Tasty Treats

  A couple of food items I shot over the past few weeks. They make me a little hungry as I work on the computer doing a little editing. One of the perils of shooting edibles is that you have to look at them even when you should not. Guess I am going to go see what I can find in the kitchen.

The Diablo ramen at Oni Ramen.

An assortment of truffles at the Modern Cafe.

Old style Schooling

  The Ivy League school Yale, came to Fort Worth to play the Texas Christian University mens NCAA Basketball game in Fort Worth,Tx. With a dynamic first half the Horned Frogs took a commanding lead to win the game 92 to 66.

Natural Color Change

  A recent research trip took me in search of country lanes and changing colors in the Northeast of the United States. Though the time was not the best and the year looks to be only mediocre in the intensity category it still amazes me how quickly the vistas can change from day to day.  By the end of a week of scouring hillsides, the colors had shifted from greens and slight browns to a speckled red dotted hillside as I explored with a new found friend named Becken.

Becken point out the best direction to go. 

Colors just starting to appear.

The new found friend is just a bit excited.

Fallen fruit beneath a forgotten apple tree.

Harvested fields and forests with maples.

A mix of colors and conifers preparing for winter.

Flying on the Ground

  Progress effects us all and it can be seen in the wrinkles on our faces as we age. All of us deal with it in our own way, some go in for minor adjustments, others get the complete restoration, I prefer to just let it all fall down around the structural center. The buildings around our cities go thru the same metamorphisis as the populations grow. Some get torn down, others get re-shaped in increments and some get major renovations. Meacham Airport, the original home of what has morphed into the American Airlines we know today, was one of these icons in need of a facelift. The city fathers saw fit in improving the site as part of the transition to an International airport. AS part of the project Kipp Kobayashi created a folded metal sculpture that hangs in the main foyer of hundreds of what look like paper airplanes. The effect is that of a flock of birds spiraling in for touchdown. A really cool effect.

The New Meacham International Terminal.

A Really Grand Time

Philip Schreiber meets the hole at House Rock.

  Met up with an old friend who invited me to join seven of his paddling buddies to float down the Colorado River thru the Grand Canyon. Never knowing what to expect even after a number of trips, I could not have asked for a better mix of really adventurous and easy going folks. Not sure if it was the Colorado origins or the somewhat like mind sets, of all the trips, this felt the most like a real team.     The Canyon never ceases to amaze, and with monsoon season starting the water went the full range from crystal clear to chocolate milk and a few shades between. Side canyons flooding and making spectacles of waterfalls, hikes up ancient paths and all in a chasm exposing rock that is more than a billion and a half years old. How is that to make your life seem rather minuscule in comparison.

Taking a break at the Phantom Ranch boar beach. 

The morning sun lights up the entry to our adventure at Lee's  Ferry.

Silver Grotto makes the red canyon walls glow.

The crew takes advantage of the shade in Redwall Cavern.

A campfire of molten wax and coffee cans.

Our version of a Disney Cruise. 

Colors like a rainbow everywhere you looked.

Holding Up a Caddy

Every time I pass Cadillac Ranch on Interstate 40, the bright colors of the upended tail finned Cadillacs  draws me in and gets me to stop for another view. It always delights with a different perspective. More color with additional layers of paint and sometimes the cars are sitting in the dirt,but after a rain they are reflected in a pool of deep blue sky. Always a treat regardless of the time of year and this time they look so heavy from all the additional paint I had to help hold them up. .

Propping a Cadillac with my shadow.

Just a Little Intimidation

  Life revolves around how we carry ourselves and the presence we project to the outside world. The attitude you project and the fear you show is read by all the creatures around you. No different in the animal kingdom. You can not convince me, looking on this scene, that the cat does not know those dogs are there. Knowing full well that they would love nothing more than to chase him all around the yard. Of course that cat also knows there is no jeopardy on his part as long as that door stays closed, and that knowledge is obvious on his body language.

Cat thumbing his nose at the dogs.

