1 Adventure

Mt. Princeton Under Snow Fall - iPhone Picture

Loved how this image came out and even more spectacular it was shot with an Apple iPhone. The phone's camera carries only a 1 megapixel camera and uses all the surrounding light(no flash). Sometimes it takes a really good picture. This is a photo of Mt. Princeton or Yale near Salida, Colorado.

Long Billed Thrasher

Crazy orange eyes this bird has. I took this about an hour ago. I had originally spotted it in the window literally thrashing around under a cedar tree and thought at first it was a roadrunner, but couldn't figure how it would have such orange eyes. So I spent about 30 minutes stalking the bird basically to get as close a shot as possible. Many pictures later, only one or two decent photos. This is a Long-billed Thrasher (Toxostoma longirostre) which is only seen in South Texas. Since I saw this bird today in southwestern New Braunfels it looks like it might venture up to the hill country now and again. Very entertaining bird to watch as it thrashers about in the underbrush eating bugs under leaves. More info on the USGS page.

Tennessee Warbler

I really like how this picture of the Tennessee warbler came out? Soft, cute, and calm. This bird however was one of the most elusive little things to photograph. It zipped around from tree to tree in a frenzy eating little berries and hardly sat still long enough for me to take a picture. Luckily yesterday it sat perched long enough for me to snap a few shots which at one point got me running around following the bird as it tried to land on a window sill. I was determined to get some good shots.

This bird is actually a migratory warbler in Texas. Tennessee Warblers (at least that is what I am pretty sure this is) come through in the spring and fall looking for warmer pastures. I had seen this bird before in the spring, but it was even more elusive then. I did not know what it was until I was able to get some pictures.

The picture below came out amazing. I captured him in mid-flight from a branch.

Another image:

Backyard Critters

Liked the detail and texture of the face of this deer. Produces a kinda of stunning eye level shot. As for deer in photos. Let's face it, deer are kinda boring. No really boring. If you have seen one you have seen the eleventhbillion that run around here. They just sit there and munch and munch on whatever is in front of them. Then at the slightest breeze they run off in protest for being disturbed. So I usually don't shot deer except for baby deer, because people like those and they are fun to watch.

These are some pictures that didn't make the cut for one way or another. I decided to post them however because beyond not my favorites they aren't terrible. The below is a juvenile mockingbird.

I liked this shot a lot, but it didn't come out. I made the mistake of leaving my camera settings unchanged from the previous day with a big ole f/s 8 and it was bright outside. Result was a overexposed image. So I played with it a bit and it helped some. Thought it was still a need image of this terribly disheveled mockingbird. :-)

A visitor (Ron) from PhotoToPaint.com was kind enough to send me a photoshop edit of my mockingbird picture above. I told I would post it and I think he did a nice job improving the photo so it doesn't look so washed out. Thanks Ron!

Texas Roadrunner (Greater Roadrunner)

There has been a pair roadrunners that have been around my house for the last week or so. They have been carefully picking off sparrows from the back of the house and it has been fun watching them stalk and attack the clueless bunch of sparrows. They are not always lucky in their hunting though. This guy waited for about an hour and then got bored and moved on. Luckily I was able to get some good pictures as they are usually hard to shot up close otherwise.

The photo below was him waiting for something to come out. Thought he kinda looked like a chicken just sitting there.

Golden-fronted Woodpecker in Texas

So I believe that this is a female golden-fronted woodpecker. Possibly a juvenile? I am not 100% certain as the markings are not as diagnostic as most of the photos that you see of these bird. The closest resemblence I found was from this website. What a beautiful bird though, it posed very nicely for me on a mountain laurel branch as it fluffed its feathers and proceeded to clean itself. It first flew onto the bird feeder this morning and fished out a few left over grains of seed.

Here is another photo of the bird and why it made it hard to identify as the full head of the bird is a golden color and the markings not as vibrant or confined as other pictures of the golden-fronted woodpecker. Its possibly its a type of flicker, but that might be stretching it. If you can confirm what this bird is, leave me a comment or send me an email.

Lightning Over Downtown New Braunfels, Texas

This post is dedicated to all my fellow Texas brothers who are getting soaked by these never ending monsoons that have been drenching us in rain for the last month. Seems like its been raining for 3 months straight.

Despite the wet weather which I am usually a fan of, its made some interesting photo opportunities. This shot was a very lucky one. Its really quite hard to shot lightning in the day. Everything usually comes out overexposed and one big white photo with no detail. This shot was taken with a 1/60 shutter speed and maybe f/8 aperture. Not sure? But I was really thrilled when I opened it up in Photoshop. It wasn't overexposed, and it wasn't blurry. Using the tripod paid off.

