photography

Photography 101: Swarm
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Photography 101: Swarm

Our Day 14 assignment for Photography 101 was “Swarm”. My photos cover swarms of cormorants, seals, kayaks, bucks, and people.

During a visit to La Jolla north of San Diego, California, there were lots of cormorants all over the cliff and rocks, which they also share with a large number of seals.  These are reflected in this first set of photos taken from various angles, including a closeup of the seals.

Nearby I spotted a large group of red kayaks all grouped together which contrasted with the blue water all around and the light cliff behind them.  Up the coast a little bit there were many surfers trying to catch the waves, and they were interesting to watch.

The last set of photos is closer to home, with a large group of white-tailed buck in our backyard.  You will notice that most of them have quite a rack.  Sometimes the males tend to travel together, except when they’re out looking for females in the fall.

The final shot shows flocks of people coming and going between music day parties on Sixth Street in Austin Texas during the South by Southwest music festival in 2010.

Photography 101: Moment
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Photography 101: Moment

Our Day 13 assignment for Photography 101 was “Moment”. I have highlighted a few photos with selected moments to share.

This first photo is actually a newspaper clipping which shows my early introduction to computers, which later became a long career with IBM. During high school the Advanced Math class had the opportunity to visit the “Data Processing Department” where we watched a demonstration of a UNIVAC II computer.

That’s me with the glasses casually leaning my arm over the top of the computer above the operator. I guess I was trying to get a real good look at it, or else just trying to be cool. Anyway, it did perk my interest in computers, and I thought this moment might be a good one to share since it’s over 50 years old.

UNIVAC II Computer

UNIVAC II Computer

Here we have a pre-school Christmas musical moment where they all presented to their families, although they’re not all that focused on what they’re doing. It was fun to watch these early opportunities for the kids to get up in front of other people with all their various behaviors and expressions, but they actually sounded pretty good.

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This final photo was taken when I was sitting on a rock talking with my granddaughter. This moment was captured to remember the special relationship that I have with her. I don’t remember what we were talking about now, but it doesn’t really matter I guess. (I have lost some weight since this photo was taken).

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Photography 101: Architecture
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Photography 101: Architecture

Our Day 12 assignment in Photography 101 was “Architecture”, and we were also asked to explore black-and-white. I have included dual photos in color and black-and-white of various downtowns: Granbury Texas, St. Louis Missouri, Philadelphia  Pennsylvania, and Seattle Washington.  There is a photo looking up at the ceiling in the Atlanta Museum of Art, and also a photo of the iconic Space Needle in Seattle built for the 1962 World’s Fair.

It’s interesting to note how the color versions of the skyscrapers show various shades of tan, blue, black, and silver, and the St. Louis photo includes the turquoise and green from the courthouse top and lawn; these are all eliminated in the black-and-white versions, which I don’t think I like as much even though it still shows a lot of gray-scale color contrasts.

The St. Louis photo was taken from the observation windows at the top of the Gateway Arch, the Philadelphia skyline from across a highway (which was cropped out at the bottom), and the Seattle photo was taken from the 76th floor of the Columbia Tower building.

The atrium ceiling in the Atlanta Museum of Art had a striking pattern of lines and shadows and I had to take a photo of it since it was different; I think I might like the black-and-white version in this one better since the shadows are even more emphasized, and there wasn’t much color in the original anyway.

The old 1890 Hood County Court House in Granbury, Texas offers the most unique character in this typical Texas town square, and I prefer that one best.

Photography 101: Pop of Color
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Photography 101: Pop of Color

The theme for our Day 11 assignment in Photography 101 was “A Pop of Color”. I focused on several images which emphasize various shades of yellow which stand out from their backgrounds, including sunsets, blue agave, glass sculpture, paraglider, and hot-air balloon.

