kris mcneil photography

And so continues my year of editing photos I didn’t work on when I originally shot them. This set in particular has been on my mind for a while. It wasn’t a large set, so maybe that is why I just kept putting them aside. Editing these was a bit of a wake up call though, even after being immersed in this 366 project for 279 days now.

I spent this day in Houston with my amazingly brilliant friend Angie Dornier. Angie is one of those friends who started as a “photo friend” through Big Picture photography classes and Shutter Sisters, but I’m honored to say is now just my “friend”. It didn’t take us long to figure out we both lived in the Houston area and now we try to get together as often as we can just to go on photo walks and have coffee and brain storm. Many times it’s “Hey, I’ll be in Houston, let’s get lunch!” Of course we both know that means we’re bringing our big girl cameras, but we also try to be thoughtful about to where we head. Yes, we tend to hang out in picturesque areas with nice light. It’s nice to have friends who get it.

Angie’s work, her energy and her creativity are inspirational, as is her heart and the way she gives back to her community through her art. She isn’t just a wonderful photographer. She teaches photography to school children and also to women who are staying in Angela House (a halfway house for the recently incarcerated). Angie has an ability to voice the art of composition and perspective to people who have never thought about it. Through her teaching, kids and adults alike see things in a new way, literally and figuratively. Angie recently did a photo series about some of the women she has met at Angela House. You can see these images here.

On this day, Angie had wanted to shoot some different set ups on a backdrop and then we took a short walk in town. The wake up call came for me when I went looking for this batch of photos to edit and realized that is wasn’t just a few months ago that I shot these. It was a year and half ago. And that’s not right. I think I’m getting better about this sort of thing though. Deciding what I want to be when I grow up through lots of editing. Visiting old paths to create the new one. The challenge push for the end of the year is to do my shots from Shutter Sisters Oasis, but that’s a story for another day.

Angie’s Red Tulips.

The incomparable Angie shooting bolts in a door.

Shoes on a Wire.

Happy bobblehead Mardi Gras kings. If you’re ever in Houston during Lent (also known as Carnival Season), order a king cake from Acadian Bakery. It’s not Lafayette, sha, but it is the best in Houston. Yummm.

Angie and I stopped at Silver Street Studios to check out some of the new exhibits and dream of renting a space there. This was shot on the loading dock because I can’t resist an interesting door.

Bonus pic! Along the sidewalk.

Five on five continues with the work of Sandra Grimm!