A Fun Trip Down Memory Lane in Dallas for a Photo Session with the Zepeda Family

I had the opportunity to photograph this wonderful family who was in from California a few weeks ago. They were in town for just a few days, so we met on a Friday afternoon down in Dallas before they headed back to California. I grew up down in Dallas, so it was not a new area for me, but I had not spent much time down there in a while. Especially not at the neighborhood parks.

We met at Curtis Park, the park where I spent most of my summers, as that was where our neighborhood pool was located. Not much has changed, except for the giant slides they’ve added to the swimming pool! I arrived a few minutes early so I could find just the right spot for family photos. It had been so long since I’d been to this park, I wasn’t sure what shape I’d find it in.

As I passed by the pool area of the park, I was shocked to see the high dive still exactly as it was when I was a child. I’m sure they’ve upgraded and fixed it throughout the years, but looking at it brought back all those childhood memories of standing up at the end of that high dive working up the nerve to jump off the end into the deep end of the pool.

Sometimes it took me half the summer to work up to that. I wonder what it would be like standing on the high dive now that I’m a grown up. Guess I’ll never know, because I’m not brave enough to try it! Sure was fun going down memory lane though…

I looked around at the rest of the area, and the park was perfect! In fact, it was so perfect, that it seemed that everyone in Park Cities was there. It was so crowded! The weather was absolutely beautiful, and everyone and their dogs were outside playing at the park. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be able to find a spot without people in the background, but we finally found a little corner of the park that we had (mostly) to ourselves.

I had so much fun with this group. Mom was there with her two daughters, her son, her son-in-law and his mother, and of course the star of the show Zelda! Zelda was their primary reason for coming to Dallas – they needed to pick up their new puppy in a nearby town.

Dallas was the perfect spot to meet and spend a few days with their new pup. This was everyone’s first time to visit, and they loved it. They had time to visit several museums, spend an afternoon at Klyde Warren Park, and explore some of the local neighborhoods while enjoying some of the yummy restaurants around town.

And as nervous as I get when people bring their pets to photo sessions, this session was amazing. Zelda posed better than everyone. All I had to do was give a little whistle and she looked right at the camera! Just like that, we had completed a successful photo session in my old stomping grounds (with a puppy). And if you can’t tell from the photos, we had a great time and laughed a lot! What fun!

If you are ready for family photos, you can find more information about my family photo sessions on my website.

Until next time…