Holy Cow I cannot believe it has been over a year since I have been on here.  Truthfully I haven't been taking many photos lately, well I have been but I haven't made an effort to shoot anything creative or unique.

One of the things I love to shoot, besides my AR-15, are fire works and I am lucky enough to have a buddy who is a Pryo who puts on local shows for Independence day celebrations and get to shoot right up where they set up.  Here is one from the finale of the show at the Gaines County Park.

There was also a fireworks show at a Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary Celebration for a wonderful couple and I took a a few there trying a couple different techniques.  This one I shot hand held and moving the camera around during the long exposure, I like the abstract look it creates.

Another technique i tried was taking the exposure out of focus to get a more flower bouquet look I am not sure what I think of this i need to try it a little more.

Let me know what you think.

Hopefully I will be a little better at updating my blog.  So see you soon, or maybe next year.

Day 16: Some Letters (Not Mail)

I have had several people ask me if i was finished with my Photography Challenge and posting new pics.  First off i am deeply humbled that people have followed my blog and have enjoyed it enough to take the time to ask me about it.  Next I am not done and even when the 30 Day list i am doing now is completed I have another way I am going to use to keep my creativity, photography and blogging going.  I am not going to give you a bunch of excuses why I haven't posted in a bit but I am sure if you can use your imagination or just your lives at this time of year and you can kinda figure out what has thrown a wrench in the mechanism.  I thoroughly enjoy this and will keep it going as long as I am having fun.

Back to the ranch, the next challenge facing my lens is Letters (not Mail).  This was a case of not seeing the forest for the trees, there are plenty of chances to photograph letters but for the life of me I had a hard time finding a subject that struck my artistic bulls-eye, being  relatively immature in my artistic endeavors  my bulls-eye is still rather large and undefined.  (My artistry is not the only immature thing about me just ask Wende how I love a good improper joke.)

I was feeling guilty that I haven't updated the blog in a timely manner so today I made myself go find some letters to capture.  As i was getting my camera together to go grab my shots it came to me that I own a few letters, well at least a few of the lettered series of John Deere Tractors.  My little collection of antique Deere's started with the G that belonged to Wende's granddad Edo.  I brought this tractor home from the Hobbs farm and did a little work to it to make it a decent lugger for antique tractor pulling.  One thing I haven't done to it is any body work or paint. (Just not my thing, to meticulous and clean I like getting greasy working on a tractor)

So here it is a photo of one of my letters, Edo's G.

Oh I almost forgot!  I used my 50mm/1.8 on this because i wanted a very shallow depth of field so that just part of the screen printed G was in focus. 

Come back next time for:  Day 17 A Clock

Day 15: Water

Day 15: Water

Baby it's cold outside, Let it Snow, Joy to the World, Winter Wonderland, pick you favorite but all of those and many others explain the beautiful wintery day we had today.  Out here in the desert wonderland we call home we get so excited on the rare occasions we get snow, kinda like a cop at a doughnut convention, but if we had it every day like our wind we would hate it as well i bet.

What better thing to do than to go outside and start taking pictures of the snow and beautiful winterscapes.  Well how about staying inside where it is warm like a sane person.  I admit I was too cold to get out and shoot much today, but when I got home and Zoee was outside playing in the snow I figured I had procrastinated long enough and it was time to find something to shoot.

Today's challenge was water. It is so amazing that something as simple 2 Hydrogen and 1 Oxygen atoms bound with a Polar Covalent bond (Thank You Wikipedia I could not remember the bond I didn't have a very good chem teacher in High School and avoided Chemistry like the Plague at A&M it is a washout course) is the most essential molecule for life and makes our planet so special.   And today we were blessed with a blanket of water in its solid phase in the form of snow.  Some of this snow went through multiple phase changes and melted and re solidified while dripping off the roof and created the icicles that were the subject of my camera today.

So here are the icicle lights that we have on the house today.

Up next Day 16: Some Letters (Not Mail)

Day 14: Looking Down from Something

Day 14: Looking Down from Something

I am not a fan of heights so it should be at least a little bit understandable why i am a little slow getting this post up, plus it has been cold and wet so that hasn't made me any more excited about climbing something tall.  But the real reason is my muse must be on break or something, I just could not get the creativity flowing for this one.  I could not think of anywhere I could go to shoot anything interesting from above.

