From where I sit

Wrapping up my last senior portrait session of 2025 felt like a full-circle moment.

Senior sessions are always fun, but there’s something especially cool about photographing someone who’s just starting their journey. There’s excitement there. A bit of nervous energy. A sense that everything is still wide open – you can do anything kind of vibe.

I’ve been doing portraits since the early 2000s—back when my “digital workflow” involved a Sony Mavica and floppy disks. Back then, I was photographing people who were just stepping into adulthood, not knowing where life would take them. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of seeing how some of those stories turned out.

Every now and then, one of those seniors comes back.

Sometimes it’s for engagement photos.
Sometimes for a wedding.
Eventually, it’s family portraits.

Watching people hit those milestones—career, marriage, kids—is something I never take for granted. It’s kind of wild when someone will call me that I haven’t heard from in years but they know what I’ve been up to because of my silly posts on Facebook and on Instagram (I keep things casual and never pretend to be an artist).

From Seniors to Weddings

I don’t photograph as many weddings as I used to. These days, I cap it at about five weddings a year, and that’s completely by choice (there’s a lot of planning that goes into them). The ones I do photograph tend to mean more because there’s often history there. I’ve seen them grow up. I’ve watched their lives unfold in chapters.

That connection changes everything.

It’s very different from my commercial work—and honestly, that’s part of what I love about it. Commercial projects are super polished, strategic, and fast. Portrait work, especially senior sessions, is slower and more personal. It’s about capturing a moment right before life shifts.

The Start of Something New

This last senior session of the year was a reminder of why I still love doing this. You’re not just taking photos—you’re documenting a starting line. A version of someone that only exists for a brief moment in time. Sometimes when I see them again, they’ve changed so much that I don’t recognize them anymore.

Being trusted with that is a blessing.

As 2025 comes to a close, I’m grateful for the families who keep coming back, for the seniors who remind me where it all begins, and for the chance to step away from the commercial world once in a while and photograph something real, personal, and meaningful.

Here’s to new journeys—and to watching where they lead.

The past couple of weeks gave me one of those reminders of why I still love this work.

I spent an entire week photographing commercial signage for Driscoll Children’s Hospital, and while the assignment itself was focused and technical, I ended up being part of a larger media team—which made the experience even better. There’s something energizing about working alongside other creatives, each of us focused on our own role but all moving toward the same goal.

One unexpected highlight was getting a front-row seat to drone operations. I wasn’t flying that week, but I was learning—watching techniques, camera movements, and how decisions change when weather turns cold and windy. Standing there, bundled up, watching a drone operator calmly fly precise paths in less-than-ideal conditions was impressive. You never stop learning in this job, and I really enjoy those moments where you can just watch and learn.

Then the following Monday, the pace shifted—from documentation to celebration.

That night was the Driscoll Electric Parade, and it couldn’t have been more different in tone—in the best way possible. The parade is designed to bring the holiday experience directly to the children and families at Driscoll, especially those who can’t easily leave the hospital. As a photographer and storyteller, what stood out to me most wasn’t just the lights or the floats— it was the excitement from the kids and the families.

The parade was a lot smaller than the one I had just covered in McAllen but the excitement was there and the kids were all waiting for Santa. Some watched from outside, bundled up and cheering. Others watched from inside the hospital, leaning toward their windows, waving and shouting when Santa passed by. Seeing kids looking down from their rooms, cheering Santa on, was one of those moments that sticks with you.

The floats weren’t just bright—they were thoughtful. Characters paused. Drivers waved. Music was timed. Volunteers made sure attention wasn’t focused in just one direction. It felt less like a parade passing through and more like a parade meant for them.

That’s what impressed me most.

Being there as part of the media team gave me a deeper appreciation for how much effort goes into making sure everyone feels the magic—especially those who need it most. It wasn’t about spectacle for spectacle’s sake. It was about joy, connection, and giving families a shared moment during what can otherwise be a difficult season.

