It was fun, but HOT! LOTS of beautiful weddings tho, for sure.. stay tuned for their albums as I post’em

Did you know the Southeast Texas Wedding Preview will be here in just a few weeks? I have 2 free passes available to the first bride to comment in the space below this post

Unfortunately I won’t be attending myself, I’ll be in New York City attending a weeklong photography seminar with several world-renowned photographers, truly some of the best in the world at what they do. I’m looking forward to learning a lot, eating too much in Little Italy, walking more than I need to, and continuing my “at night” series. One lucky Beaumont bride will be bringing along her bridesmaids for a once-in-a-lifetime bridal session in and around the best places in Manhattan, be looking for her photos in October.

Before we say goodbye to Summer 2010, here’s a few photos of the kids enjoying the Splash Park in Port Neches Labor day weekend:

Time to put the swimsuits away and look forward to pumpkin and turkey

Up next are Erin and Mike’s engagement session here in Beaumont and Ashleigh and Tyne’s wedding in Port Arthur!

My dad’s company is auto and truck accessory-related and as such we travel to Las Vegas every year for the world’s largest auto and truck aftermarket show – SEMA. I usually shoot way too many photos of way too many of the world’s finest autos and trucks – this year was no exception and I’ve posted a few from the week we were there. This year’s show was dominated by the new Mustangs:





and 2010 Chevy Camaros:





The Camaros were everywhere!





In the evening, we’d stroll the Strip. After I got home I noticed how much these reminded me of my “at night” series from Paris and Venice (and even the one from New York I haven’t posted yet ):











Back in daylight we walked the hundreds of thousands of square feet of Nissan Cubes (flower power!), Jeeps, Smarts and Scion xB’s:














I miss our Mini Cooper S Convertible





A few more below, I’ll be posting many in the Ayres, Inc. gallery over the next few weeks. We also spent some time up in Mount Charleston, eating breakfast at the Inn, looking through the Christmas Shoppe for gifts and just admiring the scenery – I’m looking forward to next year’s trip already… once my feet get to feeling better

Evening descends on Paris:

There’s something about strolling Paris at night – the activity in the main boulevards is amazing, nothing like peaceful Venice – you’ll get run over if you move too slowly, but since the cars and scooters are so small it will be merely a flesh wound.





Once you get off the main thouroughfares and into the neighborhoods, it quietens down considerably and you can enjoy a nice café at places like Cafe De Flore, one of the most famous of the literary cafés on the Left Bank, a favorite hangout for Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote, and various other intellectuals and writers. We stumbled upon the place walking from la tour eiffel along Boulevard St. Germain to our hotel – yes, we were a bit lost, but we were heading in the right general direction and we were in Paris, so what if we took an extra 5 hours – a cup of chocolat chaud (liquid heaven), a croissant, and we were fueled for the rest of the stroll.










Our hotel was amazing, snuggled right in between Musée Du Louvre, a courtyard, and Palais Royale; you can look along one of 5 boulevards that circles it and see the Opera House in one direction, the Arc de triomphe du Carrousel in another, or a million other places too amazing for words. You can’t jeter une pierre (throw a rock) without hitting hundreds of years of history and art.





Paris is special to us, since we got engaged in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower and returned for our first anniversary. Gentlemen, if you ever get the opportunity… by any means necessary, share the city of love with the one you love. You’ll not regret it.

Every year at Thanksgiving, my dad’s side of the family gets together for a family reunion. Pretty much each year we have it in a different place, choosing one that’s fairly central to everyone driving from all over the States. This year we stayed at South Toledo Bend State Park (on the Louisiana side). It’s a beautiful area, especially this time of year with the leaves changing, the ducks migrating, and families missing each other.





We gathered Wednesday afternoon, staying in the area through the weekend, just enjoying each others’ company, hiking through the woods and even an impromptu maternity photo session with Melanie, due with our second in January – doesn’t she make a lovely mama?





We ate lunch at the “Fin and Feather Resort” on the Texas side of Toledo Bend and then cruised the lake on a rented pontoon boat, being a nuisance to the ducks, eating, fishing, and just admiring the scenery.




















On Friday, we rode down to Newton, TX (actually Cedar Grove) to my cousin Dan’s place for lunch and more fellowship. Dan really knows how to throw a family party, complete with fishing pond, swan paddle boat, outdoor fire pits, and plenty of food Here’s a photo of most everyone that was able to attend this year, more to follow in the gallery below:

Gentlemen, if you ever have the opportunity to take your loved one to an international destination like Venice, Paris, London – run, do not walk, to the nearest travel desk at travelocity, expedia or hotwire. These places are perfect for honeymoons, engagements, and anniversaries. I am always available for destination weddings and engagements sessions, so feel free to ask – I can assist you with the arrangements. It really is a reasonable investment if you plan ahead and look in the right places

After a day filled with site-seeing, prosciutto, gelato, and seafood, the romantic peacefulness of strolling the alleyways, courtyards and bridges of one of the most romantic places in the world is impossible to pass up. Evening descends on our neighborhood market:





“Ghosts” appear when I set my camera to photograph the scene using available light. Here a lone person walks through the scene while the shutter remains open:





Venice is a gorgeous city, full of life (and tourists) during the day. It can be a bit crowded as a lot of people come over from the mainland during daylight to visit the beautiful city. Once the evening descends, the alleys, canals and plazas begin to empty. Since it’s day time back in the states, there’s plenty of time for capturing still canals, twinkling lights and lovers strolling arm in arm.





Gondolas and other boats are tied up to their docks during the night, waiting for dawn and the rush of visitors:





A few people are still up and out after midnight, coming home from parties or getting an early start on the next morning’s fishing. Who’s tired when it’s 4:30 in the afternoon back home?










A lone boat motors down the canal while lights can be seen in the background of the local residents’ homes.

We spent nearly a week out on that trip traveling several places in and around Venice and Florence, but there’s just something about Venice at night that made me want to share these with you. I’ll post more in a future edition, for now you can see more of our Venice images here.

I just have to post a few of my favorite images from Linda and Chris’ recent wedding – the color was beautiful, but for most of the following photos black and white seemed to fit the mood better Chris is my nephew, recently home from Iraq and the Marines and Linda is his gorgeous bride from Harlingen, Texas. Lots of family from both sides attended, Linda and Chris will have plenty of support as they start out in life together. We love you both!





But wait! I am getting ahead of myself… the day started off like most summer weddings in South Texas – hot with a threat of rain showers. It had rained several times during the rehearsal the evening before so the planned outdoor wedding ceremony was moved indoors. We scrambled a bit to get everything ready and it turned out perfect Here’s a few from earlier in the day… one of the bride’s floral bouquets – lots of color and a beautiful arrangement:

Looking out past the wedding cake into the reception area:

Linda’s friend assisted with her getting ready – Linda is looking radiant!

Linda’s proud family looking on:

Afterwards, Chris’ Dad (David) gave Chris a toast he didn’t seem just too happy about

Linda seemed to enjoy it tho And the happy couple sets sail for a few days R&R:

Here’s the slideshow of the story of their day:

For those who have met the little guy, you know one of his favorite things about summer is watermelon. He can eat his weight in the delicious summer fruit and will give you a good 2-foot stomp if you take it away before he’s eaten most of the rind


 


mmm…








He spent most of his day playing in the sand or the water’s edge – and yes, the sand/plant/etc mixture is what we call a beach in our part of the Gulf – Bolivar Peninsula





He didn’t quite understand that if you launch the sand up and into the wind, something odd is gonna happen:








Shortly after the above shots he picked up his bucket of Crystal Beach sand and dumped it on his head. Luckily, he still responds to instruction from his dad and with a little coaching the sand was going where he wanted it. Afterwards he rinsed a little in the Gulf of Mexico waves.





David finished the day with a few slices of pizza at Mama Teresa’s and slept all the way home, dreaming of sand and watermelon.

More pictures can be found here: http://picasaweb.google.com/allenayres/Summer2008

Their images are on the way to them, so I thought I’d post a sneak peek for them until I can get more online

As you can see.. Chris wasted no time once the pastor gave him permission…

I’ve crossed over at Matamoros a few times and that can take ages, but luckily we decided to go across at Nuevo Progreso – getting across and back was the fastest, most hassle-free trip across the Texas/Mexico border I’ve ever been on.

It rained hard that day, but cleared up just as we entered the town. A typical border town, lots of tourists, locals begging and pharmacias as far as the eye can see.

Here someone is digging in a barrel in the middle of the rain-swollen street, I never knew what she was trying to get out:

A nickle if you can spot the tourists in this photo (My brother Stephen, David, niece Morgan, nephew Zach and Dad in the background)

Speaking of nickels, I bought some chiclets from this little one:

But it turned out to be a beautiful day:

You can find more of my images from the day here:

For those unfamiliar with the Mansion on Broadway, it’s a 28,000 4-story home completed in 1895. W.L Moody Jr. bought the home from the heirs of the original owners soon after the great hurricane of 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Moody and their four children celebrated the first of more than eighty Christmas seasons in the house in December of that year. The house remained home for Moody family members until 1986. Today, its rooms are filled with the furnishings and personal affects of the family. Tours are available and the ballroom is available to rent for weddings and other special occasions.

Upon arrival I found out why there was a shortage of photos of the inside – no photography is allowed. I took a chance and explained our situation and rec’d permission to photograph the ballroom. Here’s a couple photos of the front as you walk up, there’s a very nice veranda on the front of the house, perfect for bridals and formals.

A view from the other side:

The ballroom has huge windows all down one side and across the front, the light there is amazing and would be perfect for daytime/afternoon weddings. The huge formal dining room is toward the back and the entryway is toward the wall away from the windows: