Contentment is wherever you can find it.

Quanah Parker was the last War Chief of the Comanche Nation.  This beautiful lake on the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge was named in his honor.  This image is a High Dynamic Range (HDR) image created by tonemapping seven exposures.  The breeze was very slight but it was enough to provide a sense of movement among the cattails and reeds.  I entitled this image “Contentment” because of the wash of peace I felt, first upon finding this spot and recognizing the opportunity, and then, even more when the image was captured and I had done my best.  For me, that’s contentment:  recognizing an opportunity and knowing I put forth my best effort to rise to the call.

Sunrise on Crater Lake

During the months of March—May, when many different wildflowers are blooming in Southwest Oklahoma, the wind is blowing, too, making macro photography difficult!  Couple that with the fact I only get into the field on weekends and getting good images of these early Spring wildflowers can be almost impossible.  What I wish for is a Saturday morning weather forecast that it won’t be raining and the wind velocity range will not exceed 1—2 mph.  A wish like that in Southwest Oklahoma will draw questionable looks from the natives!  It isn’t the rain part, but the low wind velocity that gets the attention.  About the only time you can find that calm a breeze is sunrise or sunset.  And that doesn’t happen everyday for sure, let alone on Saturday morning.  Everybody knows the best weather conditions for enjoying your favorite pastime are during the week when you’re working.  Friday night’s forecast for Saturday did not make my wish come true, but it wasn’t far off.  At 7:00 AM, a little bit after sunrise, it was something like 70% cloud cover, 30% chance of rain, and a 4 mph SW wind.  Well, that’s about as good as I’m ever going to get, so I put everything together Friday night before I went to bed.

I hate the sound of my alarm clock regardless of the time, but at 5:15 am on Saturday morning it’s a lot more than annoying.  Sunrise would be at 6:30 am, so I forced myself to get up after I had hit the snooze button twice.  I had gotten the coffee ready the night before, so all I had to do was hit the button to get it going.  A few minutes later, as I was getting my daily medications together, the wonderful smell of fresh brewing coffee came wafting through the air.  My clothes were already laid out, so all I had to do was rub a “Deep Woods Off” soaked towelette over my bare legs, arms, neck, and shoulders and finish getting dressed.  I really do hate Deet, but not as bad as I hate ticks and they must be the most abundant form of wildlife on the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.  Since that was where I was heading and most of my time would be stretched out prone on the ground, I had to just buck-up and take it.

Finally dressed, cup of coffee under my belt, camera gear, thermos of coffee, and bottles of water loaded in my 1993 Toy truck, I’m off to the WMWR.  Well, I have to make a quick stop by McDonald’s at 31st and Cache Road for a “sausage and egg biscuit, but then it’s up 38th to Roger’s Lane then westbound and down.  Yahoo!

Heading west on Quanah Parker Trailway, eating my biscuit, sipping hot coffee, and the fresh morning air filling the cab through the driver side window lowered about six inches, I can’t help thinking, “Life is good and I am Blessed!”  In less than 20 minutes I’ll be driving across the cattle guards that stretch across Hwy. 115, north of Cache.  Using this entrance onto the Refuge was a choice I made only after noticing the day was well into Civil Twilight and the surrounding pastures and the low hanging heavy cloud cover were becoming easier to see in the increasing light of day.  It was only then that the idea of possibly capturing an interesting sunrise surfaced.  I thought there just might be a chance of the sun showing itself just as it climbed above the horizon.  In Southwest Oklahoma a view of the horizon is one of the easiest views to position yourself for; finding something to use for an interesting foreground is not!  As I turned north onto Hwy. 115, I began to glance every few seconds to the east checking the sky for the rising sun’s progress and also considering every hill, tree, and fence post as a foreground possibility.  I’ve done this so many times before knowing I wouldn’t find anything, but still trying thinking maybe I would notice something, this time, I’d never seen before.

