Winter in Central Texas - A Rare Snow!

We've lived in Central Texas since 1971. Snow is rare. We can go for years without seeing it even fall from the sky. If we are going to have snow it usually falls in January. By February, there are hints of spring - daffodils beginning to bloom, trees beginning to bud, and even sometimes a few bluebonnets. However, this year, it has been colder and wetter than normal. I do have a plum tree that is trying to bloom. We've had a few days with sleet and a few falling flakes. But today, we had real snow. Big flakes, sticking to the ground, accumulation! WHEEE!

I had other things on my need to do list, but snow is so rare here, that I decided that I had better take the time to go and see what images I could find representing winter in Central Texas.

I headed first to the pond just south of Brushy Creek near HWY 685. This tree with its coating of snow on the north side grabbed my attention.



The ground around Brushy Creek was protected by the tree branches and did not have a lot of snow, so I headed north of Hutto to a couple of places that I thought might have some good photographic opportunities.

I wasn't expecting this one, but I loved the way this little creek meandered through the trees. As I worked this image, it needed a little extra something, so I used my Topaz filters to make the image flow more smoothly and hopefully bringing out the natural beauty.



I was glad I took more than one angle, because the first composition had some out of focus limbs that were annoying and caused me to use a panoramic crop. This angle was much cleaner with only a little cleanup needed as well as the Topaz filters.



I stopped on a one lane bridge for these next two shots. Another photographer passed by, knowing like I did that this would be a good spot for a snowy Central Texas landscape.



I like to shoot a scene many ways and from different angles. I also like to zoom in for a more intimate look, especially when streams and moving water offer such inviting vistas.




I'll try to get these up in larger versions at my SmugMug Gallery tomorrow. I've already got some snapshots of the snow around our yard at my website.

Canada's North Woods

The road through northern Quebec and Labrador goes through some really pretty boreal forests with bogs, ponds, and streams. As a photographer on a road trip, I found myself frustrated because I was seeing pretty landscapes, but under dull gray skies and unfavorable lighting. We weren't in our camper and there were not many places to stay even if we had had time to linger in this wilderness. But I found myself wanting to capture this subtle beauty with my camera.

I took this first shot more as a memory photo. I suspect it was handheld (if you look close, it slightly motion blurred). The setting was pretty, but the lighting not favorable. But I wanted memory photos if nothing else. I actually think this is at Gagnon, a town that ceased to exist. All that is left are some paved roads, an island dividing the road into four lanes, curbs, sidwalks, and parking lots. The buildings are long gone. Considering that the road is gravel before and after Gagnon, it really makes you wonder what happened. When we got back to Texas, we googled Gagnon and discovered that when the nearby mine shut down, the town was dismantled. In retrospect, I should have taken more pictures around Gagnon, lighting or no lighting, because it was interesting and poignant.



As we neared Churchill Falls late in the afternoon, the sky cleared and I knew I had a chance to get some photographs. We got our accomodations taken care of and headed back along the road where I had seen some ponds that might make good reflecting pools for the sunset.

I could tell that the scene was going to difficult to capture the beauty I was seeing. Straight photography would make me choose between the delicately colored sky and the details in the forest and the pool.



So i carefully shot for HDR - shooting sequences of three or more exposures to capture the beautiful delicate colors in the sky and the beauty of the pond. In post processing I needed to go beyond the Photomatics and Photoshop's high dynamic range mreges, because there was a breeze and the combined images had blurred tamarack trees. By choosing an exposure that was close, I could go in, select trees that were not motion blurred and place them where they belonged in the composition, giving me a scene that was true to what I had seen, but what straight photography couldn't produce.



Finding another possibility in this group of ponds, ordinary photography with one exposure produced this:



Shooting multiple exposures, combining them, some artistic filters from Topaz produced an image much more like what my eye enjoyed.




I was so pleased when we woke up to sunny skies. I finally had an opportunity to capture the feel of northern Canada with this shot at Ozzie's Brook, east of Churchill Falls.

Canadian Shield Images of Mystery & Wonder

I now do motion blurs as part of my methodology as we travel. I was curious what kind of images I could capture as we drove through areas of the Canadian shield on our way to Labrador. Rocks have interesting cracks, lines, grain, and layers. Add motion and I discovered that you can really end up with some interesting images. Naming these images? That's another story. Everyone sees something a little different. As a photograher, I need to give each image some kind of name. But Henry keeps reminding me that if I give it too specific a name, that it will ruin it. I've posted some of these at the Digital Image Cafe at the Critique Corner to see what other people see.

I do some post processing on these images, deepening shadowed areas, brighting up areas to enhance what I see. But the basic structure comes from the photographic technique of both moving the camera and zooming the lens.

This first one I've worked further from the image I posted at the Cafe based upon what they saw. My original name for this was "Rock Faces." I was going to change it to "Critters," but I think Rock Faces still works.



I've named this next one, "Pet Rock."



The name for this one will be either Rock Spirit or Stone Spirit.



I have been very surprised with this one. I enhanced with the theme, "Rock Warrior." But everyone sees something very different. It may need a new title.



This last one has the working title, "Emerging."



I will be taking these and others from my collection of Images of Mystery and Wonder to ConDFW next month in Dallas. To see larger versions, check out my gallery of Fantasy Creatures.

