Skylines

Turns out I have a pretty stellar view of downtown from the roof of my garage. This photo was taken from the opposite direction that you typically see on a postcard. I think Dallas' skyline is best viewed from the southwest, across the Trinity River.

Skylines are great. I remember driving back from College Station and always getting excited as I was approaching Dallas. Then eventually the skyline would appear and I would stare it down endearingly for a while, until it was time to start throwing bows in the traffic congestion. At my last apartment I was too close to the skyline for my taste. To me, they are more impressive from further away. Not every big city has a great skyline either. Dallas certainly has a good skyline. Chicago, Seattle, New York all have good skylines. I'm sure there are more, but that's all I can come up with at the moment. Just might have to travel to find some more.

Sprouting Grass Moon

Thanks to a tip from Scott I was able to take this photo of last night's full moon. I had no clue we were even near a full moon. So I clipped in my big kuhuna lens (the 70 - 300mm) and grabbed my tripod. This shot was taken at 300mm, or super-zoomed in. And, I'll be honest with you, I cropped it just a tad to get some of the black dead space out of the shot, but really not much at all.

After a little wikipedia-ing, I discovered that each full moon has a name, and there are right about 12 full moons a year, because they are 29.53 days apart. This months moon is named the "Egg Moon" in english. Other common names for this month's full moon are Sprouting Grass Moon, Fish Moon, Seed Moon, Waking Moon. Sprouting Grass Moon is by far the best name for this moon, if you ask me.

It seems each months names are associated with the season. April's names are all about renewal it seems. September's full moon name is Harvest Moon, and one of December's names is Frost Moon. July just might be my favorite of them all though, Thunder Moon.

Connected

First of all, I can't take credit for this beautiful photograph. This photo was taken by Adrian while on his trip to Niger a couple weeks ago. He showed it to me when he got back and I was consumed by it immediately. Occasionally a photo will burn its way into my memory. This one did. I love it. I'll have to tell the story secondhand since I was not there taking the photo. Adrian said these girls came up and asked to have their picture taken. After he took the shot he said they looked at it on the screen and then ran off giggling "like little girls do".

My favorite part of the photo is each of their unique expressions (click to see it larger). I'm sure each girl's expression is a small glimpse into her personality. And, there is a beautiful bond in this photo. If you look close you'll notice that each girl is holding onto one of her friend's next to her. They are literally all connected to each other. I hope they continue to hold tight to one another as they grow up, because they will need each other. True friends are a gift.

Turtle, turtle

Turtles are great. Seeing a turtle usually makes my day. I actually have a little stone turtle on my night stand. They can teach us a thing or two about pacing ourselves and taking life in stride. However, these guys you're looking at were actually really fast swimmers. I kept trying to compose a shot with both of them together, but they were all over the place. Finally I got this one, but barely, because as you can see, the little dude is about to swim offscreen. I found this to be a new lesson - one will thrive when in the right environment.

Algae-bra

Last night I was trying to study at the coffee shop and it was a lost cause. It was so loud and chaotic in there. It's not typically that bad, but last night it was apparently the place to be. Usually I would push through because the chances of me studying at home are slim to none. But, I did have to leave last night because I was unable to get through the mathematical junk I was trying to read. So, where is the best place to study mathy-stuff? I'm thinking that this Japanese Garden would be a perfect place. I like math, but math requires peace to process, and this garden was definitely peaceful.

One Mississippi

This sort of shot has been a goal of mine for some time. I have always loved the milkiness of water when a camera's shutter speed is slowed down. The water begins to sheet over rocks like a blanket. This one comes from the Japanese Gardens in Houston. The conditions were right, I had a makeshift tripod (the rails of a wooden bridge) and good light, but not too much. The shutter was open for 1 second on this shot. I hope to take more like it, and maybe for a little longer shutter time and with deep blue water.

Where no man has gone before (without a car)

This one is also a little older. I'm playing a little catch up these last couple posts on some photos that have good stories. If you can't tell, Preston is laying in the middle of Woodall Rogers Freeway in this shot. One weekend they shut the freeway down completely, so we casually wandered out to the middle of it by way of the Field Street exit. It was a little odd to be playing around in the middle of a dead six lane highway, and even more strange to lay down on it. At one point we thought we were going to get kicked out by a cop who drove up, but after some friendly conversation we were allowed to hang around a little longer.

