Archive for 2007

Now, I am no Rembrant. One characteristic that I like in his work is of course his use of light. When you look at a Rembrant, you know there is a light source just outside of the image, but you are not allowed to see it. Aric C. Hoek – The Master of Shadows Solaris [...]

The votes are in and two of my four entries scored high enough to earn merits! The two images that scored the highest were Heaven on Earth (the trees) and Kiss Me Here, Kiss Me Now (Paris). I can guess why the remaining two images did not score as well. If you have ever taken [...]

I had an engagement session in the studio today. This particular couple is actually already married, so I am not sure that you can actually call it an engagement session. They are having their official ceremony and reception later this year. Because the couple is already married they allowed me some freedom to create some [...]

John and Carrie booked me to photograph their wedding earlier in September of 06, and their wedding promises to be fabulous! It is my understanding that it is to take place in a Budda Temple. At any rate, they chose to have their engagement session done in the studio and their appointment was for last [...]

Every once and a while I get a request for something a bit different. Here are a few images from a session done in the studio of a subject in yoga poses. Enjoy. Aric C. Hoek – The Master of Shadows Solaris Studios 713-524-3303 Use the Subscribe Me button to make sure you never miss [...]

It’s Monday morning at 6am and I am excited to be in the studio already. When I leave my house this early in the morning, I get to the studio so much quicker and I am in a much better mood that if I had been fighting traffic all the way here. The trek only [...]

Brooke and her fiancé Mike booked me last July to photograph their wedding while they were living in Tucson. They have since moved to Houston and we finally got around to taking their engagement session outdoors. One problem with having a session outdoors is that there are rain delays. I think we had to reschedule [...]

As you may or may not have noticed, I have made a few basic changes to the Solaris Blog in an effort to clean it up and make it a bit more like the rest of our site. I hope you like the changes. I wanted to share a few images with you today of [...]

As a business owner you need statistics to make sound business decisions, like knowing whether or not current advertising is generating enough business to support the addition of a second full time photographer. Every time the phone rings at Solaris, Beth or myself take the time to record where the lead came from in an [...]

Well, something had to give…. And the blog was put on a side burner for a bit. Things got just a bit to busy around here. Let’s review. The first weekend in January was The Bridal Extravaganza. Over 6000 brides in two days. Wow! The Two weekends later I went to San Antonio for some [...]

Well, this was a first for me. I am sitting here going through my phone messages that have pilled up since I have been away for the PPA convention, and I come across a really strange phone number. 000-001-2345. I of course think it is going to be a solicitation. It turns out that it [...]

I am backing the studio after braving the ice storm in San Antonio which delayed my return by one day. There are over 30 messages on voice mail, and way to many emails to even comment on. So, if you have left a voice mail and are waiting on a response I will be getting [...]

Gavin and Katie are in Bed, and they are not to happy about it. Toni is running her restaurant and will not be back home until 2am. I will say goodbye to her when she gets home and be on the road by 3am to San Antonio to attend The Professional Photographers of America’s Imaging [...]

Beth and I will be out of the studio starting today at 2pm until Wednesday morning. I am leaving to attend a continuing education conference and trade show in San Antonio hosted by the Professional Photographers of America. I go to multiple shows each year, but I always make a point of attending this particular [...]

If you purchased your album before your event, then production begins immediately after your online gallery has been created and your DVD has been shipped out to you. No extra effort is required on your part to begin production. You are not required to sift through the hundreds and often times thousands of images in [...]

At my last two shows I ran a very aggressive special if you booked your wedding at the show. New born twins will make you do things like that. However, during last weeks show the special offered was not as aggressive, as we have over 25 weddings on the books already for 07, but our [...]

Just a heads up for all the people attending the show this weekend. Get there early because you are going to have a hard time finding good parking. The parking lot across the street from the convention center is not available due to construction. There is parking next door at the Hilton which I have [...]

Evidently one of the benefits of investing in a quad booth at The Bridal Extravaganza is the invitation to set up your booth one day before the rest of the vendors. Normally, today I would be rushing to set everything up, but the job is already done! I am so happy about this. Lindsey, my [...]

Well, this weekend is one of the craziest weekends of the year for me. The Bridal Extravaganza will be going on this Saturday and Sunday at The George R. Brown Convention Center. It is estimated that 7000 people will attend.

My goal is to build a great photographic team. A team with very little turnover. A dependable team. A respected team. I am in need of a full time photographer, T-F 9-5, and weddings on weekends. One associate photographer is needed and will be provided with a desk, an Apple workstation, phone, Solaris email address, [...]