Sarcoidosis "Walk for a Cure" 2012 ** Houston Texas

I was blessed in attending the 2012 Sarcoidosis Awareness “Walk for a Cure” in Houston Texas on 04/21/12 with Rosa & Cheyenne!! It was awesome! I didn’t think I was gonna make it because of a prior commitment the evening before, but God opened the way and I was able to be at the walk!!! I give Him all the Glory!! The day was perfect, a bit chilly in the morning, but it just got better. JeNiece McCullough; Bernie Mac’s daughter was at the event walking in memory of her father Bernie….Dr. Joseph Fontana, MD Pulmonary Critical Care-National Institutes of Health (NIH) Sarcoidosis Research & Clinical Trials, Bethesda Maryland attended again this year. As did folks from many areas of the United States. Rosa & Cheyenne walked for Susan Beard, their aunt that succumbed to the disease in 2008. I practically ran a mile of the 2 mile walk so I could get some great photos of the folks walking. Jared Owens, son of Jaz Owens of Atlanta Georgia, came up with his own FUN awareness activity to honor his mother and other Sarcoidosis sufferers around the world. He set a World Record for wearing the MOST military/dog tags around his neck at one time to help raise awareness and funds for research! I think he made it; he was able to wear 150 of the dog tags around his neck!!! Awesome! It was an awesome morning of fun and fellowship. I’d like to think my “bud” Sue was with us in spirit!! Blessings to all and enjoy the photos….God bless everyone involved!! ☺ ** NOTE: All photos property of Sylvia Garcia-Smith and can not be reproduced without permission. 

NOTE: All photos in this album are for sale. ALL proceeds to benefit Janine’s Sarcoidosis Outreach Foundation. Prices starting at $15 for 5x7s & $20 for 8x10s, this includes all shipping & paypal fees. Message me if interested….  sylvia 

Go to the following link to view more photos:
http://www.sylviagarcia-smith.com/gallery/v/042112_Sarc_OL/
For Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.10150730045351655.398785.213521671654&type=1

I was blessed to “shoot” an awesome outdoor wedding on 03/17/12. This was my last “scheduled” wedding shoot for the year, it was an awesome session….The bride and groom were fun to be around and we all had a great time making memories….check out the photo gallery for photos of the event!! God blessed us with a wonderful day!! If you are interested in a shoot and “really” want to use me, please don’t hesitate to contact me, I’ll see what we can do……sylvia

http://www.sylviagarcia-smith.com/gallery/v/031712_Walker_WS/

03/16/12

Interior of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Panna Maria, Texas

Drove to Yorktown Texas today to enjoy a potato luncheon put on by the Yorktown Historical Commission. The ‘taters were goooood and I met some awesome folks.
Afterwards, I decided to drive home slow, hitting a few churches on the way. Bea told me about the San Luis Catholic Church in Yorktown, so I went to check it out and got a few photos of it. Such a shame that it was overcast again, but nothing is ever wrong when God has something to do with it….thank YOU Father.

I continued to drive to Panna Maria Texas, in an attempt to get photos of the inside of the historic church. I was blessed, the church was open and I took some photos of the church my parents went to visit on their honeymoon in 1953!! How cool is that?? I met a lady up in the balcony that was working on the organ and we talked a bit. She pointed out something on the ceiling. Said that someone had written their names up there a long time ago and she was curious to know what names were there. I went out and retrieved my 180mm from the Jeep and proceeded to oblige her. Two shots are included…the “graffiti” was dated April 9, 1937….how cool is that??? I then went to the Visitor’s Center across the street and met Ms Elizabeth, she was so nice in showing me all the cool gifts the historical commission sells there. I bought a t-shirt, the one that Ms Elizabeth is modeling for us….and another little gift…gotta go back. The Visitor’s center is open Wed, Thurs, Friday and Sundays, take a drive over there and check it out!! ☺ s

I then proceeded to Cestohowa, Texas again and photographed more flowers, finding Bluebonnets on CR3191 west of the church close to Cibolo Creek. The historical markers say that a fort was established along the creek right where I was photographing, so it would have been cool to see this.

I drove on home and stopped on 181 by the Charco Road exit wanting to take a decent photo of Bluebonnets with the CBC sign in the background, didn’t do as well as I wanted, but I settled on a couple, realizing I left a utility blanket at the Cestohowa church, oh well….!! It was a well used blanket, my helper when I did “low-shoots”, guess I’ll have to get another one!

