The Rochester Institute of Technology's Big Shot project!

I spent last weekend selling my photography at the Art on the Greene art festival. Weather was lousy and they even cancelled Sunday because of high winds. Fortunately, I heard about the The Rochester Institute of Technology's Big Shot project. This event was going to take place Saturday after dark at Cowboy's Stadium which just happens to be across the street from the art festival.  I decided to bring my camera and tripod on Saturday so I could get in on the fun at Cowboy's Stadium.

This annual project has been going on for years at various landmarks. After turning out the lights, hundreds or even thousands of people with flashlights shine them on the structure and "light paint" it during a long exposure. Participants are instructed to move themselves and the lights during the exposure. For comparison I have included a before and after of the stadium.

Several minutes of light painting would be followed by a five minute gap when instructions to the participants were given from a PA System. Adjustments would be made and there would be another two minutes of light painting. After I took several shots from my location, I decided to head back to the art show. The man shooting next to me had mentioned taking some shots earlier by this reflection pool. I decided to stop by it in case they did some more light painting. Lucky for me! They did and I was able to get this shot. I can't believe I was the only one shooting from this location. It gave me the most unique shot I have seen from the event.

Art on the Greene is a nicely laid out show and it is a shame the weather kept everyone at home. All reports from last year were good for attendance and sales but that wasn't the case this year. I took this shot at the show right before walking over to Cowboy's Stadium Saturday evening. I don't think I missed much while I was gone.

A trip to New Mexico!

In January, I was invited by my friend, Gary Kelly to ride with him to New Mexico for several days of photography. Gary is the field trip chairman for the Dallas Camera Club. The field trip was mainly centered around the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge but we also spent some time at several other locations. Bosque is know for it's huge populations of Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes that winter at the refuge and it didn't disappoint. Both mornings we witnessed massive blast-offs of the geese from one of the lakes at the refuge. However, I probably spent most of my efforts towards the cranes. Lots of good opportunities for shots whether they were flying, landing, or just walking in the lake.

During the trip, I had the opportunity to shoot some with a 600mm lens. While driving the refuge road I got this image of a White-Crowned Sparrow.

About an hours drive west of Socorro is the The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. The skies on Friday afternoon cleared so we decided to make the drive to the Array and get some night shots. Conditions couldn't have been better.... Actually, the elevation is 7000 feet and the temperature was 9 degrees when we finished shooting that night. Fortunately, the wind had died down or it would really have been hard to have spent much time out of the car.

We spent the middle of the day on Saturday driving to White Sands National Monument near Alamogordo, New Mexico. Our plan was to shoot the evening and following morning at the monument. I was able to get some good images but I do wish they would open the gates and let you drive in a little earlier in the mornings. The sun is already up by the time you are able reach your location and start shooting. I bet photographers have spent many a tortured moment sitting in line at the entrance gate watching a great sunrise go to waste. Fortunately, it was a cloudless sky and we didn't really miss anything.

Everything about the trip was great until.............the drivers side window broke and was stuck in the down position. This happened about an hour into the last morning at White Sands and it was about 7 degrees outside. I guess its good that it didn't happen the first day because locking the car with it full of camera equipment would have been a moot point. Dealing with that would have been a PITA. Driving home that day was a little cold. Fortunately, I had brought some of my serious cold weather head gear with me. I don't even want to think about how cold my face would have gotten without it.

My Top Ten Images From 2012!

Every year I look back at the images I have taken and choose ten of my favorites. I don't base this on how well they sold or how much they were liked on social media. They are just images I like. Images where I feel that I successfully captured with my camera the essence of the scene that was offered to me. They are in the order that I took them with a little story about each one. I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

"The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge Cable Design"

Early March found me attending the celebration of the opening of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in Dallas. It would be the last chance for the public to walk around on the bridge before it opens to vehicle traffic. The graphic nature of the arch and the cables make the bridge a real treat for a photographer. I shot a lot of images that I was happy with but this black and white is probably my favorite of the graphic ones.

"The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge Fireworks  #1"

At 9 p.m. a fireworks display was planned. I was told about where they would shoot them but it was still a little bit of a guess as to the best location to photograph them from. Fortunately I set up and composed in just the right spot. I was pleased with many of the Firework images but the red, white, and blue theme of this one made it stand out.

"Flooded River Reflections"

Several weeks after the bridge celebration, the Trinity River flooded. I definitely wanted some good shots of the lighted bridge reflected in the river. I spent two evenings shooting the river at dusk. One of the last compositions on the second evening turned out to be the favorite.

"Field of Dreams"

The wildflowers in Texas were great this spring but they did peak out several weeks earlier than I ever remember. I saw a photograph of a field another photographer had taken just south of Dallas near Ennis. It was already being called the "Field of Dreams". Several days later I made the short drive to Ennis and got this image at sunset.

"Annular Eclipse Sunset"

On May 20th there was going to be an Annular Eclipse. The "Ring of Fire" would not be visible from my home but I determined that I should be able to see the eastern edge of the eclipse in Roscoe, Texas. After driving around the Roscoe Wind Farm I finally stopped at this location for my photography. Fortunately the clouds moved out of the way enough so I could capture the sun just as it hit the horizon. A few minutes later it was all gone. This is one of the most interesting photos I have seen from the eclipse.

"Energy"

During the last week of July I was driving to Ruidoso, New Mexico for an art show. As my brother and I drove towards Brownfield, Texas, we noticed some lightning up ahead. It was also close to sunset and we were looking for something to photograph. We had been driving awhile and needed a break anyway. After locating a pump jack for some fore ground interest, we spent the next hour shooting the lightning. It put on quite a show.

