Sean Wray

David and April

2010-07-27T00:36:00.003-05:00

It's been a long time since I have put up a new post... My neighbors asked me to take some photos of them. I think they came out pretty good. Enjoy

Habibi's Graduation Portraits

2010-05-13T21:09:00.003-05:00

Preston recently started going to the same awesome daycare that our daughter went to. I'm so happy to be back in that community. As it turns out many of Kylie's friends are graduating this year and getting ready to go into kindergarten. I was asked if I would shoot some portraits of the graduates! Of course I said yes!

Mom and Dad's 50th Anniversary

2010-01-10T11:12:00.003-06:00

This year my mom and dad have been married for 50 years! Wendy and I hosted a party to honor their marriage, their life and the values and life lessons that they provided for us. Wendy, my 2 sisters and Liz did an amazing job on the food and decorations. One of my sisters bought a Life magazine from the week that each one of kids was born. They made for some good conversation pieces. We had Elvis music playing in the background too. Our whole family was able to be together along with my 94 year old grandmother, my nephew and his kids. In all we had five generations! It was a great couple of days. The next day we went to mom and dad's house and looked at their wedding pictures and pictures from our childhood. We had a great time!

Lisa's Austin Family Portraits

2009-12-31T00:30:00.003-06:00

Lisa and the family had me back this year to do some holiday/family portraits of them. We went and got some shots with the skyline in the back ground. I think we all had a good time especially when the kids got to go in the water fountain at the end!

Gary, Kat, Petrie and Maximus

2009-12-26T22:45:00.002-06:00

We have been talking about shooting some portraits of Gary and Kat and their kids for probably two years now. Well we finally got around to doing it. They are so much fun! They live across the street from me and I consider myself very lucky, for many reasons, to have met them. Here are just a few i wanted to share.

Christmas at my house

2009-12-26T22:12:00.002-06:00

We had a good Christmas. This year Preston had more fun. He got to tear paper and hit stuff with his hammer! I think the giant doll house and the fake cat were Kylie's favorite gifts. My mom and dad came over. Wendy's mom and brother came over and we all ate a wonderful dinner. It's been a great couple of days. I am blessed.

Maryam, Leo and Leonardo

2009-12-16T00:06:00.003-06:00

Maryam and Leo are some friends of mine that really enjoy preserving memories in pictures. I photographed their wedding in 2006 and now they asked me to take some pictures of their 1-year old son! We really had a blast and I enjoyed seeing the joy that little Leo brings to both Maryam and Leo.

Stephanie, Brian and kids

2009-11-25T00:29:00.003-06:00

I got to spend some time with Stephanie, Brian and their kids recently. The whole family is full of energy and super happy. We had a great time. The day started out a little overcast but soon the sun was shining! We laughed and ran around quite a bit!

Tara and Brandon Get Married!

2009-10-29T21:39:00.006-05:00

Tara and Brandon are 2 very cool people with some really great family too. They had a great party at The Allen House in Austin. They had some guests come from as far as London and Australia for their wedding. I think that is a testament to what awesome people they both are! I'm glad that they trusted me to be their photographer.

Holiday Christmas Cards and Portraits

2009-10-28T00:00:00.002-05:00

Since Christmas is almost here and Wendy and I had an idea that would mix holiday cards and family photos. Most of the online ones I have seen aren't very... well pretty. So I asked Wendy if she would design a few cards that could use some nice pictures and looked cool. Wendy came up with some awesome designs! So I'm offering a family photo session, 25 cards, and an 8x10 for $140. Below is picture of the email that I will send out.

Give me call or email me to schedule your session.

Lucie and Brian

2009-10-15T22:33:00.001-05:00

A while back I had a chance to photograph Lucie and Brian's wedding in Houston. The wedding was held at Christ Cathedral in the middle of downtown. It was a super happy day filled with singing and dancing. Thanks to Wendy, my wife and new photography partner, and Ben Sassani for helping get some sweet images. The dancing and party afterward was held at the Czech Center Museum. The music in the slide show was the first song they danced to.

Little Avery

2009-08-30T21:51:00.003-05:00

This post is a little out of the ordinary because it's not wedding or client related. Monday my daughter started kindergarten in a new school and was missing her very good friend Sienna from her old pre-school. Well, Abe, Dana, Sienna and little Avery came over for a visit. Avery was just hanging out by herself with some toys and I couldn't resist picking up the camera. I think both of these are great and I had to share!

