Sometimes you just have to keep going back!

Entry to the Corner Pocket

I got together with my friend Mike Pittenger to go photograph in the rain last night. The afternoon had been gray and drizzly and I felt we could get some good reflections in the streets after dark. We drove through nearby Wylie,Texas looking for some interesting things to shoot. A few pixels were used up but nothing terribly exciting came of it. I decided we might try the Square in Garland. I know I keep going there to shoot but when conditions change like this you can create images not possible when it is dry. Good subject matter can be shot in a variety of ways. I also knew Mike had not seen the theater and it would give him a chance photographed it. When we got to the square the streets were dryer than I would have liked. It had only drizzled a little in the last two hours. Mike had some fun shooting the theater and I got a nice one of the entry to The Corner Pocket. We called it a night and we headed back to his place to get my truck.
 I stopped to get something to eat on the way home. I noticed it was raining quite hard outside now. Eat fast.  Bring me the check. Rain has let up. I need to get back to the square. The streets were much wetter when I returned and much stronger reflections. Below is one of numerous compositions that I took from an assortment of puddles that I was able to work with.

Plaza Theater in the Rain #3

I thought I would included this last image. It is the darkest of the four exposures which were combined to make the final image above. If I was still shooting film this is probably close to what I would have had to use as my image of the reflections. It is dark enough to retain some detail in the bright marquee but it leaves everything else much darker than what my eyes could see. Some people seem to think digital is sooooo easy. The truth is that you need to have quite a bit of software skills in order to get the above version instead of what is below. Just thought I would throw that out there.

A little rain in Louisiana!

I traveled to Louisiana today only to find out that the palm trees change colors after a heavy rain. Actually, these are part of a sign on the front of a swimming pool company that is near my hotel. There was some storms this morning before I left Fairhope and it apparently did the same in Louisiana . When I turned on the TV in my room this evening the news was talking about some storm damage in Baton Rouge. That is only about 20 miles from where I am staying. They also said we will get some more storms and the area is under a flash flood watch until Saturday. Setting up tomorrow should be interesting. Last year it was too wet to park on the grass adjacent to the show. We had to park on the gravel parking lot which is quite a distance from my booth location. To dolly everything that far will turn my 4 or 5 hour set up into a 6 hour set up. Rain delays could make it longer. I can't wait!
Here is a picture of my booth at Fairhope. Since getting beat up by some storms last year I have started adding a few things to make my tent more secure. You might be able to see the Canopy Hooks that attach the panels to the top bar of the tent. http://www.propanels.com/products/Canopy_hook.htm
I also use zip ties to secure the bottom legs of the panels to the bottom stabilizer bar of the tent. Both of these things make the tent much more stable than it is without them. It hardly flexes when the wind pushes on it. There is more to securing the tent than just how much weight is used. As I write this a big roll of thunder shakes my hotel room. If we get a big storm Friday night...I think I will be ready.