Houston Cityscape #4

This is a picture of the library from a parking garage. I learned that parking garages are great places from which to photograph the city.

Houston Cityscape #3

One of the greatest things about taking pictures in the big city is the abundance of lines, angles, colors and reflections, such as this one.

Houston Cityscape #2

This picture was taken on the same trip, just a little way down the road. There was an opportunity to juxtapose the old with the new in this one.

The first time I was introduced to showing the old with the new was in college at Stephen F. Austin State University. One of my Spanish professors pointed out the significance of a photograph in our textbook that showed some modern buildings through the arches of an ancient aqueduct. Somehow the concept stuck with me.

Houston Cityscape #1

Now for something in the city. As mentioned in an earlier posting, Houston has not only beautiful nature opportunities, but is also one of the best urban landscapes in which to take pictures. With its centralized downtown and well-developed outlying areas, anyone interested in architectural photography could spend quite some time here.

This picture was taken on my way to a church function at the George R. Brown Convention Center, through the car windshield. It was taken with the 3800 - thus only 3 megapixels - so took some doing in Elements to get the right contrast, etc.

I've always been surprised, though, at the awesome quality that came out of that camera. (past tense, because I have since given it away to my nephew) This photo is actually cropped from a much wider scene, but the detail still is acceptable.

Zedler Mill #8

This is a branch that was hanging over the San Marcos River, which runs next to the Mill and from which it derived its power. To get this one I had to lean way over a cement wall that went straight down into the water. After nearly tipping over and falling in, it was not my life that flashed before my eyes, but the lecture I would have gotten from my wife!

Zedler Mill #7

This image is another one that heavily uses depth-of-field...very similar to the Zedler #3 posting. I like the contrast of the brick color against the relatively dull gray and rust of the building. The twigs being in focus against the blurry background and the shadows against the side of the building enhance the wintery look.

Normally I would bemoan a bright sunny day as a photographer, but this one worked out pretty well.

Zedler Mill #6

As you can see, this was taken through a window to show a lighted area on the other side of the building. My friend from San Antonio, who has been one of my best friends since the age of six, said that as kids we would have been through that window in a heartbeat, exploring the nooks and crannies inside.

I think he was right.

Zedler Mill #5

I went through all kinds of contortions to get this one just right...in spite of a bad knee sometimes sacrifices have to be made!

Zedler Mill #4

There was a jumble of old hardware and equipment all around the place, which made for some great opportunities.

Zedler Mill #3

There is just a little bit of depth-of-field in this one...

I am finding that, even though the pictures look fine on the originating screen (and print well also), they appear a tad light against the black background in this blog. For that reason an extra step is taken in Photoshop to darken them a little, just for these postings. Darkening highlights in Elements 7.0 tends to saturate the color just a bit, which is a plus in my opinion.

Zedler Mill #2

This is one of the first pictures taken upon entering the property. There was a window on the other side of the building that had to be photoshopped out of the window that you see.

Zedler Mill in Luling, Texas

OK, let's get away from the green for a while. My favorite time to take pictures is winter, because a) I like to take pictures of things through things, and because b) I love the patterns made by leafless branches.

Another of my favorite things is old and rustic stuff.

And that is why I found myself in a bonanza on my way home from San Antonio one day. A friend, who lives in San Antonio and with whom I had been visiting during a business trip, phoned after I was already on the road and told me about this place called the Zedler Mill just outside of Luling (just a bit ahead of where I was at that moment). He takes pictures also and thought I'd like to take a look.

Boy, did I! Before I knew it, an hour-and-a-half had gone by and it was past time to go, but I vowed to come back some day and snap a few more. The picture that you see in this post is of the mill itself, and the next few postings will be pictures taken at the mill and its environs.

Houston Arboretum #7

This is the last of my pictures of the Arboretum, taken on our way out. After doing some Photoshop corrections for levels and color, thought it turned out pretty well.

People seem to find it hard to believe that all of this beauty is found inside the loop of one of the largest cities in the United States. Not only does Houston and Harris County have some of the best nature photography around, the urban and cityscape opportunities abound as well.

Houston Arboretum #6

This picture has a unique background story. My friends and I were on that dock that you see in the background, and we saw this lady painting across the pond.

I had grown wary of taking pictures of people without their permission, so started to literally "shoot from the hip", surreptitiously clicking the shutter while holding the camera down by my side. Naturally, I didn't get anything decent in that manner, so the subject came up that we should maybe go and ask her permission.

I drew the straw, so walked down the path to meet the artist and ask permission to take her photograph. Upon being asked she looked at me and said, "Well, I don't suppose I can say 'no', as I've already painted you into my picture!" Sure enough, there I was in my shorts, red shirt and tube socks, leaning into the viewfinder taking a picture (non-surreptitiously of something else).

