kris mcneil photography

Author Archives: Kris McNeil

• 5 on 5 december 2016

  Posted at 6:57 pm by Kris McNeil, on December 4, 2016

  A love story.

  Once upon a time, a boy who liked sticks and rocks and digging holes and fire trucks and riding bikes moved to a nice little street in a nice little town. (Ok, it was Houston, which might not be a town, but it’s still nice.)

  

  Two doors down he met a girl in his grade who also liked sticks and rocks and digging holes and fire trucks and riding bikes. They became instant best friends and they laughed and cracked each other up every chance they got.

  

  They had all kinds of adventures together. They went to school together and even dug holes together (and also got mad together when the HOA filled them back in).

  They ran in the rain.

  

  They visited the fire house and climbed all over the trucks.

  Then a few years later the boy moved away. And then the girl moved away as well. They grew up in different towns, and even different hemispheres, but they were always pen pals. As they got older, the pen pals grew into texting friends.

  One day when the boy and girl were much older, the girl happened to be visiting the town in which the boy now lived. The boy and the girl had lunch together. And lunch led to phone calls and longer phone calls until they decided that maybe they could give being more than just friends a shot. And Friend Love grew into Love of a Lifetime (which of course by now you have guessed it always was).

  

  And one day, the boy offered the girl a very old rock which had been in his family for a very long time and asked the girl if she would literally be his best friend forever. And the girl said she would.

  

  

  And they lived happily ever after.

  

  Yes, I can to say that about real life.

  And yes, I know that was 8 photos, but who’s counting? xo

  Please continue around the 5 on 5 circle and visit the wondrous work of Maureen Nichols of cottage960! You’ll be so glad you did!!

   

   

   

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  Posted in 5 on 5 | 13 Comments | Tagged 5 on 5

• 5 on 5 november 2016

  Posted at 9:00 pm by Kris McNeil, on November 4, 2016

  October was a blur! We did three races and also did a bit of traveling to see our youngest at college. My older brother and his wife live near him and this is not only piece of mind for a long distance college mama, but it means we get twofers when we go up there! We get to see everyone! Bonus! My sister-in-law put together a little pumpkin carving evening for us. Fun fun fun!

  

  My witch. Her broom handle broke, so I tried to fix it with the toothpick to no avail. Then we decided her toothpick should just be the broom handle. Who knew pumpkin carving could be so stress inducing!

  I’m still getting through my many photos from Shutter Sisters. I wrote about that here last week. I’m slowly chipping my way through them and this has been good for me.

  

  From our Mt San Jacinto State Park visit at the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. That was a gorgeous day.

  

  Catching some dreams…

  

  A little pre-election inspiration. Don’t let the bastards get you down.

  And just in case you missed it, The Cubs won the World Series. I must have paced a mile during Game 7. Holy Cow.

  

  Flying the W. Ooooooo yeah. 

  Continue around the 5 on 5 circle for more great stuff. Next stop, the fabulous work of Kim Thompson Steel

  Happy November, y’all!!

   

   

   

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  Posted in 5 on 5 | 7 Comments | Tagged 5 on 5

• Third 100 edits for the 366 Project and dealing with Impostor Syndrome

  Posted at 7:27 pm by Kris McNeil, on October 29, 2016

  201-300 are in the book! November is fast approaching and I can feel the speed picking up. Usually now is when I start on the end of the year video I do for my family. It’s a big project and I’m hoping I won’t regret the 366 when it comes to the holidays. I’ve never made it this far before! And I say 366 because the only other time I tried this was 2012, also a 366 year.

  I’ve taken on a big batch for the push into the end of the year: the shots from Shutter Sisters Oasis photographers retreat in 2012. That event was huge for me. I had met so many delightful people through online photo workshops that when the opportunity arose to get to meet a bunch of them in Palm Springs, I jumped at the chance. And then I went and was surrounded by rock star photographers/creatives. Holy Smokes. So yes, the feeling of not-good-enough for all that was a real thing. To be fair, Tracey Clark was awesome about addressing this feeling when we all arrived. Still didn’t keep those feelings away. So when I got home, I kind of needed to step away from all that and consequently, the photos went into deep freeze. But here at the end of the 366, this is the time to get them out and focus on seeing what’s there. And so far, I’m liking what I see. While I don’t need constant reassurance to work on my photography, there did come a point of just basically not wanting to look foolish and being happy in my own shoes. I can now better appreciate the brilliant work of my peers without feeling like I need to change my style to be more like their style. And this is nice, as is everyone I encountered along this journey of photography.

  

  Floral clips from Shutter Sisters Oasis

  

  Play

  A delightful thing happened recently that also made me feel the time was right for this batch. I was flying last week and happened to be boarding the plane behind the husband of a “photo friend”. I had never met this gentleman, but I recognized his name on his bag from Facebook and introduced myself. I messaged my friend before take off and she said she was picking him up so maybe we’d run into each other. And there she was when we departed the terminal. I got a hug and she said, “Today is 4 years since Shutter Sisters.” Coincidence?

  

  Wire Bird in a Cage

  Photos 201-300 are in a little video here.

  Photos 1-100 are here: here.

  Photos 101-200 are here.

  and the whole album with photo descriptions is here.

  Thanks for looking!

  

   

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  Posted in 365 2017, video | 3 Comments

• 5 on 5 october 2016

  Posted at 9:43 pm by Kris McNeil, on October 4, 2016

  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!

   

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  Posted in 5 on 5 | 3 Comments | Tagged 5 on 5, Angie, Houston

• 5 on 5 september 2016

  Posted at 6:56 am by Kris McNeil, on September 5, 2016

  What is it about the end of August that makes it feel like everything is in fast forward? Years of getting ready for back to school? Christmas trees and wreaths out at the stores? Knowing that Pumpkin Spice Madness will be here soon? For runners, is it the Groundhog Day like excitement of knowing there are only six more weeks of nearly unbearable summer training until the heat finally breaks? Well, in Texas anyway. (Heat training = hidden speed! Bonus! Woohoo!)

  This year, it was that I only had my college aged youngest son home for a very short time because he opted to do a summer course. So he was home for a little bit in May, and a little bit in August. Being an empty nester now, I’m soaking up every second I can when he’s home or when I visit him at school. I always appreciated all the time I had when my boys lived at home. (Well, let’s be honest, most of it. There were a few episodes I could have lived without.) Still, appreciating every day, week, month, year with your kids doesn’t slow time down. Shocker, right?! It does however make the scarce days I do have with him all that much more special.

  So we soaked up as much fun as we could in the few weeks we had. He humors me.

  On a midnight train to Georgia. Well, actually a 6:30am flight to Georgia. We made a 36 hour journey to see one of his favorite bands, Twenty One Pilots. He missed the show here in Texas because he was at school. Yay for airline miles and hotel points for getting to do this on the cheap!

  Don’t trust a perfect person and don’t trust a song that’s flawless. Twenty One Pilots.

  Love is all you need. When we went back to Indiana to move him from his summer apartment to his sophomore year apartment, we went with some family to see a Beatles tribute band. This was a blast. We got to imagine and twist and shout and shake it up, baby.

  I lava you. Mad ukulele skills.

  I see the Moon and the Moon sees me,
  And the moon sees the one that I can’t see.
  God Bless the Moon and God Bless me,
  And God Bless the one that I can’t see.

  From my plane trip home. I’m such a sucker for the window seat, especially at sunrise and sunset. As my son says, “We’re all four years old about something.” I’m also a bit sappy about the fact that we all share the moon. A bit more sappy that I share it with my kids. And that’s your Hallmark moment of the day.

  Happy Autumn!

  Keep following the 5 on 5 circle with a visit to Maureen Nichols of Cottage 960!

