Sunny and Mild...a Blue Day in January

It's a gorgeous south Texas day, today. The skies are blue and the temperature is a cool and refreshing 69 degrees.  For those of you who live in places where snow is common, I must say I wish we had more of the white stuff here. Nonetheless, I appreciate our winters!

Delighting in a Dandylion

The closer one looks at the handiwork of God, the more one must marvel, for whether creating on the scale of the universe, or the minuteness of a dandylion bud, the things that are made are amazing. 

Here is the common weed known familiarly as the dandylion. It sprouts up in untended fields and manicured lawns. Look closer....

Do you see the activity going on by tiny little buggy workers? They are doing what they were created to do. Now, I have no idea what function they perform, or why their labor is important, but God knows. Who can fathom the mind of God? He set the stars spinning in space, and he knows when a sparrow falls. 

Look closer.....

I know I can trust God for all things great and small, for He, with a word, made them all.

Bus Stop Buddies

While sitting on the upper deck of the Amtrak train at the Fort Worth train and bus station, I spied these two gentleman. I couldn't help but notice that they were very animated. Both have canes, and at times, both canes were waving as the they talked. I took a series of shots as they talked, all the while wondering what they were talking about. Today, I am just going to post the shots without any imaginative storylines which would arise out of pure conjecture. I would love to hear what you think they might be saying.....be prepared, though, dear readers, for I plan on inventing some conversation for them in the future.

Raw Power...The Stark Beauty of Power Lines

This post is for those who appreciate the beauty of geometry. Lines, angles and curves in an ordered, structured arrangement. I find the geometric order of power lines receding into the distance a challenge to photograph in an effort to capture something worthy to be called art. 

Power line photography is an iffy thing, for almost always, the photographer (me, for instance) is travelling in a vehicle. The power lines appear in the viewfinder and are gone in a matter of seconds. Framing them is a challenge, to say the least. The results are mostly serendipitous and haphazardly successful. Here are some of my latest power line shots.

Sometimes, I imagine that the towering structures are alien creatures ready to fight for the control of the farmland they are planted on.

 I see arms and pinchers poised to break free of the binding cords which hold them captive.

Then again, maybe I am just a bit fanciful....see? They are just poles and cables, after all.

Ahh, but when viewed up close at just the right angle, the menacing transformer type alien is once again evident. 

 Seriously, though, I do love the stark and complex mix of lines and angles in blacks, silvers and rust colors framed by a deep blue sky. There are many kinds of beauty, and to me, power lines have their own charm and fascination.

What's That in the Sky? Contrail Versus Chemtrail

Saturday afternoon, I spent about 45 minutes sitting in the observation car of the Texas Eagle, the Amtrak train that travels back and forth between San Antonio and Fort Worth, every day. I had arrived early, so the train just sat while passengers continued to arrive.

Looking up, I saw that someone had been spraying, again. What? You are not familiar with the sprayed lines in the sky that turn into hazy clouds instead of dissapating like jet contrails?

Well, if you see a jet high in the sky and it leaves a small, thin white line behind it, that is probably a contrail, the water vapor trail which dissapates in a matter of minutes.

On the other hand, if you see a jet high in the sky and it leaves a long, thin white line that thickens and spreads out the longer it is up in the sky, that is probably what is referred to by conspiracy type folks as a chem-trail. These lines are usually sprayed in a grid pattern, kind of like a tic-tac-toe game. The trails stay in the sky, expanding for hours. Eventually, they do not look like lines, at all. They turn into wispy clouds.

So, here I was, sitting on the train with my camera in my hand, looking out the window. This is the chem-trail pattern I saw. It's the first star pattern I've seen.


Here is a broader shot, so you can get some idea of the scale of these trails. I do not know who is responsible for them. I do not know why they are spraying these chemical trails. But I do know that they are there, visible for everyone to see who has eyes to see. Makes me wonder, though.

The Observation Car

The Amtrak passenger train is made up of several types of cars. Of course, there are the passenger cars, which are arranged with rows of four seats which are split in half with a wide aisle. 

There are also sleeper cars for the folks making a long journey, and a dining car for those wishing to eat a sit-down restaurant type meal. Then, there is the observation car, which is where I usually end up.

When you board the train, the staff tells you which passenger car is for you, and you pick an empty seat. You are given a stiff cardstock piece of paper about one-third the size of a dollar bill to place over your chosen seat, for instance, 49 window, and that "saves" your seat for you as you travel up and down the train. I try to get a window seat, of course. Sometimes, though, they are all taken. Then I just put my stub on any of the open slots and head for the observation car.

It is roomy. It is usually almost empty. It has huge windows. There are table seats, swivel double seats and fixed double seats, and a smattering of single seats. 

Coming home on Saturday night, the train was almost full. I headed to the observation car. It ended up filling up, also.

Here are some of the folks I met:

These folks are from Indiana. They got on the Amtrak train in Chicago and they're headed to Arizona. I asked permission to take their pictures, and that started a conversation that lasted for quite a while. They were both very interesting. 

They are travelling with their parents, who were also very gracious. This lady has the most beautiful blue eyes and a very sweet smile.

The back two tables were filled with roustabouts, who talked loudly about the oil business. I could hear them talk about their wages and the need for workers, especially crane operators. They made a couple of trips to the cafe for  more beer and soda.

This lady was part of a foursome from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. They had a couple of coolers filled with snackies and wine. The coolers were opened often, haha. 

The two women sat together, and the guys sat in the table across from them. When one of the women suggested a domino game, I asked if I could take their picture sometime during the game. They smiled, and told me to go ahead. It wasn't until I looked at the picture on my computer that I saw that the lady in orange had put the yellow domino box on top of the cooler so it would be in the picture. Funny lady.

Now this guy was the most interesting on the trip. His name is Lee, and he is the dining car attendant. He was coming down the aisle in the observation car, asking folks for dinner reservations. I had my camera poised. He saw it and dramatically feigned shyness. "You're not going to take my picture, are you?" he asked of me.
"Well, I was thinking about it, but I guess I wont," I replied, laughing.
"Ahhhh, go ahead and take it," he said, and then posed for me as he stood in the aisle.
Unfortunately, my camera was already lowered, so I missed the shot.
Later, when he was finished taking passengers' reservations, he came back into the observation car and plopped down across from me.
I still had my camera out, taking speed pictures out the window, but when he posed once again, I got the shot.  What a character.

As the sun got lower in the sky, without the bright patches of sunlight hitting the tabletops, this gentleman from the Gettysburg group began videoing the passing farmland. Look to the right of him, and you can see a daddy holding his little girl as they also look out the window.

If you ever have the chance to ride the Amtrak train, take it!

Peeking Through the Window...Speed Photography on a Train

Here are a hodge-podge of some of the sights captured in the blink of an eye as the train I was on travelled through the Texas countryside between Fort Worth and San Marcos.

A trailer made from the rear end of a chevy pick up.

A curve in the row with three curvy arrows.

A herd of cows crowded around hay bales.

A jet fighter permanently poised for take-off.

A pair of purple porta-potties surrounding a tan potty.

A backyard soccer practice arena.

Taking the Train, Seeing the Sights

 If you have never riden a train instead of driving or flying to your destination, you have missed a treat.

It is so easy, compared to flying or driving. You can get your ticket sent to your phone or computer. The conductor can even scan from your phone, so you don't have to have a paper ticket. Neat.

As you can see, there is lots of room on the Amtrak train. This is the observation car, which has swivel double seats, single swivel seats, and cafe table style seating. There are outlets for your electrical appliances at every seat, too. 

Looking out the window as we passed Town Lake in Austin, I spotted  two rowing teams with their coach following in a little flat bottom boat. I can't hear the coach yelling a rowing cadence through his bullhorn, but I can imagine it. The sun reflected off the closely spaced rippling waves, creating a blinding brilliance for observers to appreciate.

Somewhere around the town of Bartlett, I spotted this incredibly vibrant mural. It's not facing the main road. It is facing the back of the building. Some artist went all out, creating a work of art, and I got to enjoy it. 

I like to take pictures of the water towers, because that helps me identify where the previous and upcoming shots were taken. It is a challenge to take interesting photos of water towers. Since this tower was just a few frames away from the black mural, I can assume that the building is close to Bartlett.

My three year old grandson, Joe, loves Frank, the combine, and the tractor cows from the movie, CARS. When I saw this large yellow tractor and the herd of smaller red tractors bunched together, I immediately thought of Frank, the combine.

There are six stops between San Marcos and Fort Worth: Austin, Taylor, Temple, McGregor, and Cleburne. The nastiest stop is in Austin, It is in a very run down area, and the buildings, bridges and underpasses are filled with grafitti. My daughter tells me that the cartoon characters used in grafittI each have their own hidden messages. I don't have any idea what Tweetie Bird means.

This shack is sits somewhere in Temple. Once again, the train passes through a very run-down, poverty-stricken area. First, I shot the scene with a broad angle. The train was moving slowly, so I had time to notice the group of men sitting on the street. That gave me time to zoom in as we got closer.

Two of the men were seated in cheap, white plastic lawn chairs, sipping their large glass containers of booze. I may do a series on them someday, the five or six shots I took, for in each one, there is action: a swig of a drink, a puff on a cigarette, and even a look at the photographer, which you can see here.

This is a part of America that most of us never get to see first hand. Here it is, taking place in the hidden parts of our cities and towns.

There is such a range of sights on any typical trip. Some, like this view of a soggy meadow, with trees reflected in the pooled water, have a beauty that is breathtaking. 

So, here is a final rave on the goodness of God to this humble little photographer...

Thank you, God, for the beauty of your creation. Thank you for the gift you have given me, small though it may be, for capturing some of your gems scatterered here and there. Thank you for the eye to see what you have done. Thank you for the equipment to record it. Thank you for everything. I love you!

Speed Photography...Shooting from a Moving Train

Once again, I have taken the Amtrak train from San Marcos to Fort Worth. It is a wonderful way to travel. Unlike driving down the freeway, you can sit high above the ground, travel at 60 mph, yet not have to deal with traffic jams, drunk drivers, weather,  or looking for a gas station with a clean bathroom.

I take my camera and sit in the observation car, which has huge viewing windows and very comfortable swivel couches. Then, I play a photography game called speed shooting. (I invented the game, myself.) Here's how it goes....

I watch out the window to see anything that might interest ANY of my viewers. Then, I start taking shots, shots of all kinds of things. The challenge is to be able to snap the picture before the item speeds out of view. Also, it is part of the challenge to get it in focus (remember, the train is moving!) And the final part of the game is to get the shot composed enough to actually be a decent photo.

This particular trip, which took a little over five hours, I snapped over 1000 frames.

On some trips, I take a lot of photos, and none of them are worth sharing.

This time, however, as I started going through my uploaded photos, I came across shot after shot that I actually liked. Some of them, I liked a lot. The morning light was nice, though not awesome. Many of the shots were in focus. Many of them were framed just right. Wow.
Then, I remember that I have a different, better camera, this trip. It made a difference.

I have to laugh, because, many times, folks say something like, "Your photography is so good, you must have a very good camera." There was a famous photographer who attended a dinner at a New York socialite's home, and the socialite made a similar comment to him. He did not reply, but after eating the meal, he said, "Your dinner was excellent. You must have a very nice stove." Ha, ha. 

Here are a few of my favorites.