Abel

Store openings always look effortless once the doors finally open. The signs are up, the clothes are in place and everything looks ready for customers.

What people don’t see is how much work happens before that moment.

I first had the opportunity to work with Primark here in the McAllen area. When they began preparing to open their second Texas location at Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, their team invited me to fly out and help document the store and opening week.

This wasn’t only about showing up for the ribbon cutting.

Before the store opened, I photographed it department by department. That included the larger views of the sales floor, individual displays, mannequins, signs, merchandise, checkout areas and many of the smaller details the team had spent so much time getting right.

Primark had team members come in from the East Coast to help prepare the store. They were styling displays, organizing merchandise and going back through every section to make sure everything was where it needed to be.

A jacket being moved a few inches or a display being adjusted may not sound like a big deal, but those small details are what make a finished store look put together. Customers may never notice each individual detail, but they notice when the whole space feels right.

Photographing the store also required a little more planning than one of my regular assignments.

I normally travel with several cameras, strobes, light stands and other equipment. Flying across Texas with all of that isn’t always practical, so I had to decide what I could bring, what I could leave behind and how to work with the lighting already inside the store.

Some sections were bright. Others had illuminated signs, reflective surfaces or mixed lighting that had to be handled differently. I couldn’t use the same setup for every department, so I adjusted as I moved through the store.

That is part of commercial photography that people don’t always see. Sometimes you have plenty of room and every piece of equipment you could possibly need. Other times, you work with what fits on the plane and figure out the rest once you get there.

By the time the ribbon-cutting day arrived, the store was ready and there was a lot of excitement around the opening. Primark is already well known throughout Europe, but it is still growing its presence here in the United States. For many people in El Paso, this was their first chance to shop at one without having to leave the US.

My job that day was to document the full story—the finished store, the Primark team, the ribbon cutting, the people attending and the excitement surrounding the opening.

For a company opening a new location, those photographs have a life beyond opening day. They can be used for news coverage, social media, company reports, recruiting, future presentations and to show the work that went into bringing the project together. They also give the employees and teams involved a record of what they accomplished.

This was my first assignment in El Paso, and I’m thankful that the work I had previously done for Primark in McAllen led to the invitation.

Thank you to the Primark team for trusting me to travel with my equipment and help document such an important week. It was a fun project, a good challenge and hopefully not my last opportunity to work in El Paso.

This week I had the opportunity to drive to Corpus Christi to help Driscoll Children’s Hospital document the opening of its new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Driscoll had already brought me into the project to photograph the new NICU. I documented the rooms, equipment, staff and many of the details inside the new space.

Those photographs became part of the ribbon-cutting presentation. They helped show guests what Driscoll had built and how the new NICU would serve children and families across South Texas.

More Than a Ribbon Cutting

A ribbon cutting may only last a few minutes. The work behind it can take years.

That is why I try to photograph more than the people standing onstage with scissors. I want to show the full story.

For this event, that included photos of the new facility, the medical team, the speakers and the people who came to celebrate. It also meant photographing the quieter moments before and after the ceremony. (The stuff most people don’t see but team members will remember).

Those photographs give Driscoll a record of the day. They can also use them for presentations, news coverage, recruiting, social media and future projects.

Seeing My Work on the Big Screen

One of my favorite moments happened when I walked into the room and saw my photographs on the huge screen scrolling on by – and it does give me pause and makes me wonder what happened to those kids – I always pray that everything worked out for them and I usually feel it did as I believe Driscoll is a place for healing and peace.

Thankfully, the images looked great.

More importantly, they helped the speakers share the vision behind the new NICU. The guests could see the rooms, equipment and people connected to the project while hearing why the new space matters.

That is when photography becomes more than decoration. It helps people understand the story.

The People Behind the NICU

The new area itself is impressive, but the people stood out to me even more.

Every time I work with the doctors, nurses and support staff at Driscoll, they are ready to help. They have demanding jobs, but they still make time for the photography.

They also understand why documenting their work matters.

You can tell they care about the children and families they serve. That commitment shows in the way they speak about their work. It also shows in the way they treat one another.

For them, this is not simply another building or another department. It is a place where some of the most vulnerable children in South Texas will receive care.

Telling the Full Story

Projects like this remind me why professional event coverage matters.

A few ribbon-cutting photographs may show that an event happened. A complete set of images shows what the event meant.

It shows the investment behind the project. It introduces the people who made it possible. It gives the organization photographs it can continue using long after everyone leaves.

I am proud that Driscoll trusted me to help document this part of its story. I am also grateful that my work played a role in the presentation that day.

Congratulations to the doctors, nurses, staff and everyone else involved in opening the new NICU.

Thank you for the work you continue to do for the children and families of South Texas.