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Pure Wonder Photography. An evening to remember. Austin Photographer.

We had such a fun time photographing the annual Bandana Ball for the Ronald McDonald House of Austin. It is so heartwarming to see everyone having such a good time all the while benefiting such a wonderful organization. And, I mean really, who doesn’t want to see Ronald McDonald ride a mechanical bull? It just doesn’t get much better than that! And, the live auction was amazing. Everything moves so.very.quickly. Before I blinked they were on to something else and numbers were flying in the air left and right and people screaming and hollering. I was just trying to keep my head on and focused in the semi-right direction. Pure Wonder Photography. An evening to remember. Austin Photographer. ronald riding a bull bandana ballbandana ball 2010bandana ball 2010

Pure Wonder Photography. 30 degrees and dropping. Austin Wedding Photographer.

I shot these bridals a couple of months ago and after a beautiful ceremony yesterday, Matt and Julie are now married and happily packing their bags for a wonderful honeymoon. So, I am coming to re-visit a wonderful bridal session. It’s out of my ‘norm’ and I had so.much.fun. Julie was an amazing bride to work with and was happily up for anything. And, let me not even mention that it was 30 degree and dropping outside. And, the wind chill. It was so windy. After about 2 hours my fingers were  so frozen that I was having difficulty pressing my shutter and adjusting my settings. I don’t know how she did it in a strapless dress. But, she did it and worked it and the results were beautiful.

Thank you Julie for being such an amazing bride! Have fun on your honeymoon and I will be back soon with a peak of your wedding pictures!Wedding dress picturesPure Wonder Photography. 30 degrees and dropping. Austin Wedding Photographer. beautiful bride picturePure Wonder Photography. 30 degrees and dropping. Austin Wedding Photographer. Pure Wonder Photography. 30 degrees and dropping. Austin Wedding Photographer. Pure Wonder Photography. 30 degrees and dropping. Austin Wedding Photographer. Pure Wonder Photography. 30 degrees and dropping. Austin Wedding Photographer. Pure Wonder Photography. 30 degrees and dropping. Austin Wedding Photographer.

March 16, 2010 - 6:29 am Megan - Love, Love, Love the 2nd row up from the bottom...(the close up of Julie)..soooo pretty!

Pure Wonder Photography. That’s the way I see it. Austin Baby Photographer.

Apparently, I have a new obsession with taking pictures “through” things. Not only do I think it is super cute but it causes me to take a step back and really look at the surroundings. Sometimes, I get so consumed in taking pictures and looking at light that I forget about the actual surroundings. baby on a playgroundWe ventured out to an awesome local park the other day and had a great time. It seems(hopefully) that spring is here. That makes me all warm and fuzzy inside because, honestly, as fun as a little snow is…I am really a warm weather gal.child in a sand boxAnd, yes, I cringe posting this picture. My child, my child that has barely just recovered from her serious bout of pneumonia and other gunk picked up a bucket(no, not ours) and proceeded to put it in her mouth. Cringe, I tell ya, cringe. That is all you can do. Well, cringe and pray. Pray that the germs can stay.away. Yuck. She thought it was delightful and delicious. Cringe. baby with a bucketSo, we moved on to perhaps one of the coolest treehouses ever. Then, I caught this gem. baby in a treehouseAnd, for all those who actually read down to the very bottom…I recently changed 2 things on my blog. One pretty big thing and one, not so big. But, 2 things nonetheless. And, in honor of that and all those that actually read the whole thing…I will be offering a FREE mini session(session only…no images) and an 8×10 print to one lucky reader who emails me and tells me the two things. erin@purewonderphotography.com I will randomly draw a name from those who submitted their emails with the correct answer. So, get to emailing…you have ONE WEEK.

Pure Wonder Photography. Do you remember when? Austin Maternity Photographer.

This is one of my dearest friends. We are so much alike it’s a bit disgusting but yet different enough to keep it entertaining. She is someone that I can answer the door in my tie-dye t-shirt and Tom’s shoes and not be embarrased(as I hang my head in shame for admitting this in ‘real life’). Really, she’s the only person that I would answer the door like that for. But, it’s my typical garb and she knows it and so we laugh about our crunchy, hippy ways together. That’s what a good friend is all about.

It was about 2 years ago, we were both teaching full time. My son was still a baby and she was pregnant with her first. I would always go ‘complain’ in her room and she would always come into my room for a breath of fresh air. She was the first person that I ever photographed and they are some of my favorite pictures to date. So, here we are 2 years later, I now have 2 ‘babies’ and she is pregnant with her second. We are now staying at home and enjoying life as it is. Full circle, I tell ya.

