My sight picture

Jumping ship?

2009-12-16T23:05:00.001-06:00

Going to give WordPress a shot. Looks like they offer a lot more versatility... Hop on by if you've got the time....

Layers

2009-12-09T21:09:00.003-06:00

Looking at this birdbath, I was simply astounded by the variety of layers visible! Everything from the reflection of the clouds to the leaves (and ice) on top to the decaying leaves on the bottom was visible. I pretty much went cross eyed looking into the water. Threw on the 11x16 lens and got in nice and close.

Rest of the set found here.

Makin' snow

2009-12-08T21:52:00.002-06:00

Change

2009-12-08T21:41:00.002-06:00

The trees have just about dropped all their leaves, and the ones that are left often have some brilliant color.

Classic Christmas

2009-12-02T20:19:00.002-06:00

Snow Day

2009-12-02T20:00:00.001-06:00

We were a little bit surprised here in DFW when we woke up this morning to discover snow on the ground.

Christmas time

2009-11-29T20:49:00.003-06:00

Thanksgiving is over, and the Christmas rush has begun with a bang.

Was out playing with some ideas and set up this shot of some Christmas lights at work. Reminds me of the Millennium Falcon for some reason.

Fall is here

2009-11-25T22:43:00.004-06:00

Rest of the pics found here.

Heading home

2009-11-23T20:27:00.002-06:00

Saw this fellow on the way out of the Park. I was pretty sick most of the trip with a cold, but as usual, Big Bend managed to create some fantastic memories and I'm already counting the days till the next trip.

Day 5

2009-11-18T20:37:00.003-06:00

Who'd think this is in the middle of one of the most inhospitable deserts in North America?

Big Bend Ranch State Park

2009-11-14T20:03:00.002-06:00

Day 4

Here kitty kitty!

Big Bend Ranch State Park

2009-11-09T20:50:00.003-06:00

Day 3

You have no idea how tempted I was to jump into this pool of water! If it had been in the 90s instead of in the 80s outside I would have been all over it.

Big Bend Ranch State Park

2009-11-08T19:23:00.002-06:00

Day 2

Sunset. Quiet.

See previous post for links to the rest of the pics.

Big Bend Ranch State Park

2009-11-07T19:06:00.006-06:00

Day 1

Arrived late afternoon and setup camp. There's a bit of noise in this picture from the high ISO, but I still think it's a neat pic considering that the only light was the (nearly) full moon.

You can find the rest of the pictures here and here. I'll be adding more pics from the trip over the next week or so as I get them all together.

Sunset

2009-10-31T23:44:00.003-05:00

I couldn't miss this fabulous sunset the other day, so I just rested my camera lens on my left arm while I steered with my left hand and took the pic while I was heading home.

It's a good thing I had my camera with me (see rule #1) because by the time I made it home, the color was completely gone.

The Basin

2009-10-24T09:52:00.003-05:00

I always thought that this capture of the Basin at the Big Bend National Park looked a little bit mystical, with the clouds and mist hanging around the rim.

I've added some more photos to this gallery as well.

Sunrise at La Mota

2009-10-19T20:24:00.002-05:00

View from the campsite at Papalotito Colorado at the Big Bend Ranch State Park.

Absolutely can't wait to get back out there.

Cemetery tours

2009-10-18T18:15:00.004-05:00

That time of year again.... We run cemetery tours at an old cemetery every October; they're actually pretty neat. You get to tour the cemetery and meet some of the residents interred there. Nothing spooky, just learning about local history.

Played around with the camera a bit and got some pretty "ghostly" shots.

This one didn't turn out too badly either.

Clouds

2009-10-14T21:33:00.002-05:00

I've mentioned before that clouds fascinate me. Tonight was no different. The clouds in the background were catching the fading sunlight while the group in front was already shrouded in darkness.

Made for a nice contrast.

Fog

2009-10-14T21:27:00.001-05:00

Went on a little trip to Stephenville this week and the fog on the way back was pretty thick. Stopped to take a few snaps on the way home.

Full moon

2009-10-11T21:24:00.002-05:00

Was going through some files and re-discovered these pics I snapped in December '08. I believe they were among the first pics I took with my new (at the time) G10.

Here's one of my favs from the night.

Paint Gap

2009-10-04T15:51:00.003-05:00

Nice little primitive campsite north of the basin; looking into the desert between the Terlingua Ranch and the Rosillas Ranch.

Cattails

2009-09-30T21:18:00.001-05:00

Lots o' pictures

2009-09-28T21:31:00.003-05:00

Spent the weekend playing, really... Shot a criterium on Saturday and a mountain bike race Sunday. Was supposed to race on Sunday, but got a tad overserved Saturday night.... but that's another story.

Here's a shot from the Pro race at the Denton crit:

And here's a shot from the mountain bike race:

You know the drill, the rest of the sets can be found here and here.

Quiet Time

2009-09-24T21:27:00.003-05:00

I was out doing some work on the local mountain bike trail tonight and fortunately, following my rule #1 of photography, had my camera with me.

With the cold fronts pushing through the last few days, the sunsets have been particularly nice. To see the rest of what I've caught, check 'em out here.

