Stained-Glass

 

I'll admit that there is not anything particularly challenging about photographing stained-glass windows - just let natural sunlight do its job, put your camera on something steady, like a tripod, and use a nice long exposure to capture the colors and patterns of the design - but I think they are beautiful and love photographing them.    This bay window is in Westbury Church of Christ, Houston, Texas.

Flute Fingers

 

I saw a framed photograph hanging in my daughter's flute professor's office (Brad Garner) of fingers in motion while playing  a flute.  It really intrigued me how the photographer captured the fingers frozen in various positions while keeping the flute sharp and well exposed.  I thought this would be a fun challenge!

A black music stand was used for the background, a hot-shoe flash was fired remote through a shoot-through umbrella for the light, and the camera was tripod mounted to enable a long exposure.

JRT

The Newport Aquarium

 

My daughter and I spent the afternoon at the wonderful Newport Aquarium, which is just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati.  Had a creepy feeling the whole time that something was watching, waiting, hoping we would get to close to the water.

I have always wanted an aquarium of my own, now if I ever get one, I want it to be a jelly-fish tank.  They are spectacular!

All this guy wanted was a fresh fly.  He looked everywhere.

JRT

Flight 2520

 

Traveled from Houston to Cincinnati on Thursday to visit my daughter over the weekend.  I always get a window seat because I really like watching what is going on around the plane on the ground and up in the air.

Speaking of up in the air, there is a movie out right now with the same name.  It has several scenes that look like this view out of the airplane window:

How was the movie you may wonder?  I wish I could get my money back.

JRT

Jack Ball

I did a special little portrait session recently of, yes, a Jack Ball. It cost .99 cents at Jack-in-the Box and lived for several years and around 25,000 miles on my wife's car radio antenna.  He made the car easy to spot across parking lots and always greeted us with a smile.  He never complained about his position in life, even when he was swept off once by some low hanging branches.  A new car was introduced into the family that has no antenna, so Jack was retired.  I wonder if that hat is covering up a bowl cut.

Rose & Flute

What could be simpler?  A rose, green leaves, a shiny silver flute, and a highly reflective crystal vase, all strategically placed in front of a red wall.  Light it with a 2 X 3 softbox, maybe use a white reflector for fill.

Well, since I asked, lots of things could be simpler.  The wall is too shiny, the wall is too dark, the wall is too sharply in focus, the wall has uneven lighting.  The leaves are too dark, the leaves are too bright, the rose is out of focus, the flute is out of focus, too little depth of field, too much depth of field...you get the idea.  This turned out to be a study in lighting compromise.

This still life pushed my technical skills.  I never did get the highlights on the silver flute just like I wanted, however I did finally manage to get a fine focus on the rose using nice soft light.

JRT

Sunset in Sugar Land

The Texas sky to the southwest of Sugar Land looked spectacular as I drove home this evening.  The sun sank fast, but not before I was able to get a couple of nice images.  We have another round of winter headed our way which will keep scenes like this away for awhile.

JRT

Papa's Pocket Watch

My maternal grandfather was given this pocket watch by his mother, so the family story goes.  He had this gold one, for when he was dressed up (generally just for church on Sunday); and a silver one he carried the rest of the time.  The silver one was better suited for the daily, hard-working life of a farmer.  There are not a lot of family heirlooms, so I plan on photographing what I have and sharing with the rest of the family.  Hopefully this old watch will be passed down to a grandchld of mine someday

JRT

Factory Window

You may correctly assume that Sugar Land, Texas, was so named because of something to do with sugar.  Several years ago, Imperial Sugar was sold and subsequently shuttered.  All the old buildings that were part of the mill are waiting on the wrecking ball as developers impatiently await to re-develop the property.  I was looking for a sunset shot when I noticed the glow of the setting sun on the windows of this abandoned out-building.

JRT

Calla Lilly

One of the great things about sending my wife flowers, is that I get to shoot them when they are brought home.  This Calla Lilly literally stood out in the bouquet by standing straight and tall, showing off it's delicate colors and form.

JRT

Electric Guitar

Guitars make pretty good models.  No complaining.  They don't blink.  No need for bathroom breaks.  They are however very shiny, which makes lighting them fairly difficult.  Just be patient and keeping angling the light until it is even, free from hotspots, and the highlights are under control.  If that's the look you are going for.

JRT

Tomatoes

Since I usually eat three times a day, that gives me three opportunities for a photograph.  These tasty tomatoes were part of a delicious salad we had for dinner this evening.  I don't know how the strawberry sneaked in.

JRT

Hermann Hospital

Much of the original Hermann Hospital building is no longer visible due to the additions that have been made over the years.  The Medical Center in Houston, Texas, seems to experience continual growth and change.  This elegant old tower can be seen from Hermann Park.

JRT

Geode Slice

I find geodes fascinating.  We have had this little geode slice hanging in a window of our home for many years.  The sunlight coming through it's translucent structure really shows off it's intricate, beautiful details.  This closeup detail reminds me of the shallow waters of a tropical sea meeting a jagged coastline.

JRT

Swan

Photo for Sunday, January 17, 1010

Yesterday I enjoyed a beautiful, sunny afternoon after enduring several gloomy, rainy, chilly days.  On Christmas Day, this swan visited my in-laws lake, and has been coming back regularly ever since.  It is very graceful and elegant, and we enjoyed watching it glide around the lake.

Rodeo Arena

Photo for Saturday, January 16, 2010

It does not look like a rodeo has been held here in a while (arena at the Houston Farm and Ranch Club), but looking at the shoot gates I could imagine rodeo cowboys strapping themselves onto snorting beasts, awaiting the glory they can find only at the end of an eight second ride.

Fire Truck

Photo for Friday, January 15, 2010

My friend Ron Booker and I spent Friday and Saturday at the Houston Farm and Ranch Club, site of the 23rd annual Hold 'em & Hit 'em Club BBQ Cookoff, into which we were entered.  Although I was mostly occupied with my cooking duties, I found a few photo opps, like this old, dilapidated fire truck.  It used to be used to save lives and property, now somebody needs to save it.

JRT

Wine Glass

Photographing a glass turned out to be a good bit more difficult than I imagined.

• It is really hard to get a glass full of liquid (water with red food coloring) perfectly clean.
• Every glass I considered using had some imperfection.
  
• A glass like this reflects e v e r y t h i n g.
• You must photograph in a completely dark environment.
• Drape everything you can with a non-reflective material.
  
• Red food coloring can leave a stain.  oops.
  

I am hoping to photograph outside tomorrow...

JRT

Fire Ball

Kids, don't try this at home.  Either let professionals or idiots take all the risk.

Actually this was a fun project that was quick to set-up, and as safe as fire can be by following precautions.

Thanks Reece for the idea, and thanks to you and Allison for the help!

Reece

I spent a few minutes tonight practicing a simple portrait lighting setup and captured this pose of my son, Reece.