Pure Photography » Personal

Happy Mother’s Day!

Debbie — Sun, 09 May 2010 04:06:02 +0000

I only write a personal post a couple of times a year and this is one of them. I can’t resist. These two kids of mine are the joys of my life! They make me smile, they make me cry, they make me laugh and on occasion, they make me wonder! I adore them. Katie lives too far away in Southern California and Will lives a little too far in Dallas. They are both so fun and smart and creative and giving and more than anything else, they both love their Lord which gives me great peace.

I ran my “March is For Moms” special recently based on the fact that I don’t have many pictures of me and just my kids. I guess moms are the ones taking the pictures generally. So, I’m going to share with you a very personal picture of me, Katie and Will when he was born at Hendricks in 1985, then one of Katie and Will laughing at each other in 1986 and then the last one from Katie’s wedding to Matt in 2007 and they were still laughing!

My greatest titles are wife to Mark (or Mr. Mark as my client’s kids know him) and mother to Katie and Will. Debbie the photographer would be nothing without the three of them!

I love you, Katie and Will! I am a “happy mother” because of you!

Snow Day!!!/Abilene Family Photographer

Debbie — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:55:13 +0000

Being a born and bred Texas girl, two of my favorite words have always been “snow day!” My next two favorite words as a student was “no school!” Today was just that here in Abilene, TX! At first I thought, “wow, what a great day to spend at my computer and get caught up on a heavy workload.” Hmmm…..nah! So, Mark and I hit the road and had a blast photographing the beauty of this winter day!

Started out the day over at the hills behind ACU Smith-Adams dorms where I found some students, an ACU prof and some families out skiing, sledding and snowboarding! (could we have Olympic fever, perhaps?)

My favorite poem that I memorized as a young student was “Stopping By the Woods On A Snowy Evening,” by Robert Frost. That was for sure on my mind today as I journeyed thru these West Texas woods!

I posted on my Facebook page that if anyone wanted a family picture in front of their home to call me! Look at these sweet faces that didn’t waste any time contacting me!

We returned home…cold and wet….and LOVING my snow day! But, I wasn’t quite finished. I’m also quite fond of the beautiful birds we attract in our backyard. This cardinal was amazing in brilliant red!

Finally, this last one I took from inside my house. Precious mourning doves were huddled close together on my back patio! Love them!

Run Will, Run!

Debbie — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 03:14:11 +0000

Here is one of my rare blog posts about my family, but tomorrow is a rare day in our family! Our son, Will, lives in Dallas and has been training for his first marathon run for more than a year. He’s become a vegetarian and has stuck to his rigorous training schedule religiously. Sunday morning (10-11-09) at 7:30 am, he will run the Chicago Marathon! He paid his own way, but with a group from his church, raised money for World Vision, an organization to help feed the world’s poor population. We are immensely proud of him and his determination to run this race! He’s already a winner to us, no matter what his official time is!

These pics were taken this summer, on Will’s 24th birthday when he ran the “Too Hot to Handle” 15K in Dallas! We love him!

Team Tatum

Debbie — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 21:48:09 +0000

I was extremely honored to be asked to be the “official photographer” for Team Tatum at the “Light the Night” Leukemia walk! Tatum is a precious two year old who was diagnosed with leukemia this summer. She and her family are sweet friends of ours and we are in a small group together from our church. ”Light the Night” raised money and awareness for the Leukemia Research Foundation. We have two too many friends who are battling this disease, so this seemed like a very small thing to do to help out. Enjoy these images of wonderful people who came out last night at ACU!

Celebrating Five and Thirty Years!

Debbie — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:04:29 +0000

June 20th, Pure Photography celebrated it’s fifth year of business here in Abilene! We are now in our sixth year and going strong! I’m not much of a party girl so we kept in kind of low instead of throwing a big celebration! I’ve been very blessed with great clients and the relationships made thru these past five years.

Tomorrow is another anniversary though! Mark and I were married August 11th, 1979 which is thirty years ago tomorrow! I want to say that all in all our road has been pretty fairly straight with only a few “bumps” along the way! We put God first many years ago and He remains there today and He’s been faithful to guide, protect and bless us abundantly. We have two amazing children who live way too far away! (perhaps you’ve heard me mention that from time to time?)

Mark and I met at A&M Church of Christ in College Station, TX. He was in graduate school at A&M and I was working as a nurse in Labor and Delivery in Bryan, TX. (Yes, I’ve had more than one career) Some of you may have seen our “story of how we met” back in February when the local newspaper featured us in an article with other couples. So, I won’t repeat that now. Let’s just say, it was “divine” intervention!

