Jonathan L Golden Photography - Houston Texas Wedding and Portraiture Photographer » Houston Texas

Life and Asher Samuel | Houston Newborn Photography

Jonathan — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:25:32 +0000

WOW! Its been over 2 months since I clicked “Add New Post” for this blog; smh. Actually, its been weighing quite heavily on me lately because I really do have a lot of great things to post. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some fantastic clients recently.

As far as life is concerned, during my 2 weeks off from my 9-5 at Christmas 2009 I was lazily clicking through the channels one afternoon. Somehow, I found myself watching the Ironman World Championships (shocking right in the middle of BCS Bowl Season). The Ironman Gods must have been summoning me toward 12+ hours of pain and suffering because 2 weeks later, after running the Houston Half Marathon, I decided to buy a triathlon bike, hop in the pool and start training for my first triathlon. I’ll be starting my triathlon career at the sprint distance Memorial Hermann Ironman 70.3 in Galveston on April 24. I’m super excited!

ALSO and most importantly, my wife Kristen and I were blessed with a beautiful (and healthy) newborn baby boy; Asher Samuel Golden. I’d like to thank all my friends and family for their loving thoughts and prayers while Asher spent the first 7 days of his life in the NICU at Texas Children’s Hospital. At nearly a month old now, he is sleeping, begging to be fed and going through $.65 diapers just like any other newborn. We have truly been blessed!

As I ease back into a regular blogging schedule, I figured I’d start with a few photos of the newest member of our family.

We were in good hands!

Mimi

If you are expecting or have an infant, please Contact me Today to book your newborn portrait session.

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Halloween Fun 2009 – Houston Family & Event Photography

Deborah, Jules and Marjorie – Houston, Texas Pet Photography

Jonathan — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:01:11 +0000

Aunt Deborah rarely goes anywhere without her two best friends – Jewels and Margery. When I say anywhere, I mean, she won’t buy a car that isn’t a station wagon with room for two 70 lb dogs. As a person who grew up with cats (my mom is terrified of dogs), I learned about the loyalty and friendship that dogs bring to people after I married my wife. If you say a cross word about Jewels, Margery or Venus (my mother-in-law’s papillon), you might as well be talking about their owner. If table food didn’t result in thousands of dollars in medical bills, I’m convinced most dogs would have a seat at the dinner table. They really are members of the family.

A couple weeks ago, I stopped by Deborah’s house for what turned out to be a very fun shoot. When I arrived, Jewels and Margery had just returned from Petsmart where they received their monthly $100 pampering. They were very relaxed and posed for some great photos.

Here are a few images from the session.

Goodbye until next time!

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Sophie’s 2nd Birthday Party – Houston, Texas Photography

Jonathan — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:02:13 +0000

As my last photography assignment of 2009, I was hired by Mr. Bob Bates to shoot for a few hours at his daughters 2nd birthday party. Bob is currently stationed in Afghanistan and came home for the holiday’s to enjoy some much needed R&R with his family.

One thing all children need is an overdose of love and care (and to be slightly spoiled). The whole time I was taking pictures of Sophie and her family, I couldn’t help but notice how close they were. Sophie has such a great spirit and really enjoys being the center of attention. She had definitely been in front of a camera before because as soon as I set up my lights, she started posing. I love it when my clients are as excited about photography as I am!

With the love that’s in the Bates household, Sophie is destined for great things in life. As for the celebration, Bob really set the bar high for himself; bounce house, friends and family, food, cake and loads of toys. When a man loves his daughter, she can have the moon and it not seem out of the ordinary. I can’t fault him, see where we did the same thing for our daughter here.

Enjoy the pictures from Sophie’s 2nd Birthday Party.

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Ava Loves the Snow! – Houston Texas Photography

Jonathan — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:39:18 +0000

Last Friday Houston was greeted with an early “White Christmas.” If we get snow, it’s usually a 10 minute freezing rain storm that we call snow. This time, Houston had a full blown snowstorm. To top it off, as my final photography purchase of the year, B&H (via UPS) delivered a brand new Nikkor AF-S 70-200 f/2.8 to my doorstep! I all but shredded the box getting to it, strapped it on my D700, grabbed the family and headed out into the snow.