Seattle Sunset

This first one is a photo of a Seattle sunset taken by the mother of the groom at a wedding reception I attended for my niece on the 76th floor of the Columbia Tower Club. I also took quite a few photos, but none turned out like hers, so I decided to include hers since it’s so amazing. This is actually what it looked like, but I just missed the perfect timing she had.

Notice the yellow from the sun and the awesome red glow on Puget Sound. The ferris wheel down on the pier in the lower-left is nicely lit up, so are the Seattle streets and some of the skyscrapers, and of course there’s the Space Needle in the distance (upper-right) that looks so tiny from up where we were.

Seattle Sunset

Seattle Sunset

Lago Vista Sunset

This is another sunset photo that I took from my deck in Lago Vista, which shows the setting sun over Lake Travis west of Austin, Texas. Its golden ball stands out and lights up the sky and clouds.

Lago Vista Sunset

Lago Vista Sunset

Blue Agave at Sunset

This was another photo that I took which shows a Blue Agave which sprouted in my neighbor’s back yard.  We watched it grow daily from what looked like a giant asparagus stalk until it fully evolved with its spiral arms and and all their flowers. I couldn’t help taking lots photos of it since it was rising so fast and quite an amazing sight.

This one was taken at sunset with the blue agave in the foreground with the sun exploding through the clouds behind it with all the rays of light that are scattered in all directions. My guess that it must have been over 30 feet tall, and you can see how tall it is here. By the way, this is the plant that grows in Mexico which they use to make tequila.

Blue Agave at Sunset

Blue Agave at Sunset

Glass Sculpture

I thought this was a fantastic splash of yellow at the Chihuly Garden and Glass, where they have an exhibition, glasshouse, and garden that highlight Dale Chihuly’s colorful glass sculptures next to the Space Needle at Seattle Center. It really pops out at you, especially against the blue sky, green trees, and even the smaller purple sculpture.

Chihuly Garden and Glass

Chihuly Garden and Glass

Paraglider

Here’s a photo that I took of a yellow/green paraglider at Torrey Pines Gliderport on the scenic cliffs above Black’s Beach in the La Jolla area of north San Diego, which is a very popular place for hang gliders, paragliders, and sailplanes. The colorful wing really stands out from the blue somewhat overcast sky which blends into the Pacific Ocean.  Notice the pilot in the little pod hanging from the paraglider. I guess they must be able to guide it somewhat, but I think the winds might contribute more to where they actually land.

Yellow Paraglider

Yellow Paraglider

Hot-Air Balloon

Finally, we have a yellow hot-air balloon against a clear blue sky above Prosser Lake north of Truckee, California, where ballooning is a fairly popular activity. This really pops out at you also from the blue background.

Yellow Balloon

Yellow Balloon

I’ve enjoyed sharing these colorful photos with you.

Photography 101: Warmth
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Photography 101: Warmth

For our Day 9 assignment in Photography 101, our theme was “Warmth”.  I have included these photos which reflect warmth for me.  They highlight warmth for a fawn, flower, lizard, squirrel, and granddaughter.

Fawn

We have lots of wildlife in our backyard, especially white-tailed deer.  It’s always wonderful to see all the newly born fawn each spring, and also gets interesting in the fall when the bucks have fully developed anthers and are out looking for does.

One morning when we came out for breakfast, we discovered there was a sleeping fawn curled up on our patio just outside out back door next to the door mat.  We watched it for a while and took some photos, especially as it finally woke up (probably because we made some noise in the kitchen).  It was so young and scrawny, it looked very when it was arising from its sleeping position as it tried to stand up.

Sleeping Fawn

Sleeping Fawn

Then it wandered around the deck for a while trying to find a way out to get back to its mother. Eventually, she realized that the baby was trying to find her and actually moved along our deck railing to encourage the baby to follow until it went right through the vertical grating on our gate at the end of the deck (which must also be how it go in).  And here baby is reunited with its mother again, as this photo shows them licking (kissing?) each other.

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Fawn with Mother

Flower

This flowering cactus on our deck is another result of the sun’s warmth.  It produces these beautiful yellow flowers.