Today the weather was beautiful, I finished my book (I highly recommend 11/22/63 by Stephen King it is a lengthy tome but he keeps you into it and keeps you guessing) so I grabbed the camera put on the 10.5 mm 2.8 fish-eye and headed outside to see what i could come up with.  The fish-eye always seems to help me find my groove.  (Wende is not a fan of the fish-eye, but that is not the reason i like it.)

While shooting Smokey I realized I really didn't have to be extremely high to shoot something from above, and the fish-eye exaggerates the height even more.  I climbed up on Zoee's play-set, gazed through the view finder to see what i could find, not much ugh what now.

Yep you got it time to call for my underpaid model.  Zoee come out and swing for a little while you have seen Ratatouille like a hundred times it is too pretty to be inside. (And I need you so I can get this days photograph done.)  Keep swinging Zoee as I move from perch to perch shooting away.  (It was a challenge balancing on those plastic climbing rock holds and holding a camera)  I didn't fall and I got some decent shots.

I came in and was ready to edit them, but I didn't bring my computer home from the office and my laptop at home is just enough to surf. Zoee's computer has the brains and speed to do it but it is kinda fruity and iPhoto just doesn't do what I had in mind.  Ugh what to do,  well I broke down and downloaded a trial of Lightroom for mac so I could do a little work when I didn't bring a real computer home. (Don't get mad Apple folk I love my iPhone but just cannot seem to get used to a Mac I love My PC and Windows.)

Well enough blabbery here is Zoee just a swingin'.

Next up Day 15: Water

Day 13: A Building

Day 13: Your FAvorite Building

As the artist behind the camera, and every English teachers worst nightmare doing the blogging, I feel a need to take a few liberties with the assignment.  Today i did that and removed some annoying letters and made "Your Favorite Building" into "A Building",  I could have taken it further and made it "A window in a Building" but that would just be manipulating the assignment too much to fit my subject.

Living in the architectural wonderland of Seminole i had such a plethora (Who ever said you couldn't learn anything from "The Three Amigos" movie) of amazing buildings to take a photo of, that I just couldn't decide which one would get the honor of becoming the star of my blog today.  If i were somewhere else say College Station I would most likely venture to the Dixie Chicken and take a few shots there. (Pictures come on guys, everyone knows you have to go to the Dry Bean Saloon for a shot.)  If I were in New York I would try to find a place to capture the Art Deco beauty of the Chrysler Building, but I am not so you gets what ya's gets.  My favorite all time building is any building where my girls are. (WOW that is sappy enough to make a years worth of syrup from, but true.)

I snapped this one on Thanksgiving day while I was out taking a few others and enjoying the outside and stretching out the gut so I could go back for round two on the turkey later.  This is just a window in an old adobe house on the farm in Hobbs, I liked the weathered look of it and I enhanced it in Lightroom for a more rugged look.

Come back for Day 14: Looking Down From Something

Day 11

I'm Back!

And as usual I am also behind,  I hope your symptoms of withdrawal from my not feeding your need for my deep philosophical views of the art of the photograph were not too bad.  (I really know you just come back to see how bad I am going to destroy the proper use of grammar but I just type the ramblings the fly through my disjointed mind.)

Back on point Day 11: An Interesting Geological Feature.

As I signed off on my last post I mused of what type of dirt I was going to photograph for today's shot.  Well I do believe that the beautiful sand storm we had Saturday led to the creation of the subject I found to shoot today.  Who wooda thunk it that some'n good would come outta that nasty brown day.  I had about decided the most interesting geological feature i was going to be able to shoot was a red sand hump where an old barbed wire fence caused sand to pile up after many years, and I captured a few interesting images of a sand hump.  After i was done with the pics of the hump i started driving back to the barn when something caught my eye poking out of the ground.  It looked like a sole of a shoe sticking up,  I got out to investigate and saw that it was an old boot that had been buried in the ground for who knows how long and the wind Saturday has excavated it.  It may not be a grand landscape from Arches National Park nut I thought it fit the assignment, if you don't then go suck an egg.

