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Portraits of Austin

My First Photo Shoot in Austin, Texas

Justin Wallace Photography is now open for business in Austin Texas! It's been a long time coming, but I've finally relocated to Austin for full time commercial photography and rock climbing :D Today, I had the pleasure of shooting some corporate headshots for an awesome video game company here in Austin. We got rained out for the cool group photo we had planned, but at least we had a place to set up inside for the headshots.

I'll be heading down to Harlingen to shoot for Valley International Airport, but will be back in town this weekend for some more shoots.

Luke and Gina's South Padre Engagement Shoot

One of the very first photo shoots I ever did under my own name was for Gina Greek, a singer/song writer and friend of mine. This past weekend, I had the pleasure of shooting some engagement photography for Gina and her fiance Luke. We had a little overcastedness and some sprinklage to contend with, but on the bright side, there's no better softbox than an overcast sky. Luke, I'll definitely smuggle some sunchips into the wedding haha

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Daniel Garza Campaign Portrait Shoot

Today I did some headshots for Republican candidate for Congress - District 15, Daniel Garza. He's got a great plan and is gaining a lot of momentum here in South Texas. Check him out at www.danielgarzaforcongress.com. My friend and Client Nick, owner of DCNC Marketing, snapped off a few photos during the shoot, so for the first time ever I actually have some photos of me working.

As you can see in the setup, Daniel is lit naturally and the flag is getting hit with my 580exII in a softbox with a 480exII providing some rim lighting. This shoot was meant to be on a solid white background so we could easily extract Daniel from the background for graphic design purposes. I brought along this flag for some additional shots, which actually once flew over the state capital, and it worked out great in creating a really powerful image.

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James Eastham - CEO Valley Baptist Medical Center

As part of the latest edition of RGVision Magazine, I shot some portraits for James Eastham, CEO of Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, Texas. I began shooting CEO-style portraiture around five years ago, and will be creating a dedicated CEO portrait section on JustinWallacePhotography.com soon!

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HDR Interior Photography at Golden Palms

Today I shot some interiors at Golden Palm's brand new Texas Room in Harlingen. As the conference room is situated in the heart of Harlingen's medical district, I really needed to capture the relevant exterior in addition to a good exposure of the interior. With the use of a tripod and varying shutter speeds, I combined several exposures in Photoshop to create a composite image which was exposed correctly for the inside and outside. It's a technique some photographers use to create brilliantly composed works of art that almost emulate the feel of a painting or comic book. I tried to keep this one from looking too wild while still achieving the HDR (high dynamic range) effect.

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My Latest Work for RGVision Magazine

RGvision Publications in Harlingen, Texas always gives me the opportunity to shoot some of the biggest names here in the Rio Grande Valley. Over the past few months, some profile stories in RGVision included (from top to bottom) Franke Realtors, Lower Valley Dental Associates, CTS Plumbing, and Dr. Manuel Espinosa. Each shoot always presents its own set of challenges, and I always try to incorporate some aspect of what the subject represents in each portrait.

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Holiday Wine and Liquor Photography in McAllen, Texas

Holiday Wine and Liquor, a valley-wide company with locations in McAllen, Harlingen, Edinburg, Mission and Weslaco, is rapidly approaching their 30th year in operations and commissioned me for a photo shoot showcasing their various seasonal offerings. Shown above are five different themes focusing on Christmas, New Year's, Spring, Valentines Day, and hunting. Creating aesthetic shots that appropriately relay their respective themes can be a real challenge on a limited time frame. However, with the help of a fantastic setting, model, scene designer and makeup artist, this shoot came together quite nicely!

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Architectural Photography on South Padre Island

Last week I did both a sunrise and sunset photoshoot for Las Olas - a new high-end condominium development on South Padre Island, Texas. In between coughing fits from a killer red tide outbreak on the island, I got some great shots inside and outside. I used several flashes and softboxes on the interior shots, balancing the light levels to match the setting sun outside. The final effect produces a look similar to HDR (high dynamic range) photography by eliminating bright, blasted-out windows typically seen in indoor photography.

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Harlingen EDC Photography

My work for the Harlingen EDC comprises one of my biggest assignments yet, and spans over 30 locations, several CEO and company profiles, and an aerial photo shoot. The photographs will appear in various advertisements which will promote the growing industrial, retail and infrastructural advantages of Harlingen, Texas. As a photographer and long time resident of Harlingen, it's been a pleasure and a great opportunity to capture the real change and growth that's taking place here.

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Monica and Melvin's Wedding in San Benito, Texas

Last weekend I had the opportunity to shoot some photography for a great couple in San Benito, Texas. The sunset provided a perfect backdrop for the outdoor wedding and reception, and we all had a great time dancing and shooting photography all night! Thanks Monica and Melvin! Congratulations!

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Tim Piller and United Launch Alliance in Harlingen, TX

Although seldom spoken of in Harlingen, Texas, United Launch Alliance is one of the most high-tech companies in South Texas. A manufacturer of commercial rockets for propelling gps, television and mobile phone satellites into orbit, ULA employs over 200 engineers, assembly workers and project managers. Tim Piller one of the head honchos at United Launch and was the subject of my latest shoot promoting the labor market and industrial economy in Harlingen, Texas.

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CEO Shoot at Valley Regional in Brownsville TX

Last week I had the privilege of meeting and photographing David Handley - CEO of Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville, TX. Look for the article in RGVision Magazine!

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Some shots at the Elephant Room

Over the past few weeks, I've been working more and more at the Elephant Room in McAllen, Texas. It's an upscale bar catering to a young business-type demographic. I've been to several mixers and events there, and it's always a great place to meet professionals and network in just about every type of business. The above shots feature Margarito Alonza - owner of ByDesignOnline.com and Cynthia Camacho - executive director of the Rio Grande Valley's first real modeling agency - Forte E Bello.

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Climbing and Photographing Colorado

Longs Peak

Twin Lakes

Midway up Longs Peak

Longs Peak Summit


Last week I returned from two weeks of backpacking, hiking, rock climbing and shooting photos in Colorado. It was an awesome trip that started off in Buena Vista at Elephant Rock doing some intense trad climbing and nearly going into shock from swimming across the freezing river next to our campsite.

We visited Twin Lakes, Boulder, and finally Estes Park where we set up at the Long's Peak base camp in preparation for a most grueling climb I never knew was coming. On Friday August 21st at 2:00 AM, we began our 10 mile, 5,200 vertical foot ascent to the Long's Peak summit. None of us thought it would be as strenuous or as frightening as it turned out to be. The last 1.5 miles included scrambling up loose rocks and falling boulders over 1,000 feet up while we inched around passes barely wide enough to stand on. Now I don't claim to be any sort of expert in the field, but I can say that although our party had among us over 8 years of rock climbing experience, there were parts of the climb that made us question moving forward.

We finally made it to the summit at around 3:00PM, which was a beautiful experience. We were the slowest group of the day which was a bit frightening given the typical afternoon electrical and hail storms above the tree line. However, we were blessed with perfect weather which enabled us to take a little extra time.

Exhausted, we scrambled, slipped and stumbled down the mountain for 6 hours back to the base camp and were finally back at 9:00PM.

By my estimate, I burned enough calories to account for at least 20 visits to Whataburger - 10 of which were probably accounted for on the way home.

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