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Cactus Flower

Lizard

The sun brings out all kinds of critters that want to bask its warmth like this lizard who just likes to sit there for long periods of time just catching the rays.

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Lizard

Squirrel

This squirrel is another neighbor you likes to enjoy the sun’s warmth while surveying his backyard domain.  He also has been devouring a succulent that we have in a pot nearby – it must be pretty tasty.

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Squirrel

Granddaughter

Of course, I can’t forget the loving warmth of my grandchildren.  This is picture that my youngest granddaughter drew for his Grandma and Grandpa (about a year ago when she was 5).  It just says “I Love You” symbolically.

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Granddaughter Drawing

It’s very cold here in Texas. It was almost time to build a fire tonight, but we didn’t have any starter so that will have to wait. That would have been another photo I could have included. I hope you are having a warm day, or just keeping warm, wherever you are.

Photography 101: The Natural World – Rio Grande
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Photography 101: The Natural World – Rio Grande

For our Day 8 assignment in Photography 101 about “The Natural World”, I chose to highlight photos of the Rio Grande, Spanish for “Big River”, that forms the border between Mexico and Texas in the United States. Its one of the longest river systems in North America originating in the San Juan Mountains of south central Colorado just east of the Continental Divide and flowing down to the Gulf of Mexico.

These were taken in February with my iPhone 5 while playing golf at Black Jack’s Crossing in the Lajitas Golf Resort during our visit to Big Bend National Park in far west Texas. The scenery was so stark, yet beautiful. I couldn’t help taking shots from different perspectives, and include those with the Rio Grande in this slideshow.

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River

It’s amazing such a narrow river borders our two countries. On the other side of the river, you can see the  Sierra Madre Oriental mountains in the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico which border Texas at the Rio Grande. You can see how the Rio Grande twists and turns between the Mexican mountains and Texas golf course. I took the photos from different elevations and angles.  Many of the tees are higher up where you have to shoot down to the fairway and green. Also as we drove our cart from one to another it kept showing up nearby. Of course, you can see the desert all around too which adds contrast.

Golf

This unique golf course along the Rio Grande was designed by Lanny Wadkins and opened in 2012; it  has been named to many “best places to play” lists by GolfWeek, Texas Outside, and Dallas Morning News. It looks much more spectacular with color contrasts in the spring and fall when the greens and fairways are all deep green (which you see on their web site). However, even in the middle of winter it looked great and the weather was perfect then and not crowded at all. It must be very hot in the summer so that would not be a good time to visit.

Big Bend

This shows where Lajitas is located between Big Bend National Park on the right and Big Bend Ranch State Park on the left. It’s about an 8 hour drive west from Austin through Fredericksburg and Junction, then south from Fort Stockton and either Marathon or Alpine to get to the Big Bend area.

Star Party

We stopped over in the Davis Mountains State Park in the Fort Davis area so we could attend a Star Party at the McDonald Observatory astronomy research unit of the University of Texas at Austin. We could look at constellations, planets, and celestial objects through their telescopes, where there are some of the darkest skies in the continental United States. It’s west of Fort Stockton and north of Marfa and Alpine.

Big Bend

The National Park Service has an interesting Big Bend in One Day video (about 6 minutes), which provides a nice overview of the park highlights. This might offer a preview of what to expect if you might want to visit, or even show those who can’t a glimpse of this area. They also have a photo gallery which highlight desert scenery and wildlife.

Terlingua

Nearby is the famous Terlingua ghost town, where they been having chili cook offs on the first weekend in November every year now for 48 years. In the mid-1880’s it became a big cinnabar mining area for mercury, but now it’s just a tourist destination.

We loved our trip to the Big Bend, and want to go back again. Great golf, unique scenery, its so quiet and remote, and there’s lots of great hiking and other things to do.