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• 5 on 5 august 2016

  Posted at 11:59 pm by Kris McNeil, on August 4, 2016

  I admit it. I’m a Texas summer wimp. I’m not alone, but I like to tell my husband that I’m a delicate flower. And then of course he rolls his eyes at me. At the end of July we escaped the boiler room that is Houston for a few days and went to Wyoming where my father-in-law and his wife summer about an hour outside Cody. They are the smart ones. Winter in Houston. Summer in Wyoming. I need to take some lessons there.

  

  Driving in from Billings, Montana. Long story, but after a cancelled flight and getting seats on another airlines, we managed to touch down within driving distance. Though to quote Steven Wright, “Anywhere is walking distance if you have the time.” This view makes it all worth it.

  We had a relaxing and fun time and, of course, there is always something interesting to photograph.

  

  Scott, the gentleman who works at the ranch, collects shed antlers and when the truck is full, he hauls them into Cody and sells them. Many become dog treats, but some become chandeliers. The shedding of antlers is a natural process, so these really are just found. Scott even has one of his dogs trained to sniff these out.

  I was fortunate to be up there when Tamara Gooch and Jess Lee were holding a Wyoming photography workshop nearby. Sarah, who is Scott’s wife, hooked me up for part of one evening when they were shooting models on horses and it was a blast! Alas, we didn’t get to shoot very long as we had some rain roll in, but I think I need to go back for one of their other workshops and do the whole multi-day event. You can see more of Tamara’s and Jess’s stunning work here.

  

  My favorite from the evening workshop shoot. She wasn’t actually “modeling” by this time, but was kind enough to wait for me to pop a few shots before bringing in her horse.

  We did get into Yellowstone one day just for some drive time and small bit of hiking.

  

  Lower Falls, Yellowstone National Park

  My husband and his dad did a lot of fishing. My husband had a black bear jump into the river and swim across about 50 yards from where he was wading. In choosing between snapping a photo and backing the hell up, he did what I probably would not have done and so there are no bear shots. But I did get to bring my husband home in one piece and that’s always a good day. Who knew fishing could be so drama filled?! The rest of the trip was muuuuch more restful. Thank goodness!

  

  Life is good when you’re a Wyoming Dogg.

  Keep on going around the circle for more good stories and photos! Next in the circle is the beautiful work of Sandra Grimm.

   

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• Second 100 Days

  Posted at 9:02 am by Kris McNeil, on July 20, 2016

  Over 200 days are gone in 2016! Here is the video I made of my second 100 edits for the year. The first 100 days can be seen here.

  The full album is here.

  Thanks for watching! xoxo

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• The Tale of a 366 Project

  Posted at 10:05 pm by Kris McNeil, on July 12, 2016

  This year I decided to make another run at a 366 project. I tried this in 2012, and alas, the project died a very sad quiet death on Day 194. Today is Day 194 for 2016. Will she make it til Day 195?  I think I can, I think I can! Of course, I may have to go with the 366 thing from now on. I’ll be like leap year and come around every four years.  Hah!

  What is different this time around is that I’m not trying to shoot and edit and post all in the same day. Hell, being an empty nester now, some days I barely make it out of my pajamas. This time around is all about editing for me. Shooting isn’t my problem. I love love love to shoot. Where I struggle is sitting down long enough to edit when it’s just for me. So far 2016 is working because I have a big enough backlog of shots waiting for love and adding a heaping lump of guilt over that compelled me to clean house! I have powered through a lot of travel photos, starting with a 2010 trip to Paris and London.

  

  Chapel of Saint Madeleine, Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris

  

  Elizabeth Tower, Big Ben, London. Fun fact: It is the actual bell that is Big Ben, not the Tower itself. Fun fact two: The tower was known as St Stephen’s Tower until the diamond jubilee of Queen Elizabeth in 2012. 

  I followed those with a trip we took in 2015 to Zurich, Prague, Berlin, and Amsterdam. Yes lots of travel stuff because I shoot lots and lots on vacation and those are the most neglected images. Once we get home it’s like trying to eat the proverbial elephant. Holy guacamole, where to start? This on top of the unpacking and laundry? Ahhhh!

  

  Lake Zurich

  

  Old Town Square, Prague

  

  Driving and walking through the site of the Berlin Wall.

