Houston Neighborhood Walk - Greater Horned Owl with Natural Background

Chenjean and I were on a walk with Koko the other day and stopped to talk with a neighbor, who mentioned that there was a huge owl in a cottonwood tree along the trail we were about to take.  Naturally we made a beeline for the tree and found this guy perched on a limb high above.  We were surprised at its size, as it was bigger than our 25-pound little darling.  I was also struck by the effectiveness of its camouflage against the trunk of the tree.  It was very still as it turned just its head while surveying its surroundings.  No telling how many times we walked right past this guy without knowing it was there.

I whipped out the phone camera to show pics to friends and family, and we headed back home.  I knew before we got there, however, that this was not the end of it; I was going to bring the Bigger Cahoona back to do a proper job of capturing this snippet of our neighborhood wildlife.

So off I go, traipsing along with tripod and big rig in hand, hoping he hadn't moved.  So as not to disturb or scare it away should he still be there, I snapped the camera in place on the tripod and extended the legs before rounding the bend to approach the tree.  To my delight he hadn't moved an inch, still quietly turning its head to observe what was going on along the trail.  After getting close enough to set up, I zoomed the mounted camera to its full 300mm extent and started snapping away.  This and the next few posts will showcase what I was able to capture from two different positions at the base of the tree.

Same shot below, cropped and framed as an 8x10:

Downtown Austin 2022 - Sixth and Guadalupe

For the record, this is Austin's as-yet-tallest building in the midst of its construction.  Because of its location, it's aptly called "Sixth and Guadalupe" and will feature office, retail and residential accommodations.

But of course I liked it because of the lines, angles and patterns seen in its various stages of completeness.  With the phone I captured time lapse video of the crew elevators running up and down its height, which was neat, but sadly which cannot be posted here because of a file type issue...

Downtown Austin 2022 - Presbyterian Wall / Barefoot Walk

Caught this on my way back to the hotel, of a Presbyterian church.  Made a bookmark out of the middle of it.

I made a crucial error on this downtown Austin walk that day.  I was wearing sandals without socks, and tightened them really well in the morning before leaving.  When I'd finished taking pictures and was on the way back, discovered a big blister that became quite painful.  Had no choice but to take them off, so walked barefoot the final five blocks to the Marriott, holding my sandals.  At the time I was wearing a raggedy t-shirt with shorts, so probably fit right in with that part of town.

Downtown Austin 2022 - Peek-a-Boo Dome #2

 

Downtown Austin 2022 - Peek-a-Boo Dome #1

 

It's just now that I've taken to calling these peek-a-boo shots, since the subject seems to peek out from behind the foreground.  Almost everywhere you go in downtown Austin this majestic edifice juts into view from behind buildings, foliage or signage.

Downtown Austin 2022 - Saint Mary's Stained Glass Bookmark a

Here we are again with stained glass, this time made into a bookmark.  As in yesterday's post, had to do considerable sharpening to counteract the slight camera shake since it was so dark inside.

More stained glass pics featured in this search.

I've been thinking about what to do when this series runs out in just a few more posts.  I've gone back into the years 2021, 2020, and 2019, mining those archives for as-yet-unposted blogworthy pics, and am faced with a decision to either go back even further or simply go out and take some more pictures.  Think it would be valuable to simply go out and take some more pictures.

So where to go?  Why, the ZOO of course!  Every evening at around 7:30 the wife and I sit for an hour or so of TV time.  This is to help us wind down from the day, and also to bring Koko into a traditional family time together, which she very much enjoys because this is when we practice her tricks with treats.  And the TV show of choice nowadays is Secrets of the Zoo, which of course features all kinds of animals that sometimes grab her attention.

As we were watching the Columbus Zoo series of the show, I decided to look them up.  Turns out they rank way up there - in the top 10 world-wide - in terms of quality, care, etc.  But what we also found out was that the Houston Zoo also ranks highly among zoos in the U.S., and is even consistently in the top 25 worldwide!  Go figure...right in our back yard.  So now that the pandemic is pretty much over and it's safer to be in a crowd, think I'll mosey on over and see what we can capture.

