{E}ngagement: Jessy + Josh (Instagram Peek)
A peek at my recent engagement session photo shoot with Jessy & Josh ... so beautiful together ... love this shot of them!
Jessy & Josh (Instagram Peek)
{P}ersonal: Rainy Day Drive Thru (Instagram)
Rainy Day Drive Thru - I (via Instagram)
Rainy Day Drive Thru - II (via Instagram)
{P}ersonal: George Bush Park after the Fires: A Photographic Witness
The past year has been witness to the worst drought on record here in Texas. A rainless spring extended into a scorching summer and then stuff just started going up in flames. Bastrop was probably the worst hit and a couple of weeks after the conflagration started over there, George Bush Park (here in Houston, on the west side of town) was ablaze too (started on the 13th of September, 2011 and was fully contained by the 14th). GBP has been one of my favorite places providing a much needed respite from the city and a place to get away from it all with the camera (the inspiration for my "Vespers" series was kindled out there & pretty much all of the photos in the series were taken out there too); or on the bicycle for a nice long ride.
Volume I
This is what it looked like two days after the fire, when we were able to gain access to the park again.
Now here's the kicker - that broad expanse of ashes, is supposed to be wetlands! Yep, those trees under normal circumstances would be islands in a marsh of tall grass. The drought had dried up the wetland & the grass was just ready to burn.
For a bit of a reference, here's a photo I took out there in December 2009. It was winter so the grass is brown but you get a bit of a sense of what it would normally look like.
Volume II
A couple of days later on the 18th, we had the first rains in a long time. It wasn't a lengthy downpour but it was quite a bit and more than we had gotten in a while. I was back out there in the park early in the morning and a lot of the grey ash from the photographs above had taken a deeper hue. Here and there, in the middle of all that charcoal blackness, life slowly returned. The thirsty, charred land had been given a sip water.
Volume III
I visited the park again several days later. This time, late in the afternoon and close to sundown.
Volume IV
A number of weeks later, we had a touch of fog and I was overdue for a visit. I was glad I did.
I'm not much of a butterfly photography person, but for this photographic journey & witness of nature struggling back to life, it feels apropos.
Epilogue
There's a bit of good news about the drought - we had a downpour here in Houston a couple of days ago. So much so that we had quite a bit of flooding! Well, that last bit is not very good news for those whose homes were affected & my thoughts are with them.
I think I'm overdue for a visit to park again especially after all that rain.
Have a beautiful weekend!
Deji.
P.S.: Oh yeah, the fire and it's remnants inspired this photo shoot that I did out there in the park.
{P}ersonal: New Year’s Day Vespers
January 1, 2012 at George Bush Park. Happy New Year everyone!!
Here's wishing you a year filled with beauty, joy & blessings in unexpected places!
Cheers!
Deji.
{W}edding: Barbara & David – Part II
Yesterday I blogged the first half of Barbara & David's gorgeous wedding at the Farmers Branch Historical Park. Here is the concluding half ... continued from where we left off :-)
So remember what I said about "filled with love & laughter"? Well here you go. Even now as I post these photos, my cheeks hurt a bit from smiling!
Barb and David, it was an absolute joy and a privilege to photograph your wedding! Thank you for trusting me to capture the memories of this special day for you & your families. Here's wishing you a wonderful and amazing New Year!
Cheers!!
Deji.
P.S.: Yes, I had to brush up on my Roman numerals a little bit for this post :-)
{W}edding: Barbara & David – Part I
Earlier this year, I had the privilege of being the photographer for Barbara & David's wedding in Dallas, Texas. The wedding was held at the Farmers Branch Historical Park and as you can tell from the photographs below, it was a beautiful celebration - with gorgeous weather and filled with the love and laughter of family & friends.
It is a long overdue post and in the spirit of the season and with the intent to having more regular posts on the blog, I thought this would be a great way to send off the year and look into the New Year!
Part II of II tomorrow ... :-)
{F}ashion: Jacky – the Photo Shoot
I recently had the distinct pleasure of a photo shoot with my dear friend - the beautiful (inside & out) Jacky Bui. Some of you saw the quick shot I posted a couple of weeks back that was a teaser to the session and in the spirit of the festive season, here are the photographs from the shoot.
