Hazel West Blog!!! »

It’s no secret that we love photographing you guys. We love watching your weddings unfold from the sidelines, suggesting crazy fun poses for your engagement sessions, pretending we’re on a Vogue shoot for your bridal, and doing absolutely whatever is necessary to make your babies giggle. It’s true: we love it. We also share you with another great love, though, and that’s shoes. You might have noticed that we nonchalantly sneak in a bunch of shoe shots at your sessions. For example, Gisele may distract with you with one of her hilarious jokes or Ron Burgundy impressions, and yep – the whole time I was taking a picture of your shoes! In all truth, we would love to sneak away with some shoes, a nice window, some jewelry, and snap away for a few hours. Here’s a recent favorite.

Have a lovely weekend!

As we’ve been frequenting the Water Wall and its millions of gallons of water lately, I’ve let my thoughts wander back to the very first time I was introduced to this Houston landmark. I was probably eight years old, and I was with Gisele (not making that up!) and her parents after they took us to church one Sunday. After exploring the Water Wall for a bit, we walked over to the pond across the street – the one with the aggressive ducks. Somehow, and I don’t think I’m to blame, Gisele either fell into the pond, or slid into the pond – not sure. Like I said, no fault of mine. Either way, one of her shoes went missing and we’re pretty sure it’s still in that pond… who knows? After that, her parents rewarded our good behaviour with chocolate ice cream, and that’s where my memory stops. My point in this, though, is that I clearly remember the way I felt when I walked into the middle of the Water Wall for the first time. Being a nerdy and whimsical child, I was immediately convinced that I’d found Houston’s gateway to Narnia or something equally splendid. I admire architecture’s ability to rouse that sort of feeling. The other weekend after we finished our engagement session at the Water Wall, I wandered back into the middle of it, and not surprisingly, felt the exact same way. Some things don’t change, and I’m happy for that.

Danny and I went to the beach house again last weekend – what a beautiful job Chris and Edith are doing! I’m having a great time documenting the transformation.