I thought you might enjoy looking back with me and Mark at our special day thirty years ago! (Where was digital photography when we needed it!)

I was raised by my grandparents and this first picture is one of my favorites.

This was a group of singers/friends who traveled from College Station to Graham to sing at our wedding! (one was even a former boyfriend!)

Our wedding party. Surely the photographer took more than one pic of our wedding party! But, I guess for the flower girl, when you gotta go, you gotta go!

Our family

Who are these kids? Well, surely Mark hasn’t changed as much as I have, but he didn’t produce two 10 lb. babies!

Thanks for letting me get personal today! Stay tuned as I get back to business!

Happy Birthday, Katie!

Debbie — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:06:40 +0000

Few personal events make it to my business blog. But, anyone who knows me, I hope knows that God is first and my family is second! Mark and my kids are the best part of me. Well, today is my daughter, Katie’s 27th birthday! She is off in Los Angeles (maybe I have mentioned that CA is too far away!) with her wonderful husband and today they are celebrating at Disneyland!

Katie is funny, kind, generous, loving, full of God’s love and beautiful inside and out! She always makes me proud to be her mother and she will always be my Katya!

Katie at One Year old:

Katie today!

Chloe Update

Debbie — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 05:44:52 +0000

I received word late tonight that Chloe’s condition has worsened and the doctors and her family are making those big decisions about her surgery and treatment. Please be in prayer for Chloe, her mom and dad, brothers, extending family and the whole community that surrounds her. Please pray also for the doctors and surgeons who are attending her.

Merry Christmas to all!

Debbie — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 03:17:51 +0000

I couldn’t let my official holiday begin without ending the “busy” season by saying a HUGE thank you to all my amazing clients/friends! This past year has been such a blessing to me in so many ways and my thanks go out to all of you who have put your trust in me to photograph your family or your child, etc! 2009 is going to hold some very exciting changes for Pure Photography so be sure and stay tuned in to this blog for big announcement….well, announcements!

For now, let me share a few personal pics to lead us into our holiday time…. One of my favorite pictures of my kids from quite a few years ago. Katie and Will have been and still are my greatest joys!

Our daughter, Katie and her husband Matt, have just celebrated their first anniversary this past October! It’s been a whirlwind year for them and for now (do you two hear me!) they live in Los Angeles and work in “the biz.” But, we still have our fingers crossed for them to return to their Texas roots before too long! Here is a family pic of all of us!

You all know my sweet husband and best friend, Mr. Mark! (that’s what the kids call him! His students call him “Dr. Riggs.” at least to his face!) I cannot imagine Pure Photography without him and we have so much fun meeting new friends and playing with babies and traveling around taking portraits! I thank God for such a companion in this life and 2009 we will celebrate our journey for 30 years.

Well, stay tuned for big announcements in 2009! I am excited to share some new information and offers with you! My blog followers will hear it first!

Merry Christmas and blessings on your New Year!

Prayers for a young father…

Debbie — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:59:25 +0000

I had the highest honor of photographing this sweet family about two years ago. The father in this picture has bone cancer. It was a recurrence of a previous cancer and he was just about to begin treatment again and they wanted a family portrait before all that began. As I commonly say, “every family has a story” and this one was no different. (The “Today” show stole my line!) Todd not only has cancer but his sweet, sweet wife is legally blind. Together they were raising two young sons and their spirit was so wonderful and it was profoundly important to me to do a good job for them with their portrait.

I learned today that Todd is in Hospice care. I cannot even find words to describe my feelings for this family at this time. So, if you are one of my faithful blog readers and you are so inclined to pray, PLEASE pray for Todd and his sweet family in the coming days.

TPPA Awards

Debbie — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:23:40 +0000

Mark and I just returned from Kerrville and the Texas Professional Photographers Association Summer Seminar. This has become like a vacation for me, even though I’m sitting in talks and working the print room during the competition. I guess you could say that this seminar is like a “shot in the arm” to get me energized for the upcoming busy Fall season! Well, I normally either just enter one print a year or maybe two. But, this year I entered four prints and one folio and I came away with three scores that will go toward my associate fellowship degree AND three distinguished print awards! (can you see my jaw on the floor?) A very humbling, yet exciting trip! I’ve always said that I am only as good as my subjects and I guess this proves that I have amazing clients who just happen to make me look good!

Here are the three prints that scored this year. Enjoy!

This little guy scored so well that he will probably go on to the Southwest PPA competition!

You might recognize this sweet face from the cover of my website and blog!

“Miss Callie” should receive an award for just being plain cute!