Well...

2009-09-23T21:43:00.002-05:00

Not a bad sunset for being in the middle of the metromess.

View from the porch

2009-09-20T16:40:00.002-05:00

Got home from running around yesterday and caught another great sunset, right outside my front door. Love this photo, it's untouched - had the saturation cranked up on my 50D, and that's about it!!

Happiness

2009-09-20T16:37:00.003-05:00

There's lots of folks out there who don't shoot or practice enough to really, really use a gun. My buddy Mikey sure doesn't fall into that category, just take a look at that magwell!

Texas Tough, Part II

2009-09-18T20:31:00.003-05:00

Got the rest of the pictures uploaded tonight, I got more decent pics than I thought....

You can go here for the stuff that I think is OK and then here for what I think is the best of the bunch.

As a teaser, here's Floyd Landis putting the hammer down.

Texas Tough

2009-09-17T23:31:00.004-05:00

Professional bike racing came to town tonight. Hardest shooting I've done to date, a huge challenge between light, contrast and guys zipping along at 40 miles an hour or so.

I've got some more pics to work through and will post the rest later.... fun stuff, tho!!

Sphinx

2009-09-15T22:03:00.003-05:00

Neat lookin' moth I ran across today. I first thought it was a leaf caught in a spider web; took another look and went to get the camera off my desk. Did a quick online search (isn't the internets fun?!) and discovered this is a sphinx. Perhaps he'll be there again tomorrow as he didn't move a bit all day today...

Light

2009-09-14T22:14:00.002-05:00

I'm learning a lot about light.... I think one of the most important quotes I've read yet was "to become a student of light."

Well, with that thought in mind, I really like how the light is reflected from the bottle onto the ashtray in this picture - the color version of an earlier post.

A walk in the woods

2009-09-14T22:07:00.003-05:00

Determined not to let another rainy day ruin my day off, I hit the trails today up at the Johnson Branch State Park.

It was a bit rainy, and muddy in spots, but all said and done it was a very pleasant day in the woods.

There's something special about a walk in the woods while it's raining. It's both very quiet as there's no one else moving around in the woods and very loud at times with the rain and wind in the trees. And the added benefit for you is that thanks to all the rain, you are able to ghost along without disturbing a thing.

Making lemonaide

2009-09-12T18:59:00.004-05:00

Hard rain ruined the shooting and biking activity for the day, so I headed on down to the local smoke shop, hooked up with my friends, and had a pretty good day after all.

Into each life

2009-09-11T21:48:00.003-05:00

a little rain must pour.... Snapped this shot last night, right before the rain rolled in.

Clouds fascinate me.

View from the porch

2009-09-08T20:22:00.003-05:00

Well, not the porch exactly, but the driveway.

Got home from work, stepped out of the truck and viola. Not violating my rule #1 of photography which is always have your camera handy - I was able to grab the camera, walk out to the middle of the street and snap a few pics.

You know the drill by now, the rest of the pics can be found here.

Silver lining, indeed!

Silber Studios

2009-09-07T14:10:00.001-05:00

I stumbled upon Silber's wonderful site through a Ken Rockwell article and I've spent a good portion of the Labor Day weekend watching "how to" videos and reading articles.

Fantastic resource!

Time Trial

2009-09-06T12:05:00.007-05:00

The Corinth Cycling Club is hosting a 3 part Time Trail XC (mountain bike) series and the first race was today. I was able to snap a few pics before it was my turn at the line and some of them didn't come out too bad at all.

The rising sun was giving off some perfect light for the first few shots and then I was back in the shade for the rest.... I need to get off the auto sports setting to give me some more control in less than perfect lighting!

If you want to see more, go here.

Some more butterflies

2009-09-04T22:03:00.005-05:00

Was lucky - had some more good light today and was able to snap some more butterfly action...

And thanks to the rain last night, the water droplets looked pretty nice as well....

If you like 'em, you can find more here.

The first

2009-09-02T21:58:00.005-05:00

The first picture that I ever took that really "hit" me was this one, taken overlooking the Gila River in New Mexico in 2004. I took the picture first in full color, looked at the screen on my little HP Photosmart camera and didn't like it and switched to B/W and snapped it again. And really loved it.

I'm still very, very much in the learning how to phase. I doubt I'll ever get out of it! And Lord knows that I realize just having a nice camera or two doesn't make me a "photographer", just someone who has a coupla nice cameras.

Reading through some Ansel Adams' quotes tonight, I came across this one that I really liked:

When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silent.

Fall

2009-08-31T21:03:00.005-05:00

I think fall is right around the corner.

Snapped this picture at the end of the steel match yesterday as temps (in the morning, anyway) were almost.... dare I say.... cool? For August in north Texas, I'll take it.

Steel is real

2009-08-30T22:49:00.007-05:00

Fun steel match today, got a LOT of fun pics. Instead of just focusing on the shooting today, I tried to get some pics of the group as well - after all - in a day's worth of shooting, we might actually only get to shoot for a minute or two.

It's the rest of the day with your friends that makes it all the fun that it is.

That, and catching your friends goofing up on a stage!

