Exhibition & Print Sales Update

I'm very happy and pleased to announce that over a dozen framed prints of mine are now showing at the Starlight Theatre in the Terlingua Ghost Town (info on the Starlight: link 1, link 2). These prints are all of the Big Bend area, and they will be showing through the months of October and November, 2011.

The small prints (8x10 matted and framed to 11x14) are $145, and the large prints (12x18 matted and framed to 18x24) are $245. The prints are inkjet on Premium Luster Epson paper. Matting and backing materials are acid free. The frames are black anodized aluminum.

framed prints

There will also be matted prints for sale (no frames). These were the prints that had been for sale at the Leapin' Lizard Gallery, however the gallery is temporarily closed and may be relocating.

matted prints

And that is my second bit of information in this update. The Leapin' Lizard Gallery may possibly open again in a new location early in 2012.

1 Opening on Big Bend Oct. '11 Workshop

I have one opening in my Big Bend October 2011 photography workshop. Please contact me if you are interested.

Click image for more info on the workshop

Workshop Full! (Big Bend Feb. 2012)

The Big Bend February 2012 photography workshop is now full. Many, many thanks to all of you who have expressed interest and signed up for this workshop.

Marti and I are extremely pleased and also very excited about it. We have a lot of great plans and ideas for this workshop, but we're most happy about getting to spend time in our favorite place with other like-minded folks :-)

If you're still interested in this workshop, then please contact me. We have started a waiting list and I can put you on it.

Thank you!

Big Bend Workshop Feb. 2012

I'm very pleased to announce a new workshop for 2012. I'm combining forces with Marti Jeffers to co-teach/co-lead a photography workshop based in the Big Bend area of Texas.

The workshop will run from February 26 to March 2, 2012.

click for more info
photo by Marti Jeffers

This workshop will focus on a wide variety of photography, including landscapes (wide angle, normal focal lengths, intimate scenes, etc), abstracts, macro, details, motion blurring, and night photography. These topics will be covered by Marti and myself. We each have our own styles of photography and strengths in those areas. We will bring this body of knowledge to you therefore covering a wide range of photographic styles and topics.

click for more info
photo by TJ Avery

Please see this page for more information.

So I've Been Busy

Real busy. Life, work, home, LEGOs, pets, kids, you-name-it.

I'd hate for you to think that my lack of commitment to my blog relates to my lack of commitment to my photography... oh wait... :-)

Seriously, I have been photographing, among other things. I've had so many plates spinning at once that I've selectively decided to (temporarily) ignore certain commitments. And unfortunately, that has meant this blog.

There's is a lot that I want to share with you photographically. Really, there is :-) I've just posted six new photos on my photos-only blog.

click to see more

My family and I have taken a few trips this summer. These photos are from some of those outings. As always, photography has been with me as a serious interest, even during the times that I've not had much opportunity to escape with camera in hand.

click to see more

And about those other things, stay tuned... :-)

Workshop News

Wow, it's been a long time since my last post here. Life has been very busy.

My Big Bend 2011 workshop is full. Thanks to everyone who has contacted me about the workshop. If you would like to join the waiting list for this workshop, please contact me.

I have been out photographing some in the past few months, including a recent trip to Maine. I'll have some new info and photos up soon.

The Yellow Flowers Are Back

I've been exploring the equestrian trails in Bear Creek Pioneers Park in the past 10 days. Currently there is a massive bloom of yellow wildflowers, and it is almost as good as the bloom that happened last year (see this post).

Click for larger image

The blooms are mainly two types, just like last year: prairie buttercups and golden ragwort (also called golden groundsel or butterweed).

Shake & blur
(click for larger image)

The prairie buttercups are small, yellow flowers on plants that reach about a foot tall or less. There are multiple blooms per plant, but the blooms do not occur in clusters.

Prairie Buttercup
(click for larger image)

The golden ragwort also have small, yellow flowers, but the plants are generally taller and can reach heights of two feet or more. There are multiple blooms per plant, and the blooms are usually in clusters.

