Who’s Studying Whom?

Photo Information

Taken:	22 May 2007 12:23 at the family farm near Yorktown, Texas
Camera:	Olympus C200Z
Exposure:	ISO 100
	9.1mm, 0 EV
	f3.7
	1/650

Backstory

I think this may have been Kynan’s first exposure to cattle. I know it was the first time these cows ever saw him. Makes you wonder who’s studying whom. I also like how the dark brown cow is watching me.

In the background you can see Dad’s old fuel tank and the house that was.

–26 April 2012

Suna’s Red Shawl

Photo Information

Taken:	21 May 2007 16:46 Brushy Creek, Texas
Camera:	Olympus C200Z
Exposure:	ISO 200
	8.5mm, 0 EV
	f3.6
	1/50 (indoor, auto flash)

Backstory

Suna is wearing a red shawl she just finished knitting. The image is a bit flatter than I had hoped. The flash didn’t help much here.

The original picture features Dec’s unkempt (and mostly unused) project table in the background—something I thought detracted from the artistic merit of the shawl. I removed the background by hyper blurring it with Pixelmator.

Pixelmator is a Photoshop equivalent available for a fraction of the cost on the Mac App store. It does almost everything Photoshop does, but the selection tools are not as robust as you can tell by some of the hard edges on the shawl. I guess you do have to lose some functionality when you use a $39 app instead of a $800 one. That just means I’ll have to be more careful in selecting the edges next time.

–16 May 2012

That’s Why Perhaps They All Wear Chaps…

Photo Information

Taken:	12 May 2007 17:12 at Inks Lake State Park
Camera:	FinePix V10
Exposure:	ISO 64
	6.3mm, 0 EV
	f2.8
	1/450

Backstory

While I’m not a big fan of the prickly pear cactus—I much prefer the ones I call “prickless pears” because of their lack of thorns—I do admire its lush flowers. They are large, abundant, and bright yellow. They are also a micro-ecosystem, full of various life forms. You can see a larger bug of some kind in the topmost flower of this bouquet. Smaller bugs adorn some of the other blooms.

–25 April 2012

What’s Black and White and Red, Just Not All Over

Photo Information

Taken:	12 May 2007 15:34 on a Hiking Trail at Inks Lake State Park
Camera:	Cannon Rebel XT / EF-S 18-55mm lens
Exposure:	ISO 100
	6.3mm, 0 EV
	f2.8
	1/240

Backstory

I spotted this little feller while hiking at Inks Lake State Park. It was making good time across the rocks of the hiking path.

I’m not sure what kind of caterpillar it is. The closest picture I could find wash’t an exact match and was asking for help identifying the critter. The closest identified match was a Black Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar, but that guy has yellow spots, not red.

Some caterpillars change colors at pupation. Individual differences? A space caterpillar from another planet? If you have a clue, please leave a comment.

–1 April 2012

Springtime in Texas

Photo Information

Taken:	21 March 2007 09:47 at the farm near Cottonpatch, Texas
Camera:	Olympus C200Z
Exposure:	ISO 100
	8.2mm, 0 EV
	f7
	1/320

Backstory

Wouldn’t it be nice if rural life were really like this? Standing around watching the cows eat and the grass grow? <sigh/> It’s really a lot of work.

Nevertheless, I like the dream expressed in this picture. Suna is wearing one of her hand-knitted sweaters. The cows are grazing. The grass is green. All is right with the world.

–20 April 2012

From a Tiny Acorn…

Photo Information

Taken:	20 March 2007 17:01 St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Yorktown, Texas
Camera:	Olympus C200Z
Exposure:	ISO 100
	5.6mm, 0 EV
	f5.6
	1/400

Backstory

This tree should give us some perspective. Not only does it dwarf us physically, baring vandalism as befell the Treaty Oak or acts of God, this tree will out live us all. If we were lucky and lived in a different time, we could feed its roots when we died.

Local tradition has it this oak is more than 2,000 years old. As the church members put it, “It was around when Jesus walked the earth.”

–19 April 2012

Food Fight!

Photo Information

Taken:	27 November 2006 18:32 somewhere in Pasadena, Texas
Camera:	Olympus C200Z
Exposure:	ISO 200
	5.6mm, 0 EV
	f2.8
	1/30

Backstory

Kids will be kids. After putting up a good front for most of the evening, Jim and Roxy broke down at dessert. I don’t remember what it was, but it was red and had lots of icing, some of which graces the end of Jim’s nose.

It’s all fun until someone loses a limb. They both wound up wearing more of the desert than they got to eat. They seemed to have more fun that way, and it was better for their waist lines.

–10 April 2012