Jennifer Blackburn Photography

The Robertsons

admin — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 23:07:20 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to take Jeff and JoAnna Robertson’s very first family photos with their sweet new addition to the family, Hank! JoAnna is my awesome business partner at Blade Resources, and I couldn’t be more excited to do the session. Baby Hank’s facial expressions are heart warming, funny and you never know what he’s thinking, but I so enjoy getting pictures on pretty much a day-to-day basis from Jo. Such a beautiful family, and I’m excited to share them with you! Enjoy.

Bow turns one! | Abernathy, Texas

admin — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 20:04:27 +0000

A couple friend of mine whom I met attending Clarendon College approached me about taking some pictures of their sweet little boy, Bow, who will be one-year-old this month! Brandi’s idea involved paint, nakedness, white, and the outdoors where Bow is happiest, and I could not wait to do the session! Bow was a bit timid at first, but with a little help from mom and dad, he went all out! Brandi made the paint with evaporated milk and food coloring, which of course was much safer than real paint. We also took pictures of Bow in his birthday party shirt (before the paint), which is Mickey Mouse themed. He has the most beautiful blue eyes, which really stand out in his photos, and I’m so excited to share them!

Holiday Special | Christmas Cards in September

admin — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 19:59:53 +0000

It’s that time of year again. Colder weather is approaching, leaves are turning and the grills for football season are firing up. I understand Christmas is the last thing you want to think about right now, but the reality is it will be here before you know it! As my partner and I at Blade Resources began looking at calendars and schedules for the end of the year, we knew we had to work to put time on our side, so here we are in September rolling out our Christmas card special!

It’s never too early to start thinking about those holiday greetings and current family photos you want to share with friends and family. We decided to take this deal one step further though. Usually you get one or the other – photos for a card or a template from some online print service. Well, JoAnna and I want you to have the opportunity to have both! Three packages are available with differing quantity options and you can choose from 13 custom templates we have designed. On top of that, you also get a 30-minute photography session with yours truly, and those photos will be used on your Christmas cards.

If you have questions, feel free to e-mail us. We also welcome you to take a look at all the templates and fill out an appointment form here.

Texas Wedding | Gotti – Rivers

admin — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 22:43:53 +0000

Two weeks ago, I was able to share a very special day with bride and friend Rebecca Gotti and her groom Robert Rivers. The wedding took place in a beautiful old church in the heart of Bastrop, Texas, southeast of Austin. The wedding was very traditional and elegant, and I truly enjoyed the unique character their wedding carried. Rebecca and Robert are such a loving, care-free duo, and I’m so happy to be able to share photos from their special day!

Stark difference in food between Team Bride and Team Groom!

Newborn | Henry Beck Robertson

admin — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 03:06:24 +0000

I have long awaited the day to photograph this little guy! Parents JoAnna and Jeff Robertson are close friends, and JoAnna is actually my partner in another business endeavor, Blade Resources. Needless to say, we have been planning this photo shoot for a long time.

Any photographer can attest newborn photos are tough work. JoAnna was such wonderful help and did a ton of research beforehand, so she was extremely prepared for different swaddling methods and posing techniques that really made my job quite easy! Did you know there is a “white noise” app for iPhone? In the desert of Andrews, Texas, we listened to the sound of rain, thunder and lightening off of the app, and it worked like a charm to get baby Hank to sleep every time. We were also a sweaty mess by the end, but when babies are often half naked most of the session, space heaters are soothing for them and also provide added white noise.

Thank you, JoAnna and Jeff, for the opportunity to capture your sweet baby in his first few days. So much fun – enjoy!

Lubbock Engagement | Melissa & Shooter

admin — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 04:09:54 +0000

Had the best time photographing this lovely couple! Melissa and Shooter definitely have their his and hers, but they are wonderful together, and I enjoyed getting to know them as we sped all over the country north of Lubbock last week. Pictures aren’t Shooter’s idea of fun I was told from the beginning, but he did great and has a wonderful smile despite his concerns. Melissa is sassy and beautiful, and her bright outfits definitely make these photos stand out!

NM Engagement | Jana & Keith

admin — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 21:12:13 +0000

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to photograph maybe one of the most fun-loving couples I’ve worked with so far! First of all, they drove all the way from Carrizozo, New Mexico to do the shoot! Secondly, they gave me the challenge of coming up with something suitable for the collection of Avengers t-shirts Keith had. I don’t know much about superheroes and comic books, but I knew they wanted to show their fun side and what better place in Lubbock than Joyland park. We did part of the shoot out at a friend’s farm in the evening and wrapped up around Joyland/Mackenzie Park the next morning. The extra time was worth it! Enjoy Jana and Keith.