Golden Ragwort
(click for larger image)

Snakes are common to the reservoir area, and it's about this time of year when they frequently turn up on the trails. This western cottonmouth hissed and showed me its white mouth as I approached.

Cottonmouth
(click for larger image)

I get frequent reminders from family and friends about watching out for snakes. Yes, of course, I'm watchful and careful. Snakes are everywhere and you cannot avoid them. I go slow and make so much noise, that I rarely see them (they're probably scared off long before I get there).

The flowers have just peaked out, I believe. Some of the buttercups have just started going to seed as of my last outing (Mar. 28). I've been out to shoot four times now; my first visit was Mar. 20.

Click for larger image

It's great to be out shooting again. And it's just a great that this place is so close to home.

The wildflower season, in general, is not good this year. However, this little area in Bear Creek Park seems to be doing really well. The blooms are not quite as thick as last year, but they are still pretty good.

Click for larger image

I'll have more to post from this area. I've made four trips out there, and I might go a couple more times while the blooms are still going.

AR 34-38: Back to Photographing

I've started up my photography-walk project in the Addicks Reservoir this year. My first walk was in early February, and I've managed to take my camera out five times. (Although, I have walked many other times this year without the camera.)

Back on Track
(click for larger image)

If you haven't read about this project, please see this post that explains its purpose and documents the start of it.

Walk #34
(click for larger image)

It was rough and non-productive starting out this year. I hadn't photographed in a serious manner in a long while.

Walk #35
(click for larger image)

The light was beautiful (late in the day: warm and directional light) for these walks prior to Daylight Savings Time.

There wasn't much new growth in February and there were not very many little critters around. We had two spells of very cold weather this past winter and everything seems reluctant to spring back to life.

Walk #36
(click for larger image)

I tried slipping back into Photo Mode, meaning I attempted to tune into the things that were attracting my attention, and then worked on capturing them in a meaningful composition. It's not quite like riding a bike, at least for me. I quickly get out of practice after long periods of not photographing.

Walk #37
(click for larger image)

I also played around with motion blurs again. There's a lot that can be done with a little imagination, and trying abstracts and blurs certainly creates new possibilities regarding photographing the reservoir.

Walk #38
(click for larger image)

What I learned last year still holds true. I quickly become out of practice if I don't photograph for a while, and when I do finally pick the camera up, it's hard to get my head back into it.

Practicing photography, even if it's just for a very short while once a week, really helps to keep the momentum going.

Big Bend Workshop: Oct. 21 - 25, 2011

I'm holding a photography workshop based in Big Bend this coming October. If you are interested in attending, please contact me to register. Please see the workshop listing for detailed information.

Dates: October 21 - 25, 2011
Focus: Landscape and Night Photography
Students: 9
Tuition: $600

Click for more info about the workshop

Big Bend is my favorite place in the world. I have enjoyed exploring and photographing the area for seven years. I greatly look forward to this workshop and sharing it with other photographers!

2011 Update

I realize that I'm two months out from my last blog post. Busy just doesn't seem to describe well enough my life at the moment. Work is busy, home life is busy, and I'm in sort of a break period regarding my photography.

I have some big plans and changes coming up this year. Stay tuned... :-)

In the meantime (in my small bits of spare time), I've been working on my LEGO hobby:
www.texbrick.com
(check the blog there for new updates)

Trying New Methods: Astro/Landscapes

I spent this past weekend in the Texas hill country hunting. There was a quarter moon and fairly clear skies at night. The good parts of the Milky Way are below the horizon this time of year, but a healthy band of stars can still be seen.

Despite the moon and the time of year, I tried my usual astro/landscapes and also some new approaches.

Click for larger pic

Tree by Moonlight High Lonesome Ranch, San Saba County, Texas
Canon 5DII with 24mm f/1.4L II. Shot at: f/2.0, 25 sec., ISO 3200. Moonlight (from the left) and LED light-painting.

The above photo and the one just below are simple shots much like I've done in the past. They both have a main subject that dominates the foreground. The focus is set on the main subject, so the sky and stars are just slightly out of focus (that's not apparent in these web-sized images, but it shows up on a print).