At first, Ava (my little one) thought the big snow flakes were making her “dirty” and refused to venture away from the porch. Eventually, determined not to let my wife and I have all the fun, she gave it a chance. As you’ll see in the pictures below, Ava could not get enough of it.

Don’t act like you didn’t try dirty snow the first time you saw it!

A lucky man…I know

Daddy gets to adventure into the middle of the yard. You’ve got to love my “cold weather socks!”

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Ava’s 2nd Birthday Party – Houston Texas Photography

Meghann – Bridal Photography in Houston Texas

Jonathan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:34:04 +0000

Meghann had a fabulous wedding in Tennessee a little over a month ago. Before the wedding we were on the fence with regard to Bridal photography. With the amazing weather we’ve had here in Houston lately, she decided to go ahead and invest in what turned out to be some beautiful photos. We had a BLAST! I think taking Bridal portraits after the wedding is a great idea. The dress has already been worn so the bride does not have to worry about getting her dress dirty. With a huge stressor removed the bride has the freedom to be much more relaxed and enjoy the session.

At dusk, we headed out to Houston’s Discovery Green park armed with multiple flashes, Nikon CLS and many more beautiful backdrops then we could use. After two full hours of “look how awesome that is, lets go shoot there” Meghann was a little worn out (I don’t blame her). As you will see, I think we came away with some fantastic Bridal photos.

Meghann is beautiful! Jesse (her husband) is quite a lucky man.

Special thanks to Adrian Green who help with lighting and creative inspiration!

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Halloween Fun 2009 – Houston Family & Event Photography

Jonathan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:16:15 +0000

With a long overdue post, I bring you Halloween 2009! I started off taking a few pictures with my wife, daughter and a family friend. We never go to overboard with the holiday but Ava (my daughter) was tickled pink when she looked in the mirror with her costumes on. She screams with joy and giggles every time she looks at herself in the mirror. Here’s our little family and friends photo shoot.

Wife: Bunny

Ava: Chicken and Honey Bee

Friend: Lobster

After family time, I went to work a party for some long time friends of mine. I arrived just as the party was warming up, and as you will see in the following images, it was quite the shindig! Halloween is one of those holidays than when combined with alcohol can quickly get out of control. In good judgment, I put the camera down after 1AM. I have to protect the potential for future political careers.

Enjoy!

Why YES, I will have a cookie!

Cheers!

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Antoine and Cassandra – Houston Texas Photography

Jonathan — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:37:09 +0000

Antoine and I met each other 8 years ago as members of the Baylor Bears football team. Antoine came in my Sophomore year and we were great friends from the beginning. He was a member of the amazing offensive line that made one of the most memorable nights of my life possible; the night I scored 6 touchdowns. I haven’t kept up with a ton of people from college but Antoine is one of those people that I’ll know for the rest of my life. We’ve had some devastating lows together (football can do that to you), but the times I remember most are when we have laughed so hard we had tears streaming down our faces (I’m laughing as I write this).

Antoine and his lovely wife Cassandra have been married for 3 years now and they decided to add a little omph to their 2009 holiday greeting cards as well as get some updated photos for their home. Time flies and before you know it, the family photography will be dated. I was trilled when the Murphy’s chose Jonathan L Golden Photography for their images. We started with the water wall located at Main and Holcombe then moved over to Houston’s lovely Herman Park and Japanese Gardens. The Japanese Gardens have several amazing backdrops as your will see in the images.

Antoine tried to play the “hard” football player in front of me in the beginning (y’all know that football player mean mug), but over the hour and a half we spent together he really loosened up. I was able to capture some great images that show the strength of their relationship and the love they have for each other.

Enough with the dialogue…enjoy the pictures!

My favorite!!!