Jerry and Alecia

2009-07-21T23:51:00.009-05:00

Jerry and Alecia are friends with my mom and dad so when they mentioned that they were getting married my parents recommended me. We met at Starbucks and every time Jerry would look at Alecia he would just smile really big! They were married at St. Catherine's, the same place where I got married. I love working there because it brings back so many good memories. Take a look.

Personal Work

2009-07-15T00:30:00.004-05:00

The other day Stephanie, who owns Studio 12 a home staging business, asked me to look at some of my personal work and see if I thought I might want to hang some framed prints in some of the homes her company has staged. I have to say that I'm very excited about the opportunity. It sounds strange but I think it will be really cool to see some of my work hanging on the wall in someone else's house other than mine, even though it's still for sale, well hopefully you get what I mean. So after spending some time looking through my library I though i would share some my favorites. I hope you like them.

Vanessa and Matt's Slideshow

2009-07-12T23:30:00.005-05:00

Here are some more pictures from Vanessa and Matt's wedding. The music playing is a song called Jalapeno Charlie by The Brew. They played at the wedding and were awesome. They were more than happy to lend their music to the show. Since the wedding Wendy and I have gone to see them play in Austin. They are so much fun and fit perfect with Vanessa and Matt's wedding.

Vanessa and Matt get Married at Quinta Mazatlan

2009-07-03T00:21:00.004-05:00

I went down to Mission, Tx. to photograph Vanessa and Matt’s wedding recently and wow, what a great trip. Valerie Vance Alaniz, from Bridal Trends Weddings & Events, put together a wonderful event!

I wish I could tell the story of the way Vanessa and Matt met the way they do! Matt has been in the military for more than eight years and when Vanessa had the opportunity to go to Iraq for work, that is when she met Matt. The way Matt tells it, as soon as he saw her he knew they would be together. Lets just say that Matt had to do some “political maneuvering” before he and Vanessa could hang out together. You know, military, rank, superiors, civilians... In the end it all worked out. When they are together you can see how much they love each other. Thanks to my wife Wendy and Mark Rubio for being my second shooters on the trip. I couldn't have done it with out you!

Here is the fabulous list of vendors that made the day so awesome!

Wedding Coordinator - Valerie Vance Alaniz Bridal Trends Weddings & Events
Reception Venue - Quinta Mazatlan
Music - The Brew
City Cafe & Catering
TNT Photobooth
Casino Tables - Joe Roxks Entertainment
Flowers - Jac-Lin's Flowers & Gifts
Linens - All Party Rentals
Cakes - By Wally's Cakes
Videography by - Gerardo Garmendia Photography

Mandi and Web at Flat Creek Estates

2009-07-01T23:51:00.002-05:00

I recently had the opportunity to photograph a wedding with my good buddy Dave from DCM Photography. Mandi and Web were awesome, Flat Creek Winery was awesome, it was a great day. I really did enjoy it. I hope you can tell from some my favorite images that I was able to get.

Becky and Rob's Slide Show

2009-06-27T01:25:00.002-05:00

Check out some more photos from Becky and Rob's wedding. I had alot of fun shooting this. Thanks again to Dave from DCM Photography for helping get some great images.

Becky and Rob

2009-06-16T01:37:00.006-05:00

Becky and Rob were great! Becky is full of energy and fun. Their wedding was a blast as well as the reception. Becky, her sister and some friends did the Thriller dance! Awesome! They were married at Hope Presbyterian Church and the reception was at the always lovely Kindred Oaks and Dave McLaughlin from DCMPhotography helped capture the events of the evening.

Tara and Brandon

2009-05-21T22:57:00.003-05:00

Tara and Brandon are some great people. They met at a SXSW event e few years ago at Auditorium Shores where we started shooting. They are two of the most laid back people and are very caring. If you were to ask me what an Austinite was like I would think of Tara. It had been a couple of years since Brandon and Tara had been back to Austin. They said they were surprised at all the changes to the skyline so After Auditorium Shores we headed to more familiar territory, South Congress where they both used to work. We hit the Hey Cupcake trailer, Guerrero's, and Jo's Coffee House. They were back home!