JR has earned a couple of procedural penalties for not following the course of fire. And yeah, he knew it!

And here, Roy does the cutest little bunny hop getting into position.

Ahhhh, it was a good day.

The rest of the images found here.

Timing is everything

2009-08-28T22:04:00.007-05:00

Heading out the door from work tonight I was rewarded with a few critters buzzing around and stopped to snap some pics. The light was just about spot on and if I didn't have to dodge traffic on the way home for a bike ride I would have hung around for a while longer....

You can find the rest of the set here.

Reflections

2009-08-28T21:57:00.005-05:00

After getting hosed last night on some fantastic sunset pictures because I didn't heed my own advice and carry my camera with me, I threw the camera bag in the car when I left the house for my bike ride after work tonight.

Finished the ride, took a look at the sky and threw my bag over my shoulder and headed over to a nice little pond that I thought would catch the sunset just right.

Didn't turn out too bad after all; I can still hear the frogs and crickets making a racket and the fish jumping for bugs in the water.

Main Street

2009-08-27T21:54:00.005-05:00

Folks, allow me to introduce you to the corner of Main St. and Colorado in Rhyolite, Nevada.

I deviated off of a trip to Lake Tahoe a few years back to hit this wonderful little ghost town in the middle of nowhere, Nevada. It was well worth the detour.

Gotta have the camera

2009-08-26T21:55:00.001-05:00

if you wanna get the picture. After I missed several great photo opportunities, I just started carrying my camera around with me wherever I went.

Paid off today, as the light was right, the color was right, and a huge butterfly was in the mood to chow down on some flowers.

I snapped over a hundred images, and was lucky with a few of them turning out. This little fellow's wings were going about 90 miles an hour!

You can find the rest of the set here.

There's something....

2009-08-26T01:34:00.000-05:00

about shooters and photographers. The more and more I get into taking pictures, the more and more I notice that there are a LOT of very talented shooters who also happen to be very talented photographers. Take Dave Re, for instance. Open GM (Grand Master, the highest level you can attain in USPSA) and a heckuva great photographer. Then there's Robert. While not a competitive pistol shooter, which we won't hold against him, Robert has been (and is) a rifle shooter competing at the highest level. And winning, too! Robert's also a stellar photographer. Albert too. While Albert may not be a GM just yet, he's still a very, very capable shooter. And a professional photographer to boot.

These three guys are just a tiny, tiny example of folks who shoot well - whether it's with a camera or with a gun.

I don't know if there's some sort of correlation or not, but it keeps my mind turning from time to time.

The match

2009-08-26T01:14:00.002-05:00

This picture really sums up what a match is all about. You've got two people who are working very hard, concentrating on what is currently going on.

The shooter, of course, is busy manipulating the gun, hitting the targets, and getting through the course of fire safely.

The Range Officer (RO) is both timing the shooter - note the little gizmo held in the RO's hand - and making sure the shooter completes the course of fire safely. Both of these guys are focusing very hard - or at least, they'd better be - at the task at hand.

Contrast that to the group standing behind the action. One person (Rhonda) is ready to score the stage when the shooting is over. The rest of the guys are standing around waiting to tape, and take their turn at the line. And frankly, this is where you spend the bulk of your match..... waiting.

The shooters that can master the art of being relaxed when they are not shooting and energized when they are do very well in practical shooting. Note I said "energized" and not overcharged. Some folks get bored waiting to shoot and can't get going when it's their turn. Other guys get so worked up that they can't calm down and stay so amped up that their energy level dies off and they crash and burn at some point. There's only so long you can keep your mind crisp and focused.

The more I think about some of the shooting images I've taken lately, the more I like this picture and others like it that really tell the story. There's so much going on in this picture - the tension at one end and the expectation of tension on the other; all divided up by a little yellow line on the ground.

Well....

2009-08-25T22:49:00.002-05:00

After getting some good advice (thanks Albert!) I've decided to start posting images I've taken. I've been a long time poster at the Texican Tattler and will continue to post there as long as JR lets me!!

However, over the past couple of years, I've been busy playing with a camera and I'm having quite a bit of fun with it.

My sight picture will be the place where I post select pictures I've taken; this will be a politics free zone! Mostly, anyway.

I have a smug mug page setup here, where you'll find my landscape images and a flickr page here where I put other stuff, like shooting.

I don't consider myself a "real" photographer by any stretch of the imagination, but I've got a couple of pretty nice cameras I play around with, and I'm learning a lot, just about every day, really.

The title of this page is an obvious play on words. For those of ya'll who don't know me from my posts on the Tattler, I'm a hard core USPSA (mostly) and IDPA (occasionally) shooter. The ability to have the right sight picture on the target is of utmost importance. Taking a good picture has a lot in common with taking a good sight picture - you've got to know what you're looking at and be able to put the lens where you want it - just like the front sight of a firearm. I also figure that something like "my picture site" would be pretty boring, so with a little play on words, allow me to introduce to you My Sight Picture.

I hope ya'll enjoy the images as much as I did taking them.

For starters, I present to you sunrise from this past Sunday morning, as I was getting ready to leave for the shooting range.