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McGuirk Family Bluebonnet Session

It’s over. One of my favorite times of year here in Texas is over again. The bluebonnets have left the building!

As with most years, our wildflower season here in Texas was once again fraught with many days of grey skies and rain storms. To most people it’s a mild nuisance, but for photographers hoping to capture bluebonnet portraits, a sunny day and teeming field becomes your Moby Dick.  If I have clients who are willing to juggle schedules to chase the sunshine and travel outside “The Woodlands bubble” to find a lush field of wildflowers, well as they say,  “I am in it to win it!”.  I will find the right field and keep my gear at the ready. Yes, I’m a bit zealous about it and it’s always an event for me. Now there is no problem with doing mini-sessions for bluebonnet portraits but that’s not how I like to do things. I don’t want to hustle people in and out of the flowers. I like everyone to have plenty of time to enjoy the uniqueness of the experience. We are going to slow down, nestle in and see what happens. Sometimes we have to settle for a sweet little plot of wildflowers and employ creative camera angles.  Other times though, you hit it right and are treated to those perfect fields: they are safe, they are public, and they are big and full.

That’s why I love bluebonnet sessions. They really are exceptional memories. I know that despite the best of intentions, family portraits don’t always happen every year and let’s face it, those gorgeous flowers are flat out untrustworthy. Each year we play the great bluebonnet guessing game. Where will they will pop up and how long they will grace us with their presence? Certainly there are some spots that seem to host bluebonnets fairly consistently. Every year though I see post after post of photographers despairing when they find that their “special spot” has proven to be barren that year. It always seems a cruel joke that the prettiest and most colorful carpets of these beauties are invariably in high traffic/unsafe locales. Seemingly endless fields will adorn hillsides on the highway or are tantalizingly off limits just beyond a fence line.

If you are a wildflower watcher there are several websites dedicated to the daily tracking of Texas wildflowers. People don’t just get a little crazy about them, they get a lotta crazy! My favorite is http://www.bluebonnetlove.com  During bluebonnet season this site and it’s associated Facebook page are updated by the minute it seems!

The McGuirk family called on me for a family bluebonnet session this spring and I was more than happy to oblige. It was going to be the whole gang: parents, their four wonderful kiddos and even Kiwi, their dog, was coming for the fun. We set a date and crossed our fingers for kind weather. While out on a scouting trip for the right spot, I literally squealed for joy when I came upon this field. I think I might have seen the clouds part and have heard a faint “awwwwwwwwww” somewhere near by. I felt like we won a jackpot. Within hours the gang was cleaned up, color coordinated and ready to roll. It was a real treat for me to be able to capture these images for them. I hope they remember our sunset in the sea of wildflowers for years to come.

 

 

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