Photography 101: Weekend Two (Play with Light) – Balcones Hike
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Photography 101: Weekend Two (Play with Light) – Balcones Hike

Over the weekend, it was suggested that we go out and practice our photography and include them in a post to share with the community.  Since it was a nice day on Sunday for a hike, I thought it might be a good opportunity to practice my photography with my iPhone 5 camera, and see if I learned anything yet.  So we went to the Cactus Rocks Trail at Warbler Vista in the Balcones Canyonlands just west of Lago Vista where we live.

This national wildlife refuge protects several endangered songbirds  which only nest there – the golden-cheeked warbler and black-capped vireo  It’s a nice 1.75 mile hike which took just over an hour, and I took about 69 shots.  However, I selected just a few to highlight here with some comments about the photos or what I was trying to accomplish.

There were several different things I wanted to experiment with. I tried to utilize a grid for composition with the rule of thirds. I was trying to be aware of light and shadows and how that might affect my shots.  Also, I used both vertical and horizontal versions of the same shot.  And I wanted to capture interesting things that I encountered.

Sun & Shadow

Toward the end of the hike, the sun was getting lower in the sky and started to shine through the trees and cast interesting light and shadow so I tried to capture that. First, I noticed the sun peeking through the trees so I thought that might make an interesting shot.  I managed to get the sun, but it didn’t turn out that special.


Then I saw some interesting light being scattered through the trees and that seemed like it could be a good shot.  What I didn’t realize was that it also captured my shadow taking the picture in the shot, but  that actually made it a bit more interesting.

Light on Trail & Cairn

As we walked along the trail, I kept looking for things that might be good photos and I took these photos. This shows the light across the trail through the trees, which did not turn out quite like it looked when I took it but perhaps my settings were not right for that situation.


I noticed cairn markers, or man-made stacks of rocks, along the trail that I think the Boy Scouts might have made when they helped clear the trail.  These offer markers to signal hikers that they are actually following the right path, and these appear periodically along the trail as guides.

Large Cactus & Cactus Rock

There are lots of cacti in this area so they are all over the place.  I thought I should try capturing a few of them as we walked. This shows a fairly large cactus growth on the trail, and there were lots more like it. It seemed like it might photograph well, but the light wasn’t quite right.


This one was interesting because the cactus was actually growing right out of the rock.  There were several like this.  I guess that’s why they called it “Cactus Rocks Trail”.

Lake + Road + Sun

I thought this might be an interesting shot of Lake Travis and the winding hilly road along the north shore with the sun starting to go lower in the sky. First, I tried to take a vertical shot to see how that looked. This seemed to make the lake appear too distant but instead emphasized all the trees in the foreground (which aren’t as interesting).


I think this horizontal shot looks better because you get a better sense of the area that focuses on both the lake and road. Also, I liked how the camera captured the light flare from the sun in the phot.

Lake closeup

I thought it might be worthwhile to try a zoom shot of the lake.  So first I tried this one as a vertical photo, which again seems to put the lake more in the distance.

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For this horizontal one, I think it looks better because it focuses on the lake more. It’s more than 40 feet below normal because of the extreme drought this area has been under for over 5 years.  So it looks more like the winding Colorago River that formed Lake Travis (and six other lake) when their dams were established for the Highland Lakes chain.

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Road from trail & deck

It was interesting to see the road below from the trail.  This first shot was taken from a ridge along the trail that overlooks the road from the hillside.

 

This second photo was take higher up from a Sunset Deck platform which has a nice view of the lake and surrounding area including the road below.  I like this one better because it emphasizes how the road winds among the trees in the area.

Overall, it was a nice hike with wonderful weather, and I had a chance to practice photography some more.  Obviously, there’s still more I need to learn and work on, but it’s a start and I enjoyed it. However, in general, I became more aware of my surroundings, observing what might make a good photo to capture, and had fun doing it.