![Jacky - The Photo Shoot [I]](http://dejiosinulu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DOP_0940.jpg "Jacky - The Photo Shoot [I]")
![Jacky - The Photo Shoot [II]](http://dejiosinulu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DOP_0951.jpg "Jacky - The Photo Shoot [II]")
![Jacky - The Photo Shoot [III]](http://dejiosinulu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DOP_0957.jpg "Jacky - The Photo Shoot [III]")
Then the sun went down and this magic happened!
![Jacky - The Photo Shoot [IV]](http://dejiosinulu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DOP_1053.jpg "Jacky - The Photo Shoot [IV]")
![Jacky - The Photo Shoot [V]](http://dejiosinulu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DOP_1080-1122.jpg "Jacky - The Photo Shoot [V]")
![Jacky - The Photo Shoot [VI]](http://dejiosinulu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DOP_1126.jpg "Jacky - The Photo Shoot [VI]")
![Jacky - The Photo Shoot [VII]](http://dejiosinulu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DOP_1133.jpg "Jacky - The Photo Shoot [VII]")
The shots below could be said to be outtakes from the shoot (while we were getting stuff setup and calibrated) but I think they are gorgeous and I decided to include them here too.
![Jacky - The Photo Shoot [VIII]](http://dejiosinulu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DOP_0908.jpg "Jacky - The Photo Shoot [VIII]")
![Jacky - The Photo Shoot [IX]](http://dejiosinulu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DOP_0910.jpg "Jacky - The Photo Shoot [IX]")
I would like to say a big thank you to Jackie Reyes (with Trish McEvoy at Neiman Marcus) for doing such a beautiful job on Jacky's makeup, and to Muyiwa Adenubi (of Forever Day Photos) for the awesome assist.
And Jacky - I literally could not have done this without you. Thank you so much!! I am truly inspired by your generous and beautiful spirit.
More later ...
Deji.
P.S.: I almost forgot to talk about what inspired this photo shoot - the blackened trees! These are the result of the forest fire that swept through the park (George Bush Park) late this summer - a fallout from the drought that we have been going through this year here in Texas. I have shot a bit of a series documenting the after-effect of the fire in the park and will do a post specifically about that soon. (Update: That post is now online)
{M}erry Christmas: “Christmas Lights” – An Impromptu Series
Merry Christmas everyone! Love, joy, peace & blessings to you and your loved ones!
"Christmas Lights" - A series of photographs of a wet Christmas morning (sometime between 12:15 a.m. and 1:03 a.m., Dec. 25, 2011) in Houston, TX.
![Christmas Lights [3129]](http://dejiosinulu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DOP_3129.jpg "Christmas Lights [3129]")
![Christmas Lights [3145]](http://dejiosinulu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DOP_3145.jpg "Christmas Lights [3145]")
![Christmas Lights [3151]](http://dejiosinulu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DOP_3151.jpg "Christmas Lights [3151]")
![Christmas Lights [3156]](http://dejiosinulu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DOP_3156.jpg "Christmas Lights [3156]")
![Christmas Lights [3161]](http://dejiosinulu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DOP_3161.jpg "Christmas Lights [3161]")
![Christmas Lights [3171]](http://dejiosinulu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DOP_3171.jpg "Christmas Lights [3171]")
![Christmas Lights [3172]](http://dejiosinulu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DOP_3172.jpg "Christmas Lights [3172]")
{P}rints: Advent Conspiracy Sale + Introducing “Vespers”
Hi everyone!
Quick announcement/news item - All my prints are on sale between now and Christmas day with 100% of the proceeds going to Living Water International as part of this year's Advent Conspiracy! Yep, not keeping any of it.
There is a coupon that takes 20% off the price for you (coupon code - "CHRISTMAS2011"). I have made this coupon active for all the galleries and it expires at mid-night (US. Central) on Christmas day. If you're already sold, yes you can just go ahead and place your orders now :-) Just before you do though, I just added a brand new gallery - "Series: Vespers" that you can order prints from. "Vespers" is a work in progress but I really wanted you all to be able to order from the series this season, so I've gone ahead and put them online as an open edition.
