Those of you who know me know that I’m big into charity; especially children’s charities. There are no words to explain how it feels to put forth time & energy, just to have a child’s face light up in joy. No words, I tell you.

So let me tell you about an upcoming event – Ride for Dime Texas 2010!! It’s in honor of the late Darrell “Dimebag” Abbott (RIP). I snapped this photo yesterday on my way home; beautiful mural of Dime on the side of the Rock Dog Sports Bar in Fort Worth.

The event is all about music & CHARITY! Proceeds will be going to Little Kids Rock!

Info for the ride can be found here AND HERE

OR I can just tell ya now!
Everyone will meet up at Longhorn Harley Davidson (2830 W I-20, Grand Prairie TX )
Bikes will start staging at 1:30pm and the ride will start out around 3:15pm.
Everyone will be riding to the Dreamworld Music Complex (3102 W Division Street, Arlington TX).
$20 to get in!
4pm is when the music gets crackin’, with a rockin’ kids cover band, Conviction!

Remember, this is for charity people!
OH, and my involvement, oh yes. I’m gonna be there doing what I love – capturing memories!! I’ll be there photographing the bikes lining up (gonna need my step-stool due to my being vertically challenged), and I’ll also be snapping shots of the party and its guests! So say hello if you see me out there! I’ll have a very special guest assistant – my sister Janie! YAY!

Remember, Sat July 31st = Bikes, bands, raising money for kids – oh and there’s going to be giveaways galore!

Class of 2011: Are you looking for unique and modern senior portraits? Are you energetic, outgoing and eager to have the best senior year EVER? Do you want to have your senior portraits done for FREE? Hah, NOW I have your attention!

Kasi Daine Photography is on the hunt for fresh faces to take part in the Class of 2011 Senior Rep Casting Call! The Senior Rep Program is an exciting opportunity for students who want fun & modern senior portraits for no cost. What’s the catch? There is no catch! I simply ask in return that you tell your friends “I had my pictures done by Kasi Daine Photography!” You could also add “So if you want some rad, off the hook senior portraits, you should call this chick too!”
{HAHA}

The 2011 Casting Call is open to students attending public schools within Fort Worth ISD, Burleson ISD, Mansfield ISD, Crowley ISD, or Joshua ISD. Only a limited number of models will be selected.

Here’s the fun part.. To self-nominate to be a Kasi Daine Photography Senior Rep, simply send an email to kasi@kasidaine.com with the subject line “Senior Rep Submission.” In your email, I want to know why you feel you’d be a great senior rep! Have fun w/your submission, guys and gals. I want to see your personality in the email (and I’ll know if you mom wrote it)!! Tell me about your inner rockstar; or how you should have been born in the 70s because you’re a total flower child; or tell me you can take down a grizzly better than Chuck Norris – I don’t care – just have fun with it! I call these sessions ROCKSTAR Senior Sessions for a reason!

Keep in mind that throughout the school year, all the referrals you send my way that result in booking a paid senior session, will result in referral $$ to be used for future portraits, prints, graduation announcements, thank you cards, etc!

All submissions must be received by July 18th. Senior rep portrait sessions must be held for dates between July 23rd – August 29th.

I’m excited people! I love senior portraits! Spread the word!!!

For some reason I’m struggling with putting down my thoughts into words today. I blame it on my first ever steroid shot I received today, due to an allergic reaction of some sort. So if this blog reads incredibly lame, I’m blaming it on that + the lack of sleep.

I direct your attention to the best map I’ve ever seen on an advertisement – EVER:

This is for a local fireworks stand (duh, Kasi). Notice that on the map they make sure you know where they are NOT, in case you get confused and ALMOST go to the wrong fireworks stand. GENIUS!
It made me think of my own struggle to stand out and be an individual as a photographer. There are so many photographers in the DFW area – how do I set myself apart?! It’s my hope that through my pictures, along with my candid blogs, that the readers get to know ME. For me, photography is so much more than just taking a picture and billing a client. I want to know my clients, and I want to build relationships. I want to watch my clients’ kids grow up.. their pets grow up… I want to see my clients perform… At the end of this very (hopefully) long, (hopefully) successful life, I want to say that I touched people’s lives – and provided them with some pretty nifty photographs to keep for years to come.

So while we’re getting personal… I’ve been asked numerous times:
Is your name CASEY Stuhlman or KASI Stuhlman?

Legally, I was born Casey Harris. In 7th grade, I decided every week for a few weeks that I would change the spelling of my name because that’s the way boys spelled the name Casey. I started out slow, and then got really creative:
KC
K.C.
Kacey
Kasey
Kaysee
Kaysea (I said creative.. I didn’t say smart.)

Finally I found the perfect fit: Kasi.
So up until I hit the professional world, I spelled my name Kasi, with the exception of legal documents. I really should have changed it legally. Because low and behold, I married the most wonderful amazing husband… who had a little brother named Casey. So once we legally wed, there were TWO Casey Stuhlmans.
He says he was the first. I say regardless, I’m the coolest. So from here on out, we’re going to refer to Casey Robert Stuhlman as the 2nd Coolest Casey Stuhlman in the World (or the 2nd Coolest Casey – for short).

JUST when I thought I would accept my legal birth name, I decided to do this photography thing! Only problem is that I live in the Burleson/Crowley area.. the same area the 2nd Coolest Casey grew up and went to school. The 2nd Coolest Casey was a quarterback for NCHS & is incredibly beloved by all those who know him. I’ve actually had a friend’s younger sibling who went to school w/the 2nd Coolest Casey get ahold of my “day job” business card and say “Oh I know him.” So now you know why it’s Kasi Daine Photography, instead of Casey Daine Photography.
Reminds me, I need a picture of just the Two Caseys together – we haven’t had one since the Easter before I got married (over 6 years – eek!).

