Old Wood and Flowers

Photo Information

Taken:	25 May 2008 13:20 at Brushy Creek, Texas
Camera:	Canon PowerShot A550
Exposure:	ISO 200
	18.4mm, 0 EV
	f/5
	1/60

Backstory

I can’t believe our back yard used to look like this before the drought and me not having enough time to keep the front and back yard done for a couple of years. I love the textures of the wood of various ages and the potted plants. 

• We picked up a set of the chairs at an estate sale.
• The whiskey barrel came from a home center, as did the plants.
• A friend made the glider in the background.
• The BBQ photobombing on the left just adds a touch of urbanity.

The drawback to wooden patio furniture (even though I love it): it composts.

—3 October 2012

Diamonds and Embers

Photo Information

Taken:	25 May 2008 10:53 near Brushy Creek, Texas
Camera:	Canon PowerShot A550
Exposure:	ISO 80
	13.7mm, 0 EV
	f/4
	1/125

Backstory

You’ll need to view the full-sized version to make out the “string of diamonds” around the bloom. The dark red of the flower reminds me of the embers in a camp fire. All of this is set against the green of the lawn that will soon turn to brown, even with watering and water rationing.

–2 October 2012

Pink Hotness

Photo Information

Taken:	25 May 2008 10:49 near Brushy Creek, Texas
Camera:	Canon PowerShot A550
Exposure:	ISO 160
	5.8mm, 0 EV
	f/2.6
	1/60

Backstory

I can’t believe I didn’t post a picture of this lovely “annual” when I first potted it. Here it is in all its splendor after overwintering on the back porch. As of this posting, it is still doing well, but now it lives by the front door.

I love the soft delicacy of its feathery pink blooms and the toughness of its leaves. I had lost the name tag, but found an old blog entry that identifies this lovely as a variety of Jacobi.

–1 October 2012

Rust and Snow

Photo Information

Taken:	30 March 2008 11:53 near Yorktown, Texas
Camera:	Canon PowerShot A550
Exposure:	ISO 80
	5.8mm, 0 EV
	f/2.5
	1/500

Backstory

I tried several settings, but these thistle flowers are so white, they always appear to be ripped out of the page.

Each of the full blooms has at least one insect crawling around in the pollen.

—13 August 2012

Dad at Sunset

Photo Information

Taken:	29 March 2008 19:56 near Yorktown, Texas
Camera:	Canon PowerShot A550
Exposure:	ISO 200
	5.8mm, 0 EV
	f/2.6
	1/60

Backstory

This is pretty much the same shot of Dad as the one of Suna posted earlier. But Dad’s face is less washed out in the flash.

Sunset and Suna

Photo Information

Taken:	29 March 2008 19:56 near Yorktown, Texas
Camera:	Canon PowerShot A550
Exposure:	ISO 200
	5.8mm, 0 EV
	f/2.6
	1/60 flash

Backstory

The flash kinda washes out the highlights of Suna’s face, giving the foreground an almost poster-ish quality. It also, flattens the background into almost a grayscale. I think the overall effect is really cool—especially since I got it with a point-and-shoot camera.

—10 August 2012

Demon’s Eyes and Oil

Photo Information

Taken:	29 March 2008 19:55 near Yorktown, Texas
Camera:	Canon PowerShot A550
Exposure:	ISO 250
	5.8mm, 0 EV
	f/2.6
	1/60

Backstory

Do you ever get the feeling someone or something is watching you?

I love the way the sunset through the clouds looks like eyes—maybe demon’s eyes, maybe a space alien’s.

The short white phallus in the middle is the first oil well drilled around the farm. We were all so excited, filled with anticipation about what it would mean for the Yorktown, for the farm, for us. That was back before we even knew what the Eagleford Shale was.

—9 August 2012