A few weeks ago Sam and I had the pleasure of taking some Senior Portraits up in Anna, TX of my cousin Brady.  We had an absolute blast taking the photos and incorporating his love for the game of baseball into the shoot.  This lighting style was one that I’ve been wanting to experiment with and try out for a while and Brady presented a perfect opportunity for us to get out and [Just] do it! (I know its a horrible Nike pun but I enjoyed it!)

Brady is an awesome kid and made the whole portrait shoot a lot of fun.  We’re looking forward to shooting more photos of him playing baseball in the years to come (Go ETBU!) and hope you all enjoy the photos!

Check out photos and join the conversation on the Ruddock Photography Facebook Page and don’t forget to follow us out onto shoots and through the whole photography process on our Twitter site!

Sam and I just wanted to send out a quick Happy Easter to everybody.  We’re spending the day with family, remembering what this day is truly about, giving thanks to God, and eating yummy Strawberry Cupcakes that Sam just made!  Make it a blessed day everybody and Happy Easter!

Now, when I say that we got up early enough to see the Tegalalang Rice Paddies I don’t mean 6 or 7… we’re talking 4:45 in the morning!!!  Sunrise for that morning was supposed to be 5:45 and we wanted to get there as early as possible to catch the morning sun over the awesome scene that stretched before us.  Our driver, Adi Wijaya was an awesome guide and gave us more of an experience than I think either of us was hoping or prepared for.

We were thinking we were just going to shoot the scene from the road going by the terraces but Adi pulled up and told us to follow him as we walked down into the terraces and then up the other side.  The entire time giving us the history and culture that surrounded the terraces.  The fact that the terraces are owned and cultivated by the whole village with each family having different parts of the terrace to feed and provide for each other is a miracle in itself.  In the US I just don’t see that ever happening without fences and land disputes and legal issues, etc etc etc.  These people just respect each other and take what they need to survive, helping each other as they go.  The communal experience that surround the terraces was just as awe inspiring as the landscape portraits themselves.  The Tegalalang Rice Paddies are an experience that I would suggest to anybody planning to visit, and don’t just go to the terraces and look over them.  Get out and walk in them and see them at the beginning or end of the day to really take them in.  You’ll get muddy, sweaty, dirty, and ravaged by mosquitoes, but the experience is entirely worth it.  It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen or experienced and I think I speak for both Sam and myself when I say that I can’t wait for us to go back!

After a quick jump over from Singapore; Sam, my parents, and I landed in Bali to head into the countryside to the city of Ubud.  Bali is a place like I’ve never experienced before and it was absolutely beautiful in every way.  The lush greenery that we could see from our resort was magnificent and the Hindu culture was truly an amazing and friendly experience.  Just walking around the Royal Pita Maha where we were staying was a beautiful experience.  Set in a series of mountains and against the Ayung River, just looking out of your villa took our breath away.

We immediately set our sites on a couple of adventures we wanted to experience while we were in Bali including walking through the eccentric and artistic town of Ubud (something I suggest to ALL photographers wanting to visit an artistically diverse city!) to see the rock sculpture that the region is known for, visiting the Monkey Forest, doing some “white water” rafting down the Ayung River, and experiencing sunrise over the Tegalalang rice paddies.  A lot to do in just 4 days in Bali which included more stairs and walking than I think any of us were quite prepared for (and I think almost killed my father on more than one occasion!).

Our first adventure was to walk about 2 miles each way through the city of Ubud to the Monkey Forest so Sam could see her first wild monkeys.  The shops were full of local artwork including sculptures, paintings, thread-work, and plenty of other nicknacks and oddities that were interesting and fun to walkthrough.  But, by the time we finally arrived at the Monkey Forest we were all hot, sweaty, and our feet were killing us because we all wore sandals no knowing what we had really gotten ourselves into.  Fortunately, it was all totally worth it!  The Monkey Forest was an awesome experience and being able to get so close to them, we could really do some fun portrait work with the 85mm 1.8 and 100mm f2 macro lenses that you just couldn’t really do anywhere else.  Now, I don’t know if you could really consider the monkeys wild, but they were definitely wild enough to set my mother on edge when I did this!

Anyway, with all of the walking we had to do on the way back, we spent the night relaxing by the pools and watching some Big Bang Theory (to Sam and my mother’s aggrivation).  Here are some of our favorite portraits from the forest, enjoy the Monkeys and leave us a comment to let us know which ones are your favorites!