SO yah….Totally blaming the steroids & the lack of sleep on today’s blog. Coming soon this week are pics of my incredibly wonderful cousins’ kiddos. My cousins and I have been apart for way too long, and I couldn’t be more enthusiastic that we’re in each others’ lives again.
Goodnight all <3

Bad Kasi, no blog post last night, nor a photo of the day! But I had a really good (read: nerdy) excuse. I had to rest up for the midnight viewing of Twilight Eclipse! Love me some R-Pat (totally Team Edward). Movie was amazing, I’m exhausted at work today, but so worth it.

It also gave me inspiration to design a t-shirt for the next round of movies… all of the t-shirts you see are so literal, and blatantly obvious what they’re referring to. I personally don’t want a t-shirt with a wolf on it (although Alan from the Hangover DOES make it tempting). So between now and the next few months, I’m going to sit with my partner-in-crime, Melissa (or Missy, as I sometimes refer to her) and we’re going to design our own Twilight shirts. I’ll probably post the designs on here as they’re developed, so I can gain feedback from all of you wonderful people. And if the designs are pretty rad, we’ll sell them online on either CafePress or maybe Zazzle!

And I do have a pic of the day in mind already – something hilarious I saw in an ad. And rest assured, I will doing one of the things I do best – rambling!

Oh, and keep a watch out for the shots I’ll be posting from my cousin Lisa’s little girl Emma’s birthday party!

Meet Tera! Her favorite colors are pink & black. Her favorite holiday is Easter. And she adores her mom and dad.
I’ve known her parents for years and I knew when I started taking pictures that I wanted her face in my portfolio. So early Sunday morning I got up and met Tera and fam for a good old fashioned picnic.. erm… actually, this was nothing like your good old fashioned picnic, now that I think about it.

It was Tera, her stuffed animals, and some Twilight Team-Edward SweetHearts (yah, I’m a geek)… oh and red sprinkles! We had an absolute blast! My job as a photographer is amazingly easy when you have something this cute to work with

Let’s let the adoreableness commence!

I woke up at 6:15 this morning, amped up and ready to shoot again! I got to hang out with Kacey, Maddie, and Punkrock Princess-Styled Tera for a fun outdoors shoot filled with sprinkles, cupcakes, and tutus! I’ll blog all about it tonight and I’ll add a few sneak peeks!

For now, these are a few shots I got of Bacon yesterday on our little road trip!

I skipped the picture of the day yesterday – but I’ve made it up to everyone!

In fact, I jumped out of bed this morning at 6:30am, threw on a dress and some flip-flops, grabbed Bacon, and we went for a ride with my camera. To make it up to all of you who are watching the pic of the day, today you will receive numerous photos from me & Bacon’s ride.

More to come!

I didn’t even get 5 miles away from my office when I had to take a quick detour for the pic of the day.

Something has been weighing incredibly heavily on my mind lately. There’s a beautiful place in Fort Worth that corporate America is wanting to ruin. This place has so much sentimental attachment to it, for hundreds if not thousands of people. Some of the best times I’ve had in Fort Worth, some of the most amazing people I’ve met, all have occurred at this place.
Ladies & Gentlemen, the Ridglea Theater in Fort Worth:

Now before some of you locals start in with “Well all they ever do is play heavy metal shows,” let me say… this place could play nothing but silent movies for the rest of eternity, and I’d be pleased as punch. This isn’t about the type of music played there.. quite honestly, to be blunt, I’ve grown weary of the “boys club” that the Ridglea music scene has become (you know, where the same acts play over and over again, regardless of the talent). The Ridglea could host nothing but country music from here on out, and while I may not attend, I’d still be able to admire the beauty and splendor that is the Ridglea Theater. Theaters like the Ridglea are no longer a dime a dozen; they’ve become an endangered species. We should save every bit of Americana we can.

So, please everyone (esp citizens of Fort Worth), please visit the Ridglea Theater website and obtain the information for the city councilman who needs to hear our pleas.. Save the Ridglea. http://ridgleatheater.com/
Also, to read about the ‘plans’ for the Ridglea, please visit http://www.dfw.com/2010/06/20/295133/ridglea-theater-running-out-of.html

Warning: The picture of the day is awful, technically. It will not inspire anyone, nor is it winning any prizes. It’s probably one of the worst pictures I’ve ever taken. But it made me laugh so hard that I couldn’t help it; I had to share.

Please allow me to give you the back story.

I’ve had the most uninspiring day today. It could possibly be from the insanely awful heavy duty retainer I have to wear when I’m not at work. It’s no headgear – in fact, it’s quite small. But it’s squeezing my teeth together and driving me insane!

So at first I thought “Well I should take a picture of what’s on my mind… my teeth! Oh! Self Portrait Time!”
So I got all dolled up, even teased my hair a little bit (Pentecostal Poof in the house… although I’m not Pentecostal). Well I took too long, all the good light outside was gone, and all the pictures I took inside looked like poop. Not only that, but I have an incredibly awkward smile right now. I seriously need to sit in front of the mirror and figure out how to smile, sans the metal in my mouth.

So I start taking pics of The Fat One, Reese. She’s being a moody model, only sticking her rear to the camera… or in some cases, mad dogging the camera (erm glaring). So my hero of a husband suggests letting Reese play in her food, because after all, food is her thaaaaang (not just thing; thaaaaang).

So after I tipped the food over, she was in heaven.

Well Bacon wanted in on the action.

I happened to snap this picture right before she started slapping him in his face with her declawed paw, REPEATEDLY, while kitty cat cussing… sending my little french bulldog to hide behind me & the camera. Didn’t even realize I photographed the calm before the storm until I stumbled upon it.
And after I finally stopped laughing, I decided it was time to blog.

Goodnight all <3