Christine, you are an awesome friend and I am so excited for you guys! I can’t wait to meet your new little man and to watch your family grow! cute pregnancy picture against a wallcolorful wallcolorful pregnancyred velvet chairPure Wonder Photography. Do you remember when? Austin Maternity Photographer. austin newborn photographeraustin newborn photographeraustin newborn photographeraustin newborn photographeraustin newborn photographerAnd, did I mention that I convinced her to cloth diaper. Come on now, you know you want to do it too!!

March 8, 2010 - 1:24 am ckmetrophotos - i just love that 2nd image with the patterns - Brilliant work congratulations and all the best to the expectant Mum !

March 12, 2010 - 7:39 pm alison - Wonderful belly shots! I love the background in those first images~great colors/patterns.

Pure Wonder Photography. It’s getting old, I know. Austin Children’s Photographer.

If you are anything like me then you probably read a lot of blogs. I mean, I have truly had to cut back. I was so engrossed in other peoples lives that I was missing out on my own. Now, I have a select few that I go read regularly(like clients and friends). Because, seriously, I was reading blogs of blogs of blogs of people that I had no idea who they were or why I was reading it. You know, don’t you?

Seriously.off.topic. Anyway, if you are a blog reader then you know that we had snow here in Austin last week. How do you know? Because, every.single.Austin blog wrote about the snow. How can you not? The thing is, if you never see snow then you can never possibly get tired of it. Eli and I stood out in the snow all.day.long. It was such a phenomenon…huge, beautiful snowflakes falling from the sky and covering the ground in a way that I have never seen. Really, it took my breath away. And, of course, I was out there with my camera trying to capture it so that I could remember forever.Pure Wonder Photography. Its getting old, I know. Austin Childrens Photographer.
snow covered rocking chairbaby snow picturesnowman picturedump truck picture

March 3, 2010 - 11:03 pm cheryl - Love the one on the bottom right w/ the tracks and snowballs! :o)

March 4, 2010 - 8:13 pm Adam - Love the picture through his slide!

Pure Wonder Photography. Can you guess? Austin Photographer.

Can you guess what we did last night?

Ronald McDonald House Bandana Ball Austin 2010

An evening filled with fun, laughter, joy and very big hearts, all benefiting the Ronald McDonald House.

February 28, 2010 - 9:27 pm Meghann - Um - most awesome photo ever.

Pure Wonder Photography. It’s my party. Austin Baby Photographer.

It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to. That is what our pediatrician(yeah, she reads my blog. I know, how cool is that?? I love it when I find out people actually read my blog) told me she thought of when I posted these pictures. So, so true.

I had a big party planned for Teagen’s first birthday. I painstakingly made every.single.decoration. I was so excited. Just something about a fun, girly party filled with lots of cute babies. How could it possibly get any better? Well, Eli got sick then Teagen got sick. And, we had to cancel the party. To say that I was bummed is a serious understatement. But, I decided to make the best of it and decorate anyways. I invited my parents because they have both worked in the public school systems and have immune systems of stone. And, I invited my sister because, honestly, I might have *slightly* understated exactly how sick they were so that she would come. I mean, we are so over the 4 day incubation period so I know that I am in the clear! We had a little party and I decorated away. In fact, we still have some of the decorations up today. I just can’t bear to take them down. I know, I know. But, I am a *bit* sentimental like that. Teagen had a great time(other than the big pouty lip, swollen eyes and crocodile tears) and Eli also had a blast.

Here are the invitations I made and a cute shot from her one year photos…Girly first birthday invitationsSome of the decorations and another one year shot…girly one year birthday partypink first year birthday partyfirst pink birthday partypink party foodAnd, these *awesome* cupcakes that my friend made…yeah, she went to pastry school. Aren’t they perfect and beautiful. They were so delicious!!pink first birthday cupcakespink birthday party pink party ideasAnd, I made all these bow and bow holders for the girls that were coming…now, I have to mail them out!first birthday party favors
Let’s not forget about the birthday girl herself…first birthday cake smashfirst birthday cake smashbaby first birthday

February 24, 2010 - 9:48 pm Julie C - So, I know who to call next time I need decorations for a party! All the little details looked perfect.

February 25, 2010 - 12:28 pm Kelly Tarleton - Hey Erin, I actually read your blog! I know what you mean about that, too. I really love all the decorative touches and that last black and white series is so sweet!

February 26, 2010 - 1:33 pm cheryl - Everything is so adorable! Can't blame you for leaving up some of the decorations! Glad she's finally feeling better.

February 27, 2010 - 4:48 pm Lori - Oh my GOODNESS!!!! No wonder I hadn't heard from you!!! The decorations area beautiful. Can't imagine the time and effort you put into them. Hope the kiddos are feeling better and that you have caught your breath. Amazing photos!! You rock!