Enjoy and Come back tomorrow for Day 12: An Animal

Day 9: Somewhere you like to relax

If you know me you should know this shouldn't be too hard for me.  I am a pretty laid back dude and anywhere i am is as good place as any to relax.  There are plenty of places to relax but the assignment is for a somewhere you LIKE to relax, well I like to relax wherever i am but some places are more relaxing and enjoyable than others.  I mean you could relax while you are in the doctors office (Depending on what type of Doctor or what procedure you are having done some you sure had better be relaxed or it could be painful) But inst it better and less productive to relax laying back in a hammock on the beach.  Since it is a little over a month before I will be relaxing on a beach, I though i would share one of my favorite spots and ways to just lay back and chill to the max.at the most relaxing place in town.

If you guessed the most relaxing place in town is home you are correct, winner winner chicken dinner.  The pool is closed and it is just a bit nippley to be relaxing in the pool this time of the year.  The recliner is an awesome place to relax but the TV and laptop are just a little to distracting to get to the point of nirvana total relaxation.  I am a man and all real manly men enjoy and like to relax during their time on the pot, but when I brought this idea up it was quickly vetoed by the lovely ladies of the house with a groaning GROSS.

It really doesn't get better than setting on the back deck reading a book, (I know it is a Kindle not a true book but if you love to read and don't have a Kindle you need one they rock) kicked back in the zero gravity lounger enjoying a beautiful fall day.

Merry Thanksgiving Eve Y'all

Come back for Day Ten: Something sentimental

Days 7 and 8

Day 7: Something Green

Well something green sure as heck should be easy for me since I an a farmer and there is plenty of green to be found around the farm.  We have green in all shades, the gorgeous blue-green of cotton, yellow-green of peanuts, bright green of newly emerging wheat, the pungent green of a steaming cow patty, and of course John Deere green in all its shade from shiny and new to well used and faded to perfection.

"Well why didn't you just take a picture of on of those things and throw it up to stay on schedule we have been waiting on pins and needles for your next post."  I know that is what everyone has been thinking over the last couple days waiting on me to update my blog.  Not really i know you were too busy watching football.  Here is why i didn't post a pic of one of the obvious farm shots, first off it is late fall and the only thing growing and green is some seedling wheat, that isn't too photogenic yet, and weeds that are too dumb to realize that it has frozen and they are supposed to be dead,  I am keeping the steamer in mind for another photo opportunity so you may still see it in the future and I already did the John Deere thing.

While walking around Daddy Doc's old shop looking for something interesting to shoot I saw this old screwdriver sticking into a board holding a key.  I am not sure what the key goes to since we don't keep that old building locked since Cory took Old Blue to KC, Cory has that old truck looking good.  I liked the look and decided that this would be my subject for "Something Green"

Day 8: Something Tall

Guess what, I found the subject for my next challenge on the farm amazing isn't it?  I think part of this challenge is to take something you see everyday and find an artistic and unique way to capture in in one of the categories of the challenge.  When I first saw the challenge of the day was something tall I thought I had better call up my buddy Kurt, he is tall, but then I dont always go for the obvious, so lets look for something else.

I decided to use the old overhead fertilizer bins for today's shoot, might as well use them for something, as much as fertilizer costs I don't see them getting filled until we recover form this dad'gum drought.  They are tall I am guessing about 40' or so.  I stood under them shooting up the leg by the latter to force the perspective to make them look even taller. 

A little work in Light room to give them a harder more industrial look, so here we go with "Something Tall"

Come back tomorrow for Day 9: Somewhere you like to relax.

Day 6: A Colleague

Today's challenge is to shoot a Colleague, sometimes that would be a therapeutic release and not a challenge, but i guess that is not exactly the meaning the author of the challenge had in mind.  Websters defines colleague as: a fellow worker or member of a staff, department, profession, etc Webster defines it better than me, my definition is: Bubba that works with me.  Well I was out working with John yesterday and after we were finished for the day and knowing that the photo of the day was supposed to be of a colleague, so I grabbed the camera outta the truck and snapped a couple off.  John is a hard worker, as a matter of fact he did all the work i just pointed him in the right direction and told him how fast to do it (I'm a nice co-worker huh wanna job?)

