Until tonight, I haven't been outside much--and that's a big deal when it's perfect weather in Texas.  After work, Taylor and I went for walk in our neighborhood park ... we were only gone for about 30 minutes, but it was just what I needed.  As we walked out of the house, Taylor gave me permission to shoot one, only one picture of her ... I took a few more, but she didn't seem to mind or even notice. 

It's spring break and our poor girls have been sick all week--including Rachel.  They had plans to do anything and everything north Dallas has to offer while I had a busy week at work.  Since everyone seems to be on the mend, we went into town to Watters Creek for "Live on the Green" and listened to an eighties cover band.  It was about 65 degrees and was exactly what we needed and here's to a bit of sun flare ...

Today is our baby Lauren's birthday.  We kept the celebration quite small, but made sure she felt special on her first birthday ... can't believe it's been a year.  She has been quite the joy in our family.  I took a handful of pics before she went to bed ... just us hanging out in the family room.

It's been an interesting and rewarding ride over the past year, as I've invested a lot of time, energy, and hard work into my photography business (here's to many weekend hours).  I think my path (and I've just begun) has been different from the norm, but fun nonetheless.

I work for Intuit, the small business accounting & tax software company (you know, QuickBooks, Turbo Tax, etc.).  A little over a year ago, I worked on a product idea that originated from the question around how/ where small businesses go to learn, network, share best practices, etc.  A small team and I set out to better understand the ecosystem and test several hypotheses by talking and working with many small businesses over the course of several months.

As part of the project, I decided I could learn a lot about the process and a bit about myself by starting up a "business" of my own.  Over the past year I've been learning the art of photography and small business--equally challenging and important.  Education is everywhere these days, especially on the web.  I've read my fair share of blogs, technical books, how-to videos, and even 1:1 consulting from industry trendsetters.  All have paid off, but it takes time to be successful, and as I've previously mentioned, I'm just beginning.

So what do I mean by "coming full circle?"  A couple of months ago, I was asked by our marketing team to shoot some "commercial" images for an upcoming customer loyalty campaign.  I thought this was a great opportunity for several reasons:

1. It would be my first commercial-like shoot (something beyond my default)
2. I got to work with other creatives (always rewarding)
3. I was shooting for and giving back to Intuit ... the place I started from, the original reason for venturing out and "starting a business" or coming full circle
   

All in all, a rewarding experience.  Here are a few shots from the session and a sample of the campaign:



To see some additional images from the local shoot, click here.