  

  Amsterdam. A lover of light can get a little drunk here. 

  The biggest challenge came when we went to Hong Kong for a week and I came home with close to 2000 shots. (No we didn’t sleep much on this trip, why do you ask?) When we got home, I got right to the editing. This time, not only am I am a pajama clad empty nester, but I have more editing confidence than I did in 2010 when I was learning something new about digital editing everyday and repeatedly starting over with Paris and London. And while I’m still always learning, knowing how to start was key.

  I’m definitely part of the photographic sandwich generation. A gal who cut her teeth on film who has gone wild in a digital world of having a new ISO at the twist of a dial or composing one image for black and white and the next in color all without wasting half a roll of film with each change of want or need. These new fangled digital boxes might just be a hit after all.

  I’ll admit that Lightroom has become my best friend in this endeavor. Bam – same dust mark off the sky in 10 photos…Kapow – 5 images now synced as black and white with reduces blacks, popped contrast and an oh so subtle vignette. Sigh, I love you, Lightroom.

  

  Street sweeper, Hong Kong

  While the whole of my 366 year thus far has not been travel, I have made a big dent in my backlog of images. When I started, I was nervous about where to start. Now I’m nervous that I won’t know what to do when I get through it all. I know I know, keep shooting and do a 365 like a real photographer. I also have all my mom’s slides to scan and clean up. Maybe that’s next year’s 365? For now, this is working for me.  I feel a little like Samwise Gamgee, “If I take one more step, it’ll be the farthest away from home I’ve ever been.” I look forward to Day 195.

  Video: First 100 Days of Edits

  Second 100 days video to come!

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• 5 on 5 july 2016

  Posted at 1:00 am by Kris McNeil, on July 5, 2016

  Coming together and letting go.

  If we are friends on Facebook, you may have seen some of my posts from February and March about my mom’s passing and how I sorted through the days that followed. I appreciate all the love and support that you offered to me and my family in those days. You guys are the best.

  This past Saturday, we did my mom’s interment. We didn’t do this when we had her funeral for several reasons, one of which being that while she had lived for the past twenty years in Indiana, she was to be buried in Illinois next to my dad. In March we had her funeral and it truly was a fabulous celebration of who she was. There were so many people and an abundant outpouring of love and Oliver Soft White Wine – her favorite – not mine. I’ll just say that I think my mom had better taste in books than she did alcoholic beverages. She would have replied, “Then that’s more for me!”

  

  My dad’s name was Jerome, but he never used that. He went by “Jerry”. Family knew him as “Coke”. Back in the late 1930s, there was a radio show which featured a character called Little Cokey. My grandfather said Little Cokey reminded him of my dad and thus a nickname was given and stuck. 

  And while all that saying goodbye was going on, we still had to plan her burial. We chose July 4th because it offered a three day weekend on which most everyone would be available. Four months have now passed since my mom’s death and while the sorrow isn’t as acute, I think it’ll just linger on the fringes for a little while longer. I still catch myself wanting to call her to ask her something or share something with her. Last Wednesday I had my first “oh that’s Mom” experience when I had to find a piece of paper for the memorial on my desk and knew it was going to mean an hour of cleaning it off when – ta dah – there was the paper right on top. Something I hadn’t seen in four months. Don’t ask me to explain. I just knew it was her. (Thanks, Mom!)

  

  I pulled all the rose petals off the roses from my mom’s funeral back in March and shipped them off to be made into rosaries and bracelets. They all turned out so lovely and the rose scent is divine. They were made by Rachel at Rose Rosaries and Jewelry.  The paper I was looking for had the list of who got what type of rosary and so forth.

  My dad passed away six weeks before my wedding twenty-seven years ago. I’ve always felt the sadness of what he missed all these years because he would have loved his grandkids: five grown grandsons and one three year old granddaughter who would have completely stolen his heart (as she did my mom’s). I tell my boys how much he would have appreciated the things they and their cousins did and do. He would have been very proud. My nephews got to know him some when they were little, but damn, all those boys would have had a great time with him now as adults.