Well it is time for John and I to get back to work, so enjoy my colleague, John Deere.

 All my guys that work around here are great, and i don't know how I would get along with out them.  We are all scattered out doing what needs to be done so I didn't even see any of them to snap a pic of any of them.

Come back Tomorrow and see what the Challenge: Green will bring. 

Day 3 & 4

Today it is time to double up and catch up.  I am not really behind but ahead, I already have today's photo ready so I will get it up on the same post.

Day 3:  Somebody that you Love.

OK, so Drew Barrymore wasn't available for a photo shoot today, but more importantly both my beautiful girls were.  It seem like the only time Zoee will climb into our laps is when she is attempting to delay going to bed or when she has to know what you are looking at on the computer.  Last night it was the latter,  Dee was looking at embroidery designs for her new machine  and Zoee had to get on the couch on top of her and give her input, so a grat time to grab the camera and see what will come together.  Worked over a little more than usual in Lightroom to give it a warm fuzzy look and cropped down to remove the living room as a background and bring in the area of interest to my two loves.

 Day 4: Your Favorite Drink

Well Beer Duh!  Well it once was but I seem to have grown up or just gotten tired of feeling like crap the next day, don't get me wrong I still love beer Bud Light Lime is my current goto adult beverage and I am becoming more fond of red wines 14 Hands Cabernet rocks.

The next logical choice for the favorite drink photo was a Red Solo Cup, but i thought it was just a little too fadish and i didn't feel like drinking a bunch of beer so i could have the bottles to set a poor broken red solo cup on top of in a trash can for the love me and leave me photo that i saw in my head.

So i settled on what is my favorite drink, goes good with any meal, nothing is more refreshing on a hot day, always cool and refreshing with a little kick.  With out further delay my favorite drink.

Too corny?  I like it shows off my rockin sidewalk art skills and a little Light room magic to give it a little more depth.  Enjoy "Ice T"

Come back for Day 5:  Some Shadows.

Day 1 of the 30 day Photo Challenge: Yourself

I have decided to make myself work on my photography creativity by participating in one of the many 30 day photo challenges floating around the web.  I have also recently gotten my first flash and I want to incorporate the learning to use it in a creative and atypical manner i.e. the off camera Strobist look.

Well here is what I tried for today:

I sat the flash on a light stand directly across and pointing directly at the camera.  I set the camera in flash commander mode to control the off camera flash.  The camera was set to Manual Mode and after a few test shots I ended up with a setting of 1/200 sec @ f16 and ISO 100 the flash was set for a 3 stop overexposure.    I did a little editing and cropping in iPhoto Bringing down the exposure and desaturating for a more black and white feel.(i usually use Lightroom but I am at the house and using Zoee's macbook, expanding my comfort zones in other areas as well)

Tomorrows challenge is "A View from your Bedroom Window" gotta start thinking about that one.

Here is the list of the daily challenges i will be using as my guide:
Day One: Yourself.
Day Two: A view from your bedroom window.
Day Three: Somebody that you love.
Day Four: Your favourite drink.
Day Five: Some shadows.
Day Six: A colleague.
Day Seven: Something green.
Day Eight: Something tall.
Day Nine: Somewhere you like to relax.
Day Ten: Something sentimental.
Day Eleven: An interesting geological feature.
Day Twelve: An animal.
Day Thirteen: Your favourite building.
Day Fourteen: Looking down from something.
Day Fifteen: Water.
Day Sixteen: Some letters (not mail).
Day Seventeen: A clock.
Day Eighteen: The sky.
Day Nineteen: Something red.
Day Twenty: A collection of your favourite things.
Day Twenty One: Somebody you don't know.
Day Twenty Two: Something delicious.
Day Twenty Three: A picture taken at night.
Day Twenty Four: An interesting pattern.
Day Twenty Five: Your best friend.
Day Twenty Six: Something round.
Day Twenty Seven: Something seasonal.
Day Twenty Eight: A car.
Day Twenty Nine: Something reflective.
Day Thirty: A smile :)