March 1, 2010 - 1:50 pm Stephanie - Precious!! These belong in a magazine!

March 4, 2010 - 3:30 pm Judy - Wow! I'm impressed. It looks like a lot of work went into the details. She is a beautiful little angel. Beautiful pictures!

March 5, 2010 - 12:58 am ckmetrophotos - love all the detail happy Birthday and i am still waiting from my invite LOL !! - Loving these shots, congratulations and best wishes.

March 6, 2010 - 9:29 pm kristin cook - These are really cute! I love the pink tutu against the blue wall :)

Pure Wonder Photography. Here’s to you. Austin Children’s Photographer.

My friend Marti posted on her blog about a beautiful picture that she had taken of her daughter. I always enjoy looking at other peoples pictures and I always love helping people with photography related stuff. So, I emailed Marti and asked if I could edit her picture. She sent it along and away I went. The picture was already really good so I did a couple of different things but mainly just sharpened, levels, curves and different variations of color. Great picture Marti and I had a great time playing with it!!

Here is the original that she took…a great picture!!Pure Wonder Photography. Heres to you. Austin Childrens Photographer. Here are a couple of examples of what I did. You can do so much to a picture but I ‘usually’ like to keep it simple and clean especially for a picture like this. picture of child in tutu

I’ll be back tomorrow with some black and white versions of the same picture! I have had such a great time doing this so if anyone else has some pictures that you would like me to mess around with…feel free to send them my way at erin@purewonderphotography.com.

February 23, 2010 - 7:21 pm ckmetrophotos - Yep some really good examples of what differences can be achieved with a little bit of PS or similar. You should see some of my before and afters particularly when they have undergone very heavy PS Processing :)

Pure Wonder Photography. Hello in there. Austin Baby Photographer

I had to shoot a ton of pictures to get this one. At the time, I didn’t know exactly how sick my little babe was or I probably would have never taken her outside. …baby in a wagonToday, is her One Year Birthday!!! Yes, I think One Year deserves caps…I would put it all in caps but fear of being a *little* obnoxious will help me refrain! I will(someday) post more about her one year but, for now, I am off(again) to go and rock my sick baby.

February 21, 2010 - 3:01 pm Megan D. - Beautiful, beautiful sweet girl! (and what a cute wagon too!)

February 23, 2010 - 7:18 pm ckmetrophotos - Congratulations and happy birthday - ours is 12 months old going on 2 years

A time to think.

Oprah calls them “ahh haa moments”. Have you ever had those moments? Those moments of clarity. Those moments when all else seems to freeze and, all of a sudden, you look at life a little bit differently. It seems as though, lately, I have been thinking a lot. Perhaps because of this story or even this story. The first blog, I ran across sometime ago and have been painstakingly reading about her every.day. since. The latter story is a photographer that I have been following ever since I started on this journey. In fact, she was the first photographer who’s pictures truly inspired me. Both are struck with tragedy but yet both have words of inspiration and stories of believing in their faith. Perhaps it is the approaching first birthday of my daughter or the approaching third birthday of my son. Whatever the reason, I have been thinking. Thinking about business, life, faith and the journey that brings us to where we are.

I have been thinking about ways that I can contribute. Ways that I can help. I have teamed up with a wonderful organization to offer my services to them. I am so excited about this.

I have been evaluating my business and life. The two seem to run hand in hand. I have decided that I will be simplifying the packages that I offer. I will now only be offering one package that includes your session fee and digital negatives. This will give you  more freedom and me more time! :) I will, of course, be offering products in addition to your digital negatives and I will, as always, be offering my Bloom(baby plan) packages. So, stay tuned for more specific information about all this in the upcoming week(s).

And, because these two are my source of inspiration. They fuel my desire to be a better person. Because, in this moment, these two are what it’s all about.

baby girl in pettiskirtbeautiful hazel eyesAnd, that folks, is my “ahh haa” moment. A simple moment consisting of nothing, really. A moment where it all just became clear. A moment that will define how I do things and why I do things. These are the moments that we live for.

I will be posting more(hopefully). Why? Because, I like to. It is something that brings me back to the simple things. It is a way to record, to remember. All the precious times and all the precious memories.  Many more things to come…

February 17, 2010 - 12:19 pm alison - thank you for sharing these stories & your beautiful images. I feel you have given ma an "aha!" moment, too!

February 18, 2010 - 7:03 pm shalonda - well said hun...well said...and good for you for helping!

February 20, 2010 - 7:17 am Marti - Aha as well. I love how you are so compassionate and truly care. Then, you take that care to make a difference. To leave the world a better place.

February 21, 2010 - 10:47 pm Allison Parker - wow Erin . . . we're on the same path woman! God bless yours.