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Emily & Chris – Houston Engagement Photography

Jonathan — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:29:33 +0000

If Chris looks familiar, its because many of you saw him as a groomsman at Chad and Katie’s wedding a few posts back. Chris and Chad lived together and were in the same fraternity at Baylor University. I can’t remember exactly how I met both of them but me and my roommate lived across the parking lot in the same condominiums. We have a lot in common so it’s no wonder we’ve stayed connected to this day. Along with Chad and myself, I think Chris would agree that those were the best days of our lives.

I met Emily when she attended Chad’s wedding as Chris’ date. She is extremely funny and great to be around. As we drove from Austin, I joked with my wife that Chris and Emily would soon be getting engaged. HA! Two weeks later, I see and RSS update from Emily’s blog One Day at a Time where she was glowing with excitement. Chris proposed while on their annual trip to Scottsdale, Arizona.

If you get the chance, read through Emily’s blog. They’ve been engaged for a month and Emily has been on top of every detail! I’ve never seen (or heard) of anything like it. If I know Chris, he is doing his best to hang on for the ride.

As part of that ride, the two of them drove down from Dallas to Houston last Saturday for their engagement photos. Emily chose me for their engagement photography after I posted an image of the two of them from Chad’s wedding. We went out to Rice University in Houston where we found a wealth of amazing backdrops. While at my house the night before, we chatted about what they were looking to get out of their engagement session. I was convinced that I would have to slowly warm the two of them up to get some interesting shots for their engagement session. WRONG! Chris took complete control; positioning and posing Emily, telling me how he wanted his backgrounds to “properly fade” (Bokeh for the photographers out there) and finding quite a few unique settings. Part of it probably had to do with his comfort level, but the other part is talent. Chris aka Cousin might have a new calling!

In the meantime, enjoy the photos:

Ohh…I forgot to mention, they’ll be getting married in the Dominican Republic! Its going to be an absolute BLAST!

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Jaclyn & Brian – Houston Wedding Photography

Jonathan — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:28:35 +0000

Jackie, was the first of my wife’s college friends that I met when we were dating. We stayed at their Brooklyn apartment for a couple days back 2006 while we attend my sister-in-laws graduation from NYU. Jackie was clearly used as the “filter” and thankfully I passed the test.

Jackie and Brian are high school sweet hearts who have been together for over 10 years! Jackie has a special place in our hearts because during our families busy time (marriage & babies) Jackie made it to all of the Houston events. That’s three trips to Houston. She flew down for the engagement party, wedding and baby shower! After last weekends “airport fun” that we experienced making one trip from Houston to Newark and back, I realize that she made quite a sacrifice to be there for us.

Their wedding was held on campus of the beautiful Princeton University. They had a beautiful wedding ceremony and incredibly fun reception. The mouth watering lamb burgers they served for pass hor’ dourves were to die for. I wish them all the happiness in the world. After 10 years it’s finally time to start crankin out the babies!

One last thing I want to throw in…Jackie is one of the creative editing directors for the incredibly entertaining train wreck known as The Real Housewives of New Jersey. They just started filming season two so be sure to check it out in Spring 2010.

Images from their event…enjoy!

Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Fox

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Augustine – Houston Texas Newborn Photography

Jonathan — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 04:40:44 +0000

A perfect follow up to my previous post. Some of you may remember when I did a newborn shoot for Danielle and her newborn daughter Ariana a few months ago. Danielle was hanging out with her friend Josephine when the topic of photography came up. Danielle quickly pulled out a photo from our session to “show off.” When Josephine saw the pictures, she quickly called me up to book a newborn photo session.

3 days later, I arrived at Josephine’s residence to find a beautiful 7 day old baby boy. Augustine was nice and chill during the entire session. Newborns have a mind of their own. Often cranky, sleepy or hungry (I don’t work at 3AM when they are usually wide awake) I love when I get a newborn who is laid back and comfortable. As you’ll see below, he was very easy to work with and I was able to capture some great images.

Enjoy!

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Photographing Newborns – Houston Texas