Thursday, December 31, 2020
Bookmark - Old Style Bathtub
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Bookmark - Water Beads on Emerald Boa
Of all the boas this one is my favorite. I'd love to have owned one as a younger lad, but they were too expensive, and a bit cranky. Sure are beautiful, though...
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Bookmark - Water Beads on Banana Leaf
There's something about water beads. Photographers will actually bring misting bottles on shoots to create this effect on various objects, such as flowers and spider webs. Can't say I'll go that far, but feel fortunate whenever I chance upon the opportunity to get a shot like this. More water beads tomorrow on something else that's green...
Monday, December 28, 2020
Bookmark - Pool Water Background
This one barely made the cut for a bookmark, but I decided to keep it in because its abstract nature makes up for its technical deficits. It was shot with my first digital, the 3MP Fujifilm Finepix 3800, and fairly cropped in. Having seen this I'll be looking for opportunities to duplicate with either the Big or Bigger Cahoona some day.
Sunday, December 27, 2020
Bookmark - Rustic Fenceline / The Rural Roads of East Texas
I was out doing site visits in Austin County here in Texas during winter (my favorite time to shoot) and saw this weathered fence as an opportunity.
This is the reason that since childhood one of my favorite things to do is aimlessly drive country roads to take in the beautiful rustic scenery of rural America. I guess that the family Sunday afternoon drive is a ritual for the same reason. It's just fun going to as-yet-undiscovered places and enjoying scenes like this.
I went crazy my second year of college at SFA, when I owned my first car, a 1968 Rambler American named Old Blue. Many hours were spent meandering through the red dirt roads of East Texas, stopping now and then to look at a shed or moo at a cow. And, though the road was paved, my best time in Nacogdoches was while living out on a farm-to-market road (1275) because it was windy and rural, and any detour took me (or us, if with a friend) down some of those dirt roads. Some days, just to explore, I would drive outbound until 1275 evolved into a logging road full of ruts and vegetation. This was out in the sticks enough to do a little target shooting with my .22 revolver.
Then there are the people that live way out there. Occasionally I'd have the opportunity to interact with someone living in a big house or mansion with acreage out in the boonies. Other times I'd end up discovering a small community occupying a crossroad or river bottom flat. All of it beautiful in its own way.
Saturday, December 26, 2020
Bookmark - Cloud-to-Cloud Rain (maybe)
Clouds are and do very, very interesting things. First is their weight...many, many tons of water floating around up there in the sky. Then the behavior. With the Big Cahoona, my Nikon D300s, a scene was captured in which rivulets of clouds came flowing off a distant mountain range as if a waterfall (look to the right of the pic posted here).
Then one time, from an airplane, I saw two types of clouds interacting in a similar way. We were above an overcast of cumulus clouds, and a layer of some wispier clouds was flowing through the valleys in between their tops. I learned that some pilots carry a DSLR in their cockpits, capturing these kinds of things from their front-row seats.
Friday, December 25, 2020
Bookmark - Oranges
Thursday, December 24, 2020
Bookmark - Galveston Dockside Shops
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
Bookmark - Galveston Dock Reflection
My dad kept boats most of my growing-up years, and scenes like this remind me of the time we spent on the water and walking up and down docks. When I was five years old I fell off of a dock, and some very interesting things happened on my way to the depths, as I was yet unable to swim. Then someone plucked me out of the water and that was that.
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Monday, December 21, 2020
Bookmark - Estes Restaurant Flower
This was in the middle of town with pedestrians, street traffic, etc., none of which stopped a small herd of elk from charging through, stopping to take a dip in the restaurant's pond...
Sunday, December 20, 2020
Bookmark - Horsetooth Dandelion
Been to Colorado three times now on what could be called vacations (one was a tagalong with Chenjean on a business trip). Nothing like it...would move there in a sec. Once in Fort Collins we went to the only Asian grocery store around, and the owners - who were about to retire - tried to talk us into buying the store and settle there. Chenjean, knowing that I'm no business man, politely declined.
Saturday, December 19, 2020
Bookmark - Sailboat Silhouette
I miss cruises, with the pandemic and all. They are the perfect vacation - you get to travel to exotic places while being fed and cared for by professionals whose job it is to make sure you're having fun. And - just as traveling by 747 - the price is worth it just for the ride.