Follow The Winding River Flowing Through Georgia

Liked how this picture turned out. What a beautiful and serene river! I just wanted to jump into one of those puddles and let time slowly creep by without a care or worry. This was taken near Jasper, Georgia in the "big" hills/mountains of the surrounding area.

Texas Sunset

Okay, texas sunset photos are a dime a dozen, but I couldn't resist posting this one. While it doesn't have the horizon in the distance, the texture on these clouds (top middle) I saw this evening were incredible. It was all right over me and slowly changed color over 15 minutes. Felt like I could reach out and grab a cottonball. I don't have a view of the horizon from the west of my house. While not conducive for sunsets, it does help for reverse sunsets, (light illuminating the eastern clouds) or getting the feeling like its right over your head and your could touch it because you can't see where it comes from. You just see if over head. Interesting effect.

While I am talking sunsets, here is a photo I took this weekend from my friend Rebecca's wedding. They had the wedding on Lake Nasworthy in San Angelo, and the whole wedding was simply beautiful. One of the nicest, most comfortable wedding I have been to in a long time. We should all get married on a dock on the lake at sunset. I like this picture better than the one above. The altar with crystal chandelier is a nice touch.

Baby Deer Pictures! - Whitetail Deer Drop Fawns This Spring in Texas

Wanted to show off what I discovered this morning. I woke up this morning and came into my kitchen and right out the window was this little baby deer fawn that was just sitting in the grassy cover. It looked a bit hot and I was unsure what to do at first. Its best to leave them alone as unless you see its mother dead, she will most likely come back. So taking the opportunity I grab my camera real quick and crept outside around the corner. I was able to get really close as you can see. I spooked it and it got up and ran off to the back into the trees. It was pretty funny actually as it wobbled and jumped over branches in order to get away.

I have been gone for about 4 days, so I think the mother dropped her fawn while I was gone and figured since there was no one around it be good to keep it in my backyard. Hopefully I won't scare them away. From past experience they usually stay pretty close to one area. Its possible the mother deer abandoned (she was a younger doe) the fawn, but I saw her later this afternoon munching on my plants in the front.

Texas Lightning Storm - Its That Time of Year Again for Crazy Weather

Spring Lightning Storms Across Texas

Really like how this image above came out. It makes an excellent backgroud and the static lightning in combo with the lights make a nice presentation. This was taken near New Braunfels, Texas on May 2, 2007. I used a 15 sec exposure, 5.6/fs, took the picture and gradually moved it over.

Very interesting clouds, the effect is great in the camera.

Colorado Mountain Hillside In Summer - Oh Take Me Back!

I saved the best for last. I love this image, one of my favorites out of all the ones I took. It just came out exactly how I saw it. I could not duplicate this again (I tried). Anyway, this is looking up the side of hillside while perched on a trail on the side of a mountain. The wildflowers were amazing, such good texture. And finally the sky came out! I have trouble with washed out skys, and sometime I hit it, sometimes I miss it completely. Hope you enjoy.

Frank The Fox - Colorado Red Fox

This guy was a joy to hang out with some mornings during breakfast on a horse ride. He would run around the general property taking scraps and food from anyone that would give him so. Besides making a lot of friends, he garnered a few different names as well, but in the end Frank won out. He is apparently a Red Fox according to the sources I dug up. These guys are also present in Texas. They are either redder or predominately cream colored, and have a lot less fur in the summer. From the research I did, I think this Colorado Division of Wildlife website needs to be updated. It lists 4 main species of foxes, but not a whole lot else. I found evidence of many other kinds living in Colorado, everthing from black foxes, multi-colored variations and so on.

Interestingly enough, according to this website Foxes in Colorado have been on the rise over the last 10 years. They are now cohabitating in close quarters with humans on a urban basis. Cute, yes but not necessarily a good thing sometimes.

This was the best image I could get, and I think one of the best of him while I was in Colorado. It was very early in the morning so the sun is a bit intense at such a low angle. However, its rather sharp and he is positioned well. Enjoy!

Carolina Wren - Birds of Colorado

Was a bit disappointed with how the quality turned out on YouTube. The original video is a lot clearer and better quality. Anyway, posting for your enjoyment nonetheless. Had some fun with these birds while I was in Colorado. Have always liked this type of bird and these were rather friendly and would land on my shoulders and arms while I was sitting there on a hammock. They zoomed around right over me with bugs and whatnot to feed their chicks.

