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.