Day 213. July 31.

Day Two Hundred Thirteen. July 31. Picture # 213. "Sly Fox". For almost five years I have seen grey foxes on Richard Garriott's Lake Austin property. But they are like ghosts when it comes to aiming a camera at them. I managed to get off six quick shots before the fox disappeared into the brush. Canon Rebel XTI, handheld. Canon 75-300mm lens. Focal length 300mm. f/8. ISO 800. Exposure 1/400 second.

Day 212. July 30.

Day Two Hundred Twelve. July 30. Picture # 212. "Untitled". Flower playing hide & seek with the sunlight along Bull Creek in Austin, Texas. Canon Rebel XTI on monopod. Canon 75-300mm lens. Focal length 300mm. f/5.6 ISO 400. Exposure 1/640 second.

Day 211. July 29.

Day Two Hundred Eleven. July 29. Picture # 211. "The Baker Hotel". This fantastic structure dominates the town of Mineral Wells, Texas. Measuring fourteen stories high, this hotel was was started in 1925 and took three years to build. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker_Hotel_(Mineral_Wells,_Texas) . The structure has not been used for over forty years sitting empty and being ravaged by people and the elements. It sits forlornly boarded up, it's former glory fading into history. This picture is looking into the lobby through a hole in the entry door.Canon Rebel XTI, on Tripod. Bower Fisheye lens. ISO 400. Exposure, 5 bracketed shots merged together in Photomatic Pro 4.1. Final editing in ACDSee Pro 5.

Day 210. July 28.

Day Two Hundred Ten. July 28. Picture # 210. "Untitled". The sun sets in Itasca, Texas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itasca,_Texas . I took a short break from I-35 to drive over and take a look to see what this little town had to offer. Gas, dinner and a sunset, then I was on the road again. Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 75-300mm lens. Focal length 300mm. f/6.3. ISO 400. Exposure 1/800 second.

Day 209. July 27.

Day Two Hundred Nine. July 27. Picture # 209. "Surface Tension". A red wasp standing on the surface of the water in Bull Creek. Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 75-300mm lens. Focal length 300mm. f/8. ISO 800. Exposure 1/500 second.

Day 208. July 26.

Day Two Hundred Eight. July 26. Picture # 208. "Untitled". Driving out to the northeast of Austin, the topography becomes flat and communities are more spread out. It is a land of agriculture and big sky. When I think the clouds, dust and Sun are right for a nice sunset, I grab the gear and head out on the toll roads which with it's 80 mph speed limits allows me to get out of the city quickly. Once I leave the highway and the small farm to market roads become my route my speed drops to a crawl as I scan all around looking for the perfect foreground to put in front of the sunset. It is not unusual to find the perfect spot only to be disappointed by a boring sunset. Today was the opposite problem. I was in an area without any trees or structures to use as foreground but the sunset was nice. Luckly the field had not been harvested yet so I aimed low using  the grain heads to complete the picture. Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 53mm. f/29. ISO 400. Exposure 1/160 second.

Day 207.July 25.

Day Two Hundred Seven. July 25. Picture # 207. Rabbit's Lounge". This interesting building can be found in East Austin. I had to wait a while to get a shot from across the street that did not contain cars or people. I could not tell if the bar was open or not and I found conflicting reports online. Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 41mm. f/8. ISO 400. Exposure 1/640 second. 

Day 206. July 24.

Day Two Hundred Six. July 24. Picture # 206. "Untitled". Sunset on a farm northeast of Austin, Texas. Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 18-55mm lens. Focal length 25mm. f/8. ISO 200. Exposure 1/400 second.

Day 205. July 23.

Day Two Hundred Five. July 23. Picture # 205. "Untitled". I was in an underground parking garage today. I encountered this scene but my Canon T3i was not available so out came the iPhone. iPhone using HDR Pro. Edited on computer with ACDSee Pro 5.

Day 204. July 22.

Day Two Hundred Four. July 22. Picture # 204. "Untitled". Detail of a mix of graffiti and a peeling poster on a building in Austin, Texas. There is an picture of the building below. Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Bower Fish Eye lens. ISO 200. Exposure 1/32 second.



Day 203. July 21.

Day Two Hundred Three. July 21. Picture # 202. "Untitled". With my sister riding shotgun we started our second day in Three Rivers, Texas. We explored the backroads in the area. This is an abandoned house that we encountered when the morning light was still nice. It was Day 203 that I turned over 200,000 miles on my truck as I pulled into the old storage building's parking lot pictured below in Kenedy, Texas. Canon Rebel T3i. Canon 18-55mm lens. Focal length 18mm. f/5. ISO 400. Exposure 1/600 second.

Day 202. July 20.

Day Two Hundred Two. July 20. Picture # 202. "Padre Sunset". End of the day at Padre National Seashore. My Sister Joan had flown in from Illinois to spend the weekend with me. This was the final light on a good first day. Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 100mm. f/9. ISO 400. Exposure 1/4000 second.

Sister and Padre Island weekend.

Headed out to airport to pick up my sister. Then off to Padre Island National Seashore. Will post Day 202 and 203 Sunday night.

Day 201, July 19.

Day Two Hundred One. July 19. Picture # 201. "Untitled". Just a sunset. Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 75-300 lens. Focal length 180mm. f,5. ISO 400. Exposure 1/15 second.

Day 200. July 18.

Day Two Hundred. July 18. Picture # 200. "Untitled. Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 75-300mm lens. Focal length 300mm. f/5.6. ISO 200. Exposure 1/1000 second.

Day 199. July 17.

Day One Hundred Ninety Nine. July 17. Picture # 199. "Mirror Image". This picture has no Photoshop effects. It has been edited for contrast and light. The camera is aimed at it's own reflection in the mirror. After focusing I turn out the light in the room. I used a picture on my iPhone to first paint the camera with light then I used the same picture on the phone to create the light effects. Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 18-55mm lens. Focal length 55mm. f/5.6. ISO 800. Exposure 103 seconds.



Day 198. July 16.

Day One Hundred Ninety Eight. July 16. Picture # 198. "Tigger". I was experimenting with a new fisheye lens at a friends's house. The cat's name is Tigger and she thought it was important to keep an eye on things. Canon Rebel T3i. Bower Fisheye lens. Focal length 8mm. F/3.5.ISO 400. Exposure 1/200 second.

Day 197. July 15.

Day One Hundred Ninety Seven. July 15. Picture # 197A. "Fade to Black". The Hill country in central Texas experienced strong thunderstorms with heavy rain today. I shot a couple sets of pictures in the stormy weather, the two pictures are very different. Rain is the only common denominator. Unfortunately I cannot decide which picture I like better so I posted both shots for Day 197. Above picture; Canon Reel T3i, on tripod. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 80mm. f/22. ISO 200. Bracketed exposure .2, .4 second.

Picture #197 B. "Rain" Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 35mm. f/5.6. ISO 800. Exposure 1/160 second.

Day 196. July 14.

Day One Hundred Ninety Six. July 14. Picture # 196.  "Cloudy Sky, Crooked Car". Sticking with the red car theme for one more day. Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 28mm. f/22. ISO 400. Exposure 1/160 second.

Day 195. July 13.

Day One Hundred Ninety Five. July 13. Picture # 195. "Double Parked". Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 56mm. f/29. ISO 400. Exposure 20 seconds.

Day 194. July 12.

Day One Hundred Ninety Four. July 12. Picture # 194. "Five Wooden Soldiers". Fences represent the contact point between people, properties and nations There are clichés like "fences makes good neighbors". Sayings such as" you can't be on the fence about this" and "you will need to mend fences" really display what an important role fences have in daily life. Studying these charred pickets  as they stood at their silent rigid attention brought soldiers to mind. Soldiers becomes a projection of a country's fences. Wherever a soldier is deployed in the world their nation's fences travel with them. They have sworn an oath to protect that line from enemies. But like a good neighbor leaning on a fence talking with a neighbor, the line can become a gateway to understanding between cultures. But when there is no empathy or point of understanding, there will be conflict. Mimicing the charred pickets of this fence, soldiers will be in harms way. They will bear the brunt of the conflict, and though damaged they will continue to stand between their country and the enemy for as long as they can. Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 80mm. f/5. ISO 400. Exposure 1/1000 second.

Day 193. July 11.

Day One Hundred Ninety Three. July 11. Picture # 193. "Still Water". The sunset on Day 193 is relected in a puddle along side of Bull Creek in Austin, Texas. Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 112mm. f/36. ISO 400. Exposure 1/100 second.

Day 192. July 10.

Day One Hundred Ninety Two. July 10. Picture # 192. "Aggie Land". A very pleasant day spent on the campus of Texas A&M at College Station. 

This picture is dedicated to Tracy Jackson. The first Aggie I ever met. Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 18-55mm lens. Focal length 23mm. f/4.5. ISO 200. Exposure 1/2500 second.

Day 191. July 9.

Day One Hundred Ninety One. July 9. Picture # 191. "Rainy Day". After looking at the weather radar, I realized there were some really good storms coming in from the northwest. I grabbed the gear, jumped in the truck and headed up towards Jarrel,Texas site of a 1997 F5 tornado. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarrell_Tornado . I was not wishing bad weather on anyone but I needed large open areas in which to shoot, and if there was to be a bad storm I might as well be there. I managed to get East of the storm so that it would approach me and I can shoot the leading-edge. But unfortunately the storm was moving too fast and I was not able to stay out in front of it. I never managed to get back out of the heavy rain before getting any pictures. This picture was shot out of the truck window while it was still raining which gives it that soft focus grainy look. Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 300mm lens. Focal length 300mm. f/7.1. ISO 3200. Exposure 1/400 second.

Day 190. July 8.

Day Hundred Ninety. July 8. Picture # 190. "Swim Meet". I had an opportunity today to find out how my new camera performed under low light conditions. I was sitting at the top of some high bleachers about 150 to maybe 200 feet away from the action. There was a rule against flash photography because they did not want to distract the swimmers. Flash would have of been of no use at this distance anyway.  The T3i's ability to shoot at high ISOs allowed me to freeze the action and capture this shot. Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 75-300mm lens. Focal length 125mm. f/4.5. ISO 3200. Exposure 1/400 second.

Day 189. July 7.

Day One Hundred Eighty Nine. July 7. Picture # 189. "Apparition". A scene under Austin. Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 28mm. f/22. ISO 200. Exposure 135 seconds.

Day 188. July 6.

Day One Hundred Eighty Eight. July 6. Picture # 188. "Fading Light". Today was my first outing with my new Canon Rebel T3i camera. I have been wanting one for a long time, and now I could finally afford one. My best friend gave me my original Canon Rebel XTI a few years ago as a Christmas present because she believed in my pictures. I had been using a little Fuji point and shoot camera to shoot hundreds of pictures and was editing them with a free program called Picasa. Her generousity allowed me to take the next step with my photography. Thank you Tracy. I wanted to start out strong with my new camera. Being somewhat superstitious my very first picture was of my old Canon Rebel XTI. Just for luck. Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 100mm. f/22. ISO 200. Exposure 1/10 second.

Day 187. July 5.

Day One Hundred Eighty Seven. July 5. Picture # 187. "Nature's Fireworks". Canon Rebel XTI, on tripod. Canon 55-300mm lens. Focal length 300mm. f/10. ISO 800. Exposure 1/640 second.

Day 186. July 4.

Day One Hundred Eighty Six. July 4. Picture # 186. "Red, White & Blue?".  Went on one of my "drives" today. I was looking for something red,white and blue. Well two out of three will have to do. This matching chair and door trim can be found in Gustine, Texas at the "Gunter Brothers Farm Center". There is an extra photo below so no one forgets it is the 4th of July. Hope you all had a safe and happy 4th.  Canon Rebel XTI, handheld. Canon 28-135mm. Focal length 47mm. f/5. ISO 400. Exposure 1/2000 second.

Day 185. July 3.

Day One Hundred Eighty Five. July 3. Picture # 185. "A Bird in the Hand". Somedays it is easy. This picture was taken at my apartment. Swallows have built mud nests under the overhangs of my building. You can see some of the mud that has dripped on the handrail from the construction of the nests. So at least for today finding a picture was easy. Canon Rebel XTI, handheld. Canon 55-300mm lens. Focal length 300mm. f/7.1. ISO 400. Flash +1. Exposure 1/200 second.

Day 184. July 2.

Day One Hundred Eighty Four. July 2. Picture # 184. "Fireworks". I am always drawn to the bright displays of the seasonal fireworks sellers. I stopped by one of the many fireworks stands in Austin and told them I would like to take some pictures to use for my blog. They were very nice and said yes and so I grabbed a few quick pictures and let them go back to selling. The faded exteriors make the perfect venue for the fanciful fireworks as can be seen in the picture below. Canon Rebel XTI, handheld. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 28mm. f/6.3. ISO 800. Exposure 1/640 second.

Day 183. July 1. The halfway point

Day One Hundred Eighty Three. July 1. Picture # 183. "Jonah's Corn".  This ready to be harvested cornfield and abandoned home is in Jonah, Texas. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hnj08 . Directly in front and across the cornfield from this house is the old Jonah school. The school is now closed and is used as a community center. The gray skies and the closed school had a very somber feel. The unused empty playground equipment moved creaking and groaning in the wind. The pictures below show the old-fashione style of the playground equipment which was going out-of-favor  by the early 60s. The wind continued to blow hard today while I was setting up to take this picture and the corn rustling was making so much noise that sounded like it was alive. It had a somewhat ominous scaley reptilion sound. The vulture sitting watch in the dead tree in front of the house completed the picture. Canon Rebel XTI, on tripod. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 47mm. f/29. ISO 1600. Exposure 1/320 second.

Half Way. July 1. 183 Pictures. 183 to Go.

Day 182. June 30.

Day One Hundred Eighty Two. June 30. Picture # 182. "Untitled" An off day shooting, was what kept going through my mind as I looked at the 226 exposures I shot for Day 182. A pretty creek but nothing outstanding. A colorful sunset without definition. A nicely shaped tree but the lighting was to harsh. Nice low light shots as the sun went down but because of strong winds there was camera shake with results being motion blur. Just one of those days. There is always tomorrow. Canon Rebel XTI, on tripod. Canon 18-55mm lens. Focal length 18mm. f/22. ISO 100. Exposure 1/10 second.