A Horse is a Horse...

Of course, of course....

Is there an animal more beautiful than a horse?  They've captured both of my children's imaginations since I can remember.  When my daughter was young, she used to tell us that her first vehicle was going to be a truck so she could have a horse trailer to haul around her pinto and "palaminyo".  I think the first animal sound our son made was a horse.  They are truly spectacular animals to behold.  Watching their muscles rippling as they walk around is a sight to behold.

Rural Living Pt. 2

I know that some people that don't live in rural settings think those of us that do are crazy.  "How can you live that far from Wal-Mart?"  "How long does it take you to get to the grocery store?"  "What do you do out there?" Those are just some of the questions that I've been asked in the past.  Well, while living in urban areas does have it's advantages (and many photo taking opportunities), rural living has it's advantages too.  I'm only going to look at the photography aspects on here (however, if you'd like to offer your advantages/disadvantages to either, please feel free to do so in the comments).  When you live in rural America, you get to notice different aspects of nature.  How often do those of you in the city get to see a summer thunderstorm rolling across open ground with the sunset behind it?  While those of you in more urban settings are in a hurry to get somewhere to do something, we get to appreciate the changing of the seasons and all of the beautiful things that go along with that.

I hope you enjoy the following images taken from rural America.

Summer Thunderstorm at Sunset

Yellow Majesty

Rural Living

Though we may travel to big cities when we go on vacation, we're always excited to get back home.  The wide open spaces, no houses on top of ours, and the simplicity that comes with living in the country is hard to beat.  Whether it's an abandoned barn, a summer sunset, or flowers blooming in the springtime...I wouldn't change where we live for anything.

Don't forget about this month's special offer...2 5x7's for the price of one.  Offer good on prints or photo session.  Comments & critiques welcome.

Happy 2 Year Old

The pictures of this young lady were taken when she was almost 2.  It's hard to believe that she'll be 4 on her next birthday (no, that's not a typo...just old pictures).  The day these were taken, we had a blast playing with the water hose and chasing chickens.  I couldn't be more proud to call her my niece.

I would be more than happy to reply to any comments or questions.  Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by to have a look!

Travel Pt. 2

Another of my favorite cities would have to be St. Louis.  If you have a family with young children, I can't think of a cheaper vacation destination.  There is so much to do in St. Louis and it will be very easy on the checkbook.  From the Magic House, to Grant's Farm, the St. Louis Zoo, and of course a Cardinals game, your kids will have the time of their lives.  This particular photo of the St. Louis skyline with the Gateway Arch has an interesting story behind it.  When I shared it on Facebook after our vacation, alot of my friends asked me how I was able to get the shot.  Well, the hotel we stayed in was in downtown St. Louis because we planned on going to a Cardinals game and our previous trip we noticed there was very little parking by the stadium.  We wanted to be within walking distance, so we chose the downtown Sheraton (only about 3 blocks from Busch Stadium).  At the time, we didn't have our pool yet and the hotel had one and of course the kids thought they HAD to go swimming.  Come to find out, the pool at the hotel was on the top floor.  When we got to the top floor, I noticed that there were a bunch of conference rooms on the east side of the hotel.  So, I opened one of the doors to go see if it had a good view.  When I got to the window, below is what was staring at me.  I turned the flash off on the camera and went to the window and this is what I came up with.  Hope you enjoy our view of the skyline that night and thanks for taking a look.

One last thing, check back in October for new specials of the month.

St. Louis Skyline at night with the Gateway Arch

Travel Pt. 1

San Francisco, the City by the Bay...

One of my favorite places to go and an absolutely gorgeous place to photograph.  This picture holds a special place in my heart.  I can't claim it as one that I took.  This is a picture that my Grandpa took and our family found when we started cleaning out their house.  I photoshopped it to make it appear older than it really is.  There are so many iconic places in San Francisco to photograph:  Fisherman's Wharf, Lombard St., Coit Tower, the city's skyline, the Bay Bridge, Alcatraz, and of course the Golden Gate Bridge.  If you get an opportunity to go, make sure you pack for all kinds of weather and don't forget your camera.  You won't regret it.  If you have pictures from San Francisco, please share!  I'd love to see them.  If you like the second picture, it's for sale on the 'Prints for Sale' tab.

Before

After

Passions...

I think I failed to mention that I can also be quite passionate about sports. Yeah, the professionals can be fun to watch and sure, there's also college. However, if you want TRUE entertainment, you can't beat watching kids play a sport just because they love it. Take these two young men for example. They both absolutely love what they're doing in these shots. If you don't think kids take it serious, look at the focus and determination in their eyes. I'm telling you, the little kids is where it's at.

Focus

He could....go....all....the....way

Disclaimer:  Kids' sporting events is where it's at until radical adults try to take all the fun out of it by screaming and shouting at the officials, their kids, or coaches.  To all of the coaches that sacrifice their time to teach kids how to play the game the right way, THANK YOU for all that you do!

Welcome to Gillespieville Productions!

Welcome to the new home of Gillespieville Productions.  Lets start this new website off with some family shots. I can't think of a better family to use than my own.   It was a great day driving across the pastures to get theses shots and pleasantly surprised to find such a simple thing could turn into such an awesome background.