Freeze Framing a Moment in History…

Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.    –    Dorothea Lange

We have all grown up with pictures hanging on a wall or set in a frame on a bedside table.  Some pictures are used as decor while others are purely for people to “show off” the ones they love.  regardless of who it is, pictures are everywhere and what I consider to be one of life’s simple pleasures.

Kyle Riley, owner of Riley Studio Professional Photography, can shoot amazing views, raw emotions, pure joy, the innocence of a child and the undeniable love between two people just by pressing a button.  A split second is all the time he has to, as he puts it, “Capture a moment in history, a freeze frame of life and preserve it forever.”

Kyle was 18 when he first picked up his camera and knew right then that this was “what he wanted to do when he grew up”.   He was intrigued with the fact that when you took a picture you were really just capturing was light.

“You know photography is physics, what you are photographing is light in all it’s different variations and the way it can be manipulated to create an image.” – Kyle Riley

Growing up on a ranch and seeing how everything is affected by light and how it changes the things that we see.  Taking art classes and being taught to draw based on light itself and how it creates depth perception.  So when he snapped those first few photos and got the film developed, yes the kind that you have to go to a dark room, use chemicals and go through a number of different steps just to have one image printed  on a piece of paper, he saw all the endless possibilities that were at his ‘finger’ tips.   Those possibilites would become adventures lead with a camera in hand, in search of the simple beauty that light creates.

Kyle worked at a number of different jobs until he was able to save enough money and purchase his photography studio.  Riley Studio opened in 1999 and was located in the Historical Square of Comanche, Texas.   In 2011 he had the opportunity to purchase one of the oldest homes in Comanche County, known as the Switzer House, that has a number of amazing attributes and some really great artistic atmosphere for photo shoots.

Nestled in the hills of Comanche, Texas at 805 N. Page Street is this beautiful historic stone home built in the mid 1870’s. The house has been a home to many families, a staple in the community’s history, also in town’s people’s memories, as it is well known for its picturesque architecture and charm.

W.C. Switzer, called “Uncle Cape” by towns’ people, was a black smith by trade.  He was also known for his delicious cabbage kraut which took a certain number of days to ferment before it was ready to eat.  When it was finally ready, people would come from all around with their crock vessels ready to purchase some of Uncle Cape’s kraut.

Mr. Switzer and his wife were also known for boarding 10 young ladies up stairs during the week while they attended Comanche College (High School) which was located down on Walcott Street where the old High School Gymnasium is located. The girls would return home on the weekends where they lived on ranches and farms.  He was a devote Christian and a loyal member of the Methodist Church.

One of W. C. Switzer’s son, John, was an apprentice at the Comanche Chief as a young lad.  He later purchased the paper and published it for several years.  John went on to teach school and then later moved to DeLeon and edited the DeLeon paper.  Now known as the DeLeon Free Press.

There have been many headstrong and good people occupy this marvelous dwelling. Such as John M. and Dorothy L. Robertson who were excellent historians.  Dorothy, besides raising children, was the President of the Historical Society for Comanche all her adult life.

Vollie August Meyers and Emille Rauhut Meyers, which most people now remember the house as the Meyers House, lived in the home for many, many years.  Emille taught hundreds of children to play the piano in the 26 years that she taught piano lessons, in the Switzer House.  She was also an active member of the National Guild of Piano Teachers.

Kyle along with his wife Pana have 4 children.  Kandra, Kallie and husband Judson, Julian and Micah.  The true bosses of this business is of course his 2 granddaughters Kallin and Lennon.  Just the perfect little models for their “Grumpy” to take pictures of.

Riley Studio offers a variety of services:

• Restoration
• Portrait
• Family Portraits
• Kids and Babies
• Senior Pictures and Cap and Gown
• Bridals
• Weddings
• Church Directories
• Commercial Work
• Holiday sittings to capture that special memory

But the one thing that Kyle enjoys and gets the most fulfillment from is his work with the Heart Gallery of America Inc.  This is a traveling portrait collection of foster children in the Child Protection Services (CPS) and are available for adoption.  He has spent endless hours talking with and taking pictures of these wonderful kids who are getting a second chance at life.  Working specifically with the Heart Gallery of Northwest Texas.  There has been an 80% placement rate of children finding their forever home with the help of this organization.

Kyle stated, “The feeling of hope that you get when you are taking these children’s picture is just simply amazing, but the feeling you get knowing that one of your photographs helped place a child in their ‘forever home’ with a family, well…there really are no words to describe that.  The one thing I do know is, press that button and freeze framing that moment in history, because a photograph can change the world.”

Check out all of Kyle Riley’s photography on Facebook or his website.