Delayed Snow

Although two months have passed since the massive snowfall (hint: sarcasm) hit the Austin area, I keep being drawn to some of the photos I took that day. On the way home from work is an area of recent road construction, and due to the extreme heat and drought last year, the grass never took root, so the ground remains barren and has begun to show signs of erosion following the winter rains. I like the contrasts set up by the snow and the dirt as only certain high places collected any accumulation of snow and the washed out areas became even more exposed.

The photo above does not give a true sense of the steep incline of the hill from the vantage point of the photograph. It almost appears to be a flat or descending area, but in reality the hill has a greater than 30 degree slope upward.


The photo above shows some of the snow collected around a gully washed out alongside the road. This gully has been growing for years and it is actually composed of heavy clay, so the water does not just wash out new ruts each rain as it does with softer soils. Here again, the snow collected on some of the higher points and exaggerates the depth of the gully.

Garden Scape

My aunt describes her decoration theme as "rust." Rust's natural appearance definitely help those rusted items fit into the landscape around them especially in the winter scape.

The old milk can and wheelbarrow, I found interesting. Again I was hoping for snow to have them really pop out of the surrounding landscape; however, with all the dead grass and leaves, they way the merge into obscurity also fit.

I particularly like the way the leaves have gathered around the wheelbarrow and milk-can, much like snow in a drift. I can imagine the snow falling there gathering around in a similar pattern.

Playing with Shadows

My aunt has some old wagon wheels as decorations at various places around her house. As the sunset came I noticed the shadows one of them was casting against the wall.

This image, in particular has a wonderful play of shadow against the object creating it. Some of the shadows actually seem to appear from nothing as the spokes seem to be going in different directions.

Getting Squirrelly

While playing around with the camera, a fat and frisky squirrel came out of it's nest and started running around and basking in the sun on the limbs of the big tree outside. The squirrel clearly did not want its picture made as it made every move it could to stay on the side of the limb away from me as I walked around and around the tree trying to get a clear picture.

It finally made its way out on a small enough limb that I could get most of it.

Peek-a-Boo

I do consider myself to be somewhat smarter than a squirrel, so I switched to the telephoto lens of the camera. I was not going to let it hide from me and ended up with this really nice picture from across the yard.

Can't Hide from the Telephoto

Berry Christmas

I am constantly looking for subjects now that I have the new camera, so while relaxing for a little while at my aunt and uncle's house in Kansas this weekend, I went walking around their yard looking at subjects I could frame into pictures.

I always hope for snow when I am there, but did not have such luck on this visit. Still, the bleak winter browns and grays provided a backdrop for color to stand out.

These two shots of a dead bush with its berries drying, and still clinging on really stand out for me among the shots I took as I walked around the yard. There are a number of different angles I took and the camera was snapping so fast that looking through several of the pictures, they seem to be animated.

I do love the natural subjects much more than people, but while in Florida on my next trip, I am hoping to be able to hone in on some people as subjects for the pictures.