After taking several pictures and meeting her husband, we left...and I later e-mailed this photograph to her.

Houston Arboretum #5

This picture is posted because so many people said they liked it. Suppose I do too, though the focus on the butterfly is not perfect.

Photographers must be an awfully obsessive, perfectionist lot. Even if I don't take another picture there is enough work to last a lifetime, with the constant tinkering and perfecting of the pictures taken these past six years.

Houston Arboretum #4

I really like this one for its depth-of-field.

I discovered the concept of depth-of-field quite by accident, while on a hike in Estes State Park in Colorado...one of the best vacations that we took as a family. We were on the trail headed down from Emerald Lake when I saw these neat little red cones on a conifer tree. With the 7000 I focused on the cones, zooming in all the way, and was surprised when the background came out with a blurred appearance.

With a little more experience I discovered that it is possible to control the level of blur by changing distance from the subject while in maximum zoom (though often the subject is in fact the blurred background instead of what is in focus). Thus I was able to get just the desired effect in today's post.

Houston Arboretum #3

This is one of my favorite shots from the Houston Arboretum; I love reflection shots and this one really tells a story. Close observation will reveal that the focus is on the reflection rather than the individuals themselves.

Houston Arboretum #2

I put this picture up just to test one in portrait mode, and thought what the heck, may as well keep it in. This picture was taken on the same trip mentioned in the previous posting. Contrasting colors, or showing bright colors against a dull or black background, is one of my favorite things to look at, which why this one made the cut.

I didn't even notice the bug immediately below the flower until I started the touch-up in Photoshop.

First Posting - with introductory remarks

My name is Jim Mahood, and I like to take pictures. I also like to write. In the belief that it is important to share the things we are able to create, here you have this blog. I have always enjoyed taking pictures and exercising a little creativity, but the hassle of roll film - even in the Instamatics of later years - kept me from pursuing photography as a hobby to any serious degree. The instant result and creative potential of working with images on a computer in the digital age (instead of a smelly dark room or trips to Walmart) changed all of that. 

The photos that you will see in the beginning posts were taken with either the FujiFilm FinePix 3800 or the FujiFilm FinePix S7000 point-and-shoots. In June of 2010 I bought a Nikon D300s, dubbed the "Big Cahuna", so pictures with that body grew into the blog.  I am strictly an amateur, a hobbyist, that loves tinkering post-capture as well as in the field.

The format is this: for each entry I will post a picture and (maybe) tell the story behind it. Then, if there is another story or something else that I feel like sharing, it will be written below.

I am not an expert picture taker by any means, so welcome your critiques and suggestions. Feel free to post comments, which will all be read.

The picture that you see in this first post was taken at the Houston Arboretum in Memorial Park. I went out with two friends from church and captured this at the entry way. It was a great outing because for the first time since taking on this hobby I was with others who understood the mindset of the photographer. Instead of getting moans and rolling eyes, my friends stood patiently nearby while I spent time getting just the right shot of, say, the bark of a pine tree. Thanks guys...
____________________________________________________________
I became a real FujiFilm fan when two things happened to my first camera, the FinePix 3800. First, I was in church disconnecting it from a tripod when it slipped from my grasp and fell to the floor. There was a carpet, but it was the real thin kind, and it landed with a thud that I was sure would break something. To my surprise, it continued to function like new.

The second event convinced me even more that Fujifilm is a good product. I was canoeing in the upper Guadalupe River with a nephew when we capsized in some rapids. The camera was in its case, and the case had been placed in its "waterproof" bag with the drawstring (tied to a gunwale), but water and silt still got in; when we made it to shore and opened the camera case the water was pooled and sloshing around the bottom.  The story of exactly how that canoe capsized is told in the posting for October 9, 2009.

This time I was sure that my picture-taking days were over, at least for a while; it turned on but the screen didn't even work at all.  I started thinking of ways to explain to my wife  a) how it happened in the first place, and  b) how much it was going to cost to replace.

In spite of how bad it looked, we opened the camera, took the batteries out, opened the little door for the chip, and set it in the sun to dry while we ate lunch. After lunch it still didn't work, so we packed it with the rest of our gear and headed downriver to complete the trip.

As soon as we packed the car for the drive back to Houston I opened the camera again and placed it on the dashboard in case it wasn't completely dry inside. After we got home I told the whole story to my wife.

My father-in-law happened to be there, so he tinkered with it a little and decided to install some fresh batteries. And to everyone's amazement it worked! I did some test shots and it worked just like new! I only found out much later that there was something wrong - it would no longer focus in video mode - but what a small price to pay.

So those two incidences convinced me that my next camera would be a Fuji product, and for Father's Day a year or so later my family bought the S7000, which worked beautifully.  Later on, upon graduating to bigger equipment, I bought the Nikon, disappointed that Fuji did not produce a higher-level DSLR.