Pretty New Lens 85mm 1.2

Here are some of the first few shots I took with the 85mm. I use the 50mm, but already, I'm liking this  85 more. At the bottom is a video recording. I love the how the frame rate looks. I can't wait to pair this with the gh4. Okay, that's enough nerdy talk, here are some adorable pics of my girls. This week we have meet the teacher and next week, Cheyenne returns to school.

Charleston: Beauty Around Every Corner

It's been a few days since I've been back from my business trip to Charleston. I attended a filmmakers conference called InFocus. Sunday, Monday and a little bit of Friday were my free days.
I ran 16 miles around town, spread out over the course of 5 days. Most of the pictures are from my runs.




My hotel was about 2 miles from the water front.


There was a class for drone users, I saw them while I was out on my morning run.


Monday, I had some free time, so my roommate and I toured a mansion. There is a scene in The Notebook that was filmed here.

Outside the mansion

The food was pretty good and cheap. I spent less than $200 bucks on eating out. Not bad considering I arrived on Sunday and left on Friday. It was a huge help, that the conference provided breakfast most mornings and one night they provided dinner. They also had two parties and paid for four cocktails.

It was an awesome trip. I met some amazing people in the industry. I might do another post about what I learned…not sure if anyone would be interested to hear about that, but it might be good for me to write my thoughts out.

Looking Forward to The 2015 InFocus Conference in Charleston

Next year, I'll be heading to Charleston for a work conference. This will be my first work conference representing my business.

UTA has sent me to the NABShow, but from what I can tell, InFocus is much different. IF will be smaller, more intimate, and focus on wedding cinematagraphy. I can't wait!!!

And in Charleston, SC…I mean, C'MON!

I'm in Love With Love

Here is the first wedding I've produced for Mulberry Lane Studio. This was a party! I don't think I've ever been to a wedding, where the couple was literally dancing to every song. They even danced during the ceremony.

I love my job. Enjoy!
Sammie & Rey's Wedding (Highlight Video) from Dominique Anderson on Vimeo.

A Cool Opportunity For Me

So, I keep forgetting to blog the good news that I was going share with you (I think I briefly mentioned it a few weeks ago)….

I am now a freelance wedding cinematographer for Mulberry Lane Studio! I'll take wedding gigs from them as needed, if I'm not already booked. A few weeks ago we worked our first wedding together at YWCA, downtown Ft. Worth. We have another wedding coming up this fall at Ashton Gardens.
I'm pretty excited about teaming up with them. They are a photography business, but they are expanding their services to include wedding cinema….that's me! I'm so honored to be working with them. It's a wonderful opportunity for me.

Speaking of weddings, I guess word is getting out about my business. It's been a wonderful wedding year. Yesterday, I met with a bride (who was referred to me, by a previous client), a few hours later she booked me for her 2015 wedding near Tyler, Texas. Here's to the 2015 wedding season too!

I just wanted to share the good news with all of you! Thanks so much for your encouragement and supportive words. AND thanks for watching my videos! I put my heart into every wedding.

Here is the Mulberry Lane Studio site if you want to check it out.
http://www.mulberrylanestudio.com

Because the Old One Broke, Ginger Problems & Limiting Work

We got a new dishwasher because our old one broke. This one is so quite. I think Trey was more excited than I was about our new appliance. We went about two weeks hand washing dishes --- let me correct that by saying, I went two weeks hand washing dishes. It was fine, but I'm glad to have a working dishwasher again.

I heard something about how Saturday is the first day of summer. What? It's already hot, I think summer has been here for a while! In related news, you know you live with a ginger if you own five bottles of sunblock…

If you are wondering why my blog post per week, have somewhat dropped -- it's because I've been editing pretty much every night. After all, it is wedding season. I have another wedding this weekend, I'll be working on. Oh, and I met with a bride recently and she booked me for the fall. I'm really looking forward to that one too - it will be at the stockyards! With all the business picking up, I'm considering only making myself available for 2 weddings a month - no more than that. I have 3 this month and between full-time employment and self-employment I want to avoid burn out. We'll, see how things pan out. Maybe I can handle more than I think - time will tell.

All These Weddings Make Me Want to Walk Down the Aisle Again & Last Day of School Treat

A few days ago, I recorded a wedding at Classic Oaks Ranch. The venue was fabulous….something you'd see in a bridal magazine. I'll be editing that for the next few weeks. The groom and bride wanted to have a first look, before walking down the aisle. This moment was so special!

I told Trey, all these weddings make want to get married again. Trey responded with you should be saving for a college fund and wedding(s) for the girls. True. I let Chey watch some of the ceremony, as I was editing. Chey is such a girlie-girl and loves weddings too.
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Monday, was the last day of school for my niece. I picked her up from school and we went to sonic and bought slushes. I got Dakota ice water so she could feel like a cool kid too - I think she figured out that the big girls had slushes because later I found her drinking Chey's cherry limeade.

Work and Wine

Camie & Blake's Wedding (Highlight Video) from Dominique Anderson on Vimeo.

Hey, business is doing great! Here is the finished product - or at least what I can share online with the world. This was such a beautiful wedding. The full feature highlight video ended up being over 20 minutes long. I'm meeting the bride today. I hope she likes red wine.

