Airshow

The annual Wings Over Houston Airshow is going on this weekend at a nearby airport so I've been seeing a lot of air traffic today. I'm considering going to the show tomorrow to try and get some proper shots. Anyone know what this one is?

Title: "One Airshow Plane"


Camera / lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom

RenFest Red Head and Her Minion

Here's two characters from the Texas Renaissance Festival last Saturday. These two were working together. Not exactly sure who or what they were supposed to be but my interpretation was "evil step sister" and her "androgynous minion". Of all the oddball characters I saw this day these two may possibly have been the most fascinating.

Title: "RenFest Redhead"


Shot data: 1/125s f/3.5 at 50.0mm iso200
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom


Title: "RenFest Minion"


Shot data: 1/125s f/3.5 at 50.0mm iso200
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom

Balloon Glow Prep

Here is another shot from the Ballunar Liftoff Festival at NASA Johnson Space Center this past Saturday. This shot was taken as the balloons were being readied for the "balloon glow" a little later in the evening.

Title: "Balloon Glow Prep"


Shot data: 1/50s f/2.8 at 42.0mm iso1250
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

RenFest Maidens

Here's another photo from Saturday's trip to the Texas Renaissance Festival in Plantersville, Texas with the Bay Area Photo Club. Today I'm posting a photo of a couple of Beauties to go along with my posting on Monday of the Beast. :-)

Title: "RenFest Maidens"


Shot data: 1/400s f/3.5 at 50.0mm iso200
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Canon 430 EX Flash on monopod with CTO gel triggered by Pocket Wizard

Balloon Glow

After we got home from Renaissance Festival on Saturday I had just enough energy left to go to the Ballunar Liftoff Festival at NASA Johnson Space Center for a little while. One of the most popular events at the Ballunar Liftoff Festival is the "Balloon Glow" where all the ballooners fire their heaters at the same time (theoretically) so you can see all the balloons glowing from the flames at once.

Title: "Balloon Glow"


Shot data: 1/40s f/5.6 at 17.0mm iso640
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust

RenFest Warrior

On Saturday I went with a group of photographers from the Bay Area Photo Club to the 2009 Texas Renaissance Festival in Plantersville, Texas. The weather was great and it worked out that there were plenty of costumed characters more than willing to cooperate with folks who where inclined to take photos. This fellow was one of my favorites.

Title: "RenFest Warrior"


Shot Data: 1/60s f/3.5 at 50.0mm iso125
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Flash: Canon 430EX (w/ CTO gel) on a monopod triggered by Pocket Wizard

Texas Dance Hall

Taken at the September 12, 2009 Homes for Our Troops event at Beaumont Ranch in Grandview, Texas. The scene in this photo is fairly representative of a lot of Texas dance halls (it even reminds me a little of the famous (by virtue of being featured in the movie Urban Cowboy) Gilleys Club located in Pasadena, Texas from 1970 to 1990).

Title: "Texas Dance Hall"


Shot data: 1/40s f/2.8 at 43.0mm iso500
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Boardwalk Bullet

One of the main attractions at the Kemah Boardwalk is the wooden roller coaster called the Boardwalk Bullet. I took this shot a couple of weekends ago. I threw a texture on top of the image (with a layer mask in Photoshop used to control where I wanted the texture and where I didn't) because the sky in the background was light gray with absolutely no interest. I don't experiment with textures much so hopefully I haven't been too heavy handed here. To me textures used this way can add depth and richness to a photo. Hope you like it!

Title: Boardwalk Bullet


Shot data: 1/640s f/6.3 at 100.0mm iso1250
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Portrait of Emma

Friday night I was testing out a new Justin Clamp with my Canon 430EX flash. I grabbed a few shots of my daughter Emma while we were outside waiting for a play to start. I pretty much rely on trial and error when I'm working with a flash so after a series of over and under exposed shots I finally took a few with what looked to me like the correct exposure. As usual I would really appreciate any feedback about how today's shot turned out.

