Wandering in Victoria

So, on the way home from IE 2009, I stayed overnight in beautiful Victoria, BC. Having been there once briefly on a stop from our cruise to Alaska, I knew a couple of places I wanted to hit. Anyone who knows me knows that the first places I look for when visiting a new city are good pool halls. Having found Peacock Billiards on our previous visit, and being within walking distance from my hotel, I knew I would eventually end up there.

However, before taking my break there, I wanted to just wander around with open eyes and camera in hand. I was feeling a bit inspired by Jed and Vicki Taufer, whom I had worked with for the past few days. They do a lot of really cool stuff in Photoshop with layers, textures, overlays, and other fun gadgets. So I was trying to scope out architectural details, ragged walls, cool textures, etc., to photograph and take back to my studio to experiment on my own.

I captured a number of items I thought would be useful as I strolled through Chinatown, past the historic Masonic Lodge building, and down through the harbor. After I had stopped off for a couple of racks of pool at Peacock, I decided to call it a night.


As I headed back to the hotel, my path went again by the inner harbor. There was a street artist doing his fire-juggling comedy show. I stopped by to watch and snap a few shots. I was watching from the street level, using the half-wall as my 'tripod', so I could shoot long exposures.

After the show was over, and people were clearing out, I turned to the left to photograph the Parliament Building. It is outlined by hundreds of light bulbs and really looks kinda cool at night. But, as I was shooting, I saw a young couple just to my left leaning against the wall and acting young and in love. I thought, 'Hey, wouldn't it be cool if I knew them, so I could get a shot of them in the foreground, with the building in the background. Might look cool, eh?' (still in Canada, ya know). And as I started to pack it in, a little voice inside urged me toward the couple. I'm sure they were thinking I was out of my mind, approaching these total strangers as it crept towards 11:00 PM. But I introduced myself, explained what I had in mind, gave them a business card to assure them that I wasn't a serial killer, and they were quite amenable to my request. Here's the result.


*Note the funky little swirl at the top right corner. This came from the base of a lamp post in Chinatown, grunged up a bit.

Now, is this the most perfect image I have ever made? No. Is it going to win any awards at competition? No. Did I have a blast creating it, and in the process, meet a nice couple of kids in a far away land? You betcha!

I guess what I am trying to get at, in my round about way, is to get out of your comfort zone. Growth is rarely painless. I went out of my way to change the way I looked at the world, even if only for a few hours. I hope it sticks.

Thanks to Ross and Alex for humoring a weird old guy from Texas. Hope you enjoy the image. Thanks to Vicki and Jed Taufer for the inspiration to change my perspective a little.

Here' to growing pains!

O Canada

I am in beautiful Shawnigan Lake, BC at the moment, attending Image Explorations 2009. First and foremost, I have to thank Don MacGregor and Rockie Lee for inviting me up here to the Great (not-so) White North. I worked with them at Texas School last spring in College Station, and we all just clicked. They are both incredible photographers, and wonderful men whom I feel truly blessed to call my friends.
All right, enough of the serious stuff. Simply stated, this is one incredibly beautiful part of God's Creation. You really have to try if you want to take a bad photo up here. I am working with Vicki and Jed Taufer this week. They are an amazing husband/wife team from Central Illinois. Check out their website at www.vgallery.com. Great people, great artists, great business leaders.
These weeks are always exhausting and refreshing at the same time, if you can believe that. I can't realy explain it. I am usually working as a 'wrangler', which is basically a glorified gopher. Wait, check that. It's not really glorified at all, just a gopher. Seriously though, we are here to assist the instructors and school staff to make sure the school goes as smoothly as possible. It's a lot of work, but totally worth it. We usually get a chance to get to know the instructors far better than most of the students, simply because we are working closely with them, scheduling photo sessions, taking care of paperwork, putting out general fires.
Although I hate being away from my family for days so long, I really cherish these opportunities to come to schools and learn ways to improve my craft, my business and myself. The tips and techniques I learn always make it worth the time. But, the relationships and true friendships I make and renew are really the best long-term benefits. This week has been no different. Check out my Facebook page for a few pics of some of the gang. Even as I have been trying to work on this post, I have had the chance to get to know some of the folks in my class, and reconnect with old friends from schools past. All this with loud party music blasting from the DJ at 'Hawaiian Luau Night'. Only crazy photographers would come all the way to Vancouver to have a chance to break out the leis and grass skirts! Needless to say, by this time of the night, most of the cameras have been put away, and the photos that are being taken now are mostly just used for blackmail.
Come to think of it, maybe I should get to work on Daniel's college fund...

Hello, world of blog!

Wow, I finally feel like I am joining the 21st century. I know I should have done this years ago, but you can't change the past, right?

My name is Jeff Smith. I am a husband, father, music lover, avid pool player, and -- the primary reason for this blog -- a professional photographer. I have been serving the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex as such for the past ten years. I consider myself primarily a Family Portrait Artist, but along with that, photograph Weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, Corporate and Private Events, and so forth.

People ask me why I named my business Heirloom Portrait Art. It's a little wordy. Doesn't just roll off the tongue. But the reason is very simple. It is what I attempt to create with each portrait session. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. How much more, then, does a fine portrait say. It says that you value your family enough to preserve a special moment for generations to come. A portrait not only captures the faces that are important to you, but serves as a reminder of a special time, place or event.

What is the first possession that people try to save, or regret not saving, in the event of a fire or flood? It's not the huge Plasma TV, the expensive clothes or jewelry, the knick-knacks that fill so many of our lives and homes. It's the family photos. Baby's first steps. The snapshot of the five generations of family, only captured once. The beautiful wedding album.

This is my outlook on each and every portrait session I photograph. I hope and pray you will see it come through in the images I will display for you here. They may not all be perfect. They may never win awards and accolades. But if they help a mother remember a lost child fondly, or show a family grow from generation to generation, then I have done my job.

God bless.