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

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"

Barry, Texas

This past weekend we went through a small town called Barry, Texas on our way to Grandview from Houston. It turns out that my wife's grandmother was born in this town! If your first name were Dallas or Houston your wife's grandmother may have been born in a town by that name, possibly but not likely, but if your first name is Barry...forgetaboutit! :-)

Title: "Barry, Texas"


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

Big Rigs

Taken at a Dairy Queen in Corsicana on our way to Grandview, Texas this weekend.

Title: "Big Rigs"


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

Guadalupe River Tubers

Over the Labor Day weekend I took this shot from a bridge overlooking the Guadalupe River at a popular tubing location on Highway 306 near Canyon Lake. Due to the drought conditions in the Texas Hill Country the reduced water level made the "flow" almost nonexistent. I think it took about 45 minutes for the tubers to get from the front of the photo to the back. I had plenty of time to focus! :-)

Title: "Guadalupe River Tubers"


Post-processing: High Dynamic Range (HDR) from three hand held exposures (-2, 0, +2) using Photomatix Pro > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin > Red Paw Media Beautifier plugin

Cock-eyed Dock

This was my second entry for the Bay Area Photo Club's September 2009 Honors Night held this past Tuesday. This dock is located on Canyon Lake and, as with all the Texas hill country lakes, the ongoing drought in central Texas has caused the water level to be extremely low. This dock is supposed to be floating and the ramp in the photo is supposed to be roughly level with the upper landing (where I'm standing to take the photo) but instead the dock is partially resting on the bottom of the lake and the ramp is at about a 45 degree angle between the upper landing and the lower. This photo was given a Silver Award by BAPC's panel of judges.

Title: "Cock-eyed Dock"


Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin > Nik Viveza plugin > Virtual Photographer plugin

Hyatt Atrium

Last night was Honors Program Night at the Bay Area Photo Club for September 2009. The assignment this time was "Unusual Perspective". One of my two entries was "Hyatt Atrium", an HDR taken from the top of the atrium at the Hyatt in San Antonio a couple of weeks ago. I really like the composition and colors in the photo and feel the applicability to the assignment ("Unusual Perspective") is very strong so I had high hopes for the image. It received a "no award" from our panel of judges though leading me to conclude that my opinion of my own work may not be completely unbiased? :-)

Title: "Hyatt Atrium"


Post-processing: High Dynamic Range (HDR) composite from three hand-held exposures (-2, 0, +2) using Photomatix Pro > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plug-in

Gruene Hall Morning Delivery

We spent this past weekend in the Canyon Lake area. One of my side trips landed me in Gruene, Texas at sunrise where I took this image of historic Gruene Hall.

Title: "Gruene Hall Morning Delivery"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to combine three exposures taken from a triod into one HDR (High Dynamic Range) image > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin > Nik Viveza Plugin

Rod and Reel

It has been hard to find time to process photos lately so I'm reverting to the archives today. This is a shot from my trip to Tybee Island in Savannah, Georgia in May 2008. To me it has a relaxing quality which can put one in the appropriate frame of mind for a holiday weekend! :-)

Title: "Rod and Reel"


Shot data: 1/500s f/7.1 at 100.0mm iso125
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom

The Alamo

We found ourselves at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas last Saturday around sunset and I took this photo. I did a lot of work on it in Photoshop to remove all the security ropes (and some tourists) and to correct the perspective distortion resulting from not being able to stand directly in front of it (because of the security ropes) to take the photo. I know most folks have already seen a lot of Alamo photos but I hope I did a good enough job on this one to hold your attention for at least a few seconds! :-)

Title: "The Alamo"


Shot Data: 1/40s f/4.5 at 17.0mm iso640
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > Nik Viveza plugin > Topaz Adjust plugin

Vacation Portrait

Today's post is a quick impromptu portrait of my daughter Emma. We took this under a bridge on the San Antonio River Walk near the Hyatt last weekend.

Title: "Emma in San Antonio"


Shot data: 1/13s f/2.8 at 33.0mm iso640
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing tools: Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Tower of the Americas

Taken from the 11th floor of my hotel room in the Hyatt last weekend.

Here is some info about the Tower of the Americas that I copied over from Wikipedia:

Tower of the Americas is a 750-foot (229 m) observation tower with a restaurant in San Antonio, Texas. Tower of the Americas, designed by San Antonio architect O'Neil Ford, was built as the theme structure of the 1968 World's Fair, HemisFair '68.

Construction of the tower began on August 9, 1966 and was completed in approximately 18 months, just in time for the opening ceremonies for the fair held on April 6, 1968. The tophouse of the building was constructed at ground level and hoisted to the top of the poured concrete shaft. As the tophouse was being hoisted into place, on October 30, 1967 some of the cables used to hoist the tophouse snapped leaving the tophouse resting on and precariously tilted on the Tower’s shaft. Eventually, oil field pipes were used in lieu of cables to complete the job.


Title: "Tower of the Americas"


Shot Data: 8s f/7.1 at 50.0mm iso400
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom shot from a tripod
Post-processing: Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin > Nik Viveza plugin

Tywheelosaurus Rex

I drove to San Antonio and back yesterday. The trip to SA from Houston is mostly down I-10. One of the places I stopped to take a few photos on the way back was just outside of Brookshire, TX where I had always wanted to grab a photo of "Tywheelosaurus Rex," a large sculpture of a dinosaur made from old car wheels. If memory serves Rex was originally constructed by a business located on the property to grab the attention of passing motorists. I'm thinking the original business on the property may have been a golf driving range. Someone with a better memory than my own can probably correct me if I'm wrong!

Title: Tywheelosaurus Rex


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing tools: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS4 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Melon Tower

Taken today as we passed through Luling, TX.

Title: "Melon Tower"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: HDR from three handheld exposures (-2, 0, +2) uisng Photomatix Pro > Photoshop CS3 > Tapaz Adjust plugin "photo pop" preset

A Place to Spit

This time of the year Luling, Texas is all about watermelons! I believe the big annual "Watermelon Thump" was just recently completed. Of course you've seen Luling's watermelon shaped water tower? When we were there last weekend I spotted this seed spitting venue! :-) Not sure if this is a permanent venue or just seasonal.

Title: "A Place to Spit"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: HDR from three hand held exposures (-2, 0, +2) using Photomatix Pro > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

The Rock-A-Bye Motel

I have been fascinated by this old motel located at one of the main crossroads in Luling, TX for years. If memory serves I have made other attempts to create a photo here without much success. This past Sunday I parked the car and walked around some and spent a little more time than I had in prior attempts. Not surprisingly I like the results this time. We all know that the greater the effort you put into a goal the greater the satisfaction you get when it turns out well... but sometimes we need a successful effort to remind us!

Title: "Rock-A-Bye Motel #1"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: HDR image from three handheld exposures (-2, 0, +2) combined with Photomatix Pro > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Title: "Rock-A-Bye Motel #2"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: HDR image from three handheld exposures (-2, 0, +2) combined with Photomatix Pro > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin