Big Bend days 4 & 5

We've been busy exploring the Big Bend. It's been fun, and I'll just let the photos speak for themselves.

Recognize what's in the last photo? :-)

Big Bend day 3

Getting Into the Mode

Slowly my mind is coming back to the creative, visual mode. I've been gone from that way too long.

There are amazing little details all over. It feels good to slow down, enjoy them, and photograph them.



I'm leading a group of excellent photographers and friends around my favorite landscape. Getting to show them the sights, and watching them find their own beautiful details is an amazing thing to see.

Big Bend days 1 & 2

First full day in Big Bend.




Getting out here was a long journey. The weather was nice. The drive went well.

We haven't hit the park yet, but the desert is green and there are some flowers!

There is a threat of rain today, and it should clear out tomorrow. We tried to shoot the stars last night, but it was too cloudy.
sunset last night

Pinhole Sunset

I missed posting yesterday. Packing and preparing for this long trip along with work, life, etc proved too busy for me.

I came across a neat photo project on Kickstarter:
www.kickstarter.com/projects/1756746750/across-america-a-photo-book

I've yet to back a photo project on Kickstarter, but this one really caught my interest. It's straightforward, basic, and is about subject matter that I'm passionate about. I backed it, and good luck to Ashley.

I'm on the road now making my way to Big Bend. The sunset on highway 90 tonight was beautiful. I HAD to pull over :-)





Always have a camera with you! :-)

Stink Bug

I saw this large stink bug crawling on the outside of my office window. I'm on the fourth floor of a high rise office building



Not much else to say. It's late, I'm tired of packing, and I need sleep. But the bug definitely grabbed my attention today and made me get my camera out.

Preparing

I'm getting ready for a trip to Big Bend. Preparing all the camping gear, food, clothes, etc is a lot of work, but it's worth it and the trip will be a lot of fun.




Preparing for the photography part if the trip also means getting my photo gear ready. But I'm also trying to prepare my mind and my interests for being out in my favorite landscape with a camera.



Maybe it's just the trip prep, or maybe my passion is coming back. So many details in my everyday life are starting to jump out at me and capture my attention. To say life is beautiful sounds kind of cliche, but it truly is.

Tripod Hack

I have an old Bogen-Manfrotto tripod that I use for short range (ie when I'm not hiking long distances), heavy duty purposes. Many years ago I gave up on the crappy center column design, stripped it off, and planted a big Kirk ballhead on it.

The problem with it is that sometimes it's just too short.

I figured out that 5/8-inch diameter aluminum rod fits inside the smallest leg section.




This modification will give me a 14 inch boost. The new 4th section can be either fully out or fully retracted.


The end result is 72-inches max, just a couple of inches shorter than me. I'm not sure how it will hold up to the abuse it will see in the field, but I'm about to find out :-)

This is Awesome

I'm sitting in a small service station getting my truck inspected right now. I put a reminder on my phone's calendar to keep me engaged in this thing I call a photography blog. I have a WordPress app on my Android phone. I figured out how to upload photos and post them to the blog, although I don't have any pics for today.

I think it's awesome to have these tools and the capability to do this remotely and whenever I find a free bit of time, such as now. (some of you are probably thinking I've been behind on tech and I'm just catching up, and you're right)

But the effect of this rather meaningless post is that the photo bug is planted in my head, and hopefully I'll give some thought to photography throughout the day today.

Getting Back Into It

Photography has been a huge part of my life for the past 10 years. I've spent a lot of time on photography. I've taken photos, studied photography, gone on workshops, given workshops, and more. I've done it because I have enjoyed it.

In the past year or so, I've grown further away from it. I've been distracted by other events and other hobbies. But my love for it and my enjoyment in it remains the same.


Mumford and Sons at the Woodlands, Sep. 17, 2013

I'd like to challenge myself to make one post a day here on this blog. It doesn't have to be a photo. It just has to be something related to photography. That will keep me active.

I'm not sure if I can pull it off. It's a bit like starting a new diet. I can only try :-) I have to keep reminding myself how important photography is to me and how posting here will help me stay engaged.

(And I'm doing this from my phone. It really helps me if I can have access to posting when mobile.)

Sunrise

You know you need to get out and photograph when you find yourself watching sunrises and sunsets every day.





I'm itchin' badly here. I can't wait to get outdoors. I have a big spell of serious landscape photography coming up in my favorite place in the world. I can't wait...

Random Thought of the Day

I managed to motivate my lazy, procrastinating self to clean out my junk drawer in the kitchen last night. I found an old fortune that I'd kept from a meal long ago.








At some point, every photographer has heard the advice to not pass up an opportunity. I've missed many over time, and I've slowly learned to take the time, stop, and take advantage of any scene or event that I think has potential.

Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn't. But you never know unless you try.

Which reminds me... my camera is doing me no good sitting in the closet at home ;-)

New Content!

I have finally gotten my lazy rear-end moving and uploaded some new content to my website. Three new galleries are now online (links below).

I am also making moves to reorganizing my website. Step one has been to implement a new gallery format. The galleries were created using SimpleViewer Pro. Unfortunately, my long-lasting resistance to using Flash has lost. However, if you do not have flash, the galleries should default to a simple thumbnail view that should still link to the full-res images. (this is important for folks viewing on mobile devices)

Step two is to update the portfolio part of the website. You'll notice a new link to a "gallery". It's under development right now, so there is no content yet. But I will be working on this soon!

Anyway, on to the new images....

This gallery contains random images that I've taken this year. It isn't a big gallery, but I will add to it as time goes on.

MISC Gallery - click to enter

In late February, I went on a fishing trip to Toledo Bend Reservoir on the border between Texas and Louisiana. The lake is enormous, and we only explored a small part of it. It is a man-made reservoir that was created by flooding a heavily wooded valley. You'll notice this by the numerous bare stumps sticking out of the water.

Toledo Bend Gallery - click to enter

This last gallery presents my recent efforts to shoot the local wildflowers. I have been exploring Barker and Addicks reservoirs (particularly George Bush Park and also Bear Creek Pioneers Park) in west Houston.

Wildflowers Gallery - click to enter

Local Wildflowers

Lately I have been exploring the "wild" areas nearby in search of flowers. I've been exploring Barker and Addicks reservoirs on foot and on 2 wheels.

I've also been using a new camera - a mirrorless system. More about all this later.

This is also just a test post. I'm still figuring out how to keep my blogs updated from my mobile devices :-)