“Brrmp, Brrmp”, was the sound the tires made crossing the cattle guard as I entered the WMWR.  By this time I was certain the sun would be on the verge of topping the horizon, if it hadn’t already.  I also knew the first chance I would have to tell for sure wouldn’t be until I reached Crater Lake.  I always respect the 45 mph speed limit on the Refuge, so I just had to control the butterflies of anticipation and relax.  I swivel-headed from side to peering into the darkness for glimpses of elk, bison, deer, turkey, or maybe even a coyote or wild pig.  Even though it would be too dark to take any decent pictures, I still look every time because I’m fascinated by all living thing on the Refuge and I’ve seen them all, many times before, along this same stretch of highway.  Even though I had restrained my urge to speed ahead, I was not able to curb an eagerness to scan the eastern horizon currently hidden by granite hills.  I knew if there was any chance to include the sunrise in an image, it would be at Crater Lake.  I also knew the sun would rise at 60° ENE because I had checked last night.  Finally the hills ended and the turnoff to Crater Lake was just ahead.  I could see an orange glow on the eastern horizon and I knew dawn was ready to proclaim a new day!  I was going to have to move quickly, my options were limited,  one, maybe two chances were all I’d get, but I was ready for “the first thing” this morning.

HDR photograph using 3 exposures (-2, 0, +2).  Sony A700, Carl Zeiss  16-80 f3.5-4.5 ZA (16mm, f22, 1/40s), Manfrotto 055XPROB w/3030 head, 1000s remote release cable.

Clouds Through My Window

I’ve visited this cabin located on the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge (WMWR) many times over the years.  I’ve always wanted to take pictures from the inside looking out through these windows but always knew the result would be very disappointing.  The problem was the darkness of the interior in contrast to the bright outdoors.  I would never be able to achieve what I wanted until High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography came onto the scene.  This time when I visited this great little cabin, I was exhilarated with expectations of the possibilities.  I learned some things from this experience and am sure I can make some technical improvements.  This image was made using five exposures.  I needed to use more, maybe seven.  I’m satisfied with what I have now, and await my next visit.

Cameron University: Showing Its Pride!

The skies over Southwest Oklahoma had been heavily clouded and pouring forth rain in abundance for the past three days.  Because of predictions of more rain on Saturday, I had already planned my day ar0und computer tasks such as adding needed descriptions to some categories and albums on my online gallery, and working on the images in my database before it got out of hand.  However, throughout most of the day the wind was dead calm and I couldn’t keep myself from the disappointment of not being out shooting wildflowers.  I kept thinking how great a day it was for doing just that.

It’s now almost 7:30 PM, and I’m watching TV, when I see the bright rays of the descending sun breaking under the cloud cover shining on the fence in my backyard.  I immediately think of the Cameron University sign at the corner of 38th Street and Gore Boulevard.  It had caught my attention Thursday night as I was returning home from a Wichita Wildlight Photographic Society (WWPS) meeting.  I remember thinking that it would have great HDR potential late in the evening, especially with thunder clouds in the background.  This was the moment!  I knew it would be fleeting and I had to hurry.  I needed to change clothes, but luckily, I the necessary camera gear was already in my camera bag.  I rushed to get out the door and on the way to Cameron.   Another bit of fortune is that I live less than two miles away.

By the time I reached the corner of 38th and Gore, the sun was casting it’s golden rays beautifully on the corner where the Cameron sign is beautifully displayed.  However, there was a bank of clouds below the sun resting on the horizon and I knew it would on be a few minutes before the sun sank behind them.  And here I was waiting on the green left turn arrow!  I had just missed it and would now have to wait for all the lights to cycle back to me.  I prayed, “GOD, I only need five or six minutes.  Please, just give me a chance!”  Finally, the green arrow flashed and lurched forward into the intersection turning onto 38th.  I turned into the huge parking lot that used to bear the traffic from those attending Cameron football games but is now used for high school football fans whose teams use the stadium now and for high school marching band contests.  Fortunately I was able to park directly behind my objective.  My camera was already prepared for the shots I needed.  I made sure of that while I waited for the green arrow at the traffic light.  I grabbed my tripod, shutter release, and camera and made for the corner of the intersection.