These birds are Carolina Wrens according to the USGS website, or as best as I can determine from it. Had a little troubled deciding between a Bewick's Wren, Winter Wren, and Carolina Wren. They look so similar for the most part, you have to pay attention to all the detail. If you are an ornithologist and know for sure, let me know.

Correction: This has been identified as a House Wren, not a Carolina. I was close though.

Large Dandelion Flower Parachutes From Colorado

I really like how this image came out. So much texture compounded by the uniquely strange shape of the florets. Took this picture in the mountains of Colorado, in some of the higher elevations areas that received a large amount of sunlight every year. This type of dandelion was normally found in sunny open areas and not under the decidious trees. This particular dandelion (?) was very large about 5-6 inches in diameter. Imagine a normal one you would find in a backyard and multiply by 10 to imagine the size of it. When the globe of seeds where blown or carried by the wind the parachutes (or seed top) float very slowly down in a beautiful way.

Colorado Mountain Sunset in Buena Vista, Colorado

How much foreground is too much?

Alright, had a very hard time deciding on which image of this Colorado sunset to pick. The main problem was deciding how much foreground to include in the picture? I was torn between the two photos below. You will notice one has more foreground of the water on the lake. Which is also more calm creating a better reflection. The other image has less foreground and more sky (background). The sky in this case is a bit more dramatic and beautiful. However I liked the symmetry of the first photo with more foreground because it split the photo in 50/50 sections. Which one do you like?

#1

#2

Big Sky

Luci on Austin Greenbelt

I liked this image of Luci the dog taken at the Austin Greenbelt. I was trying to get a unique perspective in the picture as photography in the greenbelt in my opinion is a bit boring. In this case I was trying to get the feeling she had just run up to me and was looking for squirrels or something. Which really was the case. It came close to what I imagined. Some my not like the fact the front legs are not in the picture, but then again its not really about those.

Yellow Cactus Blossoms in South Texas

It's spring/early summer in South Texas and nature is working overtime filling the area in a riot of color. Despite the fact that there has been little rain, the cactus is blooming in colors from yellow, peach, orange, and red. Its quite a sight to see when all the cactus which look pretty boring all year, start to come alive in some color. Had some time to take some pictures, and they ended up coming out very well. The type of cactus is the traditional pricky pear, the state plant of Texas. It's very common in the southern arid region of Texas and some plants can get as large as cars. The cactus sets it blooms for a very short period of time and then starts producing dark crimison red pricky "pears" or fruit. Which is often made into drinks, jellies and a variety of other things. Many of the wildlife depend on it for food during the summer.

Probably my favorite out the roll I took. Seems so delicate and rich yellow.

Texas Mockingbird On Fence

Wildlife photography can be very rewarding when you get the shot you were after. I have spent a lot of time before perched in a tree, hiding in a car, or behind a bush waiting to get the perfect shot of whatever subject (animal, etc) I was after. Animal can do unexpected things and the pictures don't always work out. In this instance I took quite a few pictures to arrive at the final shot I like. A Texas Mockingbird perched on a rusted fence amid shoots of cactus all around it. It reminds me of how wild some of Texas still is and the creatures that inhabit it. A quick glance at some of the my photography will prove that.

The Mockingbird is actually the State Bird of Texas. Adopt in 1927, this famous mocker is very well known throughout Texas and surrounding states. Its also one of the most interesting to watch and hear, as it can be known to torment other birds and creatures and famously "mock" the calls of other birds. It's call is very pretty and well part of the noise on any Texas landscape. They are quite clever things too.

Texas Nine-Banded Armadillo - Jumpy Critters

My first attempt at video on here! This isn't super exciting but it is interesting if you haven't seen an armadillo up close. Caught this video this weekend down in South Texas. Found this guys burrrow and was able to get up close and film him coming out. About 30 seconds after I turned off the camera, the thing came out and jumped about 2 feet in the air. Was so surprised I fell over and dropped the camera. Was not expecting that. haha.

Pond Flowers in Selective Color

I spent a couple nights working on this image due to the hand coloring that was required. I liked the original but hated the yellowish background and realized it would be a good selective color experiment to see how it turned out. It has very soft tones accented by the link pink stamens and delicate flowers making a greyish/black background good to highlight those features. Quite Nice image for pond flowers.

