Posts Tagged ‘fort worth stock yards’

The Stockyards Hotel | Fort Worth Stockyards Photography

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

I love the Stockyards. I grew up here in north Texas and Fort Worth in general has always been one of my absolute favorite places. I could spend my life just hanging out in Sundance Square and the Stockyards. If there ever was a place that screamed Texas, it would be the Stockyards! Old, red-brick roads, Texas flags, daily cattle drives, old steam engine trains, weekly rodeos, cowboy boot shops, barbecue. If it’s Texas, it’s at the Stockyards. If your ever in the area and need a unique place to stay, check out the Stockyards Hotel. It’s been in business since 1907 and hasn’t stopped since. There are 3 floors of rooms, the top of which gave shelter to the infamous Bonnie and Clyde! The hotel is incredible; the architecture, the furnishings, the feel of the place. They even have a saloon! And even better, they can do weddings here! Brides, this would be an amazing place for a wedding if your after that rustic Texas theme. Here are a couple images of the hotel from a couple weeks ago while chasing the Texas sunset.

The Stockyards Hotel
109 East Exchange Avenue
Fort Worth, Texas 76164
1-800-423-8471

Outside the Stockyards Hotel

Stockyards Hotel Lobby



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The Cattle Pen Ruins at Sunset | Fort Worth Stocks Yards Photography

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

Hey everyone! It’s been quite a busy and hectic couple of weeks since my last post. Early the other week I was working on my portfolio website and all of the sudden my computer completely froze. I walked away for a few minutes to see if it would start working again but nothing! So I had to force shut down the entire system and of course it wouldn’t start up again. So I took her (yes I did just refer to my laptop as a lady, just like a car or a city) down to the apple store and they said I would have to wait a week or so. When I finally got her back they told me the hard drive had crashed and they had to replace it. They also made no attempt to recover the data because “they don’t do data recovery.” Thanks Apple Store! Thankfully I keep everything backed up in triplicate so no worries, but still! Do you keep your files backed up? The majority of people probably don’t. I’ve known quite a few people who lost every file they had for work due to a crashed hard drive. They just don’t make those things like they used to and it’s not worth the risk! I use a program called SuperDuper which actually makes a clone of hard drive on a backup drive. It goes above and beyond time machine because if you were out in the field and your hard drive crashed, you can actually plug in from your backup drive and boot directly to your backup. Whereas time machine only backs up the files to later restore if needed. Ok, enough computer geeking!

The Cattle Pen Ruins at Sunset | Fort Worth Stock Yards

Last night my wife and I went out to take pictures. It’s pretty nice having a wife who loves photography too, that way I don’t feel like I’m working when we go out together, we are just sharing a love for photography! The Fort Worth Stock Yards are a tourist trap, plain and simple. I’ve lived here my whole life and everybody wants to come here when they visit. But the only place people go is the main strip of stores, hotels, and restaurants. Sure, these sites are all old and rustic. But if you want to see the real history you have to go behind all the action. On the east end of East Exchange Avenue (the main road going through the stock yards), there is a parking lot just past the Cattle Pen Maze (as seen on the amazing race). This parking lot turns into a dirt parking lot where all the cowboys and cowgirls park their horse trailers during the rodeos and events. If you head north across the parking lot there is a huge set of cattle pens that are in complete disrepair, right behind Billy Bob’s. Is that confusing? These cattle pens are still used from time to time but some of them are in complete ruin. It’s a really cool place to take pictures and most people don’t even know they are there, or don’t know they are allowed to walk around in them. I got this shot about 30 minutes before sunset and the whole night there were these massive sun rays coming through the clouds. More photos from this night to come so stay tuned!

P.S. This would be an AMAZING place to do an engagement session, family session, trash the dress, senior, or any kind of session really. Let me know if you’d like to do a shoot here!

Cattle Pen Ruins at Sunset



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Fort Worth Engagement Photography | Lauren and Daniel

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Some people just click. You can always tell when a couple was meant to be together, and that is definitely the case with Daniel and Lauren. I’ve known Daniel for years and I am so excited to have the opportunity to photograph and document their journey from engagement to marriage! In June we will be traveling to Cancun for a laid back wedding on the beach with a few close friends and family. Can’t wait!

A STROLL AROUND THE FORT WORTH STOCK YARDS AND SUNDANCE SQUARE

For the engagement session, we met first thing in the am on a somewhat chilly November morning. We went early because we knew the streets of the Fort Worth Stock Yards and Sundance Square would be empty. Our session started out walking down main street and taking over random alleys and rusted staircases. The chemistry between  these two love birds was intense and that’s the best part of taking engagement photos. The feeling and idea of getting married is at it’s freshest point, and you can see that excitement and joy every time the couple locks eyes.

We also hit up the White Elephant Saloon which turned out to be an awesome location. I love shooting at empty places that would otherwise be standing room only at night. There is also an exit behind the outdoor stage that leads to a beautiful courtyard with walk ways, trees, and a really cool tunnel. To end the session we headed north to Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth and walked through the streets some more. Oh and I almost forgot, we got to have lunch at my all time favorite restaurant in the world, El Rancho Grande! It’s just north or the stockyards before you drive into Fort Worth at the corner of Northside. I have been going there since I was a kid and they have the best Mexican food in the world! Don’t try and argue with me because you will fail!

Below is a video slide show of the session, followed by a few images. The video slide shows are something we specialize in, and I am willing to bet you have probably not seen anything else like it!

Daniel and Lauren: Engaged from James Brandon on Vimeo.

Fort Worth Stock Yards Photography

Fort Worth Stock Yards Photography

Fort Worth Sundance Square Photography

Fort Worth Sundance Square Photography

Fort Worth Sundance Square Photography

Fort Worth Sundance Square Photography

Fort Worth Sundance Square Photography