I'm continuing experimenting with light-painting using a LED flashlight with an orange gel filter. The effect of the painting is subtle; it fills in and creates a little bit of detail in the shadow areas.

Shooting while a moon was up was new to me for this type of shooting. Since it was only a quarter moon, the light didn't overpower the scene and a lot of stars showed up in the photos. But the moonlight illuminated the main subjects nicely and also made the skies a lighter shade of blue as compared to moonless night shots.

Click for larger pic

Front Gate High Lonesome Ranch, San Saba County, Texas
Canon 5DII with 24mm f/1.4L II. Shot at f/2.8, 30 sec., ISO 3200. Moonlight (from the left) and LED light-painting.

Now here is where I'm attempting to progress this type of work. I used focal lengths longer than 24mm and shutter speeds longer than recommended for freezing the stars.

Click for larger pic

Moonlit Branches High Lonesome Ranch, San Saba County, Texas
Canon 5DII with Sigma 50mm f/1.4. Shot at f/2.0, 25 sec., ISO 3200.

This shot (above) looks up into the tree from the first photo in this post. It is meant to be a simple silhouette of crooked, bare branches, but the moonlight and also light from the LED flashlight help pop some detail out of the shadows. The branches are fairly close to the camera, and the focus is set to the middle of the tree. Combined with the longer focal length and wide aperture, the stars make a nice out of focus background.

Now here's the interesting thing: this was a 25 second exposure. If you were to shoot the stars, in focus, with 50mm, then you would need about a 10-15 second exposure to not have noticeable star trails.

Since the stars are out of focus here, the trails are not noticeable despite the long 25 sec. exposure.

Click for larger pic

Ranch Gate San Saba County, Texas
Canon 5DII with 100mm f/2.8L IS macro. Shot at f/2.8, 30 sec., ISO 3200. Moonlight and LED light-painting.

This shot (above) pushes it even more. This is at 30 seconds and 100mm.

You can see that the out of focus blobs are larger and slightly oblong. This was facing due east, so apparent movement of the stars is higher than if you were facing north. This obviously shows a bit of trailing, but since the stars are not sharply focused, the end effect is quite nice, IMO.

Click for larger pic

Branches High Lonesome Ranch, San Saba County, Texas
Canon 5DII with 100mm f/2.8L IS macro. Shot at f/2.8, 30 sec., ISO 3200.

This photo (above) was taken facing north. The out of focus stars are slightly oblong on the outer edges of the frame, but not as noticeable as the previous photo.

Also, this photo was taken very early in the morning after the moon had set, hence the darker skies (as compared to the other photos). It was also taken at f/2.8, the maximum aperture of that lens, so it's about a stop darker than my usual exposure. I should have pushed the ISO to 6400 for this one.

Big Bend Oct. 2010 Gallery Done!

I have finally finished processing, editing, and uploading my photos from my 10-day trip to Big Bend last October. The gallery can be found here.

click image to enter gallery

AR 33 - Trees in Motion

This is from a while back, about two weeks ago. I'm behind on my work.

click for larger image

It may seem easy to make these photos. At least that's how they look in finished form.

click for larger image

What's really hard is judging them in the field as they're shot. I've learned that the LCD review doesn't often show the subtleties that can distinguish between a good photo or a throw-away.

click for larger image

-----------------------------------------------

So that's it for a while, perhaps. I have a major problem now with the time change and my normal walking route. The days are getting shorter and it's significantly darker when I walk now.

The crossing at Highway 6 and Patterson Road no longer has a time delay for pedestrians. When the light turns green for Patterson traffic, so does the crosswalk. Nearly 100% of drivers starting up do not realize when there are pedestrians present and that those pedestrians have the right away.

This makes for an incredibly dangerous situation further worsened by lack of light. By the time I'm back from my 4 miles and ready to cross the 6 lanes of Highway 6, it's dim enough to need a flashlight.

Anyway, I'll have to find an alternative. I still need to exercise!