Day 253. September 9.

Day Two Hundred Fifty Three. September 9. Picture # 253. "Section 60". Section 60 is part of a much larger cotton field just south of Taylor, Texas. This field has just been harvested and you can still see the large bales of gin ready cotton in the background. It appears that the wet winter and some what mild summer made for a good harvest. Canon Rebel XTI, handheld. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 75mm. f/4. ISO 400. Exposure 1/2500 second.

Day 252. September 8.

 

Day Two Hundred Fifty Two. September 8. Picture # 252. "New Traditions". Texas A & M, one of the most tradition rich schools in the nation embarked on a tough new path, Saturday. The Aggies introduced themselves to the Southeastern Conference "SEC" today. The Aggies lost a heartbreaker to the University of Florida but they let the SEC know you had better bring your "A" game. The Aggies intend to play football. The rich traditions of Texas A & M are going to enhance a already tradition rich SEC. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditions_of_Texas_A%26M_University .The Aggie band is the halftime show you do not want to miss. The football team may have come up short but the Band loudly proclaimed "You can't touch this !". Canon SX20 on full auto.

 



Day 251. September 7.

 

Day Two Hundred Fifty Two. September 7. Picture # 252. "Making Sparks". This picture of my co-worker Ryan Timm welding a frame displays the amazing abilities of the iPhone. I used an app called Pro HDR to capture this image. The app first reads the light extremes in a scene then takes two bracketed exposures and combines them into a single image. What is so remarkable about this picture is the extreme bright welding arc detail is not blown out and the app accounted for the low light levels in the shop.  Not an aesthetically wonderful picture but from a technical point of view pretty interesting. iPhone using Pro HDR. Edited with Photoshop CS5 and ACDSee Pro 5.

Day 250. September 6.

 

Day Two Hundred Fifty. September 6. Picture # 250. "Untitled".  Still looking for ways to stay out of the heat. This "gimmick" picture is a gallery wrap of one of my own pictures that hangs in my living room. This effect is created by using a long exposure and a zoom lens. While the shutter is open, you carefully "zoom" the lens to different focal lengths. Cooler weather is coming soon. I promise to get back outside. Canon Rebel XTI, on tripod. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 28-135mm. f/20. ISO 100. exposure 28 seconds.

Day 249. September 5.

 

Day Two Hundred Forty Nine. September 5. Picture # 249. "Curtain Theater". This is the view that actors see when they are performing on Richard Garriott's replica Globe theater stage. http://www.nowplayingaustin.com/venue/detail/29369 The only difference is they are usually playing to packed houses. This is the Baron's Men home theater. http://thebaronsmen.org/. Canon Rebel XTI, handheld. Bower Fisheye lens. f/1.6. ISO 400. Exposure 1/200 second.

Day 248. September 4.

 

Day Two Hundred Forty Eight. September 4. Picture # 248. "Temperature". Another 100 degree day in Austin, had me thinking about temperature when I got home. I have a collection of weather related items ranging from my families barometer to a full portable weather station made in Germany for the Russian military. One of the more artistic pieces is the subject of todays picture. Many years ago my friend Tracy Jackson knowing of my interest in weather gave me a beautiful Galileo thermometer modeled after his original design. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_thermometer. In a related side note, yesterday a friend of mine and I were having a discussion on how to shoot a picture of a clear glass vial to get defined edges. So Day 248 envolved some experimenting. I knew the shot would require a very shallow depth of field and a quick shutter speed. So I started with my fastest lens and a high ISO. Next, the background needed to be dark but still have subtle variations. This was solved with my full bag of trash that was by the door waiting to go out. So my thermometer was set on my empty work table with the trash bag as a backdrop. Lights were adjusted to eliminate glare on the glass. I shot a few exposures at different settings but was not satisfied. I finally got the effect I wanted by using my flashlight app on my iPhone. I turned the light on and sat the thermometer on top of the phone. It worked and I got my picture. Canon Rebel XTI, handheld. Canon 50mm prime lens. f/1.8. ISO 1600. Exposure 1/400 second.

Day 247. September 3.

 

Day Two Hundred Forty Seven. September 3. Picture # 247. "Flower # 1 B/W". Left the house before dawn to beat the sunrise. The sunrise was all greys and very muted. I decided to packup and go find something else to shoot. As I walked back to the truck these very large flowers (3-4") seemed to be floating in the darkness. The white petals were catching the early light while the rest of the plant was still in deep shadows. Canon Rebel XTI, on tripod. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 70mm. f/6.3. ISO 800. Exposure 1/50 second.

Day 246. September 2.

 

Day Two Hundred Forty Six. September 2. Picture # 246. "Fire & Time". This peaceful scene was very different one year ago. On Labor day weekend in 2011 this spot was in flames. The Bastrop County Complex Fire started September 4 and burned until October 29. It consumed 34,356 acres and burned close to 1700 homes. There were two fatalities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastrop_County_Complex_fire . On January 29, Day 29, http://jaybaumphotography.blogspot.com/2012/01/day-29.html , I visited Bastrop State Park which was directly in the path of the fire. The dirt was scorched. There seemed to be only burnt dead trees and barren dirt. Now less than a year later and with the help of some rain the renewal has started. The ground is quickly being overtaken by the color green. There were flowers and butterflies everywhere. Below are some other pictures from today's visit. The last picture shows that the scars from this fire will last a very long time. Canon Rebel, handheld. Canon 75-300mm lens. Focal length 300mm. f/6.3. ISO 200. Exposure 1/2000 second.

 



Day 245. September 1.

 

Day Two Hundred Forty Five. September 1. Picture # 245. "No Longer Under Wrap". This guy made his first appearance from under his cover on August 9. He had only one eye peeking out when he was captured for Day 222. This will be his last time to stare at you from this blog because he is moving to his new home this weekend. Canon Rebel XTI, handheld. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 33mm. f/8. ISO 200. Exposure 1/400 second.



Day 244. August 31.

 

Day Two Hundred Forty Four. August 31. Picture # 244. "Friday Night Lights". The Texas high school season has started with all of it's pageantry and on the field drama. It is a time for the entire student body and their families to come together under the lights for the wonderful tradition of Texas football. (Picture 1. below) The Honor Guard becomes the focus as the National Anthem is played. (Picture 2. below) The exhilerating entrance of the football players onto the field always is a crowd pleaser. (Picture 3 & 4. below) The over three hundred member marching band covers a large portion of the playing surface and provides a very powerful sound as an exclamation point to the game. Canon Rebel XTI, handheld. Canon 75-300mm lens. Focal length 300mm. f/5.6. ISO 1600. Exposure 1/160 second.

 

Picture One

 

 

Picture Two

 

 

Picture Three

 

 

Picture Four