Nicole

I have recently had the pleasure of shooting Damien's friend, Nicole. I don't shoot people often, so I wanted to practice, and Nicole was allowed me to use her for a subject matter. We had a lot of fun shooting at Cal Young Park, the old Burlington Station, and Evermans Park.

At first, Nicole seemed a bit nervous, but she was a great sport. I told her to just be herself and relax.

Nicole is a good model, as she was able to express a variety of emotions through the use of her eyes and facial expressions.

After I decided to close up the shoot, Damien & Nicole decided to goof around together. I added a fun artsy flair to this photo to fit the mood in which the moment was captured.

Nicole is a very good friend to Damien. She has really helped him to come out of his shell and enter this world of ours. Before befriending this nice young lady, Damien did not enjoy going out in public. Now, it is something that is tolerable.

I have made a CD with 100 of the best photos to give to Nicole, and these are just a few of of my favorites. I also included a senior picture collage, as Nicole will be graduating at the end of the school year.

Thank you, Nicole for allowing me the opportunity to capture you.

Sunflowers and Rain

DJ and I went for a Sunday evening drive when we came upon a patch of sunflowers that was accessible from the road. I took my time exploring the beautiful flowers and photographing them.

Many of the flowers were being visited by guests in the form of bees, butterflies, and grashoppers.

I found it interesting that each insect I found feasting on the patch of flowers were colored the same as the sunflowers.

The sky rumbled with thunder, and it began to lightly rain, so we headed down the road. I had hoped to catch lightening, but the lightening was sparse and was not centralized in one general area. As we continued on, I watched intently in the hopes of catching something to shoot. Soon, we found a freshly plowed field with a patch of wildflowers, grasses, and an antique tractor sitting in the middle. The rusty colors of the earth compliment the colors of the tractors.

The rain caught up with us once again, and we drove on to find something more to shoot. I was anxious to photograph the beams of sunlight breaking through the clouds. The red earth below contrasted greatly with the blue tones of the clouds.

Writing Not Shooting

I have been writing instead of shooting. If you are interested, you can read it here.

Around the House

I had an urge to photograph something yesterday, but I elected to stay home rather than go out in the heat. The urge would not leave me, so I photographed somethings I have lying around the house.

A Sunset with Damien

I was itching to get out of the house and photograph a sunset, as I have not taken pictures of the sunset in a while. DJ was otherwise occupied, so Damien chose to go with me to photograph the setting sun. Before I shot the sun, I decided to shoot one of the many fields of the huge, round bails of hay.

These big bails of hay remind me of a time when I was young and naive. The summer and fall that I lived with my friend, Vicki, I would often climb upon the hay and lay back to watch the sky. I spent days getting some sun on top of the hay, and I spent nights watching the stars twinkle high above the earth.

It was upon one of these bails of hay that I spotted my first UFO, a triangular shaped set of lights that darted across the sky. I now know that the UFO was a test plane for the US Air Force,  Stealth Bomber, otherwise known as the B-2 Bomber. However, the government at the time denied knowing what the lights were, so at the time it was unidentified. Living close to Dyess Air Force Base, we did suspect that the base had something to do with the strange lights. We were just unsure what.

It was upon these bails of hay that I would dream of a future of happiness and peacefulness. Here I would lay dreaming of the day that I would find love that was true. Here I would lay dreaming of exploring the vast world around me.

Years have passed, and not all of my dreams have come true. But, I can truly say that I have found love both conditional and unconditional. I have found happiness and peace with myself, though I have lived a hard life. And, I continue to explore the world around me, though I am unable to explore as far as I wish.

Off we took again to find the perfect place to shoot off some shots, and I stopped the car to quickly capture a lone tree before the falling sun. The sun revealed itself from the clouds that a moment earlier was hidden. The miles of empty field provided a nice backdrop for the lone tree.

As the night dipped further toward the earth, Damien waited patiently while I shot the magnificent sight. The camera scarcely captured the immense beauty of the setting sun. The golden orange sky filled with pinks, blues, violets, and reds before the sun fully disappeared from sight.

It was a beautiful evening to capture the sun with Damien. He got the opportunity to view a beautiful sight, and I was given the opportunity to share it with my boy.

Deep Shit Cattle Company

78-year-old Mack Stark renamed his cattle ranch to Deep Shit Cattle Company after stepping in cow manure during one of his long days of cattle hearding. Unexpectedly, the new name and new sign turned his cattle ranch into a tourist attraction. The Deep Shit Cattle Company is located approximately two miles northwest of Gustine, Texas on Highway 36. Stark's sons made him the sign for the ranch gate as a gift.

If you travel from Abilene to Galveston the way that we do, you will find this ranch ten miles southeast of Comanche. I always forget to photograph the sign as it makes me laugh each and every trip that we make. This time, with DJ remembering where to stop, I was given the opportunity to photograph the gate. I feel that this picture stands out from the rest I have found on the internet thus far due to the giant bails of hay and perfect sky.

Houston, Texas

Houston is the city that I love to visit but hate to drive through. It never fails, but every time that I head toward Galveston or Santa Fe, I have to go through a thunderstorm or icy roads in Houston. You would think that the people that frequent the highways in Houston would slow down when there is no visibility on the interstate, but they don't. And, for this small town girl, that makes Houston a very scary place to be at 70 miles an hour. If I go any slower, then I'll be rear-ended. Our trip through Houston last week was not any different.

DJ and I were relieved to reach the Houston area because it meant that our long trip was almost over. It had been raining off and on just south of Sommerville, but it was not until we reached the Hempstead area that the rain gushed from the sky. The higher on the interstate we traveled, the less visibility we had. I was thankful that this trip I was not driving, for back in November last, I was travelling through on icy roads. And, like then, people flew down the road as if the weather was bright and sunny and the roads were clear. My anxiety rose, and I tried my best to not act frightened, but nevertheless, I was terrified. By the time we made our way past Houston, we had outrun the storm.

Unfortunately, our plans to go into Houston on Sunday to photograph the beautiful city were quashed as there was, once again, a storm looming over the massive city. My photography opportunities would have to wait for another day. We were very busy throughout the week, excluding Tuesday. However, by Tuesday, we were too tired to make the trip.

On Thursday, we prepared to leave toward home. I did not want to miss the opportunity to photograph the city, but I did not want to delay our return home, so I opted to photograph the city from the car. I dialed up my shutter speed, as the day, though cloudy, was bright. I snapped more pictures than I thought I would ever use or need hoping that I could catch at least a few good ones before we were out of the city. The faster shutter speed seemed to work, as the below pictures are the best shots I was able to get of the colorful skyscrapers that make up the city scape that is Houston. I hope our next trip will result in much better photos.

Houston is named for Sam Houston, the president of the Republic of Texas in 1836 when the city was founded. Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States of America and is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. There are more than 2.1 million residents of the City of Houston and more than 5.36 million residents in the Houston Metroplex. Just south of Houston is the Johnson Space Center, which is Mission Control for NASA.