Fifteenth Van Cliburn Piano Competition

  With the site of three Steinways lined up on the Bass Performance Hall stage, it all begins again. The contestants in one of the most prestigious piano competitions in the world begin by selecting the piano that they will use in their performances. The options are two pianos made in the Hamburg factory and one constructed in New York. For those in the know the sounds are distinct and those playing can certainly feel the differences. Some of it is personal preference but in a competition like this every little bit counts. Good luck to all of the pianists in the Fifteenth Van Cliburn Piano Competition over the next couple of weeks.

Rachel Cheung tries out the New York Steinway. 

Donate Life Day

  The national organ donation group Donate Life celebrates organ donation every year with events that draws attention to the need for registering to support organ donation and in Fort Worth the attention was through lighting public spaces. The Pier 1 building and the Allen Saxe Waterfall on the downtown campus of the Tarrant County College were lit in the indicative blue and green colors of the movement. A rather stunning and beautiful sight.

The Allen Saxe Waterfall

The fountains and Pier 1 Building in the background.

Up light led's allow great colors.

The Fort Worth City Skyline with Pier 1 building. 

Blustery Spring Winds

  With the full flow of spring weather in Texas, the atmosphere starts to change. The days get warm with the strong on shore flow of breezes coming from the gulf of Mexico. Preceding cold fronts those winds become really powerful, trees loose limbs, sheds jettison roofs but I tend to run to the nearest body of water to get a few thrills on either a kite or with my old standby windsurfer. Yesterday made for a really good day of it, gusts to near 50 miles an hour and warm temperatures so I opted for the windsurfer. No work to interfere so I got a chance to try out a boom mount for a camera while I blasted a quick ride. Now that is what I call a board meeting.

Checking the alignment.

Lucky sun flare timing a big wave.

Timing a jump with a five second timer takes luck.

Still have a blast just making turns at speed.

Food for Thought

   I travel around the world almost weekly, but it is exclusively with my palate. A lot of my days are spent taking pictures of different dishes for a lot of clients. It allows me to get a taste of cuisine from around the globe. This week I had a tart from a really exclusive restaurant in the area named Le Cep, a couple of brightly colored dishes from the new M bistro and some lentle empanadas from an Ethiopian cafe. I love the diversity of flavors that cultures around the world have created to feast their appetites.

A cherry tart with homemade ice-cream at Le Cep

Beef Carpaccio at M Bistro

Tempura fried prawns at M Bistro

Gentle Empanadas at Sampson's

Splashing for Spring

  The weather has been a bit unseasonably warm as of late which really starts the thought of spring. Today we got a little rain on top of it so now all the plants are really getting prepared. Peering in the garden, the first bolts of color are already making their appearances. A new day and a new dawn is obviously here with a cluster of daffodils shining brightly.

The first blooms are already here.

Blooms in clusters of droplets.

Gator Eat World

  The natural world can move at what seems like a snails pace. Lounging in the sun, absorbing a little of the solar radiation to loosen limbs. Or possibly it is a slow soak in the thick growth of a tranquil pond. In the Big Cypress National Wildlife Refuge, the American Alligators take full advantage of looking like they are even more stoic than your average tree sloth. they do not even blink in their frozen state, until there is an explosion with the equivalent of a ton of high explosives. As you scour the spot where there once was a ten foot reptile looking all the more like an over sized spiney rock there is now just a few feathers floating on the surface,

An American Alligator rests on the bank of a swamp.

Not a lot to see of an eight foot monster as you approach a pond.

or a couple of scales swirling in a whirlpool, or a  few drops of blood on a leafy bank.

A Couple of Favorites

At the start of the new year as a photographer I always end up cleaning out hard drives and come across pictures that I like, forget about, or just look different after a little bit of time and distance. So here are just a few really random examples of things I saw this year.

My favorite model shot of the year.

The logistics of getting this shot make it stand out. 

Up close of a baseball during a high school game.

Karim Jamail, proud owner of a really cool Ferrari 468.

Birds surf too, like this seagull in Port Aransas.

Rizzo, one of the funniest bulldog pups I have had a chance to meet.

Sunsets and pump jacks just go with West Texas.

A bowl of really green pea soup.

Wildflowers in a different light.