My Best Work to Date

Saturday, I recorded a wedding in Joshua. The photographer wasn't able to make it to the second location, so the bride and groom asked me to take some stills as well as video. I only took a few, since my main focus and hired purpose was to be there to record the wedding. Here are a few pictures that I took at the second location, Eagle Mountain Lake in Ft. Worth.

I didn't know the bride prior to her hiring me, she found me via my vimeo.com page. We wrote and texted often, months leading up to the wedding. She knew what she wanted and sent me tidbits of wedding details along the way. It was lovely working with her.

I can't wait to edit this video. Based on the footage I've reviewed so far, I think this is going to be my best work, to date. Pretty exciting!!!!

Here's a Behind the Scenes Look at a Photo Session

In-Home Photo Session. Newborn. Family. Siblings.

Here are pictures of Amanda and her boys. When we took these photos, Mack was seven days old.

I don't specialize in newborn or family portraits, so for me, this was really working outside of my comfort zone. However, I'd do anything for Amanda. I'm so happy with the way the portraits turned out.

Amada watches my girls, while I work. She is taking several weeks off, so she can have some quality time with all of her boys. Her husband, works full-time and is going to college full-time, so he couldn't join us for the photo session.

I don't anticipate taking a lot of family portraits, but it was a lot of fun.

Birth Photography - This Was AMAZING to Witness!

My friend Amanda invited me to document the birth of her third son, Elijah Mack. This happened Saturday. Actually, her water broke, Friday night - while she was watching my girls. She called and said, Drew is staying at home with the girls and I'm driving myself to the hospital. She didn't think it was anything, actually she wasn't even sure her water broke. Hours after I got my girls, Amanda was admitted in the hospital. The next day around 1 pm, I made my way to the hospital and sometime around 3, she gave birth to Mack.

I was excited to be part of such a special day. That's Drew, her husband.

Trey tagged along for an hour just to say hi and…

To pick on her #longhorns

Amanda's taking 1.5 months off for maternity-leave, but she plans on continuing to watch the girls after her time off. Chey and Dakota are going to miss her, I'm going to miss her!

Saturday, around 2 pm I went home and shortly after I got settled, Amanda texted me and said IT's TIME! SPEED WOMAN!
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I walked in right before the doctor walked in the labor and delivery room, I had maybe 5 minutes to spare, before Amanda started pushing!

This was the first moment, she held Elijah Mack. They call him by his middle name, Mack. This was such an incredible moment!

I love this image of the nurse holding his cap up to the warmer before placing it on his head.

Mack was delivered about 4 weeks early. At birth, he weighed 4 lbs 8 oz
tiny, but pretty healthy.

Skin to Skin with momma, probably the most amazing feeling - if you have ever done this, it is honestly an incredible bonding moment. You have to experience it! Newborn baby skin is the best.

My Week in Photos

This weekend I had a video wedding opportunity…So, Friday night, I spent a few hours organizing and getting re-acquainted with my gear.

It was a fast evening of work. I documented the pre-ceremony and ceremony, that's it.

Earlier this week, the girls and I had a picnic at Sams Club. That's normal, right?

Packed lunches, from home. We got a few stares, but people seemed mostly amused with this princess.

Speaking of food. Ladies night! Soup Night!

This dog tried to adopt us. He sat outside our home for 24 hours. Sorry, pup. Wrong house.

I ran 19 miles with my new running friends! This was big weekend highlight for me. I can't wait to run with them again.

It's Been a Marathon Kind of Day & I Don't Mean Running

Every semester at UTA the nursing undergraduate students participate in a pinning ceremony.
The College of Nursing has 3 different ceremonies:
1. BSN (on-campus)
2. AP-BSN (Online Students)
3. RN-BSN (On-Campus & Online Students)
Each class averages 80 students who participate.
Most semesters (for like the past 5 years) the students hire me as a freelancer photographer to take their pinning photos. Today, I worked all 3 ceremonies. 8 am. 12 pm. 3 pm. If you want to see more of what I've been up to…hop on over to domvideophoto.com
It may be a day or two before my most recent work is uploaded. On that note. I've got to go….
I hope you all have a great weekend!

Return to Sender

Recently, I ordered a handful of photo gear for my small business. I placed an order on amazon for this softbox. I had the conformation and everything.

A few days later, I recieve this….WTW?? 

It's some kind of photography product box, but not what I ordered or need. Since it was already out, I dedided to take some pics.

I'm sending it back. I don't think I would really use it. 

 

The next set of pics have nothing to do with items I need to return, I just think they are cute. Enjoy! 

Send Me Letters, Money and Chocolate

Earlier this week, I applied for a PO Box. You can look me up and send me goodies...I accept business or personal gifts. Preferably choclate, but you know I'd also settle for a gift card to Lululemon.

One of the main reasons I applied for a PO Box is because DA Video & Photography Services is now accredited with the Better Business Bureau! Instead of listing my home address, I decided a PO box is a better option. There's something about going to the post office, that really makes me feel like an adult. You'd think that having two kids would. You'd think.

What do you guys think about the BBB? I know when I see the BBB seal, I feel like that's a business who cares about customer service. If you want to check it out, here is the link to DAVP - BBB accreditation page.