I just met Nneka & Imo the other day as I strolled into the airy Hilton Barbados Lobby. They immediately recognized me and welcomed me with open arms. It is gorgeous out here...simply gorgeous. The sun bathes you in light, ocean air fills your lungs and the sound of Caribbean waves whispers you to sleep. I dig it.

I shot their engagement session near a lifeguard stand on the Hilton beach. These two are Beautiful people...inside and out. Lucky me! I'm still trying to figure out which magazine they walked out of. To say I shot in "full sun" would be an understatement but that's OK...I like to play hard ;) Shyla's assisting me on this trip and she grabbed some behind the scenes shots while I was workin' my mojo. She also nabbed a way cool shot of Nneka & Imo's playful feet below.

Barbados

After 10 years, Kris found the perfect time to ask Ragan to spend the rest of her life with him. Their wedding kicked off my 2007 season and in honorable fashion. Ragan and her girls prettied themselves up at the swanky W Hotel in downtown Dallas where the light was pouring into the 2 room suite. Meanwhile, the guys barbecued and then got dressed in like 5 minutes...totally Kris.

The reception provided plenty of dancing and great cake. And to close, an on bended knee rendition of Lost that Loving Feeling Top Gun style for Ragan.

As Aaron and Shana strolled up to the entrance of Taco Diner, Shana's mouth gasped, "I LOVE that shirt!" Immediately I knew they were the proverbial Fred Egan client. So I reached into my man bag and pulled out their own set of "Fred Egan is for Lovers" Tees...I literally just made her day-how cool is that?! It was Monday, so breakfast at the Taco Diner was a given for them-they just happened to invite me along before our shoot. And I'm glad they did 'cause that was one of the best breakfasts I've had in ages!

We had a rockin' time shooting at their new pad, warehouse lofts by the name of Southside on Lamar in downtown Dallas. This is where I've been wanting to house my new studio/living space...it's wicked cool! Their bedroom used to be an elevator shaft back when the building was a commercial property-so tight. We were all able to be ourselves...as you can see from the images. After the shoot we ate lunch together and they insisted on treating my for lunch! First breakfast, and now lunch??? How awesome and incredibly nice are my clients?!

Although I'm not currently a member of Pictage, I made the trip up to Chicago for their 2 day PartnerCon convention to help out my good friend Charles Bordner share one of his online marketing ideas.

Taken with my Canon G7 in downtown Chicago-not bad eh?


Natalie Barlow + Shy rockin' the Lovers' T


Carole + Claire rockin' the Lovers' T


Sara France rockin' the Lovers' T


Sara, Liana, Sophia + Shy chillin' in the grass on the way to dinner


Scarlett + me


And check out this authentic Chicago style stuffed pizza!!!

I love discovering new bands and artists...especially at the beginning of their careers. But I also love discovering artists during the middle of their musical life because there's a good size body of work you can dive deep into all at once!

I had heard Dashboard's emo driven songs sporadically over the last 4 years, the opening track on the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack for example, but I'd never taken the time to listen a little closer. Well, I bought their entire catalogue the other day (yes, I purchased actual CDs and will continue to do so until iTunes begins offering DRM free music) and thoroughly enjoy frontman Carrabbas' heart felt lyrics and melodies. Dusk and Summer, their latest offering, is one of those albums where I actually like almost every song...so check 'em out.

If you're a fan, leave a comment so I know I'm in good company. And if you're not a fan...check 'em out.

When I was in California last weekend, my Motorola RAZR fell prey to a sneaker wave (as did several thousand dollars of my camera gear...but we won't talk about that now). Fortunately, it would later resuccitate...those RAZRs are like cockroaches-I swear it. Anyways, the whole schenanigan just made me look forward to Apple's iPhone coming out in June.

"But Fred," you say, "you haven't even tried the iPhone, how do you know if you'll like it?"

Because Derek Zoolander uses one. Easy.