Finally made it home at 5pm, sure was an awesome day!! There were some sprinkles going up and coming back. Looked like some folks had gotten rain…enjoy God’s blessings daily, He is with us always!! ☺ sylvia

Here is a link to the album:
http://www.sylviagarcia-smith.com/gallery/v/031612_YTown_OL/

I’ve been keeping busy at school and on Facebook, so I haven’t spent much time here, but wanted to share the churches I photographed in the Karnes County area on 03/09/12. I went to buy a new vehicle in New Braunfelds and stopped at Cestohowa & Panna Maria to view the historic churches there. They are awesome….check out the photos on the gallery. Thanks for viewing. God’s blessings your way!! sylvia

http://www.sylviagarcia-smith.com/gallery/v/Churches/

02/04/12

Fennessey Ranch Eagles

What an awesome morning we spent at the Fennessey Ranch in Bayside Texas. We were blessed with a great time and were able to see the nesting Bald Eagles on the ranch. Unfortunately, the cold front moved in quick and the temperature dropped 20 degrees after we got into the blinds, we weren’t properly dressed for the cold and the adult birds refused to come back to the chicks. It rained and you can see the rain coming down in a couple of photos. I called Sally at 10:30am and told her of our dilemma, she became concerned about the chicks, so we “called” the mini-tour and decided to tour the ranch after a quick break at the “Bunkhouse”. We were driven to the Alligator pond and saw some of the 21 baby alligators there. We got to see the new photo blinds that have been put up at the ranch and enjoyed the beauty of Maguill Lake and the new boardwalk built by A&M. Too bad it was so cold and overcast. But we were all happy to get back into our warm vehicles. It was a great morning and Sally hopes she gets more photographers interested in the Photo Club. Thank you Sally Crofutt for hosting this mini-tour….If anyone is interested in joining the “club”, check the website, it’s a great place to get some wildlife photos…..sylvia

www.fennesseyranch.com

http://www.sylviagarcia-smith.com/gallery/v/020412_Eagles_OL/

Karnes County San Antonio River Bridge formerly Old Choate Bridge

What a glorious day it was on 01/14/12, went out to explore the surrounding areas and found the Old Choate Bridge in Karnes County. I took off at 8:15am and found it about 9:15am….people have no idea how blessed Bee County is, probably 99% of our county roads are paved. Well, I found out today that Karnes County hasn’t paved their county roads. What an interesting drive that was, my Nissan Versa wants to be a PU when it grows up, I needed one today….but I live for days like today. I followed the signs and saw the bridge before I got to it. I found that this is a “morning” shoot, sun was to my left and it made for better photos of the bridge….problem was, I thought I was gonna be shot being in the area, had to jump a fence to go down and photograph the bridge and I heard gun fire up river…….eek!!!

After photographing that area, I drove back to Bee County and drove up to FM 798 from Tulsita Texas towards Pawnee & stopped at the intersection of FM798 & 2985 to look for the Pullin-Livingston Cemetery that was supposed to be in the brush there. I looked around finding a “game trail” into the brush, but couldn’t find any headstones or markers spending 15-20 minutes in the brush, but nada!!

I drove up to Pawnee & back down to Mineral, taking photos along the way and found the Arrisola Cemetery on CR 104. My Mom show us this cemetery many years ago when the area was harder to get into, there were only a couple of headstones then, but now a few more have been added.

I continued my drive down to Orangedale stopping at the old road that led to the old

Old Orangedale Bridge in Bee County

Orangedale Bridge. I got out and hiked towards the bridge, finding a fence between me and the bridge. I decided to drive over to Henry Lane at Orangedale, but couldn’t get to the bridge that way. I finally stopped at a ranch on FM 673 and spoke to a gentleman there, he gave me permission to “jump” a fence to walk back to the bridge and take photos….wow, it was better than I thought, what an awesome old bridge the Orangedale Bridge is, I went crazy and got several photos of it from all angles, I had such a great time!! I wanted to keep photographing, but I figured I got enough….I was just awed by what’s left of the bridge, finally made it home at 1:45pm and was so thankful to God for the glorious day God blessed me with. Enjoy the photos!!!  sylvia

Click on the link for more photos:
http://www.sylviagarcia-smith.com/gallery/v/011412_Bridges_OL/

I’ve officially “closed” my wedding photography business out as of 12/31/11, but I will still be around and available to help folks that need instruction on using the new cameras they got for Christmas and for whatever else comes up. Have a wonderful 2012, I believe in thinking positive and that our Heavenly Father guides us to where He wants us to be, we’ve just gotta sit back, quiet our thoughts and listen for His voice…..May His blessings be “showered” on everyone that views this site, enjoy the gifts that He has blessed me with to share with you. You are welcome to contact me for any info you might need on photography or if you’d like to buy a print of my work…just go to the Contact Us page for info….. sylvia

Santa vists Beeville, The Christmas Tree Forest at the McClanahan House and visits from First Baptist Church and St Philips Schools, what fun times in Beeville during Christmas….enjoy and have a very merry and blessed Christmas…….

http://www.sylviagarcia-smith.com/gallery/v/Christmas+in+Beeville/

sylvia

If you have an interest in having me photograph your event, please contact me for pricing. I will no longer be publishing my prices. Please look over the photos I have taken in the past by viewing my Photo Gallery, I believe you will be pleased with my work. Thank you so very much for having visited my site….Merry Christmas to all!! And have a very happy new year. sylvia

Had an awesome Quinceañera “shoot” on 11/19/11….Katelynn Pena was an extremely gorgeous young lady to photograph. No church was involved, just the reception at the Live Oak County Coliseum. Everyone had a great time and we all enjoyed the fun involved during the whole “shoot”. Stand by for photos…I will be uploading them to the Zenfolio site so folks can buy if they wish…here’s the link:

http://sylviagarciasmith.zenfolio.com/

Be blessed during this awesome holiday season 2011 and continue to give thanks to our Father for all He has given us!!!…sylvia