My mind was racing like crazy as I mentally made sure I was covering all bases and not overlooking something minor that would have disastrous results on my efforts.  First I sat up as a close to a pole as I could get without it getting into the picture and took a wide angle of the entire brick structure.  I couldn’t help but notice how bright the colors of the plants were following the two days of rain and now in the bright light of the sun they were brilliant.  I was excited to see the clouds in the background mixed with patches of blue sky.  I knew they would look great.  I was moving quickly, as always in the back of mind was the knowledge the sun was sinking behind those clouds at my back.  I also had to make sure my own shadow did not get into the picture.  Following the first series of exposures, I repositioned closer to the sign but still with my lens at its widest setting, 16mm and f22.  I was like a machine going through the motions after someone flicked the “On” switch.  Even so, I was only able to maneuver into five different positions before the sun was obscured by the clouds and light was gone.  Whew!  I paused, sighed deeply several times, gathered myself, camera, and tripod and walked back to my truck with deep satisfaction.

Clouds Reflected on Mirror Surface

Rare are the words, “There’s no wind”, heard in Southwest Oklahoma.  Even more rare are the times when it’s actually true, with nary a breeze astir.  The morning I came upon this scene at Caddo Lake on the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge was about as close as it comes.  My timing was perfect, which is rare for me also, and I knew I would have to hurry to capture the scene as I found it.  My sense to make haste proved true, because within fifteen minutes, I could feel a breeze whispering on my cheek and see the delicate wildflower heads beginning to nod.

Concrete arches rise from a wheat field in Cotton County.

I still don’t know what this is, or was, or whatever!  I can no more estimate the number of times I’ve passed by this structure as I can estimate the number of times I’ve traveled Hwy. 5 between Temple and Walters, OK.  Growing up in Temple, and Walters being only 10 highway miles away, slightly over 7 miles by the railroad tracks that run between the two Southwest Oklahoma towns, I passed by this structure often.  It caught my attention every time I passed during daylight hours.  I’ve always found it mysterious.

Over the years I’ve asked many people the history of this place with most only responding they thought it had something to do with the railroad.  One story, presented with confidence by a man who grew up in Walters and said his parents told him that this was the ruins of a vegetable cannery built around the turn of the 20th Century.  I feel he’s probably right, but I still don’t know what part this structure would have played in a vegetable cannery.  If someone has any other information, or has any suggestions on the use of this arched structure, I’m interested in hearing them.

The Vaska Theatre Sign Still Lights the Lawton Sky.

Built in 1948, the Vaska Theatre, located at 1902 NW Ferris Avenue, is the oldest movie theatre in Lawton, OK.  It may not be as modern or have the latest technology like the multi-screen theatres in town, but it still has a lot to offer.  You can see movies for $3.00, you get free refills on large popcorns and sodas, and their longevity, having opened in 1948,  means they are dependable.  To point out the latter, Lawton suffered the worst ice storm, in anyone’s memory, on Thursday, January 28, 2010.  It shut the whole town down, taking out power to about 30,000 people and doing indescribable damage to trees throughout the city.  Many people were without electricity for 7 days, or longer, and the schools were closed for 7 days, too.  Well, you can imagine my surprise when looking out a back window of my house, I saw the top of the Vaska tower aglow from the red neon lights.  It didn’t surprise me that they had eclectricity, because we had been blessed and spared that particular misfortune at our house, only a block away.  What caught me offguard was that they were open, at all.  I thought to myself, “How great that during a time of hardship, for many, the Vaska was sending the message loud and clear of stability and strength, steadfastness in the face of adversity, and reaching out to all who sought refuge from the storm.”  This photo was taken the next night to record the proud moment in the Vaska’s rich history.