Texas Hill Country Photography

Out of nearly 200 artists from all across the country and beyond, my image “Breaking Away” has been selected for exhibition in Shorelines, an international exhibition for excellence in coastal art.

The exhibition will run October 14 - November 21, 2009.  Award winners will be chosen by Franklin Sirmans, Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art at the Menil Collection in Houston.

The opening reception will be held Saturday, October 17th, from 5-7 pm at Rockport Center for the Arts.

The Hill Country Alliance is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to raise public awareness and build community support around the need to preserve the natural resources and heritage of the Central Texas Hill Country.  A photo contest is held each year to select images that represent the best of the Hill Country in these four areas:  Hill Country People; Natural Treasures; Hill Country Enterprise; and Working the Land.  A calendar is produced and sold as a fund raiser for the organization.  The collection of photographs featured in the 2010 calendar were chosen from over 400 entries.

I was overjoyed to learn that my photograph of grapes entitled “Pick Me” was selected as the winner in the Hill Country Enterprise category and is the featured photo for the month of August.  The calendar can be purchased at their website:

http://www.hillcountryalliance.org/HCA/Home

The 40th Annual Rockport Art Festival sponsored by the Rockport Center for the Arts was held July 4-5, 2009.  Artists from over the country apply to display their art in the categories of painting, ceramics, jewelry, sculpture, glass, wood/fiber, mixed media and photo/print.  The applicants work is juried for acceptance into the show.  This year, I was chosen as “Best In Media” for the category of photo/print making.  This honor comes with a cash award and being automatically accepted into the show next year.

“We are happy to announce that our judges have selected you as a Best Of Media winner for the 2009 Rockport Art Festival.  . . .  All three judges felt your work was exceptional and Rockport Center for the Arts joins them in commending you on your rewarding efforts.  . . . .  It is quality artists like you that help make Art Fest a success year after year.”

The 5th Annual Naturescapes Exhibition will be hanging at the San Marcos Activity Center September 4-October 30, 2009.  The photos were taken in natural areas throughout Hays County, Texas.  My images that were selected are of a green heron and a great blue heron which were taken at Aquarena Wetlands Boardwalk in San Marcos.

Since the last post we have been several places where there have been some wonderful opportunities to do photography. In the fall of 2007, we went to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. The aspens were past peak season and the elk rut was coming to an end but the scenery and the animals were still thrilling to see. Huge herds of elk were still in the valleys and photo ops were abundant. Near the end of the stay it snowed about 8-10 inches giving everything a new look. Probably one of the most fun photo opportunities was watching the coyotes hunt for voles under the snow, jump up and pounce on them. Almost every time they came up with a tasty snack.

In August, 2008, we rented a houseboat on Amistad Lake for several days. Our son and daughter along with their spouses and our four grandsons had great fun exploring caves, water skiing, tubing, and swimming. Most of our time was spent on the Devil’s River arm of the lake where there are awesome cliffs, crystal clear water, and many beautiful scenes. The evening skies brought fantastic sunsets to enjoy.

Upon return from Amistad we flew to Belize, Central America. We stayed on the island of Caye Caulker where we enjoyed the laid back atmosphere. However, we stayed on the move going fishing, snorkeling, and strolling the island. I opted not to take my new Canon 40D and all the gear and instead took only my point and shoot Canon A650 IS. It worked out perfectly and I got some decent photos without drawing attention to myself.

I have to share my exciting news from a contest that I entered at the Rockport Center for the Arts last year. The theme of the contest was Architecture and the three categories of art were 3-D, painting, and photography. My entry was one that I took as a result of watching a great blue heron through my 400mm lens. What looked like a terrible shot turned into my 1st place winning entry when I put the camera down and saw the house reflection on the pond.

We had a fun filled trip to Southeast Alaska where we took refuge from the Texas heat. We toured Tracy Arm to see the glacier; went whale watching; went to Anan Bear Observatory; fished; and, traveled from Juneau to Sitka, Wrangell, and Ketchikan by the Alaskan Marine Highway ferry system. Check out some of the photos which are posted on the Flickr website. Click this link to go to the site where my screen name is Tipper.
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Need a drought broken? Call me! Seriously, I think there is a huge rain cloud that is drawn to me like a magnet when I begin on a photo journey or go to an art show. Here’s the list since last October: rained for three weeks in Pennsylvania; rained at Lost Maples; ice storm at the February Gruene show; rained at the March show; stormed at the Kerrville show (forecast was NO CHANCE OF RAIN); and, a deluge of rain at the July Rockport show. I hope our trip to Alaska in August will shake off the curse.

That said, I still look at the glass as half full instead of half empty because I have had record setting sales so far this year. I began making larger photos that are 24 x 36 when framed which is part of the reason for the increase as well as having a wider variety of subject matter from which to choose.

So, look out Salado. Be prepared for rain! I will be participating in the August 5-6 show at Pace Memorial Park on the banks of the Salado Creek. Hopefully, we won’t have to move to higher ground.

Also I have posted new July and August free desktop calendars in the Freebie Downloads section.

I have March 2006 desktop calendars (wallpaper) free for download in the downloads section. Thanks for stopping by.

Having one of my photographs selected as a magazine cover was another milestone for me. Featured on the cover of the Hill Country Magazine, Winter Issue, is a windmill I photographed along Texas Hwy. 46. Inside the issue, there is a full page with other windmill photographs taken in the Hill Country area. These and other windmills can be viewed in the “Hill Country Landscapes” of my Photo Gallery.

You can find the magazine at HEB, Wal-Mart, Walgreen’s, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Hastings, Super S, Berkly’s, and some Travel Marts. Check out their website to preview the contents of the publication.

When all the family gets together for the holidays it is a perfect opportunity to take those multi-generation photos of your loved ones. Plan ahead if possible to wear clothing with similar colors without distracting designs. Choose a location with a simple background and fill the lens with the subjects. Remember it is the faces that you will want to see–not the feet, etc.