Texas Ren Fest

Shopping is the last thing I want to be doing on "Black Friday". I had a lot more fun at the Texas Renaissance Festival west of Conroe. If you've never been to the "ren fest", I highly recommend the experience. Those people have faithfully and accurately recreated the atmosphere and ambiance of a small renaissance-era town complete with shops, shows, knights, vagabonds and a whole lot of merriment.

It was great getting to spend the day with my parents and two cousins. My mother is especially fond of the shows, and I can see why with such entertainment as a falconry show, a court jester's act, and genuine royal jousting competition.

Quite possibly the highlight of my day there was getting to witness a real wedding at the "water garden chapel" on the grounds. Apparently, you can rent it out the whole deal for your wedding. It includes full costumes for the bride, groom and the whole wedding party, a carriage processional through the crowds to the wedding area, a priest for the ceremony, and a reception. Needless to say, my inner photographer was jumping up and down with glee.

On the way home, we stopped at an amazing burger shop called Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Their claim to fame is fresh, never-frozen, juicy burgers and delicious hand-cut fries. While you're there, feel free to grab some complimentary dry roasted in-the-shell peanuts. They even play classic rock music for your enjoyment. Great dining experience.

All in all, it was a great day! As always, you can check out all the pictures at THE WEBSITE. Enjoy!

Little Rock Trip

I left yesterday for a short trip to Little Rock, Arkansas this weekend. I'm up here visiting a really cool person, and I have had some great opportunities to snap some pictures. As much as I love working with clients, it is refreshing to just get out and make great pictures of whatever I want to snap.

We started off this morning with a visit to the "Big Dam Bridge" over the Arkansas River. It's a nice walking and bike path that sits right on top of a dam just west of the city. We drove through switchbacks a la Colorado to get down to the waterfront. Great fun.

I had lunch today at a nifty pizza place called Larry's Pizza. They're a specialty pizza buffet place that takes requests and they walk around with fresh pizza every couple of minutes. Think "buffalo chicken pizza" and "cheeseburger pizza"...very cool.

In the afternoon, we visited the Old State House in downtown Little Rock. The building served as the Arkansas Capital Building from 1826 until 1910. Also, right down the street was Riverfront Park where we finished our touristing.

All in all, it's been a great day of sightseeing and photography. As usual, you can check it all out at THE WEBSITE.

Enjoy!

Payne - Meeks Engagement Shoot

Traveled to Houston today for a engagement picture shoot with Karie Payne and Zach Meeks. After taking an accidental stroll through the medical district in Houston, I successfully arrived at St. John the Divine Episcopal Church on Westheimer. Zach works at the church, and the wedding will be happening there next June. After meeting the bride-to-be's Mom, I got the grand tour of the facility and scouted out our shooting spots. Our time was split into 3 different shoots: 1 at the church, 1 at the football field across the street for some themed pictures (Zach and Karie are big football fans!) and lastly we shot in Sabine Park a little west of downtown Houston.

After getting some great shots at the church, and watching Zach and Karie showcase their crazy athletic skills, I regathered my thoughts for the rest of the shoot while the happy couple got changed for the park.

We all had lunch at this trendy 24 hour deli/diner, "Katz's" on Westheimer. I got the lunch special with an outstanding reuben sandwich (I think they imported the sauerkraut straight from Germany) and some homemade mac-n-cheese. Delicious.

We drove out to Sabine Park and finished up our day of shooting with some AWESOME Houston skyline shots and some sweet swing set action.

All in all, it was a great day. I'm really looking forward to coming back to shoot the wedding in June, 2010.

Welcome!!

Hey, thanks for stopping by the blog of Ballenger Photography! I'm James B. Jenkins, just in case you didn't know. This is where I'll be posting my grand tales of photographic adventure for all to share.

So check back every once in a while, and I'll try to always have something worth reading. Of course, looking at the pictures on THE WEBSITE is definitely much more fun, so I don't blame you if you're not here for very long...

Anywho, thanks again for stopping by! If you enjoy what you see here, and on the site, the best compliment you can give me is to tell your friends and/or family about it. Have a wonderful day!!

with great enthusiasm,

James B. Jenkins
Founder and Photographer, Ballenger Photography