Weeks like this—moving from structured commercial work to emotionally grounded storytelling—are a good reminder of why I value variety in what I shoot. Whether it’s signage, behind-the-scenes media work, or documenting moments of joy, it all comes back to the same thing: telling stories that matter.

And this one definitely did.

It had been a long time since I’d been on the ground covering the Official McAllen Parade, so when I was invited back to work with the City of McAllen, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect I just knew it was getting bigger and bigger every year.

I’ll be honest—while I still love events, I don’t attend them the way I used to. My kids aren’t as young anymore, and life after the pandemic has shifted the way I do things. But wow—McAllen went all out for the 2025 parade.

From the moment things got rolling, it was clear this wasn’t just another holiday event. The streets were packed. There were balloons everywhere, beautifully designed floats, and a level of detail that showed how much care the city put into every element. Each float felt intentional—unique, thoughtful, and built to be experienced by the crowd, not just passed by.

One unexpected highlight for me was getting the chance to meet Danny Trejo. I almost never take photos with celebrities—an old 90s news director drilled that rule into me years ago—but let’s be real… when else am I going to run into Danny Trejo at work? We talked for a little bit about his charities, snapped a photo, and he was genuinely kind and down-to-earth. A small moment, but a memorable one.

The media presence alone said a lot about the scale of the event. Multiple stations were set up across different locations, each network covering their own angle of the parade. I worked primarily around the McAllen Stadium area, and even there, the crowd was thick—families packed in, waiting, watching, celebrating.

One of my favorite details wasn’t visual at all—it was sounds! Hearing the crowd chant “¡Vuelta! ¡Vuelta!” at the larger floats never gets old. And when a float couldn’t pull off the turn, you could hear the playful disappointment ripple through the crowd. Still, watching the teams maneuver those massive floats gave me a new appreciation for how difficult that job really is. They tried their best, and it showed.

Of course, the biggest reaction of the night belonged to Santa himself. Kids lit up when he appeared, and that energy carried through the rest of the parade. Between the soap snow, kids cheering for their favorite Dallas Cowboys players rolling by on floats, and families hanging out together enjoying it all —it was one of those nights where the city felt fully alive. Felt good to be a photographer.

For me, personally, one of the best parts was reconnecting. Saying hello to friends I hadn’t seen in a while. Catching up, even briefly. That’s become a recurring theme in my journal and in these posts. Since the pandemic, I don’t get out as much, so moments like this feel like a gift—a reminder of how important community still is.

Covering the 2025 McAllen Parade wasn’t just about documenting an event. It felt like coming full circle. A chance to witness McAllen at its best, surrounded by people celebrating together, and to be reminded why I fell in love with storytelling in the first place.

Each year, the City of McAllen Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony kicks off the holiday season in the Rio Grande Valley. This year, I had the chance to cover the event again—my first time photographing it in nearly a decade. And wow… McAllen didn’t just grow during that time—they went all in.

What used to be a simple community gathering has transformed into a massive holiday production filled with lights, music, families, and that iconic McAllen Christmas spirit. The crowds packed the plaza, the stage production was bigger than ever, and everywhere I turned, I saw kids smiling, parents taking photos, and families making memories together.

As a commercial and event photographer based in Mission and McAllen, I’m lucky to document so many moments throughout the year—but there’s something special about this event. It’s nostalgic, energetic, and warm in that uniquely RGV way.

Reconnecting With the City of McAllen

Working again with the City of McAllen after nearly 10 years felt like a full-circle moment for me. The city commissioners were fantastic to work with, and the energy behind the scenes matched the excitement out front.

And in classic RGV fashion, I even bumped into friends I hadn’t seen in more than 25 years—including a few still rocking the broadcast world over at KGBT. Holidays have a way of unexpectedly reconnecting you with your past.

Santa, Lights, and a Little Probation

One of the highlights?
I can officially confirm that I’m still on Santa’s nice list… but barely. I think he has me on seasonal probation.

