We were anticipating cool weather since we were going in early spring.  What we did not anticipate was snow….and lots of it.  Two different front systems moved in over the course of three days (we were there for four) and we had snow.

We loved seeing the vivid red rocks and snow-capped mountains.   Yet again, the weather soured our plan to hike The Narrows.  But oh well, we still had a great trip….and an excuse to go back!

As I watched TV, I just sat and cried.  That’s all I could do on that day in late August, 2005.  In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, more than 80% of my hometown of New Orleans was underwater.  Both homes I knew as a child were flooded, up to six feet in some spots.  My home as a teenager in Slidell, was also flooded.  This one at had at least nine feet of water.  Oh and I forgot to mention this house was on the water and my dad built it 16 feet above the water level.  That gives you an idea of the scope of the flooding.  But even as New Orleans was underwater, many people ignored what was happening about 50 miles to the east.

Many of my summers as a kid were spent on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  Less than an hours drive from NOLA, “the Coast” as we called it was just as devastated.  As the storm surge moved ashore, it took everything with it.  As it moved inland, it still took everything with it.  My parents home is five miles from the Gulf of Mexico and one mile from the northern most tip of Bay St. Louis.  They had three feet of water in their home and piles of debris on the lawn…some of which was dragged inland from the coast.

Three months after the storm, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, my current employer, sent me to Mississippi to document the aftermath and the cleanup.  Or the lack thereof.  It’s been nearly seven years since the storm and many of the scars are still there, but life has returned to normal and it’s thriving.

Here are a few of my favorites from my trip to Italy in 2008.

I was fortunate enough to spent two months in the summer of 2004 embedded with the Arkansas 39th Infantry Brigade as they were stationed in Baghdad, Iraq.  The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, my current employer, sent a reporter and photographer to cover them for a year.  I was one of the lucky photographers who rotated in.  I was there from July through September.  As you can imagine, a summer in Baghdad was excruciating.  Daily highs were 110+ and add that along with full body armor, photographing was a challenge at times.

But is was an incredible two months.  I am fortunate that I had a wonderful boyfriend back home taking care of my house, finances and my kitties.  I am even more thanful that boyfriend is now my husband!

I can’t think of a single person who does not love food.  Whether you a meat-eater, vegetarian, or a true vegan, we all share a love of food.

Food is one of my absolute favorite things to photography – especially pretty food.  No one likes to shoot ugly food.  Poorly styled food looks like a lump of goo on the plate and not very appetizing. Most of these photos were styled by Kelly Brant.  She is our stylist/food editor at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which is where I currently work.  Some were taken for the weekend food review, but most were to accompany stories.

Happy eating.

Hello to everyone.

After nearly three years, my corporate and editorial site is finally revamped.  Yes, for those of you who do know me well, this site nearly mirrors my non-editorial site, my weddings website.  Take a stroll on over and have a peek at Photography by KES Weddings.

This website, and KES Weddings would not have been possible with the incredible work and design by Michelle Hedegard and her team at the Fayetteville, AR-based, Mockingbird Creative, Inc.  She also designed my husband’s site….see below for details.

I’ll start with a fresh batch of blog posts in the coming days featuring my latest freelance assignment which was hands down the best assignments I’ve had in more than a year.  I had the opportunity to travel to South Africa with my wonderful husband who owns Backfocus Productions.  Shooting stills along side of Mike was different.  We worked together very well as a team and didn’t get into each others way, at least not too much!

We spent three, fast-paced and exhausting days shooting at corporate video.  We also made some new friends too.  Charles and his crew at Incubate Media, based in Johannesburg, or Joburg as the locals call it, were great to work along side with and they were even more fun once you got a few drinks in them.  More on that later!

But for now, thanks for stopping by.