Long live the Radio Flyer

It's been awhile since I took this photo. I was volunteer shooting at an event for a local hospital when I captured it. This photo really makes me smile. Maybe because it is the epitome of a Radio Flyer. What is it about a red wagon that gets kids so excited? I remember playing in Radio Flyers as a kid, and I'm sure most people have a memory or two that involves one. The classic red wagon has been around since 1917, the first steel one, named the Radio Flyer, was born in 1930. Apparently, thanks to wikipedia for all of this information, Antonio Pasin the inventor of the Radio Flyer named it based on his fascination with the invention of radio and flight. Pasin probably had no clue when he created the wagon what a phenomenon it would become. These days you see all kinds of Radio Flyer wagons, but they still make the classic metal one, and if you're in the market it's Model 18. It is, without a doubt, a staple of American history.

Adios Texas Stadium

We went out to the Texas Stadium implosion this morning at 7am. There were tons of people there, many more than I had expected would come. But, it was dubbed the Last Tail Gate Party, so plenty were there to honor the stadium the same way they had over the last 39 years. With the help of some nice guys/photography enthusiasts we met, were scoped out the best place to view and photograph the implosion. We had an outstanding place on the bridge over 183, but apparently we were in the "blast zone" so we were megaphoned away. We re-found a previous spot and set up just in time to watch it tumble down. Just before the implosion there was a short fireworks show, so they had some decent fanfare out there for the event. Here is a series of shots from the 60 seconds worth of implosion-action.

Coffee time

If you know me, then you know I love my coffee. And, I don't drink it just to avoid a morning headache. I actually love to brew it, smell it, and drink it. The whole experience is great. But, in keeping with my personal philosophy of sharing makes things better, it is most definitely enjoyed most when shared. Some of the best memories take place over a cup of coffee. There is something about coffee that makes a conversation more genuine and a moment more endearing. Here are just a few of my more memorable coffee experiences.

Over the holidays I love having a cup of joe with the family on the back porch. It's usually cold so we take blankets out there and curl up on the loungers. Eventually everyone goes in for a refill then comes out for just a little longer. Time has a way of stopping when you're drinking coffee, so you always have to get a refill.

One of my more memorable cups came in the mountains of Big Bend National Park. Just before the sun rose over the mountains in the basin, we got up and turned on the stove to heat our water. We realized very soon that we had brought everything we needed to make coffee except something to make it with. We didn't have filters or a press, just coffee, mugs and creamer. It didn't take us long to realize paper towels were very similar in nature to filters, and quickly our dissapointment turned to excitement. We swore it was the best cup we ever had, as it was made with fresh mountain water and pure ingenuity.

Another amazing cup was while kayaking on Lake LBJ. We made our travel mugs to go early in the morning then jumped in our kayaks and set sail. Every now and then putting the paddle down to glide for a while and take a sip.

I remember in Barcelona ordering a cafe con leche from the corner shop near the Sagrada Familia then sitting at an outside table and sketching away. It was my go-to weekend activity if I had a moment to spare.

I've had my fair share of favorite coffeeshops over the years too. In College Station it was a toss up between Sweet Eugene's and Coffee Station. In Seattle, I loved my short drip at 6am by Lighthouse Roasters. And, here in Dallas, I've come to love White Rock Coffee. Coffeeshops are great little joints. They have good music, people coming and going, and the sputter of the espresso machines, all which make a great soundtrack. I do my studying at White Rock Coffee, I suppose because the energy of the place makes the studying semi-bearable. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Starbucks in the Crescent Hotel where I often walk at lunch just to get out of the office for a bit. These days, the gals working there start pouring my "tall drip with room" before I can say it. It's nice when someone knows your order. I think I started ordering my coffee as a "drip" about 8 years ago when I heard Dad order his that way.

In graduate school we all learned each others coffee orders pretty fast. We'd make a coffee run just before the coffeeshops would close. Sometimes we'd all go, sometimes we'd take turns going to get it for everyone. One night I walked up to the roof of Langford with Alejandro and we enoyed a few sips looking out over the College Station horizon.

Some recently memorable cups have been from the deck of the cabin in Ruidoso, with my brother in his new apartment, on the campus of Rice University after a tour of Houston, with a friend on a beautiful Saturday morning, and just the other evening while on the phone catching up.

All that being said, know that when I have coffee with you, I'm truly enjoying myself, and it's not really about the coffee.

The world is still not flat

Check out the curvature in the photo. That is part of what I love about panoramic photographs, if they capture enough of the horizon you can see the slight curving of the earth. This particular pano is from a look out coming down the mountain in Ruidoso. It looks like a beautiful spring time shot, and from the looks of it you'd wonder if we had enough snow to ski on. Trust me we did, but you'd have to look the opposite direction from this to see it.

The synonym of God

Since I brought up the subject of Ralph Waldo Emerson in my last post and with Easter being today, I figured it timely to share with you my absolute favorite quote from his first essays. This one is from the essay titled Love.

"Love is our highest word, and the synonym of God."

I could easily continue to share with you some of these fantastic lines, but I won't. However, I will suggest you read some of his work, as it is beautiful and timeless.