Because, Courage.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. ”

— T. Roosevelt

I've had this quote on my nightstand for the last two weeks. This, and an old photo of my Gram.

Because, courage. 

Shelly // A (Faceless) River Story Preview

Monday mornings the kids go off to school and I load all of our weekend muddy river clothes into the washing machine, and shake out our sandy shoes, and then I sit in front of my computer to see the images and basically break into a million pieces. This session, with an incredible foster family, has me just undone. But also the opposite. All at the same time. I could write about it, but it would be too much, so instead I uploaded the faceless images here today, with faith that the poem echoing in my bones will reveal itself without any words needed.

May is foster care awareness month and this beautiful foster family has my heart.

Entirely. 

Megan // A River Story Preview

Sometimes someone you love a whole lot flies to Austin with her family and then you somehow win the lottery of things and get lucky enough to capture them in your sacred river spot. 

Dalia

I basically shoot two things: River Story™ sessions, and weddings. But sometimes, every once in a while, I get the opportunity to step waaaaaaay outside of my comfort zone. Last night I took photos in a gym. A GYM! In a city! Anyone who knows me, knows how backwards that sounds. But the truth is, I've known Dalia for a long time, and she is one seriously badass, luminous, powerful woman. And last night I learned that it doesn't matter if we are in the woods, or spin class, capturing the fiercest females is my favorite. 

I love this woman, and I cannot wait to see what she has up her sleeve. 

Rockport Beach, TX

This weekend we ended up at the beach. 

These salty-air, wave jumping, crab cake eating, seagull chasing, belly laughing, puffer fish hunting memories will remain with me forever. 

I'm putting these images here for me to look back on. They don't reflect my style or what to expect with a session, but they share my heart. And I think that still matters. 

I don't know if anyone reads blogs anymore, or if everything is all social media now, or what the rules are. I am totally clueless with all of that, to be honest. But I know that if this space is to represent me, then these personal vacation pictures kind of need to be here. These are my people, and grabbing the sheets off the hotel bed to go play at a super windy beach together, well, that's kind of a perfect Saturday night for me. That's kind of heaven.