Archive for the ‘HDR’ Category

Turning to the Light

There are times when we cannot see what waits around the bend, because we are unable to see things ahead in time.  The images I made of Quartz Mountain Flyer’s railway is an example of that.  Two days earlier I was traveling from Mangum to Hobart on SH 44, which passes by the Quartz Mountains State Park in Greer and Kiowa counties of Southwest Oklahoma.  The highway skirts around the southern end of Lake Altus-Lugert as it makes its way north to Lone Wolf.  Glancing toward the lake at every opening between the trees, I was captured by what I thought would make a wonderful HDR (high dynamic range) image under the right lighting conditions.  Due to the recent and abundant rains, the lake was full of deep blue water creating islands of several ancient granite peaks.  For me this has always been a mystical scene but on this day, at this time, it was magical, too.  I wanted badly to stop, if only for a minute, but couldn’t because my time was very short and I still had to drive on to Anadarko after stopping in Hobart.  However, I did begin plans to return on Saturday.  Saturday was two days away and difficult to see, much like things around a bend. Read the rest of this entry »

Sonny Nevaquaya plays at Medicine Park's 102 B-Day Bash

“59 & 102″

What do they have in Common?

Medicine Park and I both celebrated our birthdays on Saturday, July 10.  For Medicine Park it was their 102nd, having been founded on July 4, 1908, and for this Baby Boomer it was my 59th.  Well, since I consider my “birth day” as the most important day of my life, I make it a personal celebration whether anyone else gives a hoot, or not!  Since it occurs most often during the work week, I always take leave on my birthday.  This means I nearly always spend the day by myself, but that’s okay because this is something special I do for myself; it’s a gift to myself.  However, when my day falls on the weekend and there’s a big celebration going on somewhere, I’m not opposed to glomming on and letting someone else help me celebrate.  Well, with Medicine Park celebrating its 102nd Birthday Bash, six days late,  on Saturday, July 10, and Sherry offering to take me out to dinner for my 59th, I couldn’t let such an opportunity go to waste.  (Oh by the by, did I mention the best birthday gift I’ve ever received was when my son, Brandon, was born on my birthday in 1978?  I mean, after that everything else falls short… right?) 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.

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.

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.