Between Santa’s visit, the massive Christmas tree lighting up the area, and the families lining up for photos, the whole night felt alive. These are the types of events that remind me why I love photographing the Rio Grande Valley—they’re joyful, community-centered, and full of heart.

Capturing McAllen’s Holiday Magic

Events like the McAllen Christmas Tree Lighting are more than big productions—they’re traditions that families return to year after year. My goal as a photographer is to document these moments with a clean, magazine-inspired style that tells the story of the community: the laughter, the lights, the excitement, and the connections between people.

If your business, organization, or city department is hosting a holiday event in the RGV and you’re looking for professional coverage, I’d love to help you tell your story.

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Need Event Photography in McAllen, Mission, or the RGV?

Let’s talk about capturing your next event with clean, high-quality commercial imagery that highlights your brand and your community.

You’d think that as a commercial photographer — someone who spends their days capturing polished branding images, corporate events, and headshots that make people look confident and capable — I’d have my digital life perfectly under control.

Yeah… about that. #fakenews

My website got hacked.
abelriojas.com was basically ambushed, trashed, and left looking like the digital equivalent of a hotel room after a 80’s rock band checks out. Someone thought it would be cute to leave tons of links to over seas casinos and internet scams and the more I tried cleaning it out the worse it became. (Think of playing “Whack-a-mole”)

One day everything was fine, the next day my galleries, posts, and carefully curated portfolio were replaced with… fake news articles, spam, and even fake photos from stock image libraries. Who knows how long it had been going on but it happened and what’s done is done.

So here we are: rebuilding from scratch.
(Which is ironic, because I spend half my career telling brands, “Consistency is everything.”)

What Went Down (Insert Dramatic Detective Music)

Without getting too technical: someone broke in, messed with my files, and turned my site into a puzzle with half the pieces missing. The old version of the site still floats around the Wayback Machine, which is kind of cool… like finding an old roll of film, except the photos are of your website before it got mugged.

The Bright Side: A Forced Makeover

After the shock and several “why me?” moments, I realized something worth admitting:

This might actually be a blessing disguised as a catastrophic inconvenience.

My old site worked, sure — but starting fresh gives me a chance to rebuild with intention. To create something that reflects what I do now:

• Clean commercial photography
• Branding images that help businesses show their best selves
• Corporate event coverage without the “deer in headlights” moments
• Professional headshots — the real bread and butter

Plus: stronger security, faster loading, and a layout that works better for the way people search in 2026.

The Plan Moving Forward

This reboot means:

• A more polished portfolio
• Updated galleries featuring recent work
• Easier navigation for clients
• A blog that actually gets regular updates (please hold your applause)
• Better SEO so people looking for a South Texas commercial photographer can actually find me
• And definitely no more hackers — fingers crossed

Think of this as abelriojas.com: The Rebuild.
A cleaner, sharper, tougher version — kind of like a headshot after retouching, but for a website.

Thanks for Sticking Around

If you’re reading this, thanks for hanging with me through this little adventure. I’ll be posting updates, new work, behind-the-scenes content, and helpful info for clients as the site grows back into something I’m proud to show the world.

And yes — this time I’m backing everything up like a paranoid squirrel.

More coming soon.
Let’s pretend this was all part of the plan.

I spent a lot of time in Harlingen back when I was in college and working there. For a while, it honestly felt like the city hadn’t changed much since the 90s while other parts of the Valley kept growing.

That’s why it was good to be back and see how much is starting to happen.

ASI hired me to photograph the groundbreaking for a new hotel coming to Harlingen. The mayor spoke about the growth taking place in the city and the opportunities being created throughout Cameron County.

Groundbreakings are interesting to photograph because you’re documenting the very beginning of a project. Right now, it’s an open piece of land, a rendering, some hard hats and shovels. Eventually, it’ll be a finished hotel bringing more visitors, jobs and activity to the area.

Thank you to Alamo System Industries for trusting me to document the beginning of this project. It was also good to return to Harlingen and see the city moving forward.

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.