Congratulations to the newly minted couple and our wishes for the very best, joy & happiness as they start this new chapter of their journey together!

Here's a quick peek at a couple more photos from their Engagement Session/Family Photo Shoot.

See you later today guys! I'm excited for you both and looking forward to a beautiful & special wedding day! :-)

Without further ado, Jessy & Josh!

And then the sun went down ...

We had a great time on the shoot with you, guys!  Thank you for being so generous and letting us into this special time in your lives.

Thanks also to Kari Noser for the awesome assist on the shoot.  And if any of you are thinking of popping the question, give the folks at Thomas Markle Jewelers a shout and get in touch with us too, we just might something special in store for you.

Puts a smile on my face to see all that water out there :-)

[For comparison, check out the original post of photos after the fires.]

Rainy Day Drive Thru - I (via Instagram)

Rainy Day Drive Thru - II (via Instagram)

Volume I

This is what it looked like two days after the fire, when we were able to gain access to the park again.

... continued after the jump/below ...

Now here's the kicker - that broad expanse of ashes, is supposed to be wetlands!  Yep, those trees under normal circumstances would be islands in a marsh of tall grass.  The drought had dried up the wetland & the grass was just ready to burn.

For a bit of a reference, here's a photo I took out there in December 2009. It was winter so the grass is brown but you get a bit of a sense of what it would normally look like.

Volume II

A couple of days later on the 18th, we had the first rains in a long time.  It wasn't a lengthy downpour but it was quite a bit and more than we had gotten in a while.  I was back out there in the park early in the morning and a lot of the grey ash from the photographs above had taken a deeper hue.  Here and there, in the middle of all that charcoal blackness, life slowly returned.  The thirsty, charred land had been given a sip water.

Volume III

I visited the park again several days later.  This time, late in the afternoon and close to sundown.

Volume IV

A number of weeks later, we had a touch of fog and I was overdue for a visit.  I was glad I did.

I'm not much of a butterfly photography person, but for this photographic journey & witness of nature struggling back to life, it feels apropos.

Epilogue

There's a bit of good news about the drought - we had a downpour here in Houston a couple of days ago.  So much so that we had quite a bit of flooding!  Well, that last bit is not very good news for those whose homes were affected & my thoughts are with them.

I think I'm overdue for a visit to park again especially after all that rain.

Have a beautiful weekend!

Deji.

P.S.: Oh yeah, the fire and it's remnants inspired this photo shoot that I did out there in the park.

Here's wishing you a year filled with beauty, joy & blessings in unexpected places!

Cheers!

Deji.