On the first day we spent in Singapore, we decided to hit up some of our favorite cultural experiences – FOOD and the different “towns” that Singapore has to offer.  We walked and saw the beautiful fabrics and Mosques on Arab street and we visited the hustle and bustle of Chinatown to visit the shops and antiquities that can be found there.  No matter how many times we seem to visit my parents in Singapore, I don’t think we can ever quite get over how culturally diverse Singapore really is and how well it all comes together around Orchard Rd. and other parts of the city.  Unfortunately, the rain hit and we spent the afternoon sleeping off the 25 hour plane flight through Moscow and the evening delighting in food from the American Club.

I believe that of all of the zoos I’ve been to (including Omaha), the Singapore Zoo stands paralleled by none and that’s exactly where we went on our second day.  The openness, layout, and diversity in the Singapore Zoo is unlike any other zoo I’ve ever visited.  You get to truly feel like you can reach out and touch the animals because, well, you basically can in a lot of cases (although I’d still suggest you don’t!).

We spent basically the entire day walking around the zoo and avoiding the crowds of people visiting over the weekend before heading home to rest and ready ourselves for a feast at Jumbo’s that night and for our flight to Bali the following morning.  The Beauty of Bali, however, is a whole other topic within itself…

You’ve been there through thick and thin and 2 years ago, today, you agreed to be there with me for the rest of our lives.  I love you for everything you do and for everything you’ve done.  You’ve helped shaped me into the man I am today and I could never imagine living without you.  Happy Valentines Day Sam and thank you for all of this and more.

At the beginning of December, Sam and I had the unfortunate news that our old dog Aggie had a severe bladder cancer that led us to the difficult decision to say goodbye.  She had been my dog for 12 great years and it was extremely difficult to say goodbye even though it was the right thing to do.  After a rough month or so and a quiet, dogless house, we decided to start looking at getting another dog and finding a new companion.  We could not have been more blessed when Sam stumbled upon a true “diamond in the rough” from the Montgomery County Animal Shelter, Sarge.  When Sarge came to the MCAS he had a large wound on his face and his two main canines were both severely broken.  He was so timid that he would not even come out of his cage at the shelter, and was actually set to be put on the short list for euthanization. Fortunately, the people at the MCAS are truly amazing and worked with Sarge to get him to emerge from his shell and finally start to interact with potential adopters.  Sarge was then put into foster care and that was where Sam found him on the MCAS Facebook Page.  We took Sarge for a week try-out to see if he was going to match with our personalities but I could tell that Sam had fallen in love with him the moment she saw him.  I was soon to follow and I’ve watched as our entire family has fallen in love with him as well.

We officially adopted Sarge the following week and he’s been showing us more of his personality every day since.  He’s been a great addition to our family and he’s nothing if not a poser for the camera (obviously).  So, I’m sure he’s going to continue to appear in blog posts and Instagrams in the future and we’ll try and give updates as often as possible.

On a final note, I can not say enough about the MCAS and the people that work there.  This is an awesome organization and they can use all of the help they can get.  If you’re looking to get a pet I would suggest checking this place out first and saving a rescue animal.  Its an amazing experience, a great cause, and there are more than enough animals needing adoption to overlook and simply by from a breeder.  When I was there adopting Sarge, there were officially 632 animals needing adoption!!!!  That’s an astounding number and what’s even more astounding is how well the people at the MCAS take care of the animals and give them the love and attention that they need.  We will forever be grateful for their kindness to our new dog and both Sam and I have become, what will most likely be, lifelong supporters of this great organization.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact us or check out the Montgomery County Animal Shelter website or the MCAS Facebook Page.

While it may not be the most colorful or glamorous looking meal in the world, what it lacks in looks it more than makes up for in smell and taste!  Check out the Recipe at the bottom!

Ruddock Family Jambalaya Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb Smoked Sausage
• 2 oz Pepperoni
• 3/4 cup Green Pepper
• 1/2 cup Onion
• 2 1/2 cup Water
• 1 1/2 cup Shrimp
• 1 Medium Tomato, Chopped
• 2 Chicken Bouillon cubes
• 1 1/2 cup Rice
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon Thyme
• 1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
• 1/8 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

Directions:

This awesome dish is quickly becoming a staple for us and one of our new favorites since Sam found it in Cooking Light Magazine.  I think we actually made this once a week this past summer and this last time we cooked it we couldn’t help but take some pictures to post up along with this awesome recipe!  It has a nice light, citrus flavor to it and the mixture/dressing that goes on top of it can easily be made into a tasty black bean and avocado dip for lunch the next day!  This is a dish that truly tastes as good as it looks and we hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the meal!