  My mom got to watch the all boys grow up. And just when her youngest grandson turned 16, she got to have the joy of new granddaughter (he was a good sport about handing off the title of “The Baby”.) She got to watch all the school things, graduations, weddings and celebrations. And she loved it all. She loved us all.

  

  First Cousins: Two of my nephews and my little niece with my boys, my oldest nephew’s wife and my oldest son’s girlfriend.  

  While we were back in Illinois, I gave my kids the tour of the area where my grandparents lived and my dad had grown up. My parents lived there for about 18 years after they married, and then my dad started taking overseas transfers, so we left when I was about 10. I have very little close family there these days, so I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to go back there. Still, driving around to all the old houses, churches and little neighborhoods that were part of my family for decades before I came along always makes me feel connected. For a girl who spent the majority of her life moving every 3-4 years, this is saying something. It was a real treat for me to share this with my kids.

  

  Today this is a duplex, but back in the 1930s and 40s, it was the neighborhood grocery store that my grandparents owned and ran.  

  It is said that funerals are for the living and I’ve always believed that. We lean on each other and it makes us all stronger. My siblings, our kids, all of us. We spent five days together between her passing and her funeral. Lots of tears were shed, but so much laughter was heard as well. This past weekend, more laughter than tears. This family that carried on after my dad died will carry on now that my mom has joined him. And I’m pretty sure they would have loved that too.

  

  The family of Coke & Brenda.

  Please continue around the 5 on 5 circle by visiting the art of Kim Thompson Steel. You’ll be glad you did!

  XO

  K

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  Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments | Tagged 5 on 5, Brenda

• 5 on 5 june 2016

  Posted at 1:00 am by Kris McNeil, on June 5, 2016

  And blooooowwwww…. the dust from my blog. Again. You wouldn’t have to scroll down too far too see that my last post was, eh-hem, a year and half ago and that, ummm, the last time I blew the dust off my blog is only one post after that. Yikes. This page is just the last corner of the photo garden to get any love. Poor blog. I really do love  you.

  However, I am inspired anew! I have been accepted into a brilliant collaboration of nine other photographers who are collectively part of a 5 on 5 circle. On the fifth of the month, we each post five photos and link to another blog in the circle.  That’s ten posts and fifty shots every month. I’m pretty darn excited to be included in such a lovely group. I’m also excited by the challenge of shooting and editing more again. Having set some goals for myself this year, this is a step in the right direction. I hope you’ll take a peak each month and follow the circle around for some good stuff.

  Right now I am in the throes of editing all my shots from our Hong Kong trip. Trying to pick just five for this post took me a while. I wanted to share some I haven’t posted elsewhere. Hopefully come time for 5 on 5 July, I’ll be past the HK editing.

  Thank you, Kim Thompson, for including me in the circle!

  

  Dried Fish in the Market, Hong Kong. The markets were just overwhelmingly full of colors and smells and movement. We had many “We’re not in Texas, anymore!” moments.

  

  Cat Street Market. I didn’t notice until I was editing that the stall keeper was looking right at me. I was warned by more than one guide that shopkeepers who gamble believe that to take their photo is to take their luck and that I could get into trouble if they see me shooting them. I made a conscious effort to avoid shooting when they were looking. Lucky for me he didn’t get mad! There are lots of gorgeous antiques here along with many old items of Maoist Chinese and Soviet era propaganda. And Bruce Lee posters. We were here on a very rainy day and had the market mostly to ourselves.

  

  Incense burning in the Man Mo Temple. The Catholic girl in me just loved all the incense in the temples we visited. Common ground!

  

  Tian Tan Buddha at Lantau. Also know as “The Big Buddha”. We climbed over 250 steps to reach him. Worth every step.

  

  A little afternoon tea. I drank soooo much tea on this trip. It was all just heavenly. Sigh, I think I’ll go brew some up right now.

  To continue following the 5 on 5 circle, click to view the awesome photos of Sandra Grimm!

   

   

   

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