Title: "Portrait of Emma"


Shot data: 1/320s f/10.0 at 55.0mm iso100
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Flash: Canon 430EX (TTL mode) Justin-clamped at camera right low pointed over the subjects head to feather the light
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Halloween Spirit

Taken Saturday night in Seabrook, Texas. You can see this house across the water from Highway 146 as you travel off the Kemah / Seabrook bridge toward Seabrook. The owner of this house makes the most of his high visibility with elaborate decorations for pretty much all holidays. This time of the year he obviously has the Halloween spirit!

Title: "Halloween Spirit"


Shot data: 1/4s f/5.6 at 100.0mm iso400
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom

Dude, where's my car?

Taken in San Antonio back in August from a window in the Hyatt.

Title: "Dude, where's my car?"


Shot Data: 1/6s f/3.5 at 46.0mm iso400
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom

Aviator #2

Today's photo was taken at the Kemah Boardwalk during an outing there in July. The Aviator is one of my favorite nighttime attractions to photograph

Title: "Aviator #2"


Shot Data: 1/50s f/2.8 at 17.0mm iso1000
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom

Texas Avenue Photo Walk

These are the last of my photos from the Baytown Photo Club's photo walk on Texas Avenue in Baytown this past Sunday.

Title: "Open Bear"


Shot data: 1/250s f/4.5 at 100.0mm iso400
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom

Title: "Tie Ring"


Shot data: 1/125s f/5.6 at 400.0mm iso400
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom

Title: "Julias"


Shot data: 1/250s f/8.0 at 100.0mm iso400
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom

TSO

Here is another shot from Sunday's outing with the Baytown photo club. Texas State Optical (TSO) has been located on Texas Avenue in Baytown for many years. I remember going here from the time I was a small child up through high school. To me this mural says TSO was a "good old fashioned" eye care place even back then. :-)

Title: "TSO"


Shot data: 1/1000s f/4.5 at 100.0mm iso400
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom

Baytown Billiard Club

This past weekend I participated in the Baytown Photo Club sponsored photo walk down Texas Avenue in Baytown. Today's photo is one of my favorites from the outing. The Baytown Billiard Club has been open on Texas Avenue since sometime in the 40's. It's pretty much what you would expect to find in a pool hall but this one feels a little different to me knowing that my father, grandfather, and great grandfather probably played a game or two here once upon a time.

Title: "Baytown Billiard Club"


Shot data: 1/30s f/2.8 at 17.0mm iso640
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Seguin Log Cabin

On the way back from San Antonio a while back, I stopped and took a few photos in Seguin. Going back through those photos this past weekend I found this shot of the Campbell-Hoermann Log Cabin (1850) that I hadn't posted yet. If you're interested in the history of the cabin please see the blurb about it from the Seguin Conservation Society website below the photo.

Title: "Seguin Log Cabin"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to combine three hand-held images into one HDR (High Dynamic Range) image > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin > Virtual Photographer plugin for Sepia conversion

From the Sequin Conservation Society website:

Campbell-Hoermann Log Cabin (1850)
211 E. Live Oak St.
Conservator: Dr. Tom Raetzch 379-0074


Post-Civil War Texas was a land of opportunity due to a vast amount of farming and grazing land, coupled with the newly built railroads. Many immigrants came here to start a new and hopefully prosperous life. John Campbell, an immigrant from Ireland, built a one-room cabin that he later enlarged for his twenty-three family members when they came to Texas around 1850. Descendants of the Campbell family lived in the cabin until 1952. In the late 1970s, the Hoermann family donated it to the Conservation Society. In 1979 it was moved to its present location at 211 E. Live Oak Street. It houses numerous interesting artifacts, including a 145 year-old quilt and a 1908 icebox.

Kay Martin, the current SCS president, says her favorite thing about the cabin is the feeling she gets when she steps on the front porch. "It feels like you just stepped back in time; like you are at a home, not a museum." She also says that people should remember that the porch at the Log Cabin is a great place to take photos. "The trees and porch are quaint and rustic, and best of all, it's free!" she says.

