RAVEN

If you've been here before, you know my love of cemeteries and I've been a little obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe lately.  He was always one of my favorite poets, I've been writing a little more and it inspires me so when I came upon this at Oakwood Cemetery in Austin I couldn't help but snap this.  The Raven has always been one of my favorites.

Petting a Blue Jay

It's not every day you can pet a Blue Jay, but Christmas is special isn't it?  I found this bird stuck in my sister's sunroom on Christmas day and couldn't find the open door to get out.  After about an hour of him slamming into the glass, I herded him from the outside to a corner where my brother-in-law scooped him up and set him outside.  Too shellshocked to move he just sat there, and H2, being H2 and ultra-adventurous, stuck his hand out and stroked the bird.  He sat there for a while, I eventually went to take him some bread, but as I stepped back out, he flew off to be with his buddies.

So I have this lens...

So I have this wonderful 1000mm lens that was my dad's back in the 70's that he used to use to shoot windsurfers from the sea wall.  I put it on the camera last night to take pictures of the eclipse, and it was not working right.  It seems the connector ring is loose and the camera was wobbly on the lens and I couldn't get a great in-focus shot of the full eclipse.

Then in the middle of my frustrations last night ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE in my neighborhood at 2:30 AM mind you and while I thought it was a high speed chase, I went out front to look - every rescue vehicle was running down the main street.  A house burned down.  This close to Christmas.  I feel horrible for the family.

Self Portraits

Well, I'm breaking out of my box today.  One, you know I don't shoot people, and two, I'm never happy with a photo of myself.  That being said, I felt the need to experiment today, step out of my norm and try something different.  I don't hate these, and I'm VERY thankful for soft focus.

Out for a walk

It was 78 degrees here today....on December 15.  I went for a walk.

Fun with Adobe Illustrator

So in case you were wondering what I've been up to, I've been knee deep in Adobe Illustrator.  I've done tons of interesting stuff.  I've created my own branding iron, I've created a font.  I've done a restaurant logo that was originally drawn on a paper napkin.  I've done some digital vector art from photography.  In fact this is my final project.  Above is the photo.  The side of a very contemporary Audubon Center.  I took the side of the building, posterized it in Photoshop, transfered it to Illustrator and made it something completely different.  I had a ton of fun with this particular shot, and feedback is always welcome.

Bullfrog

Dirty Bee

November 1st

Today was the most beautiful day & the professor of my Digital Imaging class canceled class for the day so I spent it at the Arboretum.

Halloween Ghost

It's official.  I have caught a ghost on film, and on Halloween even.

Out-Takes, February

Out-Takes, April

This was from the Dallas Arboretum in April.  I love the Dallas Arboretum so much.  It gives me much needed color and beauty year round, the fact that its 5 minutes from the house, well, that's just an added benefit.  I take so many of my photos there.  

Day 365: Farewell...

I won, I finished, I completed a journey.  I feel like this is the "flower on the casket" of this 365 day challenge.  A farewell to a wonderful experience.

I think I'm going to take a break from the everyday photo and but not from photography.  I'm going to start another challenge, probably the first of the year, but customized.  Until then I'll keep posting here, on my flickr and I'll see you on Twitter.  I'm going to show some of the things that didn't make the cut.  Some experiments and who knows what else.

The one thing that I get to take with me above all else from this 365 day challenge.  The friends I've made along the way.  Thank you for all the encouragement over the last year.  You guys are amazing!

Day 364: Let your light shine down.

With the exception of changing this to greyscale, I didn't alter this photo.  I am intrigued by this cemetery & wanted to capture this fallen headstone.  The cemetery is locked and behind a big iron fence so I just took a few snaps with the 50 mm lens and when I downloaded the photos was surprised to find this.  It truly looks like a light shining down from heaven.  How can I not post this divine shot?

Day 363: Fire Hydrant