Bobcats Like To Climb Trees and Stupid Deer Love Corn

I had a very rare and wonderful oppourtunity this weekend to get a chance to take some pictures of a wild Texas Bobcat up close and personal at a ranch in South Texas. Not only is it kinda odd to get this close but it was also odd because the big cat was perched in a mesquite tree for over 2 hours in the middle of the day. We had the toughest time figuring out what might have chased the cat up the tree and why it continued to sit there while we walked to the brush line to get a closer look. It definately knew we where there and either it was enjoying the Texas sunshine ready to pounce on some unlucky varmit or it's leg was stuck in the tree for some odd reason.

Either way it was quite a treat. Normally Bobcats are rather reclusive cats staying active mainly at night. It has been quite sometime since anyway had seen a bobcat at the ranch, not to say they weren't there, we just didn't know where to look. Often times when I have seen a cat before it has been in the headlights of some truck on a dirt road which usually scared it off before you could get a good look. In any case, I was usually a high power zoom lens to get the up close shots. Due to the level of dense brush it was difficult to get a clear shot, this was on of the best.

More info on the Texas Parks & Wildlife webite - Bobcat (Lynx rufus)

To add further fun to the weekend we ended up catching a young buck in a pig trap overnight. Poor thing was so scared it didn't know what to do. I thought this picture was a bit comical as your don't often see a deer in such a situation. Luckily for it, we were able to release it safely. Figuring how to get it out was another ordeal which required referencing the Unoffical Unwritten Ranchhand Guidebook to Strange Situations (a.k.a the grandfather and uncle Justin).

Blooming Aspen Trees Colorado

I liked this photo, actually seeing it through the window on this sunny afternoon was more beautiful, but I thought the shot came out good, not great, but still nice.

Big Texas Sky at E-Rock

Wow! Took this yesterday while hiking enchanted rock. This is definately one of my favorites photos taken while at Enchanted Rock. I was admiring the brilliant sky as we sat atop Little Rock and started snapping some shots. I realized that many of the shots were pretty boring, so I told my friend Art to go stand out in front of the camera and hold his hand out to the heavens. This was the result capturing the moment. :-)

Ferns at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area

Some of the local Enchanted Rock vegetation. These ferns are all over the entire park and seem to prefer areas in between the rocks as you can see here. There texture and colors are incredible. Had to take a crack at capturing a few of these after the rain. I am kinda in between whether I like these photos or not, but thought I would post them. Was going for a unique perspective, don't know if I got it?

Ice Cream Truck Lost On Ranch

Took this last weekend along with a good amount of others from around the ranch. Once again this year we had really nice rain in the Fall and the beginning part of this year. Things are absolutely beautiful. I ended up spending sometime walking around sneaking up on wildlife (pigs, birds, rabbits, etc.) and ended back up where I took some photos of Acacia trees last year. Its kinda interesting to see how my photography has changed since then. There is quite a lot of improvement, especially in composition of this photo. Anyway, here is this ice cream truck that has been sitting in the same place for the last 20 years. Makes for an interesting subject and I like how this photo came out.

South Texas Sundown - Colors of Fall At The Ranch

Love this photo. Had a good time taking it too, random time after we had gotten back from setting up feeders and such for the hunting season. While not a huge hunter myself, I do find it enjoyable mainly because we have such a good time with dad and brothers. I tend to bring the camera more than I would a gun. ;)

In any case, sunsets or at least the glow from sinking sun on the horizon is similar to the way things change in the desert between day and night. They are quite subtle, somewhat pronounced, where you can hear the surrounding chirping of the grass and insect in it. Or you may hear nothing at all. This is a good example of what you might see on any given night with clear skies.

Felt like I needed to spend some time posting some pictures this evening. Work has been great, but its been a lot of work. The ever growing back log of photos from the last 6 months is mounting everytime I do some more adventurous random photography. I plan to give this particular photo to the grand parents for Christmas. So while I know my grandfather has never turned on a computer in his life, and I don't think my grandmother reads here, I should be fine revealing such info. So don't tell them. lol.

Funky Tree Lichen of Fall 2004

Ok these are not favorite, nor best stuff, but they did come out interesting, and I like the impressionist type quality they have. These are macro shots of some very interesting tree lichen I found while in Lost Maples. I had to hold extremely still as they were perched on a branch on this little bluff, and the wind keep blowing knotching the branch around. Had fun with it.

