Icy Sycamore Fruit Balls

The severe winter storm meteorologists had been forecasting for five days finally arrived in Southwest Oklahoma in full force Thursday morning.  People leaving home for work Thursday morning were greeted by wind, rain, and dropping temperatures.  Ice began forming on everything off the ground by 10:00 AM.  People going to lunch at noon found a thickening layer of ice on their windshields and north side of their autos.  The office where I work began the day on reduced services to prevent staff from facing the perils that only increased throughout the day.  By 2:00 PM, our office was closed.   However, I stayed because I was able to get so much done due to the lack of distractions.  I could here the ice pelting the roof and the wind rumbling across it.  Finally, about 4:00 PM, I decided to give it up and go home.  By then I had a good 5/16″ layer of ice on my windshield and north facing windows.  There was even a thicker layer on the north side.  I was unable to open the passenger door because it was frozen shut. Read the rest of this entry »

Stuck in Customs.com is my favorite site for seeing cutting edge HDR photographs done well by a master in this art form, Trey Ratcliff.  Many consider this site the very best when it comes to travel photography.  He’s also written a book, “A World in HDR”, that I found very inspiring.  I you only want to learn his technical approach to taking high dynamic range photographs, you can get all that inf0rmaiont from his tutorial found on his website.  However, if you want to gain a deeper insight into why you love photography, and HDR in particular, buy the book; you won’t be disappointed!

Snow and Ice at Osage Lake

It was the day after Christmas 2009, and two days since the biggest blizzard in over 20 years blanketed Southwest Oklahoma with amounts of snow varying from 2 to 8 inches.  Throughout the area, thin layers of snow lay alongside deep snow drifts, the results of 30-40 mph winds.  There was barely a breeze stirring today; the sky was blue and clear as far as one could see, and warmth from the sun felt so good!  The family had come to the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge primarily to get out of the house but also to see the snow on the Refuge.  It was already mid-afternoon so we weren’t expecting to be the first footprints in the snow.  However, we were soon to be disappointed when we discovered that areas such as Boulder and Sunset had not even had their gates opened for access.  We may have been disappointed, but our intent to have fun was not thwarted.  Since we were in two vehicles, I led the group to the Treasure Lake – Post Oak Lake Area because I was confident we could get up the road and there were no gates to be closed, anyway.  Soon we found ourself out of the cars, enjoying the fresh air, the young bison grazing nearby on Indian Grass poking through the snow, and throwing snowballs at each other.  After a good time was had by all, and hands and feet were becoming uncomfortably cold, the family decided to drive to Mamaw’s house for a visit.  I opted to remain in the WMWR in search of interesting photo opportunities.  I was certain I could find some. Read the rest of this entry »

Christmas Lights Reflect in the waters of Bath Lake

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