The bluebonnets are thinning out in the Texas Hill Country, but wildflower season is far from over. The amazing fields of blue are giving way to even more vivid arrays of yellow, red, and white blooms, and not just from the typical flowering plants. Cacti are busy putting out their own displays of color. And,… Continue reading More Texas wildflower action (with 17% more bugs, too!)
Category: Photography
Macro photography with a focusing rail & Photoshop layer blending
I received several awesome Christmas gifts, including a new iPad air, a high-powered flashlight, and a set of electronic shooters muffs, but not every cool gadget is hi-tech. Take, for example, this macro focusing rail: One of the challenges of macro photography is the shallow depth of field, meaning that often only a tiny portion of… Continue reading Macro photography with a focusing rail & Photoshop layer blending
New Year’s Day at Casa Fire Ant
It’s 11:03 a.m. and I’m still in sweats. We just killed a pot of coffee, a tray of cinnamon rolls (Sister Schubert’s, of course) and a rasher of bacon (whatever a “rasher” is). The Rose Parade is on TV, we’re rapidly killing BTUs via the gas log, it’s 24ยบ, and we’re still iced in. In… Continue reading New Year’s Day at Casa Fire Ant
Snail
We enjoyed on-and-off rain showers all day, and one consequence besides making the trees happy was the appearance of this guy. Or girl. Who knows? Anyway, it was on our back porch and seemed to be begging me to take its picture. So I did. Snails can be very persuasive. In case you’re wondering, the… Continue reading Snail
Camera Sunday
I spent some time last Sunday afternoon wandering around the grounds, camera in hand, looking for photo ops. As usual, once I focused on the trees instead of the forest*, a number of interesting details emerged, most of which involved flying creatures of the six-legged variety. This insect goes by the rather unappealing name of… Continue reading Camera Sunday
Arachnophotos
I’ve never made a secret of my dislike for spiders. There are people for whom I have great respect who think spiders make great pets, but I’d just as soon invite a family of cobras to live in our bedroom as tolerate a single eight legged freak. We recently transplanted a couple of tall junipers… Continue reading Arachnophotos
Software Overview: Tonality, a black and white photo editor
I’ve always been enamored of black and white photography, dating back to the little Polaroid that I used in the Sixties. Seeing some of Ansel Adams’s work in Santa Fe only added to the attraction of that medium. All of my photography nowadays is in color, although I occasionally experiment with black and white effects… Continue reading Software Overview: Tonality, a black and white photo editor
Snooping on the birds and the bees
The barn swallow nest on our front porch that provided some video footage last summer is once again occupied. However, I haven’t noticed the presence of baby birds, and my curiosity got the better of me this afternoon. I mounted my GoPro on an extendable monopod, connected it via wifi to my iPad so I… Continue reading Snooping on the birds and the bees
Cool Photos…Ice Cold, in fact
We had our first ice storm of the season last night. Or today. I’m not sure; we were out of town, but returned this afternoon to find a thin layer of ice over all the vegetation. (Fortunately, there was none on the roadways between Midland and the Hill Country, although it appeared to be moving… Continue reading Cool Photos…Ice Cold, in fact
Fall Blooms
We haven’t yet had a freeze this fall, and the really hot temperatures of summer are finally behind us. The recent rainfall coupled with the mild conditions means that the flowering plants are putting on some wonderful performances. Last Saturday I strapped on a macro lens and walked around the yard, snooping on our blooming… Continue reading Fall Blooms