Jerry and Alicia Engagement

2009-04-12T08:05:00.003-05:00

The first time I met Jerry and Alicia both of them were all smiles. I knew from our first meeting that they would both be very easy to get along with and since they were so comfortable with each other photos would be no problem. It was great how they would get lost in each other while were shooting. I think it made for some great shots.

Second Shooting with Ben Sassani

2009-03-16T12:26:00.003-05:00

My friend Ben, over at Sassani Photography in Houston, asked me to shoot a wedding with him up in Dallas this weekend. Amir and Marjorie were very nice and had lots of fun. The ceremony was a traditional Persian ceremony which always has lots of family and fun and laughs involved. I really had a great time. Thank you Ben for having me along on this one. Here are some of my favorite images this I was able to capture.

Derrick Davis

2009-02-20T23:19:00.006-06:00

Derrick Davis asked me to shoot some pictures of him before South by Southwest where he'll be playing. He wanted some night time photography keeping with the theme of his last CD. Derrick was very easy going which made the work go by really fast. Below are a few of my favorites. Keep an eye out for his new cd that will be coming out soon. Thanks to Mark Rubio and Dave from DCM Phtography for the help.

Guitar Player

2009-02-10T01:04:00.002-06:00

The other day I was shooting some photos at Texas State University Alumni dinner and this guy was playing his guitar in this circular hall way intersection and I thought it was just the coolest looking thing! I hope you all like it as much as I do.

Ben and William

2009-02-09T22:59:00.006-06:00

Dave and Caroline asked me to come over and take some photos of their new baby boys. They were both born just eleven weeks ago, which was ten weeks early. They are very healthy, full of energy and like to eat. When I shot these two they weighed 8 and 9 pounds. During our session I think each one of the stopped to eat more than once. I think they are well on their way to playing for the Texas Longhorns judging from the amount of food they eat. Dave and Caroline are really loving being new parents and I was happy that they asked me to take some of the twin's first pictures. I'll be going back to take more soon. I can't wait.

Check out the slide show at the bottom to see more images from the shoot.

Susan and Mark Wedding

2009-01-30T11:35:00.004-06:00

I had the honor of taking pictures at Mark and Susan's wedding. The ceremony was very short and casual. They wanted it to be more of a party than a traditional wedding. They had several different kinds of wine and alot of really great food. Beto and The Fairlanes supplied the party music! There was salsa dancing, ballroom dancing, brides and grooms being lifted in the air on chairs! A good time was had by all. The event was held at The Terrace Club... What an awesome venue!

Christine and Nick’s Wedding

2009-01-26T00:19:00.004-06:00

Christine and Nick’s wedding was awesome. Christine planned and organized the whole thing along with her new mother-in-law and some of her friends and family. The ceremony was held at the beautiful St. Mary’s Cathedral, in downtown Austin, and the reception was at the Austin Women’s Club. Christine, Nick and their families were so happy that day it made photographing the event that much easier! I have to say that Nick’s mom was great to work with! She was on top of everything! Thanks also to Ben Sassani for being my second shooter. He captured some amazing images.

Family Reunion

2008-12-21T22:34:00.003-06:00

Julie called me and asked if I would be able to come over to her father’s house because it would be the first time in several years that her six brothers and sisters would all be together. I think family came from all across the country. In all we had well over thirty people there. For me it was great experience getting to see their family together sharing a wonderful time. It was their Christmas. As I was leaving they were just beginning to open all of the gifts that were under the tree. You should have heard the commotion.

Angela and Paul's Wedding

2008-12-16T16:52:00.004-06:00

The wedding was held at the Four Season's down on Town Lake in Austin. Originally the plan was to have the wedding outside but the weather had been a little rainy all day. The decision was made to have the ceremony inside one of the ball rooms in the hotel. When I came down, ten minutes before the ceremony, from the room where Angela was getting ready the staff was feverishly moving chairs and flowers to the lawn outside. The DJ was moving all his equipment and Paul was standing there watching with a smile on his face. He had made the call to have it outside. He told me that is really what Angela wanted, an outdoor wedding. Paul made it so! They kept the change back to outside a secret. Needless to say Angela was quite surprised when she came downstairs! Thanks goes out to Dave at DCM Photography for being my second shooter. He captured some amazing images as usual!

