Hello, everyone!
It's incredible how much you can miss the familiarity of a place after being gone for quite some time. After a busy summer full of traveling adventures to Peru and New England, it's a comforting feeling to settle back in Austin for my senior year. Yep, senior year.

I actually started this blog toward the end of my junior year of high school, so it's pretty neat to see how I've grown through my photography over the years and all the places I've had the chance to explore. To see 2011 photoshoots, click here and here. My work was a little dark, you could say. Either way, I'm happy with my progress as a photographer and can't wait to see where else I'll get to photograph soon!

One of my favorite parts of living here is the amount of beautiful photo opportunities that present themselves - and having the chance to photograph some of my closest friends at those places! Here are some photos of a recent shoot with a close friend throughout my time here at UT, who is graduating this December and entering the real world soon! Proud of you, Chanel!
              

          

I've gone to Mount Bonnell several times over the past year I've been in Austin, but what I didn't know was that there was a park just a short ways away with roaming peacocks. That's right. Instead of turning right on Mount Bonnell Road, make a left to Mayfield Park.

My friend Chanel came down for my birthday awhile ago and we decided to check out Mayfield Park because we found out that peacocks roam around freely. It is a must see, and these birds are stunning! It's incredible how close you can get to them and how well preserved the park is for these birds to simply walk around. The pictures show just how beautiful the colors and feathers of these peacocks are, no editing necessary. Right before we were about to leave, a peacock finally opened its feathers completely and I got the shot I was hoping for!

Along with the peacocks in the park is a small cottage and gardens with a pond. Walking around was relaxing and the pictures came out great. Next time you find yourself going to Mount Bonnell, make that left turn instead!
 

View from the top of Mount Bonnell

Being in such a wonderful city really makes me always want to do something fun and adventurous. So, naturally, waking up at 6:30 in the morning with a few friends and driving to the Greenbelt for pictures and some early morning hiking was the adventure I had in mind.

Castle Hill is like one of those paintings that you stare at for several hours and still engages you. In this case, it is several graffiti walls that are constantly changing with artwork that you can't stop staring at. The panoramic picture above courtesy of my iPhone.

I've gone here a few times before but didn't really explore it as much as I did this time. Each time you can always find something puzzling, or an inspirational quote of some sort. This time a few friends and I climbed to the highest point and were able to see the UT tower, the Capitol, and the buildings downtown. All around were sunflowers which were appealing and a good photo op.

Inspirational quote from this trip to Castle Hill.

Matt making his way on up.

Castle Hill at a glance.

                 

                         
 This past weekend I took pictures of a lovely grad, Kate! We took pictures around the UT campus and a few at the stadium since Kate is graduating with a degree in Sports Management. Kate mentioned the albino squirrel as we were walking behind a building and against all odds, there it was sitting on a tree. It was great!


We also made our way to a beautiful view of downtown Austin from Town Lake, along with a small tower near the Congress Bridge. Kate was a joy to photograph and I cannot wait to see what she does in the future. Check out some pictures from her session below.

Yesterday I took pictures for another grad, Chelsea. She was a delight to photograph and we had a blast exploring Austin for great locations. We started out on campus and ended up finding new locations besides the usual Littlefield Fountain and Tower. We also went to Town Lake and the Austin postcard. Below are how a few of the pictures turned out.