Thursday, September 30, 2010

AR 27 - Trees, Seeds, and Snakes

The weather was beautiful yesterday with temps in the mid-to-high 80's and significantly lower humidity. The days are getting noticeably shorter too, so my walks are taking place effectively later in the day in terms of daylight.




click for larger image


I've not been too focused on photography lately. My mind has wandered a lot during the past two walks, and I've not concentrated much on seeing and discovering things that I want to shoot.




click for larger image


But that is the purpose of this photo-walk project. The more I do it, the more accustomed I am to seeing and photographing, and the easier it becomes for me to slip into a meaningful and productive photographic process (and get to my happy place).


I'm hoping to get out today too, especially since the weather is still really nice here. I'm about to head into a period of about three weeks where I won't get much opportunity to go walk in the reservoir.




click for larger image


Once again I was startled by a cottonmouth right next to the paved trail. I didn't even see it until it had flipped around and was quickly wiggling away. I missed getting a shot. Shortly later, I came across a rather large one stretched across the pavement. It also took off quick but then paused in the grass next to the trail.




click for larger image

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

AR 26 - Fall Shows Up; Snake in Grass

Fall weather is showing up here slowly, although it's our version of fall: a cycle of a few days with slightly cooler temps (and we all take to sitting outside in the evenings and repeatedly say "nice!, nice!") followed by a few days of back-to-summer heat and humidity.




click for larger image


This walk is actually from late last week, a full four weeks since walk #25. I'm always disappointed when I have gaps in time like that, and I always have several excuses (but honestly there's a bit of laziness mixed in there too).


I should be walking a bunch this week since we're in a period of dry, cool weather. But I'm busy with chores at home and two big photo-related projects that have been taking a lot of my time lately. I'm done with one now (updating my website) and just about done with the other. More about that later :-)




click for larger image


I walked right up to this cottonmouth sitting in the grass alongside the trail. It perked its head up and looked at me as I approached absent minded and unaware. I jumped back and raised my camera all in one motion.




click for larger image


It quickly decided to leave, so the shot is of the snake headed away from me, and that was a good thing.

Big Bend Gallery Done (Sept. '10)

The gallery for my recent work in Big Bend National Park is now up:
www.thomasjavery.com/bb_sept10




Click to enter gallery.


Big Bend is still an ongoing project for me, and it is definitely my favorite location to visit and photograph. I'll be headed out there again in almost two weeks.


During this next trip, I will be a second assistant to Craig Tanner and Marti Jeffers (The Mindful Eye) on their workshop. I'm greatly looking forward to spending more time in the Big Bend area as well as being part of the TME workshop.

Friday, September 24, 2010

New and Updated Website

I would like to announce two major changes to my photography website.


1 The website address now has its own domain name: http://www.thomasjavery.com


The old Texbrick address still works, but will point to the new domain name if you visit it.


2 Major update in content and structure.


I have decided to focus my website on my major photography projects. I think they contain my best work, and I want to feature them rather than have them lost in a sea of bigger content as before.


I will continue to work on all four projects, and I will update their webpages as I generate new content.


If you spot any bugs or errors on the new site, please let me know! Thanks!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Updates and New Photos

I posted so much in August that I feel an explanation is needed for my two week lag here on my blog.




desert rainstorm
(click for larger image)



My wife and I had a nice trip to Big Bend National Park over Labor Day weekend. Photos and reports from this trip will come soon as I'm still in the process of editing.




South Rim of the Chisos
(click for larger image)



Other "life" activities and happenings have been getting in the way, including a bad cold and sinus infection. Staring at a computer monitor is the last thing I want to do when I have a throbbing, pounding, ice-pick-in-my-forehead headache!


Stay tuned, there's more ahead. Hopefully I can resume my normal photo-walks very soon.