Introducing Kimberly and Jesus

Kimberly and Jesus are getting married in December at Our Lady Of Belen Church. This is the first session we have shot of them and we all had a blast! Winter is a great time for studio sessions. Everyone is warm and happy! I am always curious about who are clients are - what they do, where they met, what lead them to our door, etc. During a recent email conversation with KImberly she filled me on the following information; "We met when we were both doing a college internship at Walt Disney World in Florida. We are both kind of Disney dorks. hehe. He is from New Mexico and I was born and raised in Iowa. When he took me on a trip here to meet his family, I fell in love with New Mexico and I wanted to move here so bad. So we did. He is a police officer in Los Lunas. I am a makeup artist and Esthetician. I just got hired on as an Esthetician at The Day Spa at Salina's Hot Spot in Los Lunas."

Wild Horses 02-23-08

This weekend we had shoots scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday's shoot at Whispering Spirit was rescheduled due to the weather and today's shoot at the Campbell Ranch turned out to be quite a lovely 7 mile hike without a horse to be found anywhere. Fortunately, Saturday's shoot in Placitas paid off in spades. Escorted by our gracious host and fellow photographer, David Cramer, we set out to locate the horses. They weren't actually that difficult to find (this time) and they allowed us to observe and photograph them for quite awhile. We were perfectly positioned below them on a hill as the sun was setting. Lit up like a movie set and backed by a powerful blue sky this was a truly amazing photo opp. I could go on but the photos speak for themselves. Here are some of the highlights.

Darryl Willison - America's Drawing Cowboy

While I'm on a roll of retroactively blogging about people and photo sessions that have been instrumental in helping us build a dream it would be impossible to overlook Darryl Willison. In February of 2007 Darryl was the first gallery director to offer us representation for our fine art photography. At the time Rick and I would day dream about how awesome it would be to have a photography studio in an art gallery. He could see we had the chops and the ambition but needed a little guidance in the art world and, unlike most of the people we had encountered in our search, Darryl was available to answer questions and offer advice on any given topic and at any given time. Our joke is that "it's always 1:00 am". After months of 1:00 am emails a plan began to transpire and it was big, it was major, it was life changing. Long story short on November 24, 2007 we celebrated our huge grand opening that actually included the opening of our fine art exhibition Visual Whispers, the opening of our frame shop 66 Frames, and most importantly the opening of the official Dry Heat Photography Studio - and all of it is inside the Art Gallery 66! Somewhere along the way we shot this dynamic portrait session of Darryl. He is an awesomely talented artist and a great friend!

Caitelen and Greg

For all intents and purposes Caitelen and Greg have become our poster kids. Their faces are synonymous with Dry Heat Photography and the images we created in one two hour session have literally jump started a new chapter in our lives. The images that have become quite popular in our advertising materials were actually shot during a session in downtown Albuquerque last November but after having dinner with them a couple nights ago I thought I would tell their tale publicly as an outstanding example of synchronicity in action. When Dry Heat Photography was born, nearly ten years of portfolio material were sacrificed to a previous employer. Walking away empty handed was a hard thing to swallow but we had faith that things would work out. After all - it's just pictures and we can always take more. No one can lay claim to our skills so while we did leave with practically nothing to show for ourselves we immediately set about doing the only thing we know how to do - creating more images. Rick and I had known Greg and Caitelen for several months prior to this session. I had photographed their real wedding earlier in the summer and then one night in August we were walking the streets shooting a story for Albuquerque The Magazine when we saw them sitting at a table at The Frontier restaurant. We shot some photos of them just hanging out doing their thing and some of those photos were published by the magazine. A couple months later when things were really starting to take shape and real decisions were being made we ran into them again. I told them our story and asked them if they wanted to get dressed up again for another shoot. They were all for it! It was an unseasonably warm day in November when we met them in downtown Albuquerque for this all important session. It's a magical feeling to know that you are creating your future while shooting something. I remember saying to Rick "we are creating a career right now". It was one of those days when all the forces of the universe lined up at the same time. The weather, the lighting, the fall colors, the amazing vibe that emanates from this couple. They are on fire - the world is their playground!
I tend to be long winded but I think you all get the point. Here's some of the highlights.

Weekend Update 02/17/2008

It's been a busy weekend! I shot Catie and Austin's wedding at the Prairie Star on Saturday. For those of you who may not be familiar with the background of Dry Heat Photography let me fill you in a little bit. In November 2007 Rick and I resigned our positions as managers and senior photographers at another major studio in Albuquerque. Because of our overwhelming popularity we would often be booked more than a year in advance. At the time of our resignation we were booked many weekends through the end of 2008 and we would never dream of backing out on those weddings (but don't worry we still have many 2008 weekends open). Catie and Austin were one of the couples who had booked with me through the other studio. They are a beautiful couple and I wish I could show you their pictures but, alas, they are owned by someone else.

This morning we left the house at 6:30 to grab some McBreakfast and head out to the Wild Life West Nature Park in Edgewood, NM. The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance has asked us for photos of Mexican Wolves. As I'm sure most of you are aware Mexican wolves are extremely endangered and there are very few of them in the wild. After making numerous phone calls I was able to locate a few wolves at Wild Life West. This nature park is run entirely by volunteers and all the animals have been rescued from various situations and are unreleasable meaning they could not survive in the wild. The volunteers were very gracious and gave us a grand tour while making their morning rounds to feed the animals. We did indeed get to photograph some Mexican Wolves but there were a few other notable mentions such as the mountain lion, bobcat, peacock, and the raccoon that nearly pulled my glove off with his cute little hands.
Check back next week - we're spending three days in search of wild horses!

Candis and Michael 02/02/08

Candis and Michael were one of the first couples to book with Dry Heat Photography. Their wedding was at St. Thomas church in Rio Rancho and the reception at the Prairie Star Restaurant in Bernalillo, NM. It was cold and windy at the Prairie Star but they braved the elements for some awesome shots on the golf course.

As always we sincerely appreciate the trust placed in us to photograph a wedding. It is our clientèle who make Dry Heat Photography possible and we would like to extend our thanks to Candis and Michael and all of our wonderful clients for selecting us to photograph the most important moments of their lives.

Welcome to Dry Heat Photography

You may not be familiar with the name Dry Heat Photography so I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and partners. We are DeAnna Dimmitt, Rick Meiers, and Angela Gaeto; three highly experienced and well known photographers in the Albuquerque area. Seeing the obvious benefits in working together we have recently joined forces to become Dry Heat Photography. In doing so we form an incredible team with only one goal in mind - to deliver the finest wedding and portrait photography available in New Mexico!

Having your wedding photographed by Dry Heat Photography is a one of a kind experience. We are united in a common vision of photographic excellence. We believe that communication and organization are the cornerstones of successful wedding photography and we will assist you in planning your day to maximize our abilities and to ensure a smooth flow that will be pleasant for all involved. We understand that each wedding is an individual and complex event and that ultimately we become part of the story that is your wedding day. Our goal is to create an intricate portrait to reflect the joining of two souls, the merging of two families, and the inner beauty that is within us all. We believe that every image created by Dry Heat Photography goes out into the world conveying our message and resonating with those who share our vision. It's more than an image, it's a relationship.

We would love to hear from you! For more information or to check our availability for your wedding date please visit our website at www.dryheatphotography.com or call 505.730.8576.

Dry Heat Photography
More than an image - It's a relationship