Posts Tagged ‘Photography’

Fishing Pier at Lake Quanah Parker

|Sony A700 | CZ 16-80 | 16mm | f8 | 1/320 sec | ISO 640 | 3 images tonemapped|

The winter sun rises south of due east creating low angles of light and many opportunities for dramatic lighting.  I was hoping for such an opportunity when I headed out to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge this morning.  I had a strong hunch that the sun rise at ESE 118.1°, would create interesting shadows and texture on the fishing pier at Lake Quanah Parker.  However, I have to admit my surprise at finding so much beach exposed, considering the rains we have had in December.  At normal lake height, there is very little, if any, beach.  As much as I was surprised, I was also excited because of the additional opportunities 20 yards, or so, of beach would present.  I parked just outside the entrance to the Quanah Parker Conservation Center and hiked to the pier.  I arrived well ahead of the sunrise and was able to get set up in plenty of time so I could just wait for the light and the fun to begin.

Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy have a unique sound.

Erin came to visit Mike and me over the Memorial Day Weekend.  Every Memorial Day Weekend, Medicine Park reverberates with the sound of Red Dirt Music during the “Mayor’s Red Dirt Ball”.  After examining the list of bands performing over the weekend, my bet was that the best music would be heard Sunday evening.  Two groups were were scheduled to perform, Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy, 7:00–9:00 PM, and Brandon Jenkins, 9:30–11:30 PM.

We pulled into the old Medicine Park High School baseball field about 7:20 PM, and had no difficulty finding a parking spot.  From there, we only needed to walk the 300 yards, or so, down a blacktopped street and across the old bridge spanning Medicine Creek to be at Medicine Park’s “Main Stage”.  As we walked, we listened to the sound of music carried on the refreshing evening breeze. Read the rest of this entry »

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.

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

I visit the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge frequently; I’m somewhere on the WMWR most weekends throughout the year.  When I go, my Sawyer Snake Bite Kit is never far away and the photo above is the reason why.  Yesterday, I went to the WMWR late in the evening looking for two good places to make to totally different images.  One was going to be of the  sunset happening at 8:50 PM, and 293° WNW.  The other was going to be of the moonrise at 9:14 PM and 114° ESE.  My first thought was to check out Crater Lake for the moonrise so I entered the Refuge from Hwy. 115, north of Cache.  I parked in the parking lot and took a trail north up the west side of the lake.  There was a fisherman fishing off the dam and a family of geese swimming close to the western shore.  Every 100 feet, or so, I’d stop and use my compass to see just where the moon would rise in relation to the lake.  I had gone almost to the northern end of the lake before deciding I wasn’t going to get the picture I had in my mind.  It was only then I noticed the high number of dragonflies Read the rest of this entry »

"Hey Soul Sister"

My oldest son, Brandon, married a wonderful young lady, Leah, this weekend in Little Rock, Arkansas.  We just arrived home in Lawton, tired but happy, a couple of hours ago.  I wanted to get something up here quickly so here is a picture of Brandon and Leah during their first dance at the reception.  Earlier, Brandon shared with us that “Hey Soul Sister”, became “their song” as soon as it was released.  Here, they dance to their song as loving friends and family help them celebrate.  I’m pretty sure Brandon is singing the lyrics to Leah as they dance.  If not, you can only guess as to what he might be saying.

Please click the photo, or here, to view the photos I took at their reception.  There are 83 pictures on 5 pages so be sure and don’t miss any.  Please feel free to leave comments if you like, or dislike them.

Herbie

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. Read the rest of this entry »

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.