It seems that because I do most of the blogging people just assume that I do most of the shooting as well. Well kids, this is not really the case. Rick shoots his fair share of all kinds of things and I have rounded up several photos from my vast archive to illustrate!

I woke up early this morning to watch the sun rise in hopes of getting a glowing pink and orange sky of biblical proportions. Unfortunately, the clouds on the eastern horizon were so thick that the light from the sun did not even penetrate them . One of my favorite things about New Mexico is the sky and, being a photographer, I am always looking to the sky to see what’s up with the weather and light. All of the following images were shot on my iPhone over the past year, usually going to or coming from a “real” photo session, a few were shot on location.

-DeAnna Dimmitt

Dry Heat Photography

I was looking back through the thousands of photos that are on my phone and I realized that these little phone pictures represent a visual account of my life for the past year. Obviously my professional life is clearly depicted on the pages of this blog but what about the little details of the day to day? Are they important? Do they mean something? I think they do even if it’s just for myself.

Today I was thinking that I miss the flowers. Yesterday was the Winter Solstice making it the shortest day of the year. That means today the first day of a gradual journey that eventually leads back to Spring and the reemergence of plant life.

In the meantime I can enjoy the flowers from this past season and share them with you.  Here’s to the first day of many journeys.

-DeAnna Dimmitt
Dry Heat Photography

Here are a few teaser shots from our session today with Rebecca and Matt.

This session is sort of a test as I just figured out how to update the blog from my phone.  Is there anything this iPhone won’t do? Oh yeah, it kinda sucks for making calls.  Anyhow, thanks for viewing and  congratulations to Rebecca and Matt, we had a great time shooting today.

-Rick Meiers

Dry Heat Photography

From time to time I know I have been guilty of using my blog as an unchallenged forum for voicing my own opinions and maybe sometimes my opinions are not always popular.  In my own defense I would have to argue that the purpose of having a blog is to voice one’s own opinions.  Well in any case something happened that has motivated me to speak once more.  

While attending a gathering of local wedding vendors earlier today I was quite literally shocked beyond words when another professional in my field decided to speak up and encourage all of us to “lower the bar” because (in their words) “this generation of brides does not care about quality”.  Following on the heels of that was “it’s better to have inferior work up (like on your website) than no work at all”.   Honestly, I nearly choked on my lunch and I could see others sitting around me also glowering in disapproval.   

It is my opinion that perpetuating the notion that brides don’t care about quality is very literally the kiss of death to the wedding industry as a whole.  My studio, Dry Heat Photography, is from the school of thought that says “come big or stay home”.  I know for a fact, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that brides and grooms, in all budgets,  most certainly care about quality!  I know something else to be true as well; people respond to the way you treat them, you get what you give.  If I approached my clients with an “I know you don’t really care about this” attitude, I would certainly bet that they would respond in kind by doing exactly what I expected – not caring.  Well folks, let me tell you Rick, Angela, Kristina and I all care very passionately about what we do.  Our goal is to be the best.  What does it mean to be the best?  To us it means to do everything that is necessary to facilitate the best possible experience for our clients and, of course, to create the fantastic, once in a life time, photographs that people come to us for.  I have no doubt, because they tell me directly, that our clients care about quality.

The wedding industry is very specialized and highly competitive.  There are many talented people who earn their living by pursuing their passion, (working their butts off) and giving 100% to the special couples we all care so much about.  There is no room in this field for the disenchanted.

-DeAnna Dimmitt

Dry Heat Photography

Once again we spent four days in May photographing the Zia Classic Arabian Horse Show at the NM Expo Horse Complex.  This is one of our favorite events and we look forward to it every year!

For inquiries regarding equine family portrait sessions, or to view the entire horse show, please contact DeAnna Dimmitt at 505.730.8576 or email info@dryheatphotography.com .

