Volunteer Firefighters Battle for Their Neighbors in Granger, Texas

Photo Information

Taken:	November 2005 (embedded date missing) in the 400 Block of East Elm Street, Granger, Texas
Camera:	Olympus C200Z
Exposure:	ISO 263
	10.5mm, 0 EV
	f3.9
	1/60

Photo Information

Taken:	November 2005 (embedded date missing) in the 400 Block of East Elm Street, Granger, Texas
Camera:	Olympus C200Z
Exposure:	ISO 400
	15.7mm, 0 EV
	f4.4
	1/100

Backstory

I can’t think of anything more frightening than a fire at night. And yet there are men and women who volunteer to risk their lives to save their neighbors. That’s right. The men in the lower right corner who are struggling to contain the fire risked their lives out of the goodness of their hearts.

There was no way for them to put the fire out, short of letting it consume its fuel. Hundred-year-old pine burns too hot and fast. Standing more than a block away for no longer than it took to snap a few pictures of these heroes, my face got the equivalent of a mild sunburn. Imagine what these guys experienced as they fought the blaze for hours.

The fire destroyed the house in which it started and damaged the house next door to the point that both had to be bulldozed.

–8 April 2012

Pretty and Pink

Photo Information

Taken:	May 2005 at The Original Miss Kitty’s Fishing Getaway near Rockport, Texas
Camera:	Olympus C200Z / NA
Exposure:	ISO 100
	7.5mm, 0 EV
	3.3
	1/500

Backstory

This flower nestled against the chain link fence at the Original Miss Kitty’s Fishing Getaway near Rockport, Texas. X2 rented the place to get her family together for a week of relaxation one year. I wasn’t into blogging or journaling at the time, and the file dates have been lost, so I can’t get a better description of when than sometime in May 2005.

Anyway, the place was covered in lovely foliage. This flower was particularly eye-catching. Just look at those filaments! It made a pretty picture even with a little point-and-shoot camera.

–8 April 2012

Red Roofed Barn

Photo Information

Taken:	13 June 2004 18:36 near Yorktown, Texas
Camera:	Olympus C200Z
Exposure:	ISO 100
	12.1mm, 0 EV
	f8.1
	1/250

Backstory

I have always been fascinated by these old barns and their doomed struggle to stand against time. I love the color the wood turns as it ages unprotected from the elements, the differences between the sunlit and shaded sides. The metal roofs rust to dried blood. Their cool interiors beckon in the heat of the day. “Trust me,” they whisper. “I won’t crush you. Not today.”

And, indeed, it usually takes more than one pass of the bulldozer before they give up their ghosts. Eventually, someone offered to tear this old warrior down in return for salvaging the wood, which is in great demand for restaurants. So the next time you eat BBQ, you may be sitting next to the bones of this old barn.

Man Imitates Beast

Photo Information

Taken:	18 April 2003 16:59 near Kuna Yala Panamá
Camera:	Unknown digital
Exposure:	ISO 100
	9.6mm, 0 EV
	3.5
	1/200

Backstory

You’ve heard of art imitating and life and vice versa. This picture is the opposite of “monkey see, monkey do.” We were on our way back from a hard day at work, training Panamanians how to work in a Dell call center. The bus driver spotted this sloth—which he insisted was a “monkey”— and pulled over so we could see some native fauna. Aaron insisted on getting down on his hands and knees to mirror this languid Bradypus. The scimitar-like claws frightened some of the women who begged Aaron to leave the poor beast alone, but Aaron was undaunted. “He can’t move fast enough to hurt me.” Luckily, sloths are generally passive enough that we never found out if Aaron was wrong.

It’s possible that I didn’t take this picture, but I did take one that could be its twin. I had a whole flash card full of pictures get messed up in a river in Panamá, but some of the pictures survived. Those of us who opened the Dell call center in Cuidád Panamá shared many of our pictures, and this could have been taken by one of the others.

–27 March 2012

My Kind of Business

Photo Information

Taken:	25 October 2001 22:39 Cedar Park, Texas
Camera:	Olympus C200Z
Exposure:	ISO 400
	5.6mm, 0 EV
	2.8
	1/30

Backstory

The sign says it all—maybe not what the proprietor intended to say, but…

–11 April 2012

Oral History with Visual Aids

Photo Information

Taken:	25 November 2001 Royal Oaks subdivision near Yorktown, Texas
Camera:	2MP Point and Shoot
Exposure:	Not available

Backstory

Even with the advent of writing, I believe humans prefer oral histories. But given that we are multifaceted learners, we also prefer visual aids. From cave paintings to family photo albums, we want both the words and the pictures. Things really haven&rsuo;t changed that much in the last few hundred thousand years.

This photo is my late brother Edwin elocuting recent family events. Between the photos and his story-telling ability, even the baby looks fascinated.

Bridal Emotion

Photo Information

Taken:	17 November 1999 21:55 in Angleton, Texas
Camera:	Early 4MP model since lost

Backstory

I was taking random pictures at the wedding of X2 when I found the bride (X2’s neice) and her best friend. Weddings cause emotions to run raw. People let their guards down, which makes for some wonderful candids.

I must have made some noise just before I clicked the shutter. Or maybe the movement of the camera caught Sarah’s eye. Whatever caused her to notice, she looks like she would cheerfully render the camera a suppository.

–25 March 2012