KC & Cate in Sepia

KC & Cate in Sepia, originally uploaded by Orchid Photo.

This was toward the end of our fabulous day with Cate & KC at Bull Creek. A tired KC came over to get some love from Cate. I love her expression!

Resting Canoes

Resting Canoes, originally uploaded by Orchid Photo.

These canoes were sitting alone, looking so nice against the blue and green background. What a beautiful day it was!

Sandals on Kayak

Sandals on Kayak, originally uploaded by Orchid Photo.

A shot of my flip flops sitting at the front of mine and Kevin's kayak. A beautiful sunny day without being too hot or windy. I love being on the water!

Heron Flying

Heron Flying, originally uploaded by Orchid Photo.

Cate, Kevin and I went kayaking on Lady Bird Lake Saturday afternoon. The weather was absolutely perfect, and we all had a great time! We're planning to go again very soon.

Cate and I took tons of photos, and I'll be posting more (at least on Flickr) as I get them edited.

I'm generally terrible at photographing anything moving, so I was pleasantly surprised I caught this heron flying away from us.

Lost Your Marbles?

Lost Your Marbles?, originally uploaded by Orchid Photo.

These adorable figurines were at a booth on First (1st) Thursday on SoCo in Austin, TX. They are so cute, and I bought a calico cat, a turtle and a skunk (for Cate).

The guy, Sid, and his wife, Debby, start with marbles and then add clay and paint. They call them "Marblies" and you can see the whole collection and how they're made at www.marblies.com.

I think this is the first time I've managed to focus on something in the foreground and have bokeh in the background! Yay!

Gypsy Jewelry

Gypsy Jewelry, originally uploaded by Orchid Photo.

The gypsy who assaulted Cate (see here) also insisted we take photos of his jewelry. This one came out rather pretty and shiny in the light.

You're So Vain

You're So Vain, originally uploaded by Orchid Photo.

Austin has 1st Thursday every month, where the stores that are open stay open until 10:00. There are tons of booths outside with local artists, and this time there was an awesome percussion group with dancers.

This mannequin just struck me in a store window as looking so vain and self-serious. I tried to catch the weird lighting that was hitting it. Cate and I were standing outside, and I shot through the window.

Happy Reunion March 2009!!!

Happy Reunion Mar 2009!!!, originally uploaded by Orchid Photo.

My friend Jessica's been living in California for several years but finally moved back to Texas! Since I never won the lottery I only got to fly to CA twice. It's been a few years, so we're thrilled to be closer again. I got all teary-eyed when I saw her :)

I drove to Jessica's dad's house in Ft. Worth where Jessica and her husband Kris had a joint birthday party for their 2 kids, Jacob and Ella. I'll probably post a few pics from that, as well as a couple from our adventure to the Kimbell and the Modern museums.

Study in Lines

Study in Lines, originally uploaded by Orchid Photo.

Sometimes you just get lucky with timing and lighting.

Dancing Curtain

Dancing Curtain, originally uploaded by Orchid Photo.

Johnson City, Tx Series #8. It was a windy day, and I noticed this curtain fluttering in the wind. It really fascinated me for some reason.

Generally I'm terrible at capturing motion, so I was pleased at how well these came out. They are in order from left to right, top to bottom.

Yellow Lamp Post

Yellow Lamp Post, originally uploaded by Orchid Photo.

Johnson City, TX series #6. This lantern lamp post is the prettiest thing I saw there. It has a lovely yellow color with all the scroll details in the metal post. I wish I could have it at my house :)

Rusty Bicycle

Bicycle & Cactus, originally uploaded by Orchid Photo.

Johnson City, TX series #5. More rusty, cracked and weird stuff, but with some random cactus thrown in! Awesome.

Rusted Gears

Rusted Gears, originally uploaded by Orchid Photo.

Johnson City, TX Series #4. A black and white of some rusty gears hanging on a wall. There are things hanging everywhere in this place, which I'll probably show in another photo.

What attracted me to these gears is that each one had a different color and texture. The wall also had a lot of bumps, cracks and stains. I decided to go black and white to showcase the texture over the rusty colors.

Room with a View

Johnson City, TX, Series #3. This is looking outside from inside the room with the blue floor. It has a lovely view of the decrepit, falling-down place across the sidewalk. I particularly like the broken window hanging out of its frame.

I think I should look up the history of this place and find out what these buildings were used for.

Colorful Water Towers

I'm not feeling that well today and am really tired, so I didn't take a new photo. This is another in the series of Johnson City, TX photos, and another attempt at HDR.

I'm also having trouble with Flickr lately on the "blog this" feature. It looks better on Flickr, so head over there.

Please leave comments on HDR!

Disinviting Entrance

Disinviting Entrance, originally uploaded by Orchid Photo.

An HDR of a locked cyan "Entrance" with autumn leaves at the bottom, and fantastical artwork painted at the top. This was also part of my shoot in Johnson City, TX. I'm not sure if I saturated the colors enough. I don't have much experience with HDR, so I'm practicing and trying to learn.