Texas Icons

Photo Information

Taken:	12 August 2012 12:21 near Nordheim, Texas
Camera:	Canon EOS Rebel T2i / Cannon EF 75-300mm
Exposure:	ISO 100
	95mm, 0 EV
	f/10
	1/400

Backstory

Here are two symbols of money in Texas: cotton and oil. I came upon this shot as Dad and I drove back to the farm from lunch in Nordheim. The scene was so archetypal, I had to come back the next day with a camera. It’s so deceptively peaceful at a distance, much noisier and more energetic up close.

When I was a boy and people found out I was from Texas, they’d always ask if I had an oil well. This one isn’t mine, but it’s only a few miles away. And it’s so much prettier towering over the cotton waiting to be picked than over corn, which has been allowed to dry for cattle feed.

For more about my visit with Dad, see “One More Year” on The Hermitage.

–25 August 2012

Building Trust

Photo Information

Taken:	4 July 2012 14:35 near Yorktown, Texas
Camera:	Canon EOS Rebel T2i / Sigma DG 50-500mm
Exposure:	ISO 500
	450mm, 0 EV
	f/6.3
	1/800

Backstory

This may be the most requested picture I have ever taken. Suna talked about it on Facebook while we were still away from a computer to upload it, and the “I wanna see”s  began to pour in on her wall. So here it is. Posted on the day I took it instead of after waiting to see if I thought it was still good after a time.


Now for the real backstory.

While visiting with Dad for the Fourth, we found out a trip to Kennedy to the Tractor Supply was in order. Suna took advantage of the trip to buy some horse biscuits to start getting friendlier with Oscar. You can see they worked very well indeed. He attempted to get the biscuit out of her hand.

Maybe someday, he’ll come up to us without being bribed.

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Photo Information

Exposure:	ISO 400
	450mm, 0 EV
	f/6.3
	1/640

Backstory

I say “attempted” because Oscar was unsuccessful. In this frame, taken a fraction of a second after the top one (I love autowinders on digital cameras!), you can see the biscuit falling behind the middle rung of the gate.

He did come back and eat all the dropped biscuits. Then he begged for more.

—4 July 2012

Blue Skimmer

Photo Information

Taken:	27 May 2012 11:11 at The Hermit’s Retreat
Camera:	Canon EOS Rebel T2i / 50-500 mm
Exposure:	ISO 640
	500mm, 0 EV
	f/10
	1/640

Backstory

We saw five dragonflies at the little pond, if this is really a dragonfly. I was able to shoot four of them.

This one is probably a variety of great blue skimmer or blue dasher. I like the name blue dasher (AKA blue pirate), but that one is supposed to have a white face.

–29 May 2012

Squirrel Food

Photo Information

Taken:	24 May 2012 08:15 Brushy Creek Texas
Camera:	Canon EOS Rebel XTi / Canon EF-8 18-55mm
Exposure:	ISO 160
	18mm, 0 EV
	f/4
	1/30

Backstory

I’ve been wanting to get a better picture of this little seed thief. It wasn’t hard to get him to pose, since he’s completely unabashed. So here he is—caught in the act!

–24 May 2012

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Photo Information

This one is included more for the subject matter than the quality of the photo.

Taken:	19 May 2012 17:04 near Brushy Creek, Texas
Camera:	iPhone 4
Exposure:	ISO 80
	3.99mm, 0 EV
	f/2.8
	1/155

Backstory

This guy and his relatives have been raiding our bird feeder for years. They can eat up to a third of the seed in the feeder in a day. But they’re so cute, I can’t get too mad at them.

This little guy is so tame he doesn’t even hide from me any more. One of the contractors working on the house said the critter almost ate some birdseed out of his hand before having second thoughts about it.

–20 May 2012

Thistle

Photo Information

Taken:	14 April 2012 07:40 near Burlington, Texas
Camera:	Canon Rebel EOS T2i / Sigma 50-500mm
Exposure:	ISO 1250
	287mm, 0 EV
	f/8
	1/400

Backstory

I took several shots of the thistle blooms in this grouping, one with Ursula in the background. I hope that one makes it to the Ursula blog.
The thistles were on the dam of a cattle tank (pond) we were camped beside. I never knew they could be so pretty. Just don’t step on one barefooted!

–18 April, 2012

Yum! Cilantro.

Photo Information

Taken:	12 April 2012 08:00, Brushy Creek, Texas
Camera:	Cannon Rebel XT / 18-55mm lens
Exposure:	ISO 400
	55mm, 0 EV
	f5.6
	1/60 flash

Backstory

After walking Suna to her car to go to work, I decided to check on the plants. I found this guy happily munching on the volunteer cilantro that grows by the front crepe myrtle tree. We don’t eat enough cilantro to feel the competition, so I let him have at it.

Unfortunately, I’m not very good at figuring out what kind of bugs, worms, and crawlies I’m dealing with. So this guy will remain unidentified, at least for a while.

Suggestions:

• Atalantis fritillary

A Bit of a Redesign

I originally started dating these posts with the date I posted the pictures. I quickly realized the problems that would create. Since I’m choosing these photos as I find them in my collection, I could eventually wind up posting the same picture more than once. Sigh!

To keep that from happening, I’ve gone back and dated the few posts already in this blog to the date the pictures were taken. I’ve added a tag line at the bottom of each post (like the following paragraph) that shows when I posted. That should help place some context around the text.

–8 April 2012

3… 2… 1…

Photo Information

Taken:	17 March 2012 20:50 near Yorktown, Texas
Camera:	Canon EOS Rebel T2i / Cannon 75-300mm
Exposure:	ISO 400
	80mm, 0 EV
	f/4
	2.5

Backstory

Although this picture is blurry from my inability to hold the camera still for the 2.5 seconds it took to charge the CCDs, the shakiness adds to the illusion of a launch. The subject is really an oil rig at night.

–20 June 2013