Category Archives: Texas

New Years at The Ranch

Last August, I may have found one of my top three favorite places in Texas. This ranch in the middle of the Hill Country is amazing. Beautiful, relaxing, peaceful. It’s my perfect getaway. I have way too many photographs to share in one post so I’ll start off with some of my favorites.

Cows. I have a soft spot for these herefords.

There’s also these African animals. Wildebeests, kudu, oryx… amazing.

The wildebeests and the cows, well it turns out they’re friends. They were hanging out peacefully. (I’m still trying to figure out if I should or shouldn’t be surprised by this.) Wildebeests are pack animals. Turns out you can be exiled from the group. We saw a solo wildebeest who was out on his lonesome.

The kudu (the animal with the twisty horns below) were terrified of us. It was hard to grab a photo of them up close. Maybe next time.

Its so amazing to see these animals roaming around. I’m pretty certain this was a day in paradise to photograph and watch.

Then there were the turkeys simply taking a stroll.

Now I’m really excited – the elk! (I’ve saved the best for last.) This past summer, I saw one or two elk from afar hanging out in a lake. This visit, I was in for an incredible surprise. Our tickets were front row and center. First off, there was no fence between us and elk. And they are so beautiful. We had stopped to take some photos of the African game and the elk followed us over. They were ready for their photo-opp and to photobomb. How many can say they’ve been photobombed (or taken selfies) with a herd of elk? I’m fairly certain that we could’ve just grabbed some chairs, opened a cooler and sat and watched them all afternoon.

I couldn’t have thought of a better place to be at the start of the new year. The perfect company, beautiful scenery and the best place to enjoy the outdoors.

Cheers for an amazing 2016 to you and yours!

Mother-Daughter Christmas Cheer Photo Session

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There is nothing better than spending this time of year with loved ones! This year, I had the privilege of taking family photos for this mother-daughter duo in the Fort Worth Stockyards. Filled with happiness, cheer and can I say, they couldn’t have picked out cuter outfits, capturing memories with these two was (as always) a great time. The Fort Worth Stockyards really lived up to par presenting a rustic, holiday feel. The pictures came out amazing! I hope you love them as much as I do. Here is a peek into their Christmas photo session in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

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Welcome to Cooper, Texas

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Driving down Texas roads, there’s really no telling where one might end up. You could come across a big ole city like Dallas, Austin or San Antonio or there’s hundreds of little towns in between (like Cooper). Some will say, all the small towns look alike. I beg to differ. Each has their unique traits whether it be a crazy looking old house on the corner, a killer high school football stadium that is what “Friday Night Lights” is all about or it could be the population of three.

Small towns are one of the things that I love about Texas. Finding the court houses and seeing how each is different, the faded paint on the side of brick buildings, town squares, small Mom and Pop stores, antiques or just an old building to take a photo of. Some towns are so small it takes a couple minutes to find the “center of town”, its kind of funny when you think about it.

With that said, here is a little town called Cooper. I loved stopping in this town for its buildings. The craziest part was when I got home that night, I happened to have the TV on and 60 Minutes came on and told a story about the Warrior Dog Foundation in, you guessed it, Cooper, Texas. Established by a Navy SEAL, the Warrior Dog Foundation trains K-9’s which gives back to the Navy SEAL’s and the special operations community. (Read more on their website.) I wish I had known that before getting home.

Located an hour and 20 minutes northeast of Dallas, directly north of Sulphur Springs (off Hwy 30) is Cooper. Here’s a glimpse of my favorite shots while passing thru.

If you haven’t guessed it by now, Cooper is an agricultural town. Situated in Delta County, Cooper was established in 1870 by L.W. Cooper of Houston. By 1885, the town was alive and well (with it’s own Post Office). With the coming of the Texas Midland Railroad, the population jumped to 1,000 people by 1896 including a bank, shoemaker, hotel, numerous mills and two weekly papers (among other establishments). Fast forward nearly 100 years to 1970 – over sixty businesses including seed cleaning plants and multiple dairies. This is an agricultural town. 2013 population: 1,977

Have you ever been / passed thru Cooper? What’s your favorite small town?

Historical Information retrieved from the Texas State Historical Association