For those of you still reading and curious about why I'm doing this, here are some of the thoughts rattling around in my head as I post this. I care very deeply about the reasoning behind Advent Conspiracy and I have participated (in some form or another) ever since we started to make it part of our Advent & Christmas at Ecclesia. This year I have wrestled a bit with what to do. I would normally have participated in the Taft Street Art Market but I was (and still am) working on a project (with the photos from Vespers) that cannot quite be rushed and that did not happen in time. I think beautiful art in some way feeds our soul and this is a way for us to do that and at the same time bring life (through water) to people that desperately need it.
Living Water put out a call about an urgent need to address the drought & famine in Ethiopia. They have also been working for a while in Haiti, especially since the earthquake there, to help alleviate the need for potable water over there. With your help, we will be sending these proceeds to be split between their projects in those two places.
[AC] Ethiopia Drought from Advent Conspiracy on Vimeo.
To be quite honest, doing a 100% donation feels a bit crazy right now but it also feels really right & like something I ought to do, so I am going to trust that it is indeed the right thing for me to do and hope that you will support me in it by buying some of my work!
Okay, an additional thing you can do for me as well. Share the photos you like with your friends! Spread the word about the sale. Find your favorite photo or photos in the galleries and click the share button to share with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ ... whatever. If you are on Facebook, please like & tag your post with my FB page - Deji Osinulu Photography and if you share via Twitter, a quick mention of @DejiOsinulu in the Tweet will let me know what you've shared. I would love to see what caught your eye and why you like it/them. I am also on Google+ and you can add me to your circles on there & tag me there too.
That's it for now. Let me know if you have any questions and/or comments.
[AC] Haiti Well from Advent Conspiracy on Vimeo.
Wishing you and your loved ones blessings, joy & peace this season,
Deji.
{M}usic: Robbie Seay Band – “Rich & Poor” CD Release Concert
Just about a month or so ago, I had the pleasure of shooting the release concert for the Robbie Seay Band's newest album - "Rich & Poor". The concert was held at Ecclesia and featured an opening performance by The Rebecca West.
They were followed by the Salvation Army's Harbor Light Choir, who are also featured on the new album's title track.
That joint rendition led into the performance by RSB of the other songs from the album as well as a couple of other songs that they have on some of their other albums.
The new album is currently available exclusively via the RSB website. They also have a Christmas EP available for sale on the same site & I believe you actually get that EP for free when you buy any of the "Rich & Poor" options.
Have a bit of catching up to do on the blog before the year runs out so, more to come ...
Cheers!
Deji.
Deji Osinulu :: Photography
Recent Posts
- {E}ngagement: Jessy + Josh (Instagram Peek)
- {P}ersonal: Rainy Day Drive Thru (Instagram)
- {P}ersonal: George Bush Park after the Fires: A Photographic Witness
- {P}ersonal: New Year’s Day Vespers
- {W}edding: Barbara & David – Part II
Wedding Resources
Photography Links
- Annenberg Space for Photography
- Houston Center for Photography
- Joe McNally
- National Geographic
- Nikon USA
- Photo District News
- Photofocus
- U.S. Copyright Office
Blogroll
Friends
Archives
- January 2012 (4)
- December 2011 (6)
- November 2011 (1)
- October 2011 (1)
- September 2011 (1)
- July 2011 (1)
- June 2011 (2)
- April 2011 (1)
- March 2011 (5)
- February 2011 (2)
- December 2010 (1)
- November 2010 (1)
- October 2010 (1)
- September 2010 (1)
- August 2010 (2)
- July 2010 (1)
- June 2010 (3)
- May 2010 (1)
- March 2010 (8)
- February 2010 (5)
- January 2010 (4)
- December 2009 (5)
- November 2009 (2)
- October 2009 (4)
- September 2009 (4)
- August 2009 (3)
- July 2009 (1)
- June 2009 (2)