Canon Dream Lens 17mm TILT SHIFT

Occasionally I order loaner lenses from Canon Professional Services (CPS) to try them out. This is the first time I've ordered a loaner lens that is my dream lens. I know that I will never ever purchase this lens. Its gorgeous yes, but I could never drop 3k on a lens that I would only use for very specialized purposes. In the future I'll rent it. Yes, that's what filmmakers and photographers do sometimes. It just doesn't make sense to own it. So, I spent a few days shooting as much footage and pictures with it as I could, before I reluctantly sent it back. This is the video I shot with the Canon 17mm Tilt Shift lens early the other day when I went to feed the horses.  I may rent it when I film my short film She Could Be Anywhere this fall.


 
Canon Tilt Shift Lens Test for Video from Stella Haus Films on Vimeo.

Behind the Scenes with Philip Thomas Photography

I meet a lot of people when I film weddings. Most are people with whom I hope to work again.  Sometimes they are people with whom I hope not only to work, but with whom I would also like to become friends. Philip Thomas is one of those people. I met him on a wedding shoot at Don Strange Ranch, and we immediately hit it off. I stayed out of his way and let him know it was fine to be in my shots. I like the wedding photographer to be a part of my filming, but Philip was a great surprise.  He was so funny and interesting to shoot that I ended up just keeping the camera rolling as he did formal group shots with the wedding party.  I had no idea he'd be jumping up and down, making huge body gestures, and treating the flower girl with such delicacy and sweetness.  He is at ease dealing with cute little girls that need direction as a father of two beautiful little girls himself.  He has since contacted me about doing a photographer’s video for his website. I am happy and excited to be able to showcase his amazing talent. You will get to hear his adorable British accent, meet his lovely wife, and really see how wonderful he is with his clients. I know that you will definitely enjoy seeing the many sides of Philip Thomas in the video scheduled for completion in early fall. In the meantime, check out this bonus footage of him working at the wedding where we first met.
Please visit  Philip Thomas Photography to see his amazing work.

Chandra's Collection Photography

Creating a Photographer’s Showreel for 
Chandra Yarter of Chandra's Collection Photography. 

Earlier this year I met up with photographer Chandra Yarter. She was, and still is, a newlywed. I could tell she is one of those people who is truly in love with love by the way she spoke about her husband and by her passion for wedding photography. She LOVES capturing people starting their journey in those beautiful moments that only happen once in a lifetime. Chandra is a bride’s photographer.  She captures weddings with the eye of someone in love. It was a pleasure to begin the journey of working with her on creating a showreel to showcase her unique talent.

We started shooting at 6 A.M., on a chilly spring morning at Stieler Ranch in Fredericksburg, Texas. She brought up a beautiful three-tiered wedding cake, gowns on loan from David's Bridal, furnishings from Loot Vintage, and flowers from An Empty Vase. That set the perfect romantic mood. Throw in a gorgeous model (Justeen Kansuwan), the best assistants around (Daniel Yarter, and the Del Monicos), and then Chandra, a beauty herself, and I knew it was going to be gorgeous shoot from the start. 

Please check out her website:

Chandra's Collection

as well as these wonderful vendors that helped create the shoot

An Empty Vase

David's Bridal
Loot Vintage Rentals

Dancing for Birth: Mila Angela's dancing video

It was more than a pleasure to film Mila Angela's Dancing for Birth Showreel. She came to me with an idea. I want to film the ladies in my classes dancing so that people know what this is all about and how wonderful it is for expectant mothers. I took a long time educating myself on just what she does and what this whole Dancing for Birth movement is about.

Dancing for Birth is at its core a dance class that will help the labor process.  As Mila says "In native cultures dancing is and always has been part of every day life,... when belly dancing was created it was by women and performed only for women for the purpose of teaching each other how to give birth,....Every move had a purpose in labor to help cope and direct baby most efficiently through the birth canal"   WOW!! What a complete opposite view of how to go through labor! In America women give birth laying down which does nothing to help with the baby going through the birth canal. As Anne Croudice a certified doula instructor states, "A Cochran review in 2013 says that it can shorten labor by an hour and twenty minutes!" Plus there are those endorphins that kick in when you are dancing that can help with pain management. There are just so many advantages. I know that when I get pregnant I will definitely attend a dancing for birth course. Not to mention the fact that Mila the certified Dancing for Birth instructor is a dream and so kind and friendly. I could tell right away upon meeting the pregnant ladies in her class that they loved her and looked forward to going to her class. 

A little behind the scenes info: The video was filmed at Stieler Ranch in Fredericksburg Texas where I live. A beautiful backdrop to showcase a beautiful group of ladies.

More information about Mila's class can be found at
http://www.dancingforbirthsanantonio.com
Dancing for Birth Website

Defining Delicious

Defining Delicious by Stella Haus 

  

Rarely do you get to work with such wonderful people in the real world; but lately, I have 

been blessed to work with the best of the best. Emily Reynolds of the food, drink, and 

hospitality collaborative, DEFINING DELICIOUS, had an idea.  She wanted to create a fun 

artistic video featuring her favorite food and drink venues in San Antonio.  Something ‘super 

artsy’ she said.  I was definitely on board for that, so I visited Tuk Tuk Taproom, Tim The Girl,

Restaurant Gwendolyn, The Brooklynite, the Quarry Farmers and Ranchers Market, and Bakery 

Lorraine.

My first stop was Chef Dave at Tuk Tuk Taproom.  He made an amazing green papaya salad,

and I was surprised to find out they actually have Kombucha on tap. After filming, Chef 

Dave gave me a tour of the awesome backyard patio. I was pleased to find the artwork of my 

friend, Robert Tatum, all over the place.  Everything from the beer cooler to the lights 

imbedded in the walls has Tatum’s designs.  You can tell Chef Dave really has a passion for

authentic Asian flavors as he chopped Kaffir lime leaves and spoke of his recent month in 

Asia collecting more ideas. Tuk Tuk Taproom also has an amazing array of beer on tap, (along 

with the Kombucha) and I can’t wait to visit again and try their fried peanuts.

  

On Sunday, we went to the Quarry Farmers and Ranchers Market to pick up fresh eggs, coffee, 

and some yummy french fries.  Emily, her assistant Veronica, and her adorable kids spent the

chilly morning tasting bread, juices, and french fries. The Quarry Farmers and Ranchers

Market is what the Pearl farmers market use to be a couple of years ago. So if you are 

looking for something smaller than the Pearl, the Quarry farmers market on Sunday is 

right up your alley. Some of the featured vendors include Bakery Lorraine, Olive Frites, 

Engel Farms, Revolucion Coffee and Juice, Koch Ranches, The Lemonade Company, 

Springfield Farm, and La Panaderia, all featured in the film. 

  

The following week, I went to The Brooklynite with Adam Tutor, a local Jazz musician and 

my assistant for the night. (Thank you, Adam.) We went on a Tuesday, and little did we know, 

that Tuesday at The Brooklynite is Tiki Tuesday! They made the Singapore Sling and the 

beautiful sparkling Kamehameha for the film that was later enjoyed by Adam. The 

Brooklynite quickly got crowded and full of life as Tiki Tuesday is pretty popular. They are 

truly mixologists. For expert drink artisans in San Antonio, the Brooklynite is the way to go.

Thank you so much, Jeret Pena, for the hospitality during filming. 

We then went to meet up with Chef Mike at Restaurant Gwendolyn. Now to say that 

Restaurant Gwendolyn is a jewel amongst restaurants in San Antonio is putting it mildly. 

From the ground up, Restaurant Gwendolyn sparkles. Every dish is meticulously hand made 

 using local ingredients sourced within 150 miles, They know from where the food 

comes, and they care about the quality.  They smoke their own bacon and make 

their own marmalades. As I arrived, they were hand grinding peppercorns in a mortar and 

pestle.  That’s some seriously hard work that Chef Michael Sohocki puts into making 

the dishes, and it shows in every dish. I had the opportunity to watch him artfully putting 

together a first course plate. There seems to be no method to the artful arrangement of 

meats and pickled veggies on the plate. It was delicately arranged from the little folds 

in the meat to the spoonful of marmalade placed on top of the pan-fried sausage.  It was 

beautiful.  Each plate is a unique creation.  The coffee was prepared using a German siphon 

coffee maker.  This is the first time I have ever seen this method of coffee preparation.  It’s a  

show in itself.  Lucky me! I got to eat these amazing dishes, and I will definitely be back 

for my birthday dinner.  I can’t wait to see what else Chef Mike does in San Antonio.  When you 

visit, be sure to make reservations.

  

The next day, I went to see a friend, Tim The Girl, at her kitchen as she prepared her 

weekly meal delivery service. She made a butternut pecan soup and an amazing Asian 

rice noodle salad.  It was delicious and amazing. It is the best

home cooking you could possibly buy and pass off as your own. I’m sure some 

people do it. The food is also featured at the local grocery store in Southtown San 

Antonio, Uncommon Fare. Whenever I am down there, I always stop in. They have fresh 

coffee brewing, great snacks and fresh made meals by Tim.  It’s great eating when you are on 

the run.  As a bonus, her staff is so genuine and friendly.  They were a joy to film as they worked 

their magic in the kitchen.  I wish I could eat Tim The Girl’s food every day. 

  

Finally, I went on to Bakery Lorraine, the place with the pastries that never make it home! 

Why? Because the pastries are so good that no matter how much I purchase, they always seem to disappear before I get home. To this day, my husband has never tasted any of their pastries! In my defense, my home is over 60 miles from the bakery, a longer commute home than some may have, with more time for hunger pangs and temptation.

The day I visited was a miraculous one for sure. It was the day I found out the bakery had 

started to make a low-gluten blueberry muffin.  On a scale from 1 to 10 of delicious gluten-free 

pastries (I have only previously eaten a six on the scale) this muffin from Bakery Lorraine is 

a 10!  As I drove home that day, the six “macarons” that were graciously bestowed upon me by 

Chef Jeremy and Chef Anne, disappeared.  I admit it.  I’m addicted to the 

most amazing pastries that are as beautiful as they are delicious. I go there every single time 

I’m in San Antonio. They have great coffee too. 

The music in this short film was commissioned by Emily and created by Edwin J. Stevens.

The talented Adam Tutor added the classy edge with his saxophone to this 

beautiful, well-composed work of art. The Mothmaticians, who consist of Maray Mc 

Chesney and Matt McLaughlin, are old friends, and I use their music at every 

opportunity. Thank you so much, Maray and Matt, for being so generous with your 

talents. 

  

My final thanks go to Emily, the dream client, who let me be as creative as I wanted to be with 

no limits. She gave me her ideas and let run with them. I hope this is the start of many future  

collaborations, dear Emily.

  

Please check out all these amazing places!  They are definitely Defining what Delicious is in San 

Antonio.

Dayna De Hoyos 

Click here to go to the Stella Haus Vimeo webpage

Click here to go to the Defining Delicious webpage

Planning a Unique Wedding without Copying Anyone Else,

...... and a few other ideas.

(What to do 18-24 months before your wedding day.)

Photo by Sarah Brooke Lyons

  

1. Book the most important vendors FIRST. 

Book your Videographer, Photographer, and Wedding Planner first! 

They are a great gateway to other preferred and trusted vendors 

with your same style. If you pick a videographer whose work you

really like odds are they will know a photographer who compliments their 

videography or vice versa.  

  

2. Have a Bridal Party 

Bridesmaids and a maid of honor will help you out on the days 

leading to your wedding and on the wedding day more than you 

know. Pick the reliable ones. Be picky. If you don't want to burden 

your friends with having to wear a certain bridesmaids’ dresses, then 

pick out a color, type, and length (for instance, black, lace, and knee length) and let them

choose their own dress from any store they want.  That way they can stay within their 

budget and style. Have them text you a pic though so you can 

approve it.  LOL.  Remind your fiancé he needs at least one best man

and one or two groomsmen. They were a Godsend to me and my hubby leading up to the big 

day. You have no idea how wonderful your friends can be until 

you make them bridesmaids and groomsmen. 

  

3. If at all possible, do not get married in the HEAT of the summer. 

Plan for late spring and early fall to winter. If you live in a hot 

climate, you’ll be sweating not glistening, and your guests will be 

miserable. Try to avoid all summer months if you live in 

Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, or New Mexico. 

We got married in March and it was perfect. It was neither cold nor hot. We 

even had a small bonfire at night which was great for photos and 

videos. 

  

4. Have a backbone.

If you don't like it and your fiancé doesn't like it, no matter what it is, just don't do it. 

Don't let anyone try to convince you to do something you don't want to do.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

  

5. See a pre-marriage counselor or priest for prenuptial planning.

It’s important to discuss finances, children, and your spiritual growth as a couple, along with 

other issues with a trained and caring third-party professional.  It can’t hurt and it may help more 

than you realize.

  

6. Start a wedding folder, with contracts, budgets, estimates, and ideas.  

Don’t copy everyone else’s ideas on Pinterest or you’ll 

just have a Pinterest wedding and be like thousands of other 

brides.  Don’t get me wrong, there are some great ideas out there, 

but you don’t want your most treasured wedding photos and video 

to be a duplicate of someone else’s.

I got a great cake idea for a kids cake off  Pinterest, showed it to my 

cake lady, and told her that I wanted that type of frosting, but that’s 

as far as copying went. 

  

7. Make a guest list with inner circle, intermediate, and outer circle. 

Determine which circles you are going to invite. If you invite any 

from other circles that opens the door to the whole circle. 

We chose inner circle to keep it intimate and had about 55 people, only 

family and close friends. If I were to do it again, I’d probably open it 

up to the intermediate circle too. 

  

8. Throw an engagement party with the bridal party one year 

before the wedding.

Make it representative of you and your fiancée as a couple. 

Are you quirky? If you’re reading my blog, you probably aren’t very 

traditional.  My husband and I had a sit-down dinner at our home on 

the ranch. Every meal was hunted by the two of us and prepared 

with love and care. 

  

9. Consider having your wedding dress custom made by a 

seamstress/designer. It’s often close the same price as a dress 

from a bridal store.  The plus is that it will be unique and you can help design it. 

10. Have a second party dress made so you can dance the night away. 

11.  Delegate jobs to other people and let them do the jobs you assign.

Give people plenty of time to do the jobs you assign and have them check in with you for final 

approvals by specific dates.  Follow up with them as needed, but give them room to be creative 

and enjoy the process.

What a wonderful project!!

So happy to have been able to produce this short film for Sarah Brooke Lyons!! Her 1005 faces project features, Tim Duncan, Bill Sinkin, and 1003 other people. She accomplished the photo project in one year and it is amazing. Watch it all unfold before you eyes here:
Click here for the 1005 Faces short film

1005 Faces San Antonio from Stella Haus Films Dayna on Vimeo.

Rachel and Shad's full length film

This is Rachel and Shad's full length wedding film.  Yesterday I posted their music video, this one also features original music by Shad Blair in the reception portion of the film. It is the acoustic version with backup instrumentals of his "Move on to Tomorrow" song.  Its beautiful and I hope he releases a full version of the song with all the instrumentals soon. Check out yesterday's blog post for the short music video.

Rachel and Shad Blair Music Video

I filmed the wedding of Rachel and Shad Blair at their home in Austin, Texas this past summer. What was unique about their wedding and them as a couple, is that they are both artists. Both creative souls coming together to live a life with each other and grow into the creative beings together. Rachel made every element of the wedding, planted lots of Cacti, made the bowls the cacti were planted in, printed the table runners, the only thing she didn't do was cook the food.  Shad's music is usually filled with heartache and torment, but for the wedding he wrote a song especially for Rachel filled with hope and love. Shad performed it for some friends before the ceremony and  then sang it for Rachel during   the ceremony. Tears filled her eyes but she held it back. You can see the full performance on my next blog post of the full length Documentary Film. "Move on to Tomorrow" written by Shad and performed by Shad in this video.  Here is a link to his website: Shad Blair He performs throughout Texas and goes on tour from time to time. Congratulations to a beautiful life together.

Amanda and Tim at Red Coral Ranch

A Red Coral Ranch Wedding:

Amanda and Tim were married Summer 2013 at Red Coral Ranch in the Texas Hillcountry. It was beautiful and picturesque. It was so wonderful working with Chrystina Straughan of Straughan Photography.  Here is a link to the photographs by Chrystina, they are beautiful! 

Behind the Scenes Showreel

A little teaser video for Michelle Jones Flemming Artist Showreel video. I'll be posting that next week. But in the meantime, have a few laughs at our expense. This was shot entirely on Stieler Ranch in the Texas Hillcountry.

xx

Dayna

Paige and Ryan Bobo wedding film

Paige and Ryan Bobo 

The day was hot, there was a threat of rain, it sprinkled a little but only served to cool off the day. Perfect from beginning to end.
Featuring the music of One Republic and Sara Masterson used with permission all rights reserved. All video and Video and images copyright Dayna De Hoyos Stella Haus Productions.Paige and Ryan Bobo were married on August 10th, 2013 at Cactus Ranch in New Braunfels, Texas.Special Thanks to Michelle Jones Flemming and Paige Vaughn for their help and support.

click here for higher quality player via VIMEO

Check out their beautiful wedding captured by Michelle Jones Photography here.

The Burial of Brownie Patterson

Check out my latest art video:

Brownie was very old, maybe even 30 years old. My husband Sky Patterson rode him in a movie, he was also well loved and cared for on Stieler Ranch in his later years. He spent the last couple of years occasionally rounding up Kits cattle with Sky still on his back. Yesterday January 29th, 2013 our niece Brylee spotted Brownie in a field. When my mother in law Becky Patterson called the horse undertaker, he was gentle and carried brownie to a field, buried him, and then pulled out his accordion. It was an impromptu gravesite memorial and it was perfect.
Rest in Peace dear friend Brownie. You definitely had a wonderful life.
xxx

Dayna

Here is a picture of Brownie last winter when it snowed.