Photine

A Study in Dinosaurs

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 07:30:27 -0800

Bayou City Arts Festival

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:53:29 -0800

The Bayou City Arts Festival takes takes place in Houston in both the fall and the spring with artists from all over the country selling their creations. When the weather cooperates there is nothing better than wandering the trails, looking at the amazing art, sampling the food and enjoying a perfect Houston weekend.

Flickr set: Bayou City Arts Festival 2010

The Farm

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:59:50 -0800

I am working to catch up with my photo back log so that photos can be more timely and tell more of a story, but sometimes there is something to be said for some distance between taking the pictures and sharing the pictures. At least when I look back at these photos of my father's country farm in Panama I get such a feeling of peace that I did not have when I first got back from my visit. My head was spinning with so many of the sights that they overwhelmed this part of my visit. But looking back at it now it was a wonderful part of my visit. Leaving the vibrant, modern city behind and heading into an area the peaceful countryside. Considering this was the only day that we had to deal with significant rain, the atmosphere was perfect for our trek into this tropical land.

Flickr Set: Panama

50th Wedding Anniversary

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 07:38:27 -0800

No one will ever mistake me for a wedding photographer. Except my family that is.

My aunt called me a few days before her 50th wedding anniversary to ask me to take pictures at their reception. I, of course, could not say no to my aunt but not until I got there did I realize how much of it was going to be like photographing a wedding reception. Reception line, cake cutting, toasts, first dance. All filled with people. I'm slow sometimes.

People are not my forte. What is my forte? Details. If I could be a third photographer to a wedding photographer and not have to worry about any people, just take detail shots or architectural shots, I would consider a career in wedding photography. Third because the second photographer usually still has to take people shots. Unfortunately there aren't a lot of positions like that available, but I was able to have that experience once with people I trust.

Here are a few detail shots. I look at these and the other photos from the day and think how obvious it is that I am NOT a wedding photographer, but I know my family will like them. At least I hope so. The cake topper is special because it is from their original wedding cake. The last picture I call "Legacy" in my head. My aunt and uncle, three sons, three daughters-in-law and four grandchildren. Not bad work for the first 50 years.

Anywhere But Here

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 06:05:23 -0800

Anywhere But Here by 2:12

I admit it. I am square. I am a nerd. I'm a rule follower. It's so bad that I rarely even jaywalk even if I am in a deserted downtown Houston with no traffic or people around. The rules are the rules. Almost every personality test that I have taken has highlighted this part of my personality sometimes as a good thing, sometimes not. I know it is who I am and I've come to accept it.

So the fact that I am head over heels over some street art, something that is essentially an illegal activity, that is breaking the rules is a surprise to me. When I was in Galveston in May I bumped into some fellow photographers who directed me to a piece of art that was on an abandoned building. It was love at first sight and I came home and immediately looked up the artist, 2:12.

Since I now follow him on Twitter and since I now live in town I was able to go and view his latest piece almost as soon as it was put up. It has such a wonderful feeling of whimsy and I know that it must have taken a long time to create. You can see how long it takes to work on one piece in this video from his website. I am certainly not condoning graffiti especially if it happens on an active building or business or as I have to deal with in my day job, a school. And I am not a fan of a lot of the graffiti artwork I see out there, but I am a fan of this artist and eagerly look forward to following his career.

I know. I'm a wild rebel. No telling what I'll do next. I very well may cross an intersection against a light. Look out!

Art Car Parade 2010

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 07:18:56 -0800

The Art Car Parade rolls through downtown Houston in May. It is one big celebration all weekend long culminating in this display of rolling art. I haven't been able to go to the actual parade the last two years so I went a little snap happy. Actually that's probably not the real reason. I just love the parade so much it is fun to take pictures. The car at the top, the Fruitmobile, is the one that started it all many years ago as a fundraiser project for the Orange Show. The car at the bottom, Atomic Dog One Nation Under Groove, is my favorite year after year. Many, many more photos in the Flickr set.

Flickr Set: Art Car 2010

Art Car Preview

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 06:43:41 -0800

There very well may be photos every day this week. I'm still trying to catch up with a backlog and there are still new things happening all the time.

Art Car! Houston was the first and is currently the largest art car parade in the world. It started from a small parade and is now a full blown weekend. One of the newer events is a preview evening held at a downtown park. This is wonderful opportunity to really examine the cars in detail and chat with the owners. You can walk the parade route the day of the parade to get up close, but it is usually blazing hot and crowded. This evening before the parade preview has become a can't miss event for me.

Dinosaurs

Wed, 7 Jul 2010 15:25:02 -0800

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to take my photography group to the Houston Museum of Natural Science's new location in Sugar Land, TX. I cherish the relationships with HMNS. They have been very supportive of our group and of photography in general. Since I was playing hostess I didn't have a chance to take a lot of photos, but I did catch a dinosaur here and there.

Flickr Set: Sugar Land HMNS

Azalea Trail 2010

Mon, 5 Jul 2010 06:18:48 -0800

The Azalea Trail is one of my favorite events each year in Houston. On the first weekend in March several houses in the upscale neighborhood of River Oaks throw open their doors and invite people to peek into their homes and gardens. Bayou Bend and Rienzi, both former homes now belonging to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, also invite people into their collections and gardens. It is a weekend full of the finer things and the best part about it is the wonderful flowers.

This year because of a much colder than normal winter the azaleas, the stars of the show, were noticeably absent. They weren't quite ready to blossom, but that gave all the other flowers a chance to shine this year. Photos here include hydrangeas, roses, daffodils, paperwhite narcissus, japanese magnolias and the buds of the azaleas just coming out. It was still a wonderful event and I can't wait until next year.

Camera: Pentax MX
Flickr set: Azalea Trail 2010

Stars and Stripes

Sun, 4 Jul 2010 09:28:37 -0800

Happy 4th of July everybody! Today the United States celebrates the declaration of it's independence from Great Britain. All across the country the holiday will be marked with parades, barbecues and fireworks. Tonight I'm going to see the symphony perform at an outdoor theater which will conclude with a fireworks show. Nothing makes me happier than watching fireworks.

Today also marks a change in the way I'm going to do the photoblog, at least for a little while. When I began doing themes three and a half years ago at my old photoblog home the reasons were twofold. First I had a horrible backlog of photos. I kept photos around in a maybe some day file that grew and grew. With themes I could share my favorite five, put the rest on Flickr and be done with that set. It was a great way to cut down on the backlog. The second reason that I moved to themes was that I loved photoblogs that have multiple photos in one post that told a story. When you see four, five, six photos together with one theme or from one event or with one storyline it is so much more powerful to me than one photo a day. That is probably a personal thing for me, but while I loved it I could not do it with my old setup so I compromised and did one photo a day with the theme spread over the week.

As soon as I moved to Pixyblog I was able to put multiple photos in a post, but I was quite happy with my theme a week life and had no reason to change. But all good things grow, evolve and change and so it will be with my photoblog posting. I once again have a huge backlog, this time of themes. I could post a different theme every week from now until the end of September and not have to take another new photo in that time period. That knowledge has put a dent in my photo taking and my photo sharing. I hesitate to take photos because I already have so many to share. I need to clear the backlog out and I finally have the capabilities to present the photos in a multiple photo format.

Thus I've decided that I will now post multiple images in one post. A theme that used to take a week can now be done in one day. This will mean that I will not be posting every day. Actually I could post a new theme every day for two weeks and have plenty, but I'm not doing that. I don't want to set up a definite posting schedule, but for the foreseeable future it will be two to three times a week. The photos I feel tell the best story together will be on the photoblog and the rest will go on Flickr. I think this change will enable me to share my adventures in a much more timely manner (I still have photos from March I haven't posted). There may be some bumps along the road as I figure out the system, but I am looking forward to a new way of seeing and a new way of sharing. I hope you will come along for the ride.

searching for my groove

Sat, 3 Jul 2010 05:44:51 -0800

Mirror Project: searching for my groove

First off, INTERNET. Sweet, sweet internet. Now on with regular posting.

I'm out of my groove in so many ways. I am not adjusting well to my new apartment. I know I said this already, but I am amazed by how much a creature of comfort and habit I am. If I ever get into a permanent situation like a house it will probably take dynamite to make me move. Moving is not my thing. Apparently change is not my thing either.

I always have problems adjusting to summer vacation. Again, suddenly having two months (well actually one month because of the move) of unstructured free time does not do well with my likes routines nature. I certainly like my days off, but not so much of it at once. I think the ideal schedule would be to consistently have three day weekends with some weeks off thrown in here and there. I wonder what job has that schedule?

And finally my photography groove has been out of sorts really all year. I still have three rolls of film to scan and I am so behind on posting. I need to rethink some things.

Hope I find one or more grooves soon.

Wisteria Too

Sat, 3 Jul 2010 05:00:00 -0800