Photography 101: Landmark – Indian Wells
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Photography 101: Landmark – Indian Wells

Our theme for Day 7 of Photography 101 was “Landmark”.  We were supposed to take multiple photos from different points of view of some landmark.  I decided to focus on the Indian Wells Tennis Garden where the BNP Paripas Open tennis tournament is held every March at Indian Wells, California in the desert near Palm Springs. We have visited there several different times and really enjoyed it, and these are some of the photos which I captured that show various aspects of this famous venue.

The BNP Paribas Open is the largest professional two-week combined ATP (men) and WTA (women)  Tour tennis tournament in the world with 96 players in the singles and 32 teams in the double draws. The Indian Wells Tennis Garden features the second largest stadium in the world next to the US Open which includes 16,100-seats and 44 luxurious stadium suites and a new permanent Stadium 2 with 8,000 seats, as well as 7 additional outer stadiums.

Stadium 1

Stadium 1 is the largest where all the best matches are played.  This was a shot from the upper deck before the first match was scheduled to get a general shot of the stadium.

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This shot was taken during a mid-week watch so not as many people were there at night.

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This shows the stadium after the lights come on.

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Other Stadiums

Here’s one of the outer stadiums, which are more intimate since you’re closer to the players.

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Here I tried zooming in for a closer shot of this women’s match.

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This shows the desert mountains in the distance which surround the tennis venue, so the views are great when you look beyond the stadium.  Also, you see the lights and flags over the stadium. In this men’s match, we were sitting at the end instead of the side.

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Grounds

Here is shot of the grounds outside the main stadium.  There are many concessions, activities, and entertainment available within the complex which make it very pleasant between matches, or just relaxing in the shade to get something to eat or drink.

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We love tennis, and thoroughly enjoyed this experience.  In fact, I’m looking forward to going back again soon, maybe for the next one during March 9-22, 2015.

Photography 101: Connect – Family Connections
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Photography 101: Connect – Family Connections

Our Day 6 assignment for Photography 101 had us focus on the “Connect” theme.  These photos reflect important family connections across multiple generations. Although I did not take any of these photos, I thought these old photos would still be appropriate for this theme, especially as we honor Veteran’s Day.

John Warren – 3 Generations

This photo shows my father on the right, grandfather in the middle, and great grandfather on the left.  They are all named John Warren.  My father was the only one with a middle name, Courtenay, and he was always known as “Corky”.

My grandfather was born in Pendeen, Cornwall, England (near Penzance) and came to Michigan via Canada.  He served in the Canadian Army during World War I, and was shot in his lung and almost died hiding in a foxhole overnight; he survived but had shrapnel in his chest all his life.

My grandfather was a grocer in that mining community and remained in England all his life. This picture was taken when he visited the United States about 1938, when my father was 18.

John Warren - 3 Generations

John Warren – 3 Generations

John Warren – Father

This photo shows my father, John (Corky) Warren, who was a B-17 navigator in World War II.  Fortunately the war ended shortly after he completed all his training and was released in 1944 before I was born the following year. He died last year at age 93.

John (Corky) Warren

John (Corky) Warren

Douglas Milton Warren – Uncle

This is a photo of my uncle, Douglas Milton Warren, who was a bombardier in World War II.  He was shot down and killed over Germany.  I was named after him.

Douglas Milton Warren

Douglas Milton Warren

Warrens – My Father’s Family

This was a nice photo of my father’s family.  He’s on the left with my uncle on the right, grandmother lower left, grandfather lower right, and aunts in the middle.

Warren Family

Warren Family

3 Maternal Generations: Warren-Kaye-Bryant

This photo shows my mother, Elinor Warren standing behind my grandmother, Gertrude Kaye on the left holding my sister Diane, and my great-grandmother, Margaret Bryant on the right holding me when I was about 2 years old. The Bryants go back to Plymouth, Massachusetts when they immigrated here about 1630.

William Cullen Bryant who was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post is actually my 3rd cousin 6 times removed; that means we share my 8th great-grandfather, Stephen (and Abigail) Bryant of Plymouth Colony, as a common ancestor. After following many blogs, I have even started reading some poetry.

