Reach for the Sky

This is from the top of a parking garage in downtown Houston on one of my first photo walks.

Pedestrian Ring Since I have never worked downtown, I had never seen the circular pedestrian bridge that joins 1400 Smith Street & 1500 Louisiana Street in Houston, until my friend took me over there. This is a unique structure and lends itself to many great angles to shoot and I'd like to revisit there sometime soon. Here's a tip; go on a weeknight when there is more traffic. I was there on a Saturday evening and I had a long wait to get the taillights in the photo.

Sunset Between the Towers Downtown buildings make good subjects for backdrops in sunsets. My very first photo walk in downtown Houston started with a stop at the top of a parking garage at just the right time. This photo demonstrates a benefit of high dynamic range photography; the reflections in the buildings were not visible on the standard photos, but only became apparent when the image was processed.

Taisho A Japanese restaurant in the Sugar Land Town Center.

Learning Something New The more you work at a hobby, the better you get (hopefully). This is one of my early attempts last spring trying HDR photos. HDR, along with nighttime exposures, brought out details that the eye alone can't see. A wide-angle lens make this yard look larger than it really is, plus the movement of the clouds during the exposure gives the sky a surreal feel. Maybe it's the unexpected surprises like this that I enjoy so much about HDR and nighttime photography.

Exterior of the Driskill Hotel in Austin, TX. 3 image HDR

Check-in desk of the Driskill Hotel I had just finished my first photo walk. What an experience. It was the Trey Ratcliff Photo Walk in downtown Austin, TX during the SXSW 2011 Conference. We had just returned to the lobby of the historic Driskill Hotel and I was waiting with some other folks to meet Trey and hopefully get a photo with him. Since the tripod was still open, I shot this while waiting in line. 3 image HDR

Night scene in Austin

Moody Gardens in Galveston, TX. I spent a few days at the Moody Gardens Hotel for work and I was looking forward to taking some sunset shots of the sun behind the pyramids. I had my DSLR, my tripod and I was ready to go. But every afternoon around 4:00, the fog rolled in and ruined any chance I had. I remember the last afternoon, looking out and seeing the fog coming in, so I took a few quick shots on my iPhone with an HDR app. iPhone 2 image HDR.

Moody Gardens in Galveston, TX. iPhone 2 image HDR.

Moody Gardens in Galveston, TX. iPhone 2 image HDR.

Train depot in Austin, TX. iPhone 2 image HDR.

Blue Bar I was returning to my hotel from the SXSW Photo Walk in Austin, TX when I saw a blue glow coming from a bar on 6th St. I decided to ask the doorman if I could set up my tripod just inside the entrance and take quick shot. "Sure, come on in." You never know if you don't try, or at least ask.

Austin, TX. iPhone 2 image HDR.

Interesting lines in the Austin Convention Center. Austin, TX. iPhone 2 image HDR.

Austin, TX. iPhone image.

Willie's Street Austin, TX. iPhone 2 image HDR.

Austin, TX. iPhone image.

Austin, TX. iPhone 2 image HDR.

Austin Street Performers Strolling through Austin, TX after dinner, our evening turned into an iPhone photo walk. We found some sidewalk performers and the colors and neon sign yelled out "Take my picture!" I knew the neon sign and hanging light would bloom too much, so I tried an HDR app that takes two exposures and combines them. After a few shots, I came up with this. Remember, the best camera is the one that's with you.

Austin, TX iPhone 2 image HDR.

Austin, TX. Standard iPhone image. Not really sure what these things were, but they aren't real fish of any type.

Christmas lights at dusk.

The Enola Gay The Boeing B-29 Superfortress "Enola Gay"at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles International Airport.

The Old Colorful Pump This old gas pump was on the side of a small craft store we found as we crossed over Skyline Drive.

Mountain Evening

For someone that lives close to the coast, watching a sunset in the mountains is a real treat. The light and shadows change moment to moment as the sun descends and the sky changes color. This was taken in Wolftown, Virginia. Try finding that on a map!

Frisbee Dog For the last day of my church's Vacation Bible School, they brought in some high flying frisbee dogs to entertain the kids.

Library of Congress Washington D.C. has so many things to see and visit. One of your top destinations should be the Library of Congress. Across the street from the Capital, it is one of the most beautiful buildings there.

U.S. Capitol Everything at the Capitol had just closed, so there were few people and cars. This made a great chance to take some outside shots before continuing on.

Hungry Dolphin

Sea World is a wonderful place to visit and to take your camera. One of our favorite parts is the dolphin pool.

Bayou Place

Bayou Place is a popular area in the theater district, across from Wortham Center.

Supreme Court Supreme Court building in Washington D.C.

Houston City Hall The Houston City Hall was lit to highlight a banner promoting "Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs".

Capitol Fountain At the base of the U.S. Capitol, facing the National Mall, is a fountain I've never noticed before. The fountain itself wasn't that impressive, but the way the building curves around with the manicured trees caught my eye.

Grand Hyatt D.C. Grand Hyatt Washington D.C. Hotel, just blocks from all of the attractions.