St. Theresa's Production Christmas Play

2008-12-11T00:01:00.002-06:00

St Theresa Catholic Church contacted me and asked me to photograph the dress rehearsal of Amahl and the Night Visitors, the church's annual Christmas production. I really enjoyed shooting the cast and crew and I really feel like I am part of the show! The singing is amazing, the people are all very nice and very hard working too! If you get a chance the show is this coming Friday and Saturday. Show time is 7:30 pm. It's really going to be great!

Some Nature Shots

2008-12-08T00:19:00.004-06:00

This morning I woke up early and went for a walk down to a close by lake to see what I could see. It was nice crisp morning. I think it was in the 50s when i left the house. The sky was blue, I saw a few people out running and walking their dogs. As i got to the lake I listen to the birds, felt the wind and just kind of soaked it in. It was a great start to the day. I'm glad I took the time to do it.

After I posted this my sister, who lives down in Corpus Christi, wrote me with some interesting information on the birds I photographed. I put it down in the comments section if anyone is interested.

Lamphier Family

2008-12-06T00:52:00.005-06:00

The Lamphiers called and asked if I would come take some photos of their family. You know I'm all over that! Francis, Mom and Dad were great. The train tracks and the water made a great setting. The time flew by. It was a little bit cold out but Francis didn't mind. He was going out to see the train anyway. Francis also had a blow up snake made for him that he didn't want to let go of! Very cute!

Karen and Clay's Wedding

2008-12-04T02:12:00.002-06:00

Karen and Clay, from Houston, decided they wanted a small intimate outdoor setting and they settled on the Becker Vineyards near Fredericksburg. Karen had only a maid of honor and they both got ready in the log cabin that was built in 1890 and now serves as a bed and breakfast on the winery. The whole event was awesome. Karen and Clay’s closest friends and family attended which made it small enough so that everybody knew each other after about 10 minutes. It was a great party!

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At Home with Preston

2008-11-27T08:13:00.002-06:00

What is a photographer Dad supposed to do when he gets to stay home all day with a little baby? Take pictures! Between feeding the little guy and taking care of his other little needs I had a chance to play around with my camera. He was a trooper. Preston made it through about 15 minutes of the big bright light flashing in his face and then decided he would just go to sleep!

The Werths

2008-11-23T15:06:00.002-06:00

I went to the 360 bridge with the Werth family recently to do some family pictures that they wanted for Christmas and also just have. Brice, Lisa and their kids Blake and Kendall were all very fun to work with. Blake is a little ball of energy and looks like such a little man. Kendall is all smiles and loves to laugh. Take a look.

Angela and Paul

2008-11-16T22:54:00.004-06:00

I got to hang out with Angela and Paul today and after spending just a short time with them I could tell that they were really into each other and they were very easy to work with.

Another Golf Outing

2008-11-13T16:37:00.003-06:00

I got a chance to go play some golf with some of my friends the other day. We played at Falconhead Golf Club and had a great time. The weather started out kind of gloomy but cleared up later in the day. I pulled my camera out for the back nine. Good thing I did too! The highlight of the day was watching Geoff make his first eagle ever! I made a funny slide show of the moment, check it out! We all had a great time.

Shamika and Greg

2008-11-02T19:50:00.003-06:00

When I think about the both of them I remember their smiles and how they made each other laugh. There was one point during our shoot that Shamika said something that Greg thought was really funny. He has such a huge laugh. It was awesome. After that I think Greg was trying to look tough sometimes. All I had to say was “Shamika, tell Greg a joke” and he would just start laughing again without Shamika even saying anything. You can tell that they really have a passion for life and each other! I really enjoyed being around them. They’re going to be one of those super happy successful couples! I know it!

Christine and Nick

2008-10-31T01:25:00.002-05:00

Christine and Nick are a really great and funny couple that I have the pleasure of working with. They both have a carefree sense of humor and were more than willing to let out in front of the camera. They were so easy to work with that I think they may have done this a time or two. I can’t wait to do heir wedding.

Paul and Flo's Wedding

2008-10-31T00:44:00.003-05:00

Paul and Flo got married at Bastrop Christian Church. It was a very nice old world country style wedding. The church they were married in was built in 1895. It reminded me of an old country church that you might read about in an old western. After the ceremony everybody went out to Paul and Flo’s place to party it up. We all had a great time!

