Asian Fair - Didjeridon't

Another instrument...supposedly related to the didjeridu.

Asian Fair - Didjeridu

Didn't know that New Zealand was part of Asia, but this guy was there doing a very good demonstration of the didjeridu.  Using the built-in flash was the best route for these shots, especially as he was in the middle of a stage, away from walls and other objects that could land a shadow...
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My nephew just bought a brand-new four-thirds camera that captures 16 megapixels.  My gosh, what a camera!  This little thing that can easily fit into a shirt pocket took astounding photographs, with much more detail, far better dynamic range, and less noise than the Big Cahoona.  Photographic technology these days is really racing along.  I'm still satisfied with what I have, though, as I've always considered the Big Cahoona an intermediate step towards a pro-level tool at some point in the future - Lord willing...

Asian Fair - Japanese Act

A new building for the Asian Center was dedicated in the museum district here in Houston, and this was the first act that kicked it all off.  These are some Japanese guys that went through various contortions at the top of this ladder held up by his buddies.  Of the two dozen or so photos taken of this act, only a handful were kept...

Houston Zoo - Chimp

These guys are so, so human-like.  Upon closer inspection, this critter's eyes are turned to look right into the lens of the Big Cahoona...

Houston Zoo - Roadrunner

Houston Zoo - Blackbird

This guy is about 75% cropped in...just a bird standing on a fence.

Houston Zoo - Red Head

We recently had a missionary family over to conduct some church business.  One of the things we did was take them to the zoo, and of course the Big Cahoona came along also, behaving beautifully.

At first glance most people conclude that the fence is behind the bird, but in fact it is in front.  I desaturated the green background about 20%, then applied Autolevels to just the bird.  This version is cropped in on the top and sides by about 15%...

Big Bend Trip - Saloon Cactus

Also in front of the saloon...

Big Bend Trip - Red Bloom

On the front lawn of the saloon was this here cactus! Had to apply some of the unsharp mask tool on the bloom, as the focus was slightly behind it...

Big Bend Trip - Wagon Wheel

Moving outside - this is on the front of the saloon...

Big Bend Trip - Billiard Room

On the porch looking into the billiard room...the legs of the original pool table are what you see on the floor. A sign inside says that the Judge died in that very room.

Big Bend Trip - Sanderson House

As stated earlier, there was no shortage of these types of shots in Sanderson. Not sure why, but run-down structures like this seem to draw lots of folks...photographers and otherwise.

Blank and white of same below:

 

 

Big Bend Trip - Saloon Bar

As I've always been enamored with the Old West, we could not resist the opportunity to stop at Langtry in order to see Judge Roy Bean's old place. Amazingly, the saloon and billiard room is original, with just enough replacement parts to keep it sturdy.

Thus, it was an awesome thing to go inside and see the bar in an Old West saloon just as it was built in the late 1800's.

Big Bend Trip - Depot Doorway

This is a view from trackside...

Big Bend Trip - Depot Stairway

Since this was winter there were opportunities to take more pictures of things through things, such as these branches. This one is fairly cropped in...

Big Bend Trip - Sanderson Depot

We were headed through town, nice and slow-like, when about three blocks from Highway 90 I saw this run-down building. No choice but to stop and capture its rustic beauty. This shoot reminded me of the Zedler Mill experience, posted back in '08.

Big Bend Trip - Sanderson Buildings

The first stop we made out of Chisos was Sanderson. Sanderson had plenty of run-down places to take rustic photos, such as this one...

Big Bend Trip - Chisos Ice

This is the last of my postable pictures from the Chisos Mountains. Interesting that I didn't get any good pictures of the mountains themselves, but the unexpected snow and ice made up for it.

Because of the cold we decided not to primitive camp that night, but instead hit the road and headed towards Del Rio, with a couple of stops on the way...

Big Bend Trip - Dusted Sparrow

This shot was taken from inside the restaurant at Chisos Mountain Lodge. Further up the mountain there was a little less snowfall...just a dusting.

While eating breakfast we met a great couple from Nacogdoches, my hometown for eight years. They were retired, just traveling around and taking pictures - with a Nikon D300 no less! Naturally we took the opportunity to raz my friend for being a Canon guy.

Big Bend Trip - Another Winterscape

Big Bend Trip - Winterscapes

After stopping at the tunnel, my friend and I headed back to the Chisos Mountain Lodge for breakfast. As we reached about 5,600' in elevation it started coming down...snow! Naturally we stopped along the road and went nuts snapping photos. The snowfall plus a foggy background made for some great winterscapes, even though we were in West Texas in the middle of March. My gosh, the landscape is beautiful enough as a desert landscape - seeing it like this was, for us, a rare treat.