Friday, December 18, 2020
Bookmark - Galveston Church Steeple
Spent some time working in Galveston while in the field of Criminal Justice. Took note that, as the saying went, the culture of the island is noticeably different from that of the mainland...which I found to be true. Think I would have fit better on the island had I lived in these parts.
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Bookmark - Snow-dusted Bird
Captured with the Nikon D300s in Big Bend of all places, where they had a freak snowfall in mid March. Was with my friend Michael Whitworth, one of the best photographers around, and we were both surprised and delighted at the unusual opportunities it presented.
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Bookmark - Westheimer Tulips
Was fortunate that we happened to be stopped when this caught my eye, but can't say how many times we've passed something on the road while on the move and I've said to myself, "Gotta capture that some day." Thing is, you can't just stop on the road, especially a highway, and any place else would be at a different angle which might not work.
There is a potential shot that will make me stop one day even on the highway, however. Ten miles south of Waco on SH 6 - the route we take to visit our daughter Allison in Dallas - there is a colorful shed with a small tree right next to it that's had my eye for a couple of years now. Hopefully not too much changes by the time I get around to it...
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Bookmark - Bird on a Stick
Gotta say that Animals are about the most interesting thing to capture, in general. They have life, behavior patterns that can be captured even in stills, and many times are downright funny. A zoo in Lincolnshire, England, acquired an African gray that said curse words. They put him with some other African grays, so he taught them to curse. The keepers naively thought that once they were on display for the public they would pipe down...but quite the opposite happened. The public was so taken by this behavior that the reaction spurred all five of them to curse up a storm, sometimes in unison. Finally, because of the children, they had to remove the wayward birds from the exhibit.
Monday, December 14, 2020
Bookmark - Orangutan on Pole
That trip to New Orleans was my first out-of-town jaunt with a digital camera. Discovered that it really made a huge difference in how I handle such places, where there are a lot of people. Discovered that focusing on what to capture and what to do with the camera is a great screen, behind which I can be less inhibited. The icing on the cake is a good keeper now and then.
Sunday, December 13, 2020
Bookmark - Crested Crane
Saturday, December 12, 2020
Bookmark - A Man and His Dog
Many if not most people have wondered whether dogs have souls. Doubt if they have a soul per se like the ones people have, but do believe that all life returns from whence it came once it's done with here.
By the time you read this we've had a dog for a couple of months now (Lord willing). A mini Australian shepherd. Yes it's a lively breed, but we needed something to get us out of the house and away from screens as we approach retirement age. And this one providentially fell into place, as our son and his wife got one, and ours is its sibling - good for play dates, petsitting, etc.
Friday, December 11, 2020
Bookmark - Corpus Heron (I think)
Move the bird to the left and there's potential for some text here...
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Bookmark - Longbeak Bird
Don't think I've given this one to anybody yet, but it has potential. Captured at the Cincinnati Zoo.
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Bookmark - Colorful Strands
Goes to show that what seems mundane may have potential that just has to be extracted with the time it takes in a creative effort. This one took about an hour.
Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Bookmark - Cheyenne Buzzard
Made a promotional card from another shot captured during the visit back in 2011:
Monday, December 7, 2020
Bookmark - Galveston Gull Feeder
Sunday, December 6, 2020
Bookmark - Stanley Daisies
Saturday, December 5, 2020
Bookmark - Holly Leaves
Friday, December 4, 2020
Bookmark - Bahama Sunrise
* the D300s; my D850 is affectionately known as the Bigger Cahoona.
Thursday, December 3, 2020
Wednesday, December 2, 2020
Bookmark - Bayou Bend Flower with Color Effects
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Bookmark - Pink Blossom at Bayou Bend
Interesting how acquiring the 7000 came about. At the time a 6MP DSLR was a heavy-hitter, and the major camera makers were touting their latest models featuring this resolution. I was at Wolf Camera in Meyerland asking about them. After the guy behind the counter extolled the virtues of the DSLR's they had in stock, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "or you could just buy this one, which is just as good if not better, and spend a lot less money", pointing at the Fuji.
Didn't buy it that day, but was intrigued since I'd already owned the 3800 and was happy with it. The family got the hints that I strategically dropped, and gave it to me as a Father's Day gift. Never looked back or regretted the decision, as many of the images captured in those days rival even what I can get out of the D850 today.