Perspicacious Gazette readers Wallace Craig and Berry Simpson correctly identified aerial photo numero dos in this series as a view of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, home of the highest spot in Texas, and an irresistible attraction to hikers from around the country. The most obvious attractions are Guadalupe Peak and the imposing face of El Capitan, shown… Continue reading West Texas from Above: Part 3
Category: Photography
West Texas from Above: Part 2
Alert Gazette reader Joe Lee correctly identified the initial aerial photo in this series as the Yates oil field, located in Pecos County. As indicated below, the town of Iraan is in the northeast quadrant of the photo, and the Pecos River meanders down the east side. The Yates field is one of the largest… Continue reading West Texas from Above: Part 2
West Texas from Above: A Series
I’m fascinated by aerial photography, and especially by the images provided by Google Earth. Apart from their cartographic usefulness, which has assumed greater significance because of my new job, the different perspective on natural and human-created features provides a constant source of delight. Sure, there’s something of a voyeuristic thrill from peering into the neighbors’… Continue reading West Texas from Above: A Series
Scary Prairie
According to The Weather Channel, the temperature in Midland today will hit 105° In recognition of this dubious achievement, I offer the following. If my lawn is already looking like this, imagine what August is going to bring. OK, just kidding (sort of). This is an overly bleak perspective of the grass the developers planted… Continue reading Scary Prairie
Back Yard Action
I was going through some pictures that I downloaded into iPhoto from one of my cameras and ran across this one. I don’t remember taking it, nor do I have any idea how I managed to get the fisheye effect. But there’s something about the composition and the action that captures my imagination. I do… Continue reading Back Yard Action
Record-setting Snowfall in Midland
Almost a foot of snow, and there’s never a ski lift when you need one.
Bird’s Nest Troupe
I suspect that the red oak tree in our front yard will not emerge in full foliage next spring. It’s a multi-trunk tree, and one of the trunks has been devastated by some unknown assailant – borers, oak wilt, dengue fever, black plague, overexposure to Lady Gaga…who knows? We had it treated by a tree… Continue reading Bird’s Nest Troupe
Mocking Bird
I was driving past the south pond this morning and something caught my eye on the far bank. I pulled into the clubhouse parking lot, grabbed the camera (which, for once, actually had a charged battery) and set out across the grounds to get a closer look. Turned out to be this guy: It’s a… Continue reading Mocking Bird
The Art-Producing Instrument As Art
I have a fairly open mind when it comes to art, or, more specifically, what constitutes art. The human imagination is a wonderful and mysterious force, and when it’s imposed on physical materials in unexpected ways, it evokes a wide range of emotions and reactions from the beholder. Such as…what the…? I can’t recall how… Continue reading The Art-Producing Instrument As Art
The photographer’s equivalent of “Hey, watch this!”
Ever heard of the “Canon Hack Development Kit (CHDK)”? If you have, I bow before your superior geekiness. I had never heard of it until I decided to research how I might be able to use my Canon PowerShot S95 to shoot in time-lapse mode. Out of the box, this otherwise highly competent point-and-shoot (P&S)… Continue reading The photographer’s equivalent of “Hey, watch this!”