Paul and Flo's Farmtastic Engagement

2008-10-09T22:31:00.004-05:00

My good friend and fellow photographer, Dave McLaughlin, hooked me up with Paul and Flo. When I met Paul and Flo we hit it off really well. When we decided to meet at The Dog and Duck Pub to hang out and have a couple of beers while we talked about what they needed from a photographer, I knew they would be easy to work with. They live out in Bastrop on several acres with their dogs, chickens and pigs! You can really tell they both are in love with the life they have on their little farm and with each other. When they told me about the farm I knew immediately that I would be shooting their engagement photos out there! It’s a beautiful place that really makes you feel like you have your own little oasis in the country!

Korean Ceremony

2008-10-09T02:04:00.003-05:00

Terri and Randy also had a Korean Ceremony at Terri's parent's house. Terri and Randy both looked awesome in their traditional Korean garb that they wore during the ceremony. The Korean ceremony featured the passing and drinking of a cup of tea from the bride to the groom and back again several times. The drinking of the tea signifies the coming together of two families. The couple acknowledges the elders and shows their respect and thanks for their upbringing by bowing to them as well. I was honored that I was asked and trusted to document what seemed to me to be something that is shared mainly among family.

There are some additional images in their slideshow.

Randy & Terri Abernathy Wedding

2008-10-07T00:21:00.010-05:00

Terri and Randy… When I met Terri I found out how full of energy she really was. The total experience of working with Terri on all the events surrounding her marriage including engagement photos, bridal portraits, a Korean wedding ceremony as well as a traditional Christian wedding ceremony and reception was an amazing experience. As Pastor Earl McClellan said, Terri has a way of making the people around her strive to be better than what they already are. I truly grew as a person and photographer while working with Terri.

The Ceremony

Terri and Randy were married at University Christian Church. Terri looked awesome along with all her sisters and other bridesmaids. Randy and his boys looked great as well! The ceremony performed by Pastor Earl McClellan was beautiful! His words and message was awesome. Kathy from Austin Luxury Weddings kept the day and night running smooth. The flowers and reception hall design were executed by Jennifer Pavlovich Designs. The church and the reception which was held at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel looked amazing. The day was a huge success. Congratulations to Terri and Randy! It took many people to pull it all together.

If you want to see some more images from both the Korean ceremony and the Christian ceremony checkout their slideshow.

Wedding Coordination: Kathy Pavlovich, Austin Luxury Weddings
Photographers: David McLaughlin & Sean Wray Sean Wray Photography
Florist: Jennifer Pavlovich, Jennifer Pavlovich Designs
Ceremony Music: Hyde Park Strings
DJ: Stafford Jones, Complete Music -
Cakes: Kristin Wood, Krissy’s Cakes
Church: University Christian Church
Reception: Stephen F Austin Intercontinental Hotel
Officiant: Pastor Earl McClellan

Shamika's Bridals

2008-09-21T22:45:00.004-05:00

Shamika is a no nonsense kind of girl! She's all business. From the moment when she asked me to do her bridals and engagement. We talked about the shoots and got them scheduled. Shamika is no stranger to the camera. As a teen she competed in beauty pageants around the state and that made her super easy to work with. She was very relaxed at our first shoot and I think it shows here. Thanks Shamika! I can't wait to do the pictures of you and Greg!

Graze Catering

2008-09-13T12:32:00.006-05:00

I got an email from Daryl, who runs Mod Digital, asking if I could help out one his friends Andrea, who runs Graze Catering. She needed some images of her buffet so they can use them on their new website. Andrea was catering an event at the Mexican American Cultural Center in Austin. The food was awesome! It all tasted as good as it looked.

Terri and Randy

2008-09-07T23:01:00.003-05:00

The first time I talked to Terri on the phone we talked about photography for a few minutes then the next thing I knew, we had been on the phone for a couple of hours talking about all sorts of other things! Terri has her sights set on public office. She is full of energy, has a caring heart and does everything 110%. When I asked her to send me some examples of work she liked she sent me nearly 400 photos so that I would know what inspired her and so that I could find inspiration in some of the same images. One day we’ll see her in the political spotlight getting elected to office so she can do what she’s passionate about; making life better others.

Preston Lewis Wray Slideshow

2008-08-24T12:00:00.001-05:00

He Has a Name

2008-08-21T17:11:00.002-05:00

After much deliberation over several names, this one just came to us. We named Kylie the same way. After we saw their little faces we let them tell us their names would be.