San Antonio Carriage Ride

Today's image is another shot from my trip to San Antonio, Texas last month. I took this image at dusk in front of the Alamo. It's a shot that I imagine would be judged fairly harshly in my photo club because nothing is really in focus. Focus notwithstanding I really like the shot. I like the play of warm and cool colors that are often so beautiful in night photography and the overall mood presented by the tourists enjoying themselves. Hope you like it!

Title: "San Antonio Carriage Ride"


Shot data: 1/8s f/4.5 at 17.0mm iso640
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom

Riverwalk Magnolia

This is a shot of the San Antonio Riverwalk taken on a visit there last month. Typical shots of the Riverwalk include riverside restaurants and / or one of the many bridges crossing over the river. What caught my eye here was the majestic magnolia tree framing the top portion of the image and the beautiful evening light and texture on the sidewalk in the foreground. It's nowhere near the best photo of San Antonio's main attraction (or is it second behind the Alamo?) but hopefully you will enjoy it for a minute or two.

"Riverwalk Magnolia"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
POst-processing: Photomatix Pro to convert three hand-held exposures to one HDR (High Dynamic Range) image > Photoshoop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Carter Barber Shop

This image is of Carter Barber Shop in Luling, Texas. This has been a subject I have been wanting to shoot for a while and I finally took the time to stop and capture a few frames as we drove through Luling a few weekends ago. Like town squares and old movie theaters, these old barbershops are a big part of the personality of many small Texas towns.

Title: "Carter Barber Shop"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to convert three hand-held exposures (-2, 0, +2) into one High Dynamic Range (HDR) file > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Guadalupe Cypress

Today's post is a shot from an RV trip we took a few weeks ago. The shot was taken on the Guadalupe River side of Canyon Lake Dam in the early morning. It's a pretty low key image but I think the light in the early morning sky and on the water and the hint of fog over the water in the background make the image interesting in spite of being dark. Hope you like it!

Title: "Guadalupe Cypress"

Product Review: Mpix Standouts

Just a quick product review today. I recently ordered 3 20" X 20" Standouts from MPix for display on my bedroom wall. Standouts are photos mounted on 1 1/2" gator foam with a banding (optionally either black or white) around the edge. The Standouts come with holes pre-drilled in each corner of the back for hanging. The look of the final product is similar to a gallery wrap but with the Standout you don't lose any of the photo around the edges (a gallery wrap usually wraps the photo around the edges of a frame so that your photo covers all visible surfaces). Because I wanted to use a panoramic image in three pieces (rather than going to one large custom sized 20" x 60" standout) I needed the surface edges to match up. I was very pleased with the quality of the construction of the standouts and the image processing was up to Mpix's usually high standards. I did note that one of the three pieces was slightly smaller in dimension than the other two but the difference (probably 1/16th of an inch) was acceptable to me. Mpix has a 100% guarantee so they would have fixed it if I had found it to be unacceptable. While the holes on the back of the standouts allow Mpix to sell them as "ready to hang", I didn't even want to try my luck at evenly spacing and leveling 6 hangers (two holes on each standout) so I installed a narrow photo ledge I picked up at Ikea last weekend. This let me get everything spaced and leveled exactly the way I wanted it and I will be able to easily change out the images for different ones over the years with minimum effort.

Standouts are a permanent and fairly expensive option for displaying your images. These 20" x 20" standouts were $80 each; a lot of money to be sure but not necessarily more than you would spend on prints + mats + frames if you went the more traditional route.

Overall I was perfectly satisfied with my Mpix purchase and plan on purchasing more in the future.

For those who are interested, the original photo is a crop of a single image rather than multiple images spliced together and so the the file size was rather small (I started, before the crop, with a 10 mega pixel file from my Canon 40D). I used Photoshop CS3 to up size the image to Mpix's minimum standard of 100 dpi and then cropped it into three different files which I uploaded to Mpix.com. I was concerned that the resolution of the final image would suffer a lot as a result of all the up sizing but, while there was of course some loss of sharpness as compared to the original image, I was very pleased with the result.

Title: "Mpix Standouts"