Colors of Fall in Texas, Well In One Part of Texas

Took this unusual image while at Lost Maples State Natural Area. A favorite place of mine to go backpacking during the fall, weather is half the time raining, half the time brilliant sunny days. Especially beautiful in the fall when the maple leaves start changing throughout the park. They require shorter day periods and a bit of cold weather to change the phenolics in the leaves, resulting in a degredation of the leaf chemistry (a pH change) which changes them from green, yellow, orange, red, and even dark red wine colored one. Probably the closest thing to fall (colorwise) for us Texans. Never miss it. In any case, while backpacking you usually end up with lots of extra time when not hiking so, my friend Bryan posed for a few ideas I had. This was one of the photos, brightened it up a little, and this is the result. :)

Hercules Beetle 4

Hercules Beetle 3

Hercules Beetle 2

The Amazing Crawling Hercules Beetle

Don't have much time to explain, as I am packing for a trip to Los Angeles tommorrow. (Going to Malibu Saturday, expect some pictures once I get back, I heard its really nice there). Anyhow this particular photo is of a Hercules Beetle (Dynastes tityus ) its also known as the Eastern Hercules Beetle, or Elephant Beetle. People commonly called it an elephant beetle where I am from in Texas, but whatever you want to call it, call it big and extremely strong. I found this particular one, outside on my porch right after a rain the previous day. For more information on this huge bug check out the hercules beetle page from Texas A&M field guide. If you afraid of bugs, then caution these are close up shots!

Standing Tall

This is my favorite collection of the series of shots on this particular plant. I had these all framed and hung up, and they make a very interesting and beautiful detailed look of this plant.

Milk Thistle in Full Bloom

This is part of a series of shots I took of milk thistle recently. The results were amazing. We have received a large amount of rain here in Texas this past few weeks, and most plants that wouldn't last several weeks are in full bloom as if it were still spring. Milk Thistle in general is very common all over Texas, on road sides to ranches to right out your front door. However I don't often see the plant with such bright and colorful flowers as I did this one. Folks, its get 100 degrees easy here in the summer, enough to test any plant.

Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) is a quite benefical plant not only for its beautiful and delicate flowers, but also as a medicinal herb that can be used to threat liver damage, detoxification of the liver, cleansing properties, and advised for anyone that regularly is exposed to a large amount of toxic chemicals. Milk thistle benefits can be used for damage caused by alcohol in particular, smoking, and a wide variety of environmental stimulants. Something I learned recently about this plant is that the black seeds or fruits are the part of the plant that is used medicinally in most supplements.

Red Poppy Flower

Really like this particular shot, the poppy dances out of the picture as if you where holding it in one hand and observing it with the other as if you were just about to pick it.

Star Cactus Flower

Really liked the color of this image, it stood out. The cactus in the picture is a Star Cactus, which is directly related to the Peyote cactus. Similar to the one that people hallucinate on and take spirit journeys and so on. Quite interesting to see a flower from this plant, and also kinda rare when seen in nature. These plants grow natively here in Southern Texas and into Mexico. There are endangered at the moment, because of there immense similarly to peyote cactus and the popularity among collectors for plants taken from the wild. Only around 2000 plants exist in the wild. They have been destroyed by people who are in search of the cactus with hallucinogenic compounds (alkaloids) as well. When you harvest peyote cactus you cut the tops off and let the plant grow back the next year. But people usually don't know this, and uproot and destory the whole plant. Thus its endangered species classification.

Cactus Needles

Neat shot of some cactus needless, you can almost feel them. I scanned this twice, and still am not completely pleased with the result, but here it is anyway. :-)

Springs Purple Canvas

Click image for full size version

On another recent trip to Enchanted Rock, I took these macro shots while on a steep ledge on the back side of the rock. I have no idea what kinda flowering plant this was, but it was very purple, smelled sweet, and if you rubbed up against it you got a purple streak down your leg. I really liked this set of shot I took, and combined them together in relation to the various parts of the plant. It came out very cool, and I can't wait to get them in print and possibly framed.

Japanese Maples

Took this picture at the Botanical Garden in San Antonio. Had to lug around the Sony Clie digital camera to take some pictures. I always hate it when I leave the camera at home, and I miss an oppourtunity to take some better stuff. However the effect of this 2megapixel camera is kinda nice sometimes, in that it doesn't ever give you the perfect quality of shot you see sometimes. Makes for a different effect. Anyhow, I liked this one and brightened it up a bit to make it stand out.

Pond Reflection

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My friend Megan loves both of these shots. I have to agree. I shot these near Houston Texas, on the Attwater Preserve on a very cloudy day. There was nothing in this one grass field except this nasty green pond, but with the right light and some creatively I pulled off an interesting picture.