Preston Lewis Wray.

Baby Wray

2008-08-20T14:14:00.008-05:00

Born Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 8:11 am, 7 lbs. 15 oz.

Well it started at dinner Monday night. If you know Wendy, you know she is can be kind of quiet when it comes personal stuff. So at about 7 o’clock, in the middle of dinner, Wendy just got up and went left the dinner table very quietly and nonchalantly. She came out and informed me that she was going to call the doctor. Shortly there after she said to me “Sean can you call Kat and see if she can come over?” Well, Kat is our neighbor that we had on standby in case we needed to leave quickly.

As it turns out her water had broke and contractions were varying, in distance apart, from five to seven minutes apart; sometimes even four minutes. Our hospital, North Austin Medical Center is about fifty miles away and we had planned on leaving when contractions were seven minutes apart. Oops – they kind of snuck up on us!

Kat arrived and Kylie was thrilled. Kat is awesome with her. HUGE shout out to Kat! Thanks sooooo much! Now we were off. My heart was beating so fast, but I was trying to stay calm for Wendy! So getting to drive 90 mph with my flashers on down I-35 in my turbo charged car was awesome! (Dude moment). We made it 50 miles in about 30 minutes. By then Wendy was really starting to feel the contractions.

Long story short… too late! Wendy endured 3 hours of contractions from about 9 to midnight, then the doctors were able to give her an epidural so she couldn’t feel the contractions. Thanks to the anesthesiologist and his epidural that lasted all night. We were able to grab about 3 hours of on and off sleep between midnight and 3:00. Then the real battle began.

Wendy was a champ! 3 am to 6 am brought a little bit of discomfort because Wendy was beginning to feel BABY moving around getting ready to enter our world of bright lights and a thousand sounds! Then 6 am to 8 am arrived. Wendy nailed it! We knew he would be about 8 lbs. And the last thing we wanted was a c-section. Our doctor and three nurses were awesome, Dr. J., nurse Cyndi and nurse Bleu. After two hours of hard work and some awesome coaching and encouragement from our “team”, out came BABY with a nice loud welcoming cry. It was like he was announcing to the world that he was here! Pretty cool!

It was awesome! It’s still crazy to think that he is still only 11 hours old as I write this. What a great moment. I could go on, but this is already long enough!

Thank you to everybody for all your help including the medical staff and our family and friends. We are grateful that we have such an amazing cast of people around to support us.

Maryam and Leo

2008-08-08T01:12:00.007-05:00

Maryam and Leo! These are two of the nicest people I have had the honor of getting to know. As you can see Maryam has a wonderful energy to her. Always laughing and smiling. She was like that on her wedding day and just about every other day that I have seen her! They really had a wonderful time on their wedding day. Salsa band, Mariachi band, friends and family from all over the world, amazing food. It was an awesome day.

Austin Freedom Tour

2008-08-06T01:30:00.002-05:00

After attending The Freedom Tour in Austin I am very excited about getting my photography business to the next level. I'm more inspired more than ever to be there to capture moments that will make people laugh and smile for years to come. Jasmine Star and David Jay are awesome! After hearing them speak with so much passion for life and what they do, it made think about what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. What is it about photography that I love? Seems like a simple question but it's not. There are so many answers and they're all right! I think most of all, I love that I make people smile or laugh or even cry days months and years after I take their picture.

Thanks Jasmine and DJ!

Morgan and Ben

2008-08-04T00:47:00.007-05:00

I remeber when I met Morgan. Her mom and Dad were both there and she was so excited to be making some solid plans for her wedding day. We had some coffee and talked about how Morgan envisioned her day. With all her excitement I don't think we needed the coffee! I knew then, that the photos on her wedding day were going to be great. We worked out our plan for the day and I'm grateful that I was able to help preserve the memories for them. Morgan and Ben are great people and we had a great time that day!

Golf Trip

2008-08-01T00:11:00.004-05:00

Today was great. I got to get away to play some golf today with Adam, Trace, Dave, Ryan, Scott and Pat. I haven't been out to the golf course in over a year, so considering that I think I did very well. In fact I think we all did! We had the privilege of playing golf at The Club at Sonterra. The club is very nice. I have never played "best ball" before. It was great! We were in the fairway every single time! Thanks Adam and Trace for for setting it all up. I got to meet a couple of new people, Scott and Pat. Scott you sure can hit the ball a long way! It was fun being paired up with you!