Lubbock Haboob | June 2012

admin — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 04:19:38 +0000

Many people have never heard the word “haboob” before, unless you live in Lubbock, Texas, that is. I missed the last haboob because I was extremely ill laying on my couch and only aware that it looked awfully orange outside, but I had no desire to venture off the couch and discover why. I was, however, kicking myself in the rear for not getting photos as the photographer instinct kicked in as I jealously looked at photos on Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere. So as you might imagine, when I was sitting on my couch, again, this afternoon, and the news lady said, “take shelter – a haboob is on the way.” I put on some decent shoes (in case you get stranded somewhere) grabbed my camera and bolted out the door!

Game Plan: Head south to get out in front of the haboob, away from the not-so-pleasant-to-the-eye town landscape, away from the little farms right outside, away from power lines (which is near impossible) and get somewhere I could get a decent item in the foreground. Then I looked down and my gaslight was on – crap. So I pulled into the nearest convenient store and put in what I thought was enough gas to get me by. I also was aware that I only had about 20 lbs of pressure in my front passenger tire, which might not be good considering in situations like this, I usually end up winding up and down dirt and caliche roads. I pressed on though (don’t tell my dad).

I’m winding and weaving down country roads to get ahead of the haboob. Have you ever tried to outrun one of those things before? Well, let me tell you – it is hard! That thing moves so fast, and every time I thought ‘ok, this is a good place,’ it would catch up with me before I could get out of the car and set up. Afraid I might not get wide and far enough from it for my big camera. I quickly snapped the iPhone panorama below, then the dirt hit me before I could even get back in the car.

West Texas Haboob

I decided to press on south, determined to get a picture with my 7D. Weaving and winding down backroads again, I found myself in an extremely sandy, deep rutted road I for sure thought I was going to high center on and be stuck in a wall of dirt. My solution – go fast, but not too fast – didn’t want to tear anything up or flip! I made it through, luckily! Merle dog wasn’t sure what she got herself into either, jumping in the car with me for an adventure. As long as the dirt hadn’t caught up with us, she did enjoy sticking her head out the window.

Merle Jean

Cruising along, I finally see something that I think would be great for the foreground of my picture. I’m due west of Tahoka at this point, almost 40 miles south of my house! I’ve got my foreground in sight, three John Deere tractors sitting side-by-side. Unfortunately as I get closer, I see these tractors are down a turn-row, not an actual road, so my guilty farmer’s-daughter conscience steps in, and I picture my dad chasing someone off his land at a high rate of speed, not because they were up to no good but because it’s fun and they had no business being there in the first place. But heck, I had drove all this way, it wouldn’t take but a couple minutes before the wave of brown sandblasting covered me again, so I ventured down the turn-row. Sure enough, in the distance across the field, a pickup stops (I can easily see his break lights) and he’s checking out what the heck I’m doing. So I cruise along like I belong there and the truck creeps onward. Then I decided to turn around and go back to the tractors. The pickup starts to back up – crap. Finally decided to just jump out, snap the photos and go on my merry way. I figured if anything, I could talk my way out of it. Fortunately, man-in-truck did not pursue! Not quite the shot I hoped to get, but see below what I came up with.

Thus my haboob story comes to an end. I limped into Tahoka, aired up my tire, turned back north for the first time in the last hour and enjoyed the lightening show followed by a downpour of replenishing rain.

#longlivefarmers

Newborn | Kason Lane Harris

admin — Tue, 08 May 2012 03:23:28 +0000

During college my junior year, two failing roommate situations were taking place. Fortunately, God had great plans and brought a member of each of these situations together. Yes, that would be me and the new mom this blog post focuses around. Now, without going into too much detail, I will say we had a GREAT two and half years together with roommate number three in the mix too – inseparable and uncommon that we all got along so well! We went through many struggles together but none like this new mom endured during that time. Let’s just say sweet baby Kason is a miracle baby and a blessing from God. And as for this new mommy, she is one of the strongest people I know, and I am very blessed to have her and her husband in my life! Meet Kason Lane Harris, who after coming a month early and spending some time in NICU is finally at home, healthy and doing very well!

Senior 2012 | Nathan Reeves

admin — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 04:04:39 +0000

Everyone meet Nathan Reeves, a Texas Tech senior graduating this May! Nathan and I have known each other for several years now through the ag college scene since he first came to Tech as a freshman! He always has a smile on his face and is really pleasant to be around. A Houston area native, Nathan is now a West Texas transplant and will begin working for Cargill this summer. We had a great time this evening, and I look forward to photographing the entire family when they travel to Lubbock in May for graduation! Best of luck my friend!

Help with the shoot from my friend Jill Horne! She's got jokes that make clients laugh!