"Oklahoma Sky"

This image is another one which was created while traveling to or from an art show. In early September I was driving home from the Arts Festival Oklahoma. With no moonlight on a clear night, I took a quick detour into a scenic overlook north of Ardmore, Oklahoma just to check out the stars. It was very hard to see but when I noticed the windmill on the hilltop, I decided I better get out the camera and take some pictures.

"Pink Skies Over Bryce Canyon"

A few weeks ago my wife and I traveled out west to several of our favorite places. I was blessed with great sunrises for two mornings at Bryce Canyon National Park. It was hard to choose the best one of the bunch.

"Wagon and Old House in Morning Light"

While driving back to the hotel after shooting the sunrise, I noticed that the great clouds and sky were still with me. A last quick stop at this old wagon and house was definitely worth it.

"Evening Light Over Cathedral Gorge"

During our trip out west we drove up to Cathedral Gorge State Park. It is a small park near Panaca, Nevada. The area had received a little snow the day before. Hiking around in the wet mud was not much  fun but the snow which hadn't melted yet sure made for some nice images. The following morning was cloudy and drizzly so I am grateful for my afternoon of good light at the Gorge.

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you have a great 2013!

The "Bird" competition!

Last night I was one of the judges for the annual "Bird" competition between the Dallas Camera Club and the Fort Worth Camera Club. Each club entered 20 prints and 20 digital images. Subject matter was open. The photos did not have to be of birds. The "Bird" is actually a small sculpture which is the trophy that the winning club gets to keep for the following year. I was told I had 2-4 minutes before the judging to show some of my work, promote myself, or just tell the attendants about myself and my work. We were free to do this however we pleased. I had purchased ProShow Gold about 3 years ago and decided to use it to create a slideshow to music. Photodex has since upgraded the software but I did not feel that I missed any of the bells and whistles included in the upgrade. They also make a more powerful slide making tool called ProShow Producer. 
The small version of this video doesn't even come close to doing it justice. However, it looks great if you watch the full screen version. Enjoy!

The Chinese Lantern Festival

If you live in the Dallas area and were planning to go to the State Fair of Texas, don't miss the Chinese Lantern Festival which will be there until the fair closes on October 21.

"Never before in the Southwest, the Chinese Lantern Festival is an outstanding visual delight. By day, it’s a collection of architecture, fabric flora, and fauna figures—pandas, flamingos, dinosaurs. A dragon made from 15,000 porcelain dishes!
By night, the festival lights up, setting the lagoon and imaginations aglow. The Temple of Heaven, Statue of Liberty, animated creatures, and a Blossoming Lotus—these are among the 22 dazzling lantern sets in and around the Nature and Science Buildings and lagoon."

Last week I visited the Festival while at the fair with my wife. I took some pictures but it was not the serious photo shoot that I had yesterday. Several other photographers that had been at the Cottonwood Art Festival last weekend were with me.  The crowd at the fair was huge since it was fair day for the Dallas schools. I think every student in town was there. Trying to take photos on the Midway was difficult. It was more like a cattle drive.

Fortunately, my main interest was shooting the Chinese Lantern Festival and it did not disappoint. As the lights started coming on at 7 pm it was hard to decide what to shoot first. I think I could make ten visits and still shoot new compositions each time. 

Photographing the Lantern Festival is an HDR photographer's dream. Shooting subject matter like this after dark is perfect for bracketing a range of exposures and combining them for your final image. You can capture a lot more detail than you could with just one exposure.

 The "Tunnel of Light" is the last part of the Festival that you walk through before you get to the exit. I decided to have some fun while zooming my lens during the exposure. Maybe I should do this trick more often!

The Devon Tower and the Myriad Botanical Gardens.

Lately, the photography I have been shooting has all revolved around my participating in art shows. Last weekend wasn't any different. While driving back home from Wichita, Kansas on Sunday night my plan was to stop and get a room somewhere south of Oklahoma City. The interstate passes near the downtown area and I couldn't help but notice the lights on the Devon Tower. Several weeks earlier when I had been there the lighting was pretty basic. Tonight there was brightly colored accent lights that went the whole length of the building on several sides. Cool! They also changed colors very similar to the lights on the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Bridge that I had photographed over Labor Day weekend. Red, green, neon blue and then a pale violet before turning red again. 

After a quick detour, I found myself driving through downtown Oklahoma City looking for a good location to shoot the Devon Tower from. I soon spotted another structure which was also lighted with neon blue. This building turned out to be part of the Myriad Botanical Gardens. I parked the car and spent the next 30 minutes shooting a variety of compositions. This was my favorite of the shots but I definitely need to go back to Oklahoma City when I have a little more time.

Oklahoma Skies!

 While driving home from the art show in Oklahoma City last night I couldn't resist pulling into a scenic overlook near the Turner Falls area and checking out how well I could see the Milky Way. Sure enough it was very easy to see the Milky Way in the night sky despite being so close to the city lights of Ardmore, about 10 miles away. Those same lights revealed the silhouette of an old windmill, a perfect addition to any pictures I might take. I got my headlamp out of my camera bag and scampered several hundred yards up the hill in the dark to get a little closer to the windmill. The silhouette in the final image is still pretty small since this was shot with the lens at 16mm but I think it works pretty good that way. After all, this image is really about the vastness and the beauty of the night sky. It is also neat that I could capture an image like this within several hundred yards of the busy night traffic on I35.