I can't wait for the next golf trip!

Beautiful Belly

2008-07-25T11:39:00.004-05:00

My beautiful wife allowed me to take some pictures of her at 36 weeks. She is totally glowing these days and all of us are very excited. Wendy is doing well and everything has been very smooth. I'm sure the birth of our son will be the same. Wendy has made it all look so easy. I really admire her calmness through out the pregnancy. Like I said, we can't wait!

A few 4th of July pics

2008-07-11T09:00:00.003-05:00

Here are a few of my fireworks photos. You can see some more on my Flickr page.

New Frame in Lightroom

2008-06-28T01:27:00.012-05:00

I have been trying to figure out how to make a good looking border with Lightroom. Here is where I learned it.

Fathers Day

2008-06-17T01:26:00.003-05:00

Fathers Day was great!. I had way more fun than the photos show. Most of these were taken by Wendy. My day started off with my daughter asking, "Mommy, can we make pancakes yet?" at 5:00 am then at 6:30 and it was all we could do to hold her off till about 7:30. Then we played in the sprinkler, then we had burgers off the grill, I went to Home Depot, watched some golf with my Dad and hung out! What a day. Thanks Kylie and Wendy.

This was the flower that was on tray when I got pancakes in bed!

I took 30 minutes to get this blown up.

After 5 minutes the sprinkler ball sprung a leak!

We had a blast all day! Thanks for the pics Wendy!

Harmonic Wealth - the movie

2008-06-11T13:51:00.009-05:00

Wendy and I recently attended a weekend seminar by the same title, Harmonic Wealth. We experienced some amazing things and learned about some great techniques to help get us on the road to achieving all we want out of life. It's more than just money wealth! The Harmonic Wealth Weekend and the movie provides a fresh approach to obtaining your true desires and will open you up to a whole new way of living through a blend of cutting-edge scientific findings and timeless spiritual truths.

I'll see you the movies on the 22nd. Shoot me an email if you have questions at all.

James Arthur Ray as seen in th "Secret", Fortune Magazine and on Oprah and Larry King presents a thought provoking new film!

Harmonic Wealth®
One Night Only, Limited Seating
Sunday, June 22nd. Show time 6:00 pm
The Arbor Cinema
9828 Great Hills Trail
Austin, TX 78759

Purchase Tickets here they are only $10

or paste this in your browser http://harmonicwealthaustin.eventbrite.com

View the trailer here

Thanks! I'll hope we see you at the movie!

If you want your very own copy of the movie you can get it here.

Inning by Inning Premier

2008-06-04T22:19:00.000-05:00

Last night Wendy and I went to the world premier of the Richard Linklater's newest film, Inning by Inning. It is a awesome look into Coach Augie Garrido. UT's baseball coach. Coach Garrido is the winning coach in any sport in Division I history. He not only teaches his kids baseball he teaches them about life and that really comes through in this film. It will be aired on ESPN on June 15th. I think it's at 7:00. His philosophies are really cool. I think everybody should watch this. Read more here.

Young Women's Alliance

2008-05-22T22:01:00.004-05:00

Maryam Fernandez, one of the board members of the Young Women's Alliance, contacted me to cover their annual member appreciation party. It was held in The Gallery at Chez Zee restaurant in North Austin. The event was to recognize incoming and outgoing board members and thank their outstanding members for work done in 2007. They also recapped some of their charitable activities from 2007 and talked about 2008.

Ansel Adams in New York Times

2008-05-20T00:28:00.004-05:00

This is a really cool online presentation from The New York Times. Each image is narrated by Andrea Stillman, Mr. Adams assistant for a number of years. You can hear the story behind the some of Ansel Adams' photos.

Mustang Island

2008-05-10T22:26:00.003-05:00

This a typical walkway that you have to take to get to the beach on Mustang Island. The dunes are covered by tall grass and are about fifteen feet tall. Then you get down to the beach. It's really pretty cool. The earliest known inhabitants of Mustang Island were Karankawa Indians, known for their fierceness and cannibalism. Yikes! More info on Mustang Island.

