Nashville,TN | Imaging USA

OMG....2010 is going to be A-maaazing!
PPA (Professional Photographers of America) organized a huge expo and workshop in Nashville, Tennessee. I was overwhelmed with so many amazing new products but John kept a tight hold of the checkbook! Dang him!!

Anyhoot, one night, we drove from the Gaylord Opryland Hotel to downtown Nashville for dinner. I brought the camera along for fun and here are some of my favorite shots!

Also, just wanted to remind you that I will not be in the studio full time until February 2. I'm taking the next few weeks to catch up on paperwork. But I will be posting some pix from sessions we did in December.














Hector Contreras,
Kirksville Photographer
studio1004.net

Galveston, Texas

Galveston, Texas is where I was born and raised and where most of my family still resides. So, John and I decided to visit the island and look for a small office space we could potentially use as a second studio. There are so many beautiful old buildings just begging to be used.

It was nice to see the ocean and fill our bellies with fresh seafood! We had jumbo shrimp just about every night!

We also got the opportunity to visit Pastor Joel Osteen at Lakewood Church in Houston. It was simply amazing to be a part of such inspirational worship.

Here are some of my favorite pictures along the way.



























Hector Contreras,
Kirksville Photographer
studio1004.net

Lyons Family

John's sister, Jana, and her family, husband Melvin and the twins, Allison and Blake, came up from KC for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Allison is usually the big ham, but a bellyache kept her from showing me her true diva style. Instead, Blake picked up the slack and showed us his GQ moves.

The first picture goes to show you that there are lots of hands that go into making a Studio 1004 shot look flawless!! Thanks Jana and John, glam squad members. :)

Here are some of my favorites.

Bubbles | our new baby girl

On Saturday, the stork stopped by our house and dropped off our 12-week-old puppy named Bubbles!





We're making great progress crate training her. It took us about 12 hours on Sunday to get her to potty outside. On Monday night, she slept through most of the night without whining. The whining seems to be the biggest challenge at this point, but a quick spray from the water gun makes her simmer down.



This picture is of her getting mad at me for putting her in the crate. I had no idea something so small could look so menacing. She must have picked up that trait from John. LOL.




Our nine-year-old Maltese, Chipper, seems to be taking to her well...so long as she doesn't get to close, although he's getting better about it. I tried to get them to play together, but he's not too keen on the idea.



However, on Tuesday night, Chipper carried around Bubbles' squeaky toy, trying his hardest to DESTROY that dang squeaker inside that thing! Meanwhile, Bubbles chased him around the house at warp speed trying to get it from him, to no avail! LOL! John and I about died laughing at these two yahoos!

New Youtube video!

As part of our early bird high school senior special, John and I produced this youtube video for your entertainment. Enjoy!

Be afraid. Be very afraid. | Nightmare on Portrait Street

It was just an ordinary Sunday evening, when we spotted an unidentified flying object with strange lights at the railroad tracks near Gibbs, Missouri. What happened next was never meant to be caught on camera.

Blake & Allison

I'm so freaking excited about the warm weather and getting behind the camera outside once again! Winter was too long.

Anyhoot, Jana, I wanted to give you a sneak peek at what's to come! I'm about to go cross-eyed at the computer, and it's past midnight. So, I'd better get to bed!

I can't wait to post the rest tomorrow evening! You are just going to die!

Funky Kitty

From a hike through the woods at Thousand Hills State Park to a commercial shoot, it was a fun-filled weekend with kids. Blake and Allison, our twin niece and nephew, are here from Kansas City for spring break. So, we took them and our niece, Tanna, for a hike to burn up some of their energy. By the end, we were all covered in mud.

Before we dropped them off at Grandma's house, we stopped at our house to wash shoes, socks, and pants. To pass the time, we decided to produce a little commercial with the kids.

One Live...two to go!

We are so freakin' excited about our new,fresh,funky and cool new high school senior portrait website! I've gotten countless headaches trying to turn my vision into a reality...but it was so worth.

The website is tailored directly to seniors and has NEW! information about the types of sessions and packages we offer. We even created some fashion tips to help you look your best!

So here's how things will work. When you go to www.studio1004.net, you will see 4 boxes titled children, seniors, weddings, blog. When you click on senior...you will ONLY see images and information pertaining to high school senior portraits. The same will hold true for weddings and children...once I have finished creating those site. (Right now, if you click on wedding and children you will be taken to our original website.)

So click here and take a look! Also, leave a comment and let me know what other information you think would be helpful to post!

Tayla G. | Birthday Session

Our little niece, Tayla Dawn, turned two years old Monday. I wanted to give her something unique as a present. So, I dressed her up, loaded her in the car with Grandma Janet and Uncle John.

Her mother probably wouldn't let her out of the house dressed like this...but I know Tayla loved it because she kept grabbing her skirt and pearls and saying, "Pretty, pretty!"

Miss Kirksville Pageant

The Miss Kirksville Pageant was quite the show! Lots of pretty dresses and cool dance routines. Our neighbor Olivia looked so adorable in her dress and crown.



One of my favorite parts of the show was the tap dance number and the ballerinas. Great costumes!







The winner of the Miss Kirksville Pageant was Kaylen Sanborn. The first runner-up was Jillian Richardson. The new Miss Kirksville will go on to compete for the title of Miss Missouri the first week of June.

Studio 1004 | behind the scenes

John and I produced this video to give our future high school senior clients a glimpse at what it's like during our sessions. We make it fun, funky, and fabulous!

Bailey Hettinger Malen

Our crazy friend Rachel came to visit her family from Springfield and she brought her little bundle of joy to see us!

Rachel literally had the back of her mother's SUV full of clothes for Bailey! We laughed and talked until we went hoarse. And we got some pretty cool shots of Bailey.

Here are some of my favorites and the link to her slideshow.