Texas Hill Country Photography

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.

This trip was a first for us because as teachers we never got to vacation in the fall. The colors were near peak as we got into West Virginia and Pennsylvania and peaked while we were there. The mountainsides were amazing with all the red, yellow, gold, and orange foliage. There were a number of days that were overcast and rainy as you can tell from some of the skies in the photos. However, for the most part I attempted to eliminate the sky or keep it to a minimum in the composition. Another tip for getting pictures in difficult weather conditions is to take more close-ups instead of large expanses of the landscape.

The gristmill photo was taken at Babcock State Park where it is supposedly the most photographed spot in West Virginia. Apparently, that is true because I lined up along the stream with six other photographers there to take photos. Without any preplanning we were lucky to arrive at the best time of the day for a good exposure from the morning sun.

I restrained from photographing any of the Amish people where they could be recognized but the working of horses was particularly impressive and I just couldn’t resist a few shots of the action. The farm land, barns, crops (pumpkins in the fields) and mums made for a beautiful fall landscape.

I hope you enjoy viewing the West Virginia and Pennsylvania photos as much as I did taking them. Check the gallery for more of the pictures.

I have posted my first two free downloads under my downloads section. I hope you enjoy them; happy downloading.

The Texas Association of Bass Club’s (TABC) state championship tournament held on Stillhouse Hollow Lake and Lake Belton on September 10-11 provided a different format for my photography. As my husband Bobby launched the boat on Saturday morning, I hurriedly got my camera ready to get a picture of the sunrise that was unfolding. What a beautiful beginning to the weekend!

Looking for fishermen who were actually “catching” was a challenge. Also, photographing with the hazy conditions and using full zoom increased the difficulty of actually getting a good shot with the rocking action of the boat. It was fun getting an overview of how everyone was progressing in the tournament and then to see the teams as they arrived for weigh-in at the Bell County Convention Center each day.

The tournament is an annual event and was sponsored this year by the Belton Chamber of Commerce, Marine Outlet and Legend Boats, Tempest Rods, Waypoint Marine, and Travis Boating Center.

Most of my coastal photography consists of the many species of birds found there. Usually, my husband takes me out in the bay boat so I can either catch an exceptional sunrise or look for wildlife in the bays. This hot August trip seemed to be a little void of wildlife or scenic wonders—just overwhelming heat and humidity. The one exception of “wildlife” was my dachshund, Lyndi Lu, who literally attacked the trout and flounder as they were brought into the boat.

She actually ended up with her entire body in the net and got totally covered with fish slime and scales. Many porpoise surfaced near the boat and she really got into her protective mode by growling and barking. It seems she was successful because not a one of them actually got in the boat—-ha! There are numerous pictures of her but somehow I don’t think those will do much for my collection of photos. However, one sight was spectacular and that was watching a gigantic piece of oil field equipment being moved down the ship channel by numerous tugs.

With any luck I hoped to add a little variety to my portfolio while we were in the Port Aransas area. After crossing the ferry into Port A, I photographed scenes such as the red snapper catch and the Deep Sea Headquarters. It was with some difficulty that we passed up all the new stores (no shopping this trip) and headed out to the beach. As we drove down the beach we became aware of how much the dune structure had changed over the last several years. They are no longer barren but are covered with vegetation which is a sign of a successful program to prevent dune erosion. But, that does not make for the stereotypical picture with picturesque sandy dunes facing the incoming gulf waves. There were a few people on the beach which was good because they added a little life to some of the pictures that I did take.

Pictures without living creatures remind me of how my uninhabited Dept. 56 Christmas village looked in it’s beginning. I suddenly realized my village looked as if a plague had wiped out the entire population—not making for a Happy Holiday appearance at all!