Seagulls in Port Aransas

2008-05-10T21:27:00.004-05:00

After dinner I went out in search of some Texas coast wildlife. There are a couple of small pond looking things near our hotel. I figured I could go there and probably find some wildlife. There are Seagulls all around here. They aren't as big as the Seagulls I remember growing up in California. After a little on-line research I discovered that these are Larus atricilla Linnaeus or the Laughing Gull. It seems that their bills are red only while they are breeding.

This was taken from our balcony.

I think this is a younger bird or it could be something other than a gull.

Flock of Seagulls... get it! :-)

I think this is my favorite.

These birds aren't as east to capture as I thought they would be.

Port Aransas Day 3

2008-05-10T15:25:00.004-05:00

Had to add a couple more pictures from today.

Not much to write about today. We met some other people from Austin at the beach where we enjoyed the morning. Kylie LOVES the beach! Wendy and I have had a few conversations about moving to Mexico! Some day! here are some more pics of our relaxing day.

The water is a little cold at first, but then very refreshing!

America's top model - watch out Tyra!

The view from our balcony.

Wide angle goodness!

SAND!

Port Aransas Day 2

2008-05-09T15:02:00.007-05:00

Well, day 2 is here. This morning we headed out to McGee Beach in Corpus Christi for the first day of the U. S. Wind and Water Open. Not a whole lot is going on today. I spoke with one of the competitors and he said that the wind was not strong enough. I thought it was pretty windy myself. I guess these guys usually are almost para gliding and then land in the water so they need some pretty strong winds. It was pretty cool watching them. Kylie pretty much didn't care as long as she was at the beach and got to play in the ocean.

The girls are napping now. I'm having a beer listening to the ocean and just chillin bra! Another update later.... I think I like this blog thing!

More pics of this guy can be seen here.

Port Aransas - Day 1

2008-05-08T22:40:00.005-05:00

Well - Wendy and I decided to take Kylie to the beach. I mean she's nearly five and has never been. So we thought... Mexico maybe Cabo San Lucas??? But then we realized that a little overboard. South Padre maybe. Well Kylie has never been a car for more than two consecutive hours - so that knocks out South Padre. I think it takes six hours to get there.

So we settled on Port Aransas/Mustang Island. We decided to stay at The Mayan Princess! The drive took only took three hours and Kylie only asked us twenty times ok it must have really been 100. "Momma, How long will it take to get there?" She really did great in the car though. Really I swear!

When we finally made it to the Mayan Princess Kylie couldn't wait to get to the beach. She loved it. I'm so happy that we have two more full days here. It's supposed to be 100 degrees tomorrow! It's freaking May still! Well here are some of my favorite pics from day one!

Sucked Into Photoshop

2008-05-07T01:10:00.005-05:00

Last night I started playing with Photoshop and my HDR software. I was hunting for images that might make good HDR images. I didn't find any. If you know me, you know I can get sucked into just about anything to do with computers and photography. After experimenting and then having to download and install a newer version of my HDR software, then pulling that into PS, then looking for a PS frame action, downloading that... this is what I came up with. The original is a couple posts below.

First Picture of John, Giuseppe, Sean Jr... We don't know yet

2008-05-06T00:48:00.005-05:00

Ava McLaughlin Visits

2008-05-05T16:59:00.007-05:00

This weekend was Front Porch Days in our neighborhood. We went to little festival in the morning. Kylie spent 45 minutes in one of the jumpy things that kids love so much! We tried getting her out by offering her watermelon. She said "No way!"

The McLaughlin family made the trek from north Austin down to Kyle to spend the afternoon with us. Kyle really enjoyed meeting Ava for the first time. She was very gentle little Ava. Our neighbors Gary and Kat came over to the house too. We all had some dinner and then went to listen to some live music up in the front of our neighborhood. Fun time for all. I'm really glad that Dave, Kerri and Ava got to come hang out!

Yesterday was an awesome day!

Wendy's blog

2008-05-05T10:06:00.002-05:00

My wonderful wife is always trying to find ways to help our planet. She has created a blog with lots useful tips. She doesn't get to update it as often as she would like to. If you have any suggestions for her blog email her at wendylwray@yahoo.com.

LBJ Wildflower Center

2008-04-25T00:51:00.000-05:00

I recently went to The LBJ Wildflower Center with my family for some spring time enjoyment. There are all kinds of native Texas plants to see. The most interesting was the maroon Bluebonnet (invented by an Aggie)! Kylie really liked it as well as my wife. The weather was great. Here are a few of my favorites.