Ka-boom!
Last weekend, I went to a Chinese New Year celebration that was occurring here in Austin. It was a lot of fun. They had Chinese dragons, lion dancers, and of course a lot of firecrackers! I was able to squeeze in fairly close while the firecrackers were a-crackin', and got this shot. There must have been a couple thousand of these things exploding - I felt deaf for a little while afterwards, but was glad I got the shot!
Rusted tank
I always thought rust was a bad thing - until I got into photography, and especially HDR photography. It used to be an eyesore to me, and now it is a thing of beauty. Funny how your perspective changes when you view things through a lens. This is an old tank on the grounds of the old Pearl Brewery in San Antonio. I was there a few months back and had just a short while to wander around and snap a few shots. That area of San Antonio has a lot of interesting photographic possibilities - hopefully I can get back down there and do it justice!
Red leaf
I nearly stepped on this little guy. I was hiking around in the Bull Creek Greenbelt, which is near where I live in Austin, and found a little creek running by with all these colorful leaves on the ground. I was setting up for another shot, and happened to look down and see this one red leaf all by his lonesome. So, of course, I took the picture....what else would I do? I used HDR Efex Pro on this single exposure to grunge it up a little, cause I like that sort of thing!
Hope
"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow." - Albert Einstein
If I had to choose one word to summarize what is on everyone’s mind at the start of a new year, that word would be hope. It just fits. We are all looking forward to see what the new year brings, and hoping for the best. Maybe we are hoping for material gain, or spiritual growth, or physical change, but we are all hoping for something. So, here’s to hope. We look forward to your arrival, when you become reality!
I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year and a very successful 2011 (however you define success)! Thanks for all the support in 2010. Best wishes to you and yours!
Best of 2010
Well, the year is winding to a close and it is nearly impossible to not look back and reflect on where you have been. So, I did. And the truth is, I was in a lot of places, and thankfully had my camera with me! Lots of folks pick their top 10 for the year, or most viewed, or something along those lines, so I chose some that were my personal favorites. I had to cut a few out just to get them to fit the way I wanted, but these were at the top of my list for a variety of reasons. If you review these for a moment, I think you will notice some patterns. These are all HDR, include water, are very colorful and were taken at sunset, sunrise, or blue hour. I guess if you could sum up my favorite things about photography, that would be the list. I’m a simple guy at heart! Anyways, thanks for the visits, comments, suggestions, and support. It has been a great year and I really appreciate it.
Stay warm out there!
It was 29 degrees in Austin this morning - that's pretty cold to me! We built a nice fire, and have been letting it burn all day. I have made 2 trips already to buy more wood, but it is warm and cozy by the fire! Hope you are having a warm day and enjoying all the Christmas bounty!
Seasons' change
Just a simple fall image today. I really love the Fall, it is by far my favorite season. Things stay hot down here in Austin for a long time, but I am happy to report that it is cooling off a bit!
Abstract art
I have come to appreciate abstract shots of random, unrecognizable things. I find them interesting. This is a portion of a sculpture hanging from the ceiling inside a building lobby in downtown Austin. I was on a photowalk with some local Austin photo friends a long time ago, and we stopped and I think we all got shots of this one. It's pretty interesting looking when you walk into a lobby and all this wild, colorful stuff is hanging above you. It's cool, at least to me.
Distant memories
I am glad that August is over - it was hot. We are still in for some hot times but getting to September means we are getting closer to those crisp, wonderful days in late Fall! I can't wait!
I shot this with my Hoya macro filter, which you can read about here: http://www.nomadicpursuits.com/hoya-macro-filter-review/
I intentionally went a little soft on the focus, and definitely wanted the aged/weather look, as I thought it was fitting considering the subject. Stay cool out there!
Yesteryear
I was out and about one day and came across this wonderfully dilapidated old two-seater bike. I tried getting a full shot of it from several angles, but just couldn't make it work. So, I opted to focus in on the coolest part which I thought was this section of it. Old rusty stuff is fun to shoot and I find it immensely interesting.
88 petals?
I found this in the archives, having taken it a while ago and forgotten about it. Just playing around with various camera settings and the like. A simple picture, really. Enjoy your weekend everyone!
The lair of Bacchus
This was taken a while back at Mandola's Winery in Austin, which is a nice place. Unfortunately I could not get any closer to these barrels, as this room was "eyes only" - in other words, I was shooting this through some glass. Fortunately I didn't get any glare. I liked the look of the tanks in the background, all covered in frost, while the barrels up front were just waiting around.
The rhino and I know...
Using software to fix or enhance an image is standard practice. In this case, I didn't fix anything and you can argue that I didn't enhance anything either. But, I sure as heck made this shot look a whole lot different, and that's all this is about. It's fun to take something and make it look entirely different, especially when the initial image is bland, boring and uninteresting. So, I gave into the temptation of a few software programs, and this is the result. For the record, the rhino likes his new look...