Warren-Kaye-Bryant Generations

Warren-Kaye-Bryant Generations

And then there’s me.  You can see a current photo on my blog.  I served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War (1967-1972), but was fortunate that I was only stationed stateside in Florida and Virginia. Besides the family links, I also share a common military service connection with my grandfather, father, and uncle.

I have old photos in albums and boxes that I need to go through, organize, and scan, like my Air Force picture, etc.  Now that I’m getting an interest in photography, getting those converted to digital files is another big project to do. This post also motivates me to get started working on that.

Photography 101: Solitude
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Photography 101: Solitude

Here are several photos which suggest “Solitude” for our Photography 101 Day 5 assignment.

Sunset Reflection

I like this photo of Lake Travis at sunset from our deck. It captures the sunset reflection in the lake, as well as the rays emanating from the sun through the clouds. Lots of interesting color and contrast. It is very relaxing and peaceful to just sit with my wife and watch the close of another day. Usually it’s very quiet here and it’s great to be alone with nature. A glass of wine helps too.

Sunset Lake Reflection

Sunset Lake Reflection

Wildflowers

This shows wildflowers in a field near Brenham, Texas. In the spring, there are wildflowers all over, and it’s fun to go for scenic rides in the country to see them.  They have been making old-fashioned Blue Bell Ice Cream there for over 100 years. You can see a their video, take a 45-minute tour, and get some wonderful complimentary ice cream in the parlor.  Plus there are a few wineries around the area for tastings.  It’s a nice day trip from Austin (about halfway to Houston).  See the Visitor Guide for more information about the area.

Brenham Wildflowers

Brenham Wildflowers

Desert Oasis

While attending the BNP Paripas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, we visited Thousand Palms Oasis in the Coachella Valley Preserve near Palm Springs.  It offers interesting hikes among the fan palms in a desert oasis.  This was my  photo of a pond in the McCallum Grove which is interesting.  It captures the various palms lining the pond, and includes reflections in the water.

Actually, I understand this sits right on top of the San Andreas Fault line, which apparently causes the water to seep to the surface even in the middle of the desert. This has a very serene feeling, especially since it’s an oasis in a desert. You can see additional information and photo gallery on the McCallum Trail.

Desert Oasis

Desert Oasis

Balloon Ride

There are lots of hot-air balloons around Prosser Lake near Truckee, California north of Lake Tahoe.  We went one morning to watch a balloon club prepare their balloons and take flight.  They offered my wife and her sister a test ride in one to see what it was like, and they actually agreed to try it.

I took this photo of them as they rose in the sky, but you will notice that there are two ropes tied to the balloon so they don’t go sailing off on their own.  It was exciting to watch them go up, and they had a nice view from up there.  I’m sure they felt very alone, but the solitude would have been much worse if the ropes didn’t hold.

Balloon Test Ride

Balloon Test Ride

Deer Necklace

This last one was interesting because it shows a white-tailed deer in our back yard with an unusual accessory.  This is the top of a trash receptacle from the nearby golf course around its neck.  Apparently, it got too nosey and stuck its head into it to get something to eat that it smelled like a granola bar, apple, sandwich, etc.  And when it got up, the lid came off and stayed around its neck. We saw this deer fairly regularly for several years as they wander around the area, and we also called it the “golfer”.

I wonder if the other deer thought this was rather strange, although it didn’t seem to be an outcast because of it since it would travel around with others.  We always felt bad for it because it would keep sliding down when it would be eating grass, and then fall back down when it got up.  You would think it would figure out some way to get this thing off its neck, but I guess deer are not that smart. There was no way to could go up to it to remove it because it would always run away so there was nothing we could do.  We haven’t seen it any more, so I’m not sure what happened to it (unless maybe somehow it managed to get it off).

Golfer Deer

Golfer Deer

It’s been fun sharing these “solitude” photos with you, and I hope you enjoyed them too.