her!

Here are a few of our favorite shots from the shoot...


Have you every seen anything sweeter than this? Didn't think so!

Remember to vote for Art Feeds today!
Dale

Katy and Jamie's Fayetteville Engagement Portraits

Hey friends!

Remember our ridiculously-good-looking couple, Katy and Jamie, from the blog a couple weeks ago?  Well, they wanted TWO engagement session (not too common, but we have another couple doing the same thing): one in Little Rock and one in Fayetteville.  Well, it was Fayetteville's turn to be the backdrop for this hilariously fun, and super pretty, couple.

Can we start off with my O-M-G-I-CANT-BELIEVE-I-GOT-THIS-SHOT favorite? 

"Now, let's just lie down and start laughing." --if it were only that easy!  haha!

Every now and again, it's good to step back and take a big-picture kinda look...

If you know me, you know I'm silly.  If you know Katy and Jamie, you know they are too.  I love that!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

P.S. Don't forget to vote for Art Feeds!

Yay! We won!! (and other bits of goodness)

Hey friends!

Benfield Photography won!! We'll be photographing Lee and Lensa's wedding in Febrary, 2011, and could not be more excited to work with this great couple! I wanna give a special shout out to my ultra-worthy competition, David Manning and Kristin Hartness. I haven't met David but I do know he's a super classy guy and a great photographer. I've met Kristin a million times - she's one of Mere's best friends and a total sweetie! We refer lots of brides to her when we're booked on their date.

Last week, myself and some of my good photo buddies (and some I've yet to meet) raised some MEGA money for breast cancer research.  $12,249 to be exact!!  We're not finished yet, but I wanted to take a second and shout out a little excitement.  YAY!!!  I can go on and on about how important this cause is, about how even Elizabeth has felt the long-reaching arm of its impact.  But this is a celebratory blog post.  12... THOUSAND... and still going!  If you want a super cool product in exchange for a small "chip in" follow this link.  I have to give a shout out to photographer friend and [b]school member Lydia Shannon, who coordinated the auction and is still working hard for this great cause.  Well done girl!


In short, I wish you readers could understand the power and value you have.  Every day I read comments.  Every day I think about you - what you want to hear, what you need to know, and most importantly, I APPRECIATE YOU.  I love that my blog has become somewhat of a community, or at least a means of us sharing with each other.  I love what this blog has become, because it has become something that involves you.  And me.

Honestly, thank you friends!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

P.S. How about you vote for Art Feeds right now?  Remember, I'm giving them up to a thousand dollars based on # of comments we get!

Ashley and Scott's Rustic Country Arkansas Wedding Portraits

Hey friends!

Our lovely couple from yesterday's rustic country wedding had some really great portraits!

I looooove the light in this one!!

Ahhh, so gorge!

Did you vote for Art Feeds today?
Dale

Ashley and Scott's Rustic Country Arkansas Wedding

Hey friends!

I've been super excited to share this wedding with you ever since I shot it. Yes, so, that's only been 8 days, but STILL!

Look at this detail collage - I love all her rustic details.

Isn't Ashley STUNNING?!?!

Love that chandelier from Eventures. I mean LOVE!

This is hilarious! When there wasn't a knife close by for the cake cutting, he had one right there in his pocket. :)

Tomorrow we have some really great portraits of our lovely couple. C'mon back! :)

Did you vote for Art Feeds today?
Dale

Elizabeth is Featured in Celebrate Magazine!

Hey friends!

Ellie couldn't believe her eyes! She's featured in this month's Celebrate Magazine. Just flip to the 2nd-to-last page and there she is! yay! Thanks Celebrate!

Did you vote for Art Feeds today?
Dale

Leigh and Tim's Arkansas Wedding at Drake Field

Hey friends!


The Arkansas Air Museum at Drake Field in Fayetteville was the home of Leigh and Tim's wedding reception. How fun! The place was special to the couple--it was named after Leigh's grandfather! But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here are some details:

Mere got this ring shot on an antenna of an airplane. Cool!

I've been photographing weddings for 13 years. Yep, that's a long time! And in all that time, I've never seen this scene. I loved how open Tim was with his groomsmen.

First meeting time...

How touching!

The bouquet toss was more like a bouquet hand-off!

So Mere took this shot - she said he was trying to get the kiddo to smile. Funny!

Two FABULOUS dance performances...

Make that THREE...

I don't think I'd want this guy flying me anywhere! Hahaha!

Tyler and Patrick won't even need engagement pictures if they keep showing up at every single wedding we shoot! :)

Love! Leigh released balloons as they said goodbye.

Did you vote for Art Feeds today?
Dale

Single Greatest Photograph Ever.

...okay, maybe not the best ever, but close!

Hey friends!!

I have a great wedding to share with you of an awesome, awesome couple, but I wanted to do it properly. Instead of a post full of pics, where none end up standing out, I had to post one of the absolute most coolest photographs I've made. The lighting is great, the background light is great (thanks to the airplane runway), the couple's pose is perfect, etc. Love.this.image.

I'll have a lot more to share coming up, but I didn't want this image to get lost in the mix. I really hope you enjoy it!

I Can't Believe They Trusted Me On LIVE TV! :)

Hey everybody!

I'm yawning as I write this post at 8am. I've been up since 5am, which if you know me at all, is WAAAAY too early! This morning I was on the KNWA Today show talking about giving free wedding photography for a fabulous couple. Here's the interview (the camera adds 10 pounds, remember):



Now, it's voting time! We want Lee and Lensa to have the very best photography, and to have a good experience during their wedding day - which is what we're all about. To vote for Benfield Photography, please click here, or on the picture in the right column on this blog.

If you wanna send the link to friends and family (which would make you totally awesome), here it is: http://bit.ly/bsgyzB

We love that we're in a position to help out, and would love your support!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

P.S. and while you're in the voting spirit, feel free to vote for Art Feeds today!

Katy and Jamie's engagement session

Hey everybody!

On June 7th, 2008, I met Katy. She was a bridesmaid at Amy and Michael's wedding, and I remember that she (and all the bridesmaids) were so so so fun! I'm not lying, I was waiting, patiently waiting, for Katy to call and let me know she was engaged.

And she did!!!

Katy is engaged to one of our sweetest grooms, Jamie, and they freaking adore each other like nobody else I know. They can be serious together; they can crack up laughing to
gether. At their recent engagement shoot in Little Rock at the Old Mill, they did both.

My faaaaave! If y'all saw where and when I took this, you wouldn't believe it! (it wasn't at the Mill, and it wasn't day time)

Did you vote for Art Feeds today?
Dale