I would like to thank Dr. Walker from the Albuquerque Cat Clinic for once again rescuing Pumpkin Head from the brink of disaster.  As most of my friends and family are aware Pumpkin Head fell ill at the end of the last week and, of course, that means the whole rest of the world grinds to a halt.  Unfortunately, it all happened in the middle of the night, and on a weekend, so we spent most of the weekend at the Emergency  Clinic.  To their credit they were able to  prevent her from becoming massively dehydrated but the vomiting, that ultimately caused the problem in the first place, continued.  First thing Monday morning we were in Dr. Walker’s office and shortly there after the vomiting stopped and eating and digesting resumed. (Happy Dance )  Pumpkin Head is getting up there in years and seems to have a knack for developing abnormal problems that require the expertise of a specialist.    Take it from me, if your cat is in need of medical attention, you can save yourself a lot of money, wasted time, and heart ache by just making the Albuquerque Cat Clinic your first call.  505.323.1460

-DeAnna Dimmitt

Dry Heat Photography

One of the passions that Rick and I share, besides the obvious; photography, is hiking.  We both love the outdoors and have a secret hankering for hiking accessories.  Yes, that’s right, we love to collect packs, boots, socks, hats, shirts with zipper vents, and anything that has to do hiking many miles through the desert or mountains.  As a result we are very well equipped for our outdoor excursions although this has not always been the case.  In our quest to hike to the Shrine Of The Stone Lions at Bandelier we have had two previous failed attemtps.  On the first attempt we ran out of water being approx 6 miles from the car.  It was sweltering hot and that death march through the high mountain desert was no fun! On the 2nd attempt our GPS crapped out and we got lost.  It had actually died right before we left so we bought a new one on the way out of town.  Unfortunately there was not enough time to load all the Bandelier maps into it so other than providing a way point, latitude and longitude, it was not really very helpful.  We took a wrong fork in the trail and by the time we figured it out we had gone 2 miles in the wrong direction.  All in all this little mistake set us back nearly an hour.  By the time we got to the approximate location of the lions we had 2 hours to hike 7 miles back to the car before the sun went down.  Although we knew we were super close to the lions we could not afford to lose any more daylight and had to turn back without actually finding them.  That hike ended up being 18.5 miles.  Well finally, on May 31, 2009, and with my cousin Matt in attendance, we made a third attempt at the lions and this time we found them!

Rick and I both have lots of photos from this adventure.  In the interest of saving time I am providing links to these albums on facebook

To view my photos click here

To view Rick’s photos click here

*important* once you click the link to view the photos click the title of the album not the thumbnail of the image to view the album.  If you click the thumbnail facebook will want you to sign in or join.

This blog entry is a little late but, you know, better late than never right?  These photos were taken during our drive back from Las Vegas in February.

-DeAnna Dimmitt

Dry Heat Photography

scenic Lake Mead

suspension bridge over Hoover Dam

Looking down from Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam chipmunks.  I had no idea that hundreds of chipmunks inhabit Hoover Dam.  They hang out in this driveway where the staff parks and people feed them.  I wished I had brought my real camera out of the car because the mini-cam focuses so slow that it is practically impossible to get any sharp photos of a high octane chipmunk.  While most of my shots were of the sidewalk after the chipmunk was long gone, I did get a couple of lucky shots.

2 Guns, Arizona

Yep, there it is

Rick at the bunny rodeo

The smart parked side by side with a Prius for length comparison

“Root” 66

In Memory of Raven

April 5, 1995 to April 12, 2009

Rick and I only met Raven a couple of times and even in these brief encounters he touched our lives.  To know Raven is to know that he was an exceptional being who was able to bridge the chasm between man and wolf and rebuild the relationship between the two.  Raven lived most of his life as the chief Ambassador Wolf at the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary.  His best friend was Leyton Cougar and the two of them worked side by side for many years to improve public education about wolves.  Raven passed away this morning in Leyton’s arms. He was 14 years old. This is nearly double the average life span of a wild wolf and, while it is very sad for all of us who will miss him, we must take heart in the fact that Raven completed the work he came here to do and his spirit is now uninhibited as it was always meant to be.  Run free dear friend, we will miss you.

Most sincerely,

-DeAnna Dimmitt and Rick Meiers

Dry Heat Photography

Our last images of Leyton and Raven together.  March 5, 2009