Louisiana Visitor's Center - Lake Panorama

Standing in the same place where we were in yesterday's post and swinging the Bigger Cahoona to the right yielded this 3-shot panorama.  A huge file with incredible detail thanks to the Bigger Cahoona's 48 megapixel sensor.

Louisiana Visitor's Center - Fishermen

One day I decided to go somewhere to test my new, expensive 24-70 F2.8 Nikkor lens.  I hadn't been to Orange in a while so headed in that direction, picking up my brother Mike and his girlfriend Linda in Beaumont on the way.  While on I-10 heading east, on a lark we kept going into Louisiana and stopped at the visitor's center.  So it is there that we first tested the lens.  At the conclusion of this series I'll give my assessment and the results of the test.

Saw these guys fishing out on the lake, and thought this might make a good silhouette shot.  Clicking on the image to make it larger, you can zoom in and see the features pretty well of the man on the right, in the back of the boat:

 

Neighborhood Walk Shots - Willow Branches Bookmark

This post will be the last from the neighborhood walk shots captured in 2020, during the pandemic.  Will have to go back a little further to find something more to post, unless we go to a photogenic spot between now and the first of December...

Neighborhood Walk Shots - Corner Flower

Keeping the rule of thirds in mind, this flower was tucked neatly in the middle of the top-right ninth of the frame.

Neighborhood Walk Shots - Palm Frond Bookmarks

If you go where yesterday's post was captured and swing the camera to the right of the tree in the foreground, you'll find these palm fronds.  The points and sharp lines make for decent Glowing and Found Edges effects in Photoshop, thus are included here also:

Neighborhood Walk Shots - Waller Park Bridge

This bridge crosses the pond at Waller Park, and is a good place for graduate portraits, etc.  Made it into a bookmark but wasn't satisfied, so am posting it here in its larger extent.

Neighborhood Walk Shots - Weed Bookmarks

 

Neighborhood Walk Pics - White Flower Bookmarks

 

Neighborhood Walk Shots - White Flower with Gradient Background

Still playing with gradients, I decided to use more muted colors here in order to make the brilliance of the white flower stand out a little more.

Neighborhood Walk Shots - Serendipitous White Flower

I remember learning the word serendipity.  While a college freshman I was a member of the Lutheran Church on North Street across from the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University, which is now a law outfit called Fairchild Price Haley & Smith.  If memory serves, the building was originally the home of Thomas J. Rusk, but don't quote me on that.  At the very least it was evidently at one time a very stately mansion, with brick pavement leading to the original carriage house in the back.

One evening we had a youth group activity, and the pastor built a pretty good lesson around the concept of serendipity with some examples of how it happens occasionally in science and society.  Remember it to this day, and I think of him and that lesson every time I make a serendipitous discovery.

Such as the one we see above.  It looks like a beautiful white flower, doesn't it?  Well, it wasn't a white flower at all, but a yellow one.  After I'd copied the flower itself into a new layer, on a lark I clicked on the Autocolor tool in Photoshop, and the relatively drab, yellow petals turned into this!  Naturally I went to town doing other things with it, which will be posted tomorrow and perhaps the next day.

Original image below, cropped to square dimensions: