A Tale of Light Chasing

On a recent family trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, I ventured out one evening by myself. The clouds and light looked perfectly set for a stunning, colorful sunset.

The spectacular light show took place while I was still driving. The clouds and peaks lit up with warm light. The colors changed from golden tones to pinkish tones. It was beautiful.

When I finally got to where I wanted to take pictures, the light had peaked and the colors were fading fast.

click for larger image

I hung out in that grassy meadow (in Moraine Park) along the river for a long while. I sat on a boulder and watched the darkening sky and heavy clouds. It was so quiet and peaceful.

About 30 minutes after sunset, I got up and slowly walked back to the car. I was fascinated by some interesting clouds and couldn't figure out if they were lenticular or part of a thunderstorm or both.

A spot of white water in the river caught my eye and then the rhythm with the clouds stood out.

click for larger image

I think I would have been pretty angry with myself just a couple of years ago for missing a sunset like that. Actually, I probably would have bailed out of dinner with my family just to be sure I was on location with camera in hand well before sunset.

Well, I stayed for dinner and even later with the family. We took our sons to ride go-carts after dinner, and we all had a blast. Those moments were far more important to me than that sunset.

I didn't capture the spectacular golden light on the mountain peaks. But I got 30 minutes of solitude in cool, clean air in a grassy meadow with a river flowing close by. My world slowed down. I only wished the rest of my family could have experienced that as well, but they were all tired from a full day of activity and back at the hotel getting ready for bed (I did indeed invite them along on my sunset photo-outing).

The point to this is that I was quite happy to be out there regardless of time and light. I was also happy with the photos, especially the one with the white water and interesting clouds.

Few More from Cullen Park

Here are a few more images from my visits to the park this week.

peeling away
click for larger image

I've been trying to focus on something other than a "down-the-creek" shot. There's a lot of opportunity for that sort of scene and it gets old real fast.

Old Man Roots
click for larger image

I happened upon this little guy and he held perfectly still even when I got close for a macro shot.

hangin' out
click for larger image

I'm headed off to the mountains of far west Texas early tomorrow. I should have some completely different scenery to post here for you next week :-)

More Banana Spiders

I visited Cullen Park again yesterday afternoon, my third visit in two weeks.

click for larger image

It's hard to see, but the male is right behind her on the web. See my previous post about these spiders.

I'm really enjoying spending time there NOT exercising and photographing instead. I'll have more photos up soon.

South Mayde Creek: Trip 1, Part 2

Below are two more from my recent local photo outing.

click for larger image

This banana spider (actually a golden silk orb weaver - we just called them banana spiders back when we were kids) wasn't along the creek, but it was still in the same park area. I'll explain later after I finish up a custom map that I'm making.

EDIT: I've done my homework and read that the larger spider pictured above is the female and the smaller guy behind her is the male. He's hanging out and courting her. This will go on for a little while and she'll produce an eggsack later in the fall (or what Texans just call football season). She may or may not eat him when their business is done. Glad I have two legs and not eight.

There is a paved trail that runs between Cullen Park (off Saums Road) and the intersection of Highway 6 and Patterson Road. The total length of the paved trail is close to 4 miles. I walk part of this trail on a regular basis for exercise (without camera in hand).

At the Saums Road end, the trail closely parallels the creek for a stretch. At the other end is a small patch of woods that are infested with these banana spiders. They are everywhere, and I dare not set foot into the trees for fear of becoming entangled in one of the giant webs and then having a 4-inch diameter spider crawl up on my head. Yeh, I'm being a sissy, but you should see the fangs on these things!

click for larger image

Above is another scene from the Saums Road end of the trail. It's thickly wooded, and the creek is a muddy channel that meanders through these woods.

I'm going back out this evening after work to shoot, and I'm going to visit the same area again.

South Mayde Creek

After living in the NW Houston area for nearly 10 years, I finally took a serious photography trip the other day to focus on a nature spot very close to home (took my tripod and everything!).

click for larger image

South Mayde Creek is one of many creek/bayous that flow through our area. These photos were taken in Cullen Park off Saums Road.

click for larger image

I have a lot to say about photographing here, and I'll expand on it later. I hope this will become a new project for me. I did enjoy the outing and the photos I took are starting to grow on me.

Stay tuned...

Lone Star Trail - Take Two

Way back in March, I took a short hike on the Lone Star Trail (in Sam Houston National Forest) with my sister, Lacy. We started at Double Lake and walked south on the trail for about a mile and a half. We were both taking photos, and more interested in photography than hiking.

click for larger image

This scene is of the Double Lake Branch of Big Creek, just south of Double Lake. It's off trail just a bit, and very close to the big oak I visited last year.

I've put off processing these photos for too long now. I'll have some others up soon.