Downtown Austin 2022 - Old Church Bell

...at least I'm guessing this is a bell of some sort.  As could be seen from yesterday's post, it was quite dark inside the sanctuary, so was a challenge to tame the shakes out of the Bigger Cahoona.  After considerable sharpening in post-capture, am pleased with this result.

Being in this place was a reminder of the sheer volume of denominations there are, and how different they can be one from another.  The church I attend - the Church of Christ - is the polar opposite of the manner of worship found here, but the artistry and traditions are still fun to explore.

And I never imagined I'd end up in the Church of Christ.  Did quite a bit of cross-driving through Texas as a lad, and noticed that - especially in West Texas - there seemed to always be a sign entering a town about the Church of Christ and where you could find it.  Later on I discovered that the folks attending that church are, by and large, a mighty good bunch and very sincere in their study of the Word.  To top that off, I've found that, by and large, I fit fairly well in the culture...which for me is really saying something since I generally don't fit into the mainstream of anything.  This is another testament that, at its foundation, the Bible is a great leveler, stripping away things such as economic, social and physical differences (such as race) among its adherents.

Downtown Austin 2022 - Saint Mary's Sanctuary

Moving indoors, managed to shoot this while stationed in the back of the auditorium, squarely in the center of the aisle.  It was a weekday morning so there were only a few worshipers.  Since the Bigger Cahoona is somewhat noisy I was very careful to minimize the number of shots, but think the ambiance mentioned in yesterday's post was successfully captured.

Downtown Austin 2022 - Saint Mary Spire Reflection

This reflection shot of the Saint Mary spires will round out the exterior shots; next we'll move inside.

I was telling someone the other day what an awesome thing it is to attend a service in such a cathedral.  Not because we belong to the Catholic church (which we don't), but because of the music, pageantry, architecture and ambiance created by those awesome stained glass windows.  I'll never forget touring the Notre Dame.  We were in the long, slow tourist line stringing along the side of the sanctuary when the service started.  The organ music was so majestic it drew me in, and before you know it I'd crossed the barrier meant to keep the tourists at bay and sat down in a pew, taking it all in.  Then after a while the incense guys came around and did their thing, during which the two cantors - who apparently appeared out of nowhere - started singing.  It was so beautiful...I'll never forget the moment.

Another time we were in Lucerne on a morning walk, and the breeze must have been just right because suddenly a strong organ prelude wafted our way from a church across the river.  In the same way this drew me in, but unfortunately we weren't dressed properly to enter its doors...

Downtown Austin 2022 - Saint Mary Cathedral Spires #2

Another view of same, sans traffic signals and foliage, captured when I got a bit closer.  To get just the right angle I must have made myself very conspicuous, as for this one I ended up standing squarely in the middle of a traffic lane on E 10th Street.  Not the best place to be at the time, since it was in the tail end of the morning rush hour, but knew it was a keeper when I snapped the shutter.  Guess the Good Lord watches after babies, drunks and obnoxious photographers!

This brings me to another topic - that of seeing something that would make a great photograph and not being able to capture it in the moment.  This happens a lot when we're driving.  I've had my eye on an awesome shack on Highway 6 about ten miles south of Waco for years now, but would have to stop on the shoulder of a busy highway in order to capture it.  Is it worth it?  Not while my family's in the car.  Thus, a great photograph remains anonymous as we speed by on our way to Dallas.

Another time for these is when there's a great sunset, or building, or something, that's either obscured by foliage or has telephone wires cutting across which would be a pain to remove in post-capture.  The cure?  A drone!  A new, higher-end drone was recently gifted to me, and immediately I saw the value in gaining some height, however slight.  One day, perhaps after retirement, I'll be able to use it to its potential.  In fact, I'm already thinking about the next level regarding sensor size, features, etc.  Meanwhile, the Big and/or Bigger Cahoonas will suffice just fine.

Oh, by the way - MERRY CHRISTMAS!!