This is a blast from the past. Hockey in South Texas…well Hidalgo Texas to be exact.
For a few years I was part of a marketing team that helped the local CHL hockey affiliate here in South Texas and I’d help out with photos every now and then. I will say this, it really taught me how to shoot manual and the value of understanding any shoot.
I know a lot of hockey traditionalists look down on this but you have to admit the fights were always a lot of fun to watch.
Who knows, maybe one day hockey will return to South Texas. Stranger things have happened around there…look at Space X
Throwback Thursday:There’s just something special about having someone come to your home / office to do the work.It’s just so much easier than driving across town and waiting for who knows how long to get a picture taken.For the last few years we’ve ditched the traditional photo studio and went with a mobile setup.
This is just a quick look at one of our headshot sessions with the Mission Chamber. Simplicity is the key to everything as I take all the lights and equipment to the location and set up in a pretty small area.Believe it or not this doesn’t have a big foot print so we’ve been able to set up in some really cramped areas. We’ve shot right next many christmas trees and even a storage closet or two.
If you’d like to set something up let me know just visit our contact page and we’ll get you going!
What a great Wednesday morning we had here in the RGV.
I took advantage of the weather and headed out to Harlingen to get some real estate photo so we could get some commercial property listed quickly. It was really touch and go during the weekend with that storm that was brewing in the gulf and it set back several of our projects because no one knew where it was going.
Needless to say I think the Rio Grande Valley dodged a bullet and it’s been nice mornings every day so far and the skies have been clear.
Clear weather to work in and it’s not scorching hot outside, just some of life’s little blessings.
I saw this posted by John Maxwell this morning and it made me think of just how my life has unfolded. Everyone has a story to tell and experiences to share. It’s crazy just how much some people have lived and what they’ve seen in such a short time.
Evelyn Cano was kind enough to take this behind the scenes photo of me working last week and it kinda all clicked. In my line of work, I hate saying “Job”, I have learned from everyone. I have seen the word “hustle” evolve from a negative connotation to something positive and meaning you get what you you reap what you sow.
I still remember my chief photographer giving me tips on how to deal with people in adverse situations in the 90s to how people want to have their voices heard during a social media era in my last project. I was given the opportunity to work with Disability Chamber or Commerce RGV and highlight some of their achievements and what their hope are for their organization.
It was great hearing how McAllen and the Rio Grande Valley has become more inclusive to all walks of life. It’s not perfect but it’s a start and they’re defiantly on their way.
I’ve spent the last two hours just looking though old photos from 4th of July parades that I’ve covered over the years for the city of McAllen. I’ve found a lot of friends in photos and even a few gems like this one. I took this photo of former congressman Kika De La Garza during the parade and even had a chance to talk to him for a bit after the event. This one was from 2012 right in the middle of downtown McAllen.
I can’t wait till things “normalize” again. I was looking through some of my wedding photography archives from years past and I ran into this photo (it’s pretty much right out of camera). The wedding had already happened at their folks ranch and we were setting up for an evening photoshoot right on the property line but no one worried about much other than having fun.
If I remember correctly they actually had the World Series playing in the background because they had so many guests from Houston attending and the Astros were on their way to winning it all that evening. #goodtimes. #eventphotographer
Class of 2020 we’re still doing on location senior portraits!
And that’s a wrap for Samantha’s portrait session. The hardest part of any High School Senior Portrait session is trying to figure out which was your favorite photo of all of them. I had to narrow down the session from well over 400 frames I shot to about 50 (plus or minus a few).
Now it’s time to go back to editing senior portraits. On my Instagram stories I spoke a little bit about how we do what we do and this is the end result. She was awesome to work with and made my job really easy so it’s just smoothing out very little details to make sure we have what we wanted. #CommercialPhotographer#RGVPhotographer#portraits
Well it’s Friday and I’m still archiving photos from Class of 2020. Incase you’re wondering we’re still shooting them as they’re important and very much part of any High School Senior’s year.
This lovely photo was taken on location here in Mission by Shary Plantation and we chose one of the random mesquite trees. Often I’m asked where I take my photos and I’ll always ask a customer if they have a special area to shoot at or if they have any favorite locations. I have my own little list but it’s always cool to find something new.
If you’re part of the graduating class of 2020 or even 2021 let me know if you’d like to shoot something. Yes it’s summer and it’s going to be warm but the upshot is this is a pretty good stretch of downtime and we can work with your ideas!.
Yesterday I received a phone call from the McAllen Chamber asking me questions about how the business has changed during the whole lock down. It was a great 10-15 minute conversation but I didn’t know they would be publishing it so quickly.
Like a lot of other businesses we had to pivot quickly and were able to get back into the game pretty quickly. Right now we’re busy knocking out Senior Portraits little by little and also producing commercial videos for local clients that need to get their messages onto social media quickly. I’ll do a whole other article on it another day but I just wanted to stop in and say Thank you to the McAllen Chamber for all that they’ve done for the chamber members.
After twenty years of being in the photography business, Abel V. Riojas has seen his fair share of adversity. In fact, Riojas estimates the economic downturn brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic is the fourth recession he’s lived through. Over time, he’s taken some lessons and applied them to his business, Abel Riojas Photography.
“I’ve had to learn to be reactive and not just sit by idly,” said Riojas. “You have to learn how to serve others. When you’re out serving other people, your network expands and you see the seeds of that being planted.”
In serving others, Riojas has seen a shift in the work he does. Now, he finds himself doing more commercial videos that paint stories of the businesses he works with.
“We like to showcase why businesses do what they do; you have to be able to show that,” Riojas explained. “People want to feel like they’re a part of your story.”
Helping businesses bounce back after major hits due to the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed Riojas to “re-educate” himself and “figure out how to be an asset to other people.”
“If you’re able to control your thoughts, in a positive way, you’ll come out better on the other side,” said Riojas.
Throwback Thursday:
