New Work: Hanh Merriman - Life In Travel

all images © Nick Prendergast

For this shoot with travel and fashion blogger Hanh Merriman, I knew I wanted to highlight both sides of her blog Life In Travel when picking a location. After tossing concepts back and forth, I asked Hanh what she thought about shooting outside of and aboard a private plane. She loved the idea, and happened to have a contact with access to a luxurious Gulf Stream jet at an airport in Addison, TX. This was such a fun shoot and Hanh was a fantastic subject. My thanks to Modern Luxury for the assignment.

Peters Bros - Fort Worth, TX

{Javier steams a straw hat's brim}

I shot the folks at Peters Bros hats in downtown Fort Worth, TX as part of my ongoing 'Craftsmen' Series.

A very brief history: The Peters brothers - Jim and Tom - were Greek immigrants who started their business in Waco as a shoe shining operation. In 1911, they moved into a storefront in downtown Fort Worth and began repairing and cleaning hats on the side. In 1921, Tom moved to Philadelphia to work for Stetson. After learning what he could from the master hatters there, he returned to Fort Worth to begin making custom hats of his own. Millionaire Amon Carter took such a liking to their hats (especially their Shady Oak, named after his ranch) that he would give them as gifts to celebrities and dignitaries when they travelled through North Texas. In 1933, after Jim passed away, Tom Peters moved the business into the building it occupies to this day, 909 Houston Street. Tom's grandson Joe Peters runs the shop now, using the same processes and honoring the same level of quality that made Peters Brothers reputation when the brand began.

{Current owner Joe Peters}

{Joe presses a felt hat"body" into a hat form}

{Joe checks the brim on a freshly steamed hat}

{A 'Shady Oak' gets some shape to its brim}

{Peter's Bros signature hat: The Shady Oak}

{Wooden hat forms}

{Bands for practice gold-stamping}

{Letters for gold-stamping the customer's name inside the custom hats}

{Peters Bros sign outside their storefront @ 909 Houston St}

Luna's Tortilla Factory TV Spot for NBC DFW

Luna's Tortilla Factory has been a family-run business since 1924. Their tortillas are incredibly popular among Dallas and Fort Worth restaurants.

Jeremy of Gallus Cycles

I had the opportunity to shoot some more of Jeremy Shlachter's awesome custom-made Gallus Cycles this past Friday. We shot three new bikes and, after we had torn down our backdrop, I shot this portrait of the man himself. My many thanks to the hospitable folks over at 1919 Hemphill for letting us shoot in their cool DIY space.

Road Trip - Austin, TX

My lady and I took a road trip down to Austin, TX this week. Spent a lot of time playing with the Instagram app, and thought I'd share some of the snapshots.

{the continental club}

{food truck}

{a note from the missus}

{puffy}

{poolside saison}

{bedside water in our room}

{neon soul above the hotel pool}

{car in the courtyard}

{stag}

{a portrait of Hunter in our room}

{el cubico at la condesa}