Mow Power

Since my doctor says I'm not supposed to drive a car, I didn't think it would be a good idea to drive a mower either. Fortunately my lovely and talented wife is a quick study and took to the dead-man steering on my commercial mower like a politician to other peoples money! Did she like it? I may never get to mow again.

Sadie and The Orange Daisy

OK, if you follow this blog you've seen the orange Daisy and the orange dog Sadie before. But you haven't seen them both in the same shot utilizing the strobist method of lighting. This was really just an exercise for me to utilize some equipment I purchased months ago but hadn't gotten around to using. In this shot I used a Paul C. Buff transmitter on my Oly E-3 to trigger my Oly FL50R off -camera flash. I used a small knock-off soft box on the flash which my wife held high and photo right. Room for improvement here for sure but at least I broke some gear out of it's box!

BNC Egret_3

Also from this past weekend at the Baytown Nature Center, this is the Egret in Monday's post.

BNC Wildflower 1

Like most flowers I photograph, I don't know what this one is. I do know it's at the Baytown Nature Center and was shot last weekend.

BNC Splashing Egret

I caught this Egret splashing in a shallow tidal pool at the Baytown Nature Center this weekend. The wind was completely still which apparently created ideal fishing conditions for shore birds.

BNC Osprey Again

This is the same Osprey in the same tree at the Baytown Nature Center that I posted on my October 9 blog entry. Yesterday morning I was able to get a few paces closer and, I think, improve the shot. This would have been a better shot had I had a "Better Beamer" flash extender in play to add a little fill light to the body.

Circus Comes To Town

This past weekend the Carson and Barnes Circus came to Baytown for four shows in two days. I had planned on making one of the shows, mostly for the photo ops, but didn't end up having time. I thought this main tent that houses three rings was kind of a cool iconic think to see. Maybe I'll get some shots from the actual show the next time they come to town.

Deserts Around Big Bend_5

This shot is of the Lajitas Cemetery between Big Bend State and National Parks at Lajitas Texas. This should be my last archive shot, hopefully I be able to post some new stuff next week.

Deserts Around Big Bend_4

This shot was taken in a courtyard at a resort in Lajitas Texas in the summer of '08. As usual I don't know the variety but the flowers on this plant hung down from an overhead trellis and were absolutely beautiful.

Deserts Around Big Bend_3

A different take on a cactus shot, again from Big Bend National Park last year.

Processed from an Olympus E-3 .ORF RAW file in CS3 using High Pass sharpening, B&W Adjustment Layer w/Blue Photo Filter, Topaz Adjust Simplify.

Deserts Around Big Bend_2

Also from last years trip to Big Bend this cactus flower macro was taken on near the top of the national park's "Lost Mine Trail."

Deserts Around Big Bend_1

Just found some shots from our summer of '08 trip to Big Bend I hadn't processed and thought this would be a good time to work on them. This one was taken near Lajita's between the State and National parks.

Downtown Train

This is an older shot from the archives [best I can do for now!] taken on a trip downtown with my brother Barry [ http://barrysphotoblog.blogspot.com/]. I was riding shotgun and just liked the scene we were given at this intersection. Hope you enjoy it.

Images with Impact

I believe this is the first image I've posted on this blog that I didn't take. It's a little contrasty, doesn't follow the rule of thirds, and breaks several other rules - but it does have IMPACT! At least to me, and certainly to at least one Neurologist and one Micro Neuro Surgeon who both had similarly worded reactions -"Wow, this isn't good." By the time most of you read this I will be in surgery having three discs replaced with cadaver bones and a titanium plate installed in my neck. If your looking at this later in the day I should be up walking, having a nice late lunch, and planning to come home tomorrow for a brief 2 week rehab.

What's the moral here?" It's the old cliche, "Be sure to take the time to stop and smell the roses" - and while your smelling it you might as well shoot a nice macro shot.

Texas Avenue Oak

This oak tree stands in the middle of the western end of Texas Avenue in Baytown, TX. The street, which was the central thoroughfare of Baytown's business district for many years, runs on both sides of the old tree. No one know how old it is but one written account from 1909 reports it to have been over 100 years old and already a local landmark back them.

Weathered Exterior

An old weathered exterior shot on Texas Avenue in Baytown a few weeks ago while on a field trip with the Baytown Photography Club.

Monday's Flower

I don't know what type of flower this is, even though it's in my own backyard, but I think it's a variety of a Daisy. I'm not sure I did it justice here but the thing that drew me to this flower was the vivid orange color. It's a pure orange that's so bright you can hardly look directly at it.