Have you peered out your window lately? Notice anything different fluttering around in a tree perhaps? Here in Texas for the months of November through March are birds perched in your neighborhood having migrated from the farthest reaches of the North. I find this time the most exciting as a birder and a photographer.
Continue reading →Birding in San Antonio Green Spaces
Birding in San Antonio is alive and well, this much I have determined. Hidden away in a majority of San Antonio communities are large green spaces with open areas, water features, and dense cedar trees providing a fantastic sanctuary for birds of all sorts, and the best part is running into birders along the way! One birder even corrected me on my Brown Thrasher ID in favor of a Long-billed Thrasher (I got a better capture yesterday). Most of the photographs in this post are mostly birds from Texas also known as Texas commons, but they are truly my favorite to capture when away from home. Hope y’all enjoy!
Continue reading →Birding at Mitchell Lake Audubon Center
Life is good when you can walk in the beautiful sun while enjoying both songbirds and water birds alike! I have to drive all the way out to White Rock Lake in Dallas Texas for such an experience. But today, I birded at Mitchell Lake Audubon Center hidden away in South San Antonio.
Continue reading →Saturday in the Midwest
Saturday in the midwest in September is reserved for collegiate football. But for me the day will be reserved for a roadtrip from Texas to Kansas. My artwork was on display at the Mountain Plains Contemporary Art Biennial and it was time for the show to come to a close. Instead of shipping my photography home, risking being damaged in route, I hopped in my car for another roadtrip. I think this would be my fourth time driving out to Kansas in 2024.
Continue reading →A Night in the Big Apple
I had two waterproof cameras with me to my trip to the Big Apple. One of which, my Fujifilm X100, had a brighter lens to photograph the streets on what appeared to be a rainy night. So off I went in flip flops and backpack to position myself for some dynamic weatherly conditions on the street!
Continue reading →Sunset over the Hudson
I returned to New York City this year as I just can’t get enough of the darn place, and I make it a point to visit a different section every time. This year I am staying close to the Hudson.
Continue reading →Nature creeps into the smallest places in downtown Lawrence
I’ve always been in favor of not cutting down trees so corporate dwellings may just sit unoccupied for years. And in Texas, my voice has always been in the minority. But the elephant in the room is that a lot of business have abandoned downtown areas as a result of Covid, crime, poverty, whatever your excuse. So what then?
Continue reading →Vermont and Mass Travel Photography
I had two cameras while on the road in the Northeastern United States – an OM System (formally called Olympis) and my Fujifilm X camera. You never can be prepared for what the weather will do with camera in hand, but the most important item to note when taking memorable travel photography is to have your settings preconfigured before taking to the road.
Continue reading →The Great American Northeast
My wife wondered how ancient some of the trees were when driving around in northern Massachusetts today and whether or not some of them could have possibly been around before European settlers arrived. She had been at an orchestra workshop handling musical instruments from as early as the 18th century, so objects traveling through time were on her mind, but it did get me to thinking that there is something to getting ‘the shot’ as a photographer, isn’t there.
Continue reading →Northern Massachusetts Textures
The weather was perfect Thursday in early June with rainy skies, a little bit of sun, and plenty of natural color. Days like today the cloud canopy serves as one giant diffuser over the landscape. Advanced camera gear leaps into action when the sun comes out as a result of the clouds parting making for interesting opportunities with dynamic range and reflections.
Continue reading →Trees of North Adams
The inhabitants of North Adams have no dominion over the trees where uninhabited and occupied dwellings retreat into an emerald landscape. As a Texan, it is hard to discern what is an artifact of architectural design or lack of city upkeep. But I do find the landscape here enchanting.
Continue reading →A Tale of Two Cities
North Adams is cradled in beautiful mountainous terrain accentuated by rolling clouds and amplified sun, but look closer at street level and beauty retreats into the shadows and poverty, drugs, and decay loom large. I don’t try to focus on the decay to our United States cities. Yet it is decay which litters the landscape with or without inhabitants. Landscape photographers like to photoshop out the decisive moment where city planners made it more expensive to rebuild versus restore, but not me.
Continue reading →Photography is just cool…
I decided to photograph this prop truck outside and was just going to take ‘a random shot’ when a red car drove by illuminating all of the curves while reflecting and refracting light to do so. I was in position to take a shot, but what happened next was absolutely random. Some photographers wait for the moment, but I’m wondering if it’s not the moment waiting for the observer.
Continue reading →North Ohio and another waterfall
I am listening to American Nations by Colin Woodard and it is true – Ohio is just about as diverse as Texas! Not for her politics, but for her people and natural wonders. I have encountered nearly the whole spectrum, from Amish waiting at an intersection, no picture, but perhaps tomorrow, to socialites and their fancy little bistros. And Ohio has plenty of waterfalls tucked away behind communities too, like the one depicted below, West Branch Waterfall, recommended by a local mechanic.
Continue reading →Honey Run Waterfall
Traveling from my hotel to Honey Run Waterfall was, according to Apple Maps, an hour away. But what I have learned about Ohio is that one hour is an extremely subjective timeframe. The roads in the state consists of twists and turns, hills, and valleys. The speed limit is a constant variable rate making it impossible to turn your head to observe the beautiful scenery.
Continue reading →Brandywine Falls
I visited Brandywine Falls, a 60 foot waterfall, nestled in Cuyahoga National Park right off highway 271 in Ohio. The area was beautiful populated by all sorts of trees and hiking trails if that is your thing. I, of course, had my camera and was there to get down to business. Waterfall photography here I come!
Continue reading →Ashland Small Town Ohio
Being able to photograph Ashland Ohio against bright blue skies and Monet style clouds was a delight. I’ve been seeing a lot of open pastures and run down houses photographing West Texas. Central Ohio was a great change of scenery and pace.
Continue reading →When Science is Art
Eugène Atget is one of my favorite photographers. Read more about him here if you don’t know of him or are familiar with his work. He was famous for his photography during an eclipse but not for photographing the eclipse itself. Eugène Atget decided to forgo photographing the rare astronomical eclipse in Paris in 1912 and instead performed the unthinkable. He turned the camera to the crowd bearing witness!
Continue reading →Ranunculus and Grapes
I walked into the flower store the other day where they had these beautiful burgundy ranunculus flowers which I had to purchase. My first inclination was ranunculus flowers in a wine glass, but I couldn’t compel myself to damage the petals. Then I was thinking a still life scene of some sort, but I didn’t want to purchase any additional flowers to upstage the ranunculus. Should I deviate from flowers entirely?
Continue reading →Spring colors
Spring has arrived to my household early this year. The flowers sprouting forth endured one of the hottest summers and coolest cold snaps on record.
Continue reading →Florida Textures
My wife and I visited Florida this past weekend to visit the in-laws and it RAINED for the entire duration of our stay — a rare event, I am told. Undeterred, the family embarked to a few ‘scenic’ locations in Homosassa Florida. We had a blast having created some magical, memorable moments.
Continue reading →Japanese infused roses
I tried to duplicate my latest floral collection, you may view it here with various textured backdrops and colors (or lack there of), but felt as if I fell a bit flat. I learned a tremendous amount about my camera, light balance, still-life setup, and macro in the process however. So not all was lost. And refusing to keep the photography stored on a drive somewhere I decided to share nonetheless.
Continue reading →A Foggy Morning
Fog very seldom settles into North Texas, but when it does, I make sure I carry my camera. Yesterday, I made sure I had my medium format camera in hand as I traveled to work photographing my commute along the way. I only had one fujifilm recipe, Kodak Portra 400 v2, programmed into my camera which accentuated the greens but muted the browns. The effect turns out to be quite rad.
Continue reading →Day of the Dead Parade
I thought I knew a thing or two about the comings and goings in my hometown of Fort Worth Texas having lived in the area off and on for thirty years. However, I proved myself wrong venturing out to the Day of the Dead Parade in North Fort Worth with my friend Tim Smith, a marketing director and fellow photographer. I sought out the parade needing to get out of the house so my wife could have some R&R. What I discovered in the process was a city as diverse as my photography portfolio.
Continue reading →Phalaenopsis Orchid
I wanted to photograph some new flowers this coming Labor Day holiday weekend. So I went to my home improvement store and purchased this lovely Orchid. For this journal entry I experiment with form, texture, and lighting in color and black and white to capture the essense of the flower.
Continue reading →San Antonio Historic Market Square
I have always called San Antonio home due to the preservation of its buildings, culture, and natural spaces during the time I had lived there many years ago. I have many fond memories of the city where I learned to paint, and discovered the computer and comic books. I was not interested in photography at the time. To be honest, I had no idea the field even existed. My interests resided with illustration and painting.
Continue reading →There was an old bridge
Those new to Texas may not be aware that most of the state’s infrastructure from the past one hundred years are still intact and preserved – all one needs to know is where to look. That is where Apple Maps is your friend as most markers appear in a traditional search. A simple query of “bridge” on my iPhone highlighted that the Old Alton Bridge was nearby. I have grown a fondness for Texas architecture cruising the Texas backroads, and having never surveyed the area before thought the bridge was worth checking out!
Continue reading →Small Town Decatur
I finally traveled out to Decatur Texas to photograph an old no longer open gas station joined by a Texas historical landmark and Whistle Stop Cafe closed on Saturdays. On this outing, Texas heat slays color of any sort leaving behind a carpet of singed leaves and decaying branches.
Continue reading →We can all learn something from the streets
I know what you are thinking…I can just feel it. Why in the world is a nature photographer such as myself taking photos of the streets. Well if you aren’t thinking it I sure have been. Every photo in this post has been vetted from about a thousand during my stay here in NYC this past week and until now I really had no idea how to explain to the viewer what my criteria actually was. As I studied my two Instagram feeds, one dedicated to color and the other black and white, I feel a pattern started to emerge.
Continue reading →Arriving in NYC
I arrived late in NYC at the tail end of Smokeapocalypse 2023 where everything was just kind of…meh. My excuse for the excursion is to see my bird photography on display at Photoville over by the Brooklyn Bridge where I won a competition to represent NANPA / ASMP at the Photoville exhibition entitled CHANGE: THE URBAN & NATURAL LANDSCAPE. I nearly didn’t come too. The fires from Canada forced the event to be canceled for two days. Me being compelled not to come is exactly why I had to…I’m always chomping at the bit to break out of my comfort zone.
Continue reading →Memorial Day Meandering
I took to my own street with a 35mm + red filter and a telephoto lens meandering around this Memorial Day. The one thing that struck me the most is what everyone WAS NOT doing outside. In my days, now about to show how old I am, we played outside the first chance we got when school was out of session. I personally could not wait to join my friends and even strangers for a game of basketball – three on three baby! Memorial Day this year felt different. I didn’t even smell one house grilling brisket, chicken, or hamburgers. I can’t be that old, can I?
Continue reading →Commercial in Color No.1
You may notice driving around Texas in May a most natural phenomenal color extravaganza underway. This past weekend I set out to document how miraculous nature truly is from a color harmony standpoint around our structures, parks and gardens, and around our roadways.
Continue reading →Desert Vibes
I deserted Tucson Arizona for Texas today with camera in hand using a Fujifilm Kodak Portra film recipe to accentuate the earth tones found along Highway 10 and Highway 20.
Continue reading →Postcard from Arizona
Birds, landscape, bugs, and flowers, the state of Arizona has it all. I am writing from the NANPA Summit, an event where Nature Photographers from all walks of life get together to celebrate our fine feathered friends, four legged creatures, the Great American Landscape, and the effort underway by scientists to save it all. It is my first time attending and will definitely not be my last. This post is to serve as a celebration of all things Arizona.
Continue reading →Traveling from sand to rock
Today I had a grand plan. I wanted to photograph sand dunes and mountain ranges in my own State of Texas. I chose to stay at the halfway point of Monahans which was close to Monahans State Park and also two hours away from the Davis Mountains. Outside of the heat which was nearly 100 degrees I managed to check off all of my list.
Continue reading →Fort Worth to Monahans
Texas is vast. Texas is diverse. Texas can be flat…very flat.
I don’t know what I had in my mind in terms of photographs on my way to Monahans. For some reason, I had thought there was more visual diversity passing through the area last year. But traveling to Monahans today left me scrambling for something visually stimulating.
Continue reading →April Bluebonnets
Bluebonnets adorn Texas Highways and parks starting late March. Last year I had missed my chance to photograph Bluebonnets because of Texas rains. However, the weather was found to be quite pleasant this year, and I just so happened to have all of my gear at the ready for a Bluebonnetooza!
Continue reading →Walking in the Sun
I woke up this morning to amazing sunlight prompting me to hit the Fort Worth streets armed with a Fujifilm camera and a single 23mm lens. I’m always eager to venture out of my comfort zone of macro and bird photography to that of street photography. But today I would have one rule – no black and white photography.
Continue reading →Pre-spring Color
I’ve been photographing flowers from my own nursery for the past month now in preparation for my new nursery collection, but I wanted to photograph flowers outdoors and enjoy the beautiful day in the sun. So today I planned a visit to the Grapevine Botanical Gardens for its low profile and walking paths winding into trees filled with plenty of birds!
Hope you all like Tulips.
Continue reading →Artist Block
I’ve been an artist for quite a while, and I have to admit that I get pretty darn excited when I feel artist block coming on. Why you might ask? Well, I’ll tell ya… I know that when I have artist block that something grand is around the corner.
Continue reading →Southlake Shadows
It was a beautiful day in Southlake, Texas. There was gorgeous sun, a few clouds, and I was out in the middle of all of it. Trying to restrain myself from taking random people shots, I decided on a more productive exercise – photographing shadows.
Continue reading →A Foggy Morning
The transition from Winter to Spring here in Texas is sudden most of the time. One could easily find themselves retreating to a blanket in the middle of an ice storm one day and walking outside in shorts for the mail the next. This morning, however, was different.
Continue reading →A Chilly Day in Grapevine
Downtown Grapevine is becoming one of my favorite locations to bring my camera. The city is populated by locals, tourists, and local visitors such as myself. Today was quite cloudy and cold so I wasn’t sure what my prospects were going to be out and about.
Continue reading →Green House Nursery Update
It’s crazy to think a month has passed since my last nursery update. This past month my amaryllis have been in this character development phase. The Minerva aren’t waiting for March to blossom and who knows, I just may see flowers this coming weekend. The Giant Amadeus Amaryllis is towering all others, eclipsing my Cherry Blossom and later purchased Red Fantasy Amaryllis.
Continue reading →Haslet at Golden Hour
As you may have seen previously, I have a love hate relationship with neighborhood. I love Haslet for all of the nature the area provides facilitating hours upon hours of enjoyment for free.
Continue reading →From the Sidewalk
Words can not describe the love hate relationship I have with my own neighborhood. So here I am photographing it. Hope you all enjoy.
Continue reading →Taking the Cowtown Backroads
I have really enjoyed photographing with a used Fujifilm X Pro 2 incorporating an ARCOS-R film simulation which has become my favorite. However, with all of my traveling as of late, I have been in pursuit of a lighter configuration for my photography while on the road so I don’t have to lug around cameras for black and white, birds, and color.
Continue reading →Ghosts from the Hill Country
I can’t help but wonder what driving down 281 from North Texas to San Antonio fifty or sixty years ago before major highways came into existence must have been like. The buildings, not people, are all that remain of rural Texas.
Continue reading →New Nursery Ramblings for the New Year
My wife gifted me with a mini greenhouse and Double Dragon Amaryllis bulbs for Christmas knowing that I wanted to grow my own plants for my flower photography. It had never crossed my mind one could have such a thing in their home. Days would pass after construction where I would learn the hard way that having a greenhouse is difficult but in ways I had never imagined.
Continue reading →Last hours of downtown Grapevine Texas 2022
My wife and I hit the streets on the last day of 2022. I came equipped with my Sony a7IV and problematic but oh so very sharp 24-105mm lens. As I walked down the busy street of downtown Grapevine, Texas I couldn’t help but think of how grateful I am this year. My health, family, fantastic people I have met, and the amazing opportunities all top my list for 2022!
Continue reading →Roses from Walmart Practice Session
I love transforming the common into the uncommon. This personal challenge of mine allows me to practice on the very basics of photography while accommodating my need to be assertive on my terms.
Continue reading →November in Texas
In this post I venture out to the lovely Grapevine Texas inspired by all of the city’s rustic charm. There’s a train depot in the heart of downtown Grapevine coupled with antique shops and abandoned industrial sites. On hand I had my trust Fujifilm X-Pro 2.
Continue reading →