Manic Cinq (Five) - Wilderness Oasis

After leaving the St. Lawrence seaway, we were really traveling in an area with few traces of human activity beyond the road itself and the massive power transmission lines. We'd already had a few nights along the trip where we wondered if we would end up spending the night in the car. As it got close to sunset, the map showed nothing much in the way of towns where we were. We began discussing how we'd stay warm in the car since we had not brought camping gear - sleeping bags, tents, etc.

As we were thinking about how we were going to manage our night, how far to drive, etc, we rounded a bend in the road and felt that God had really provided for us. We had reached Manic Cinq, a wonderful oasis for weary travellers. There was a gas station convenience store, a restaurant, and best of all a motel!

My barely adequate French got us a room and ice. We were placed in the upper set of rooms, and the lady wanted to be sure that I knew where to go. Since I spoke and understood French so poorly, she went outside and gestured to let me know how to drive up to our room. I could hear them chuckling about my French, but, hey, I could ask for a room, tell them I wanted to buy ice . . . there was SOME communication going on in French. And since, they knew no English, it was a good thing I knew a tiny bit of French.

We got settled in, ate dinner from our ice chest. Henry had been meeting neighbors in the parking lot. He came in and told me someone wanted to use our computer to make reservations for the ferry. (YES, in this remote location we had internet!!!!!!) When they came in, I started addressing them in French, wondering if we'd be able to communicate well enough for them to do what they needed. They immediately said, "English, English!!!!" Turns out they were from Wisconsin. And it was such a God sent blessing that our paths crossed here. They had been planning their Labrador - Newfoundland trip. They not only had information, but maps and official tour guide books from the provinces. And, they shared some of their resources with us!!!! Since we had not known at the beginning of the trip that we were actually going to go to Labrador and Newfoundland, I hadn't done my homework. We saw and enjoyed our journey through these provinces so much better because we met these great folks from Wisconsin. After talking with them and getting their reservation for the ferry booked, I got our ferry reservations booked as well. We would make the crossing a couple of days before them, because we were on a tighter time schedule.

The other neighbors lived in Churchill Falls, Labrador. They also spoke English. We learned a lot about what life is like in a company town in northern Canada.

Our accomodations were wonderful. The hotel is actually a series of modular units, brought in fully furnished, and ours appeared brand new.



The table and sitting area were great for the evening internet and meals. The beds were comfortable. Even the bathroom was nicely appointed.




In retrospect, it isn't surpising that there would be such a well equiped stop along this wilderness dirt road. This is the only land route to Labrador. It is a long way from the St. Lawrence to Fermont, Quebec and Labrador City. This is a much needed stop for rest, bathrooms, and gasoline.

Our fellow travelers warned us that there were no bathrooms between Manic Cinq and Fermont!

Our Wisconsin friends took a tour of the Daniel Johnson Dam and power generating plant. Regretfully, we knew that our time to see Labrador, Newfoundland and the other maritime provinces was short. But this way station truly out in the middle of nowhere holds a spot in my heart - friendly people, good night's sleep, a tiny piece of civilization in the northern wilderness. What a blessing it was!

North to Labrador

When we turned north from the St. Lawrence seaway, we entered a beautiful unpopulated area. The clouds had come in, so for the most part we drove the almost deserted road and enjoyed our surroundings. We knew that we would be going by the large Manicougan Crater.



The Manicougan crater has a lake filling the deeper parts. When we were on the edges, the terrain had steep almost mountainous hills to climb. The crater is so large, that you might not realize you were climbing the sides of the crater if you didn't know from the map. Skies were dark, gray and foreboding . . . so I didn't try to get any shots of the rim of the crater. In retrospect . . . I should have tried.

I had a few windows for photography. The scenery is peaceful sometimes flat, sometimes rolling hills, with many lakes that appear as you cross the bends in the road.



I can't resist trying to photograph rainbows. There is just something magic about seeing a rainbow . . . the beauty . . . the symbolism of God's promise . . . the wonder of the phenomenon itself . . .



As we drove along the road, the skies stayed pretty gray, I knew that doing straight photography would leave me with memory photos that wouldn't really show others the beauty of this area. But the in camera motion photography can capture some unique things even when the lighting is less than optimum.





While the lakes tend to look the same as you go down the road and I know that lake photos can also have a "sameness" from one lake to another. I wanted to try something to make a lake image that would stand out as memorable. I think this attempt, a motion blur enhanced in Photoshop with Topaz artistic filters makes a pleasing image of one of those lakes along the way.

Canada's Hydro Power

As we drove east through Canada we kept seeing these huge power transmission lines - usually three abreast (rather than the two seen here). Huge swaths had been cut through the native forest going up and down over the mountains. We wondered where the lines were going to and where they had come from. As we drove north through Quebec toward the sparcely populated Labrador, these huge transmission lines were still going - even though we were heading away from the populated areas. We were puzzled . . . we couldn't quite figure it out.

At the Anticipation World Science Fiction Convention, there had been a panel about how successful Canada had been with hydro power. We discovered that we were on the road that linked a number of huge dams with this amazing power grid.



The Daniel-Johnson Dam is the largest multiple arch and buttress dam in the world. It is the second tallest dam in Canada. 214 meters (702 feet) and a length of 1,300 meters (4265 feet). (Stretching two miles long, Buchanan Dam on Lake Buchanan is the longest multiple arch dam in the United States. It is only 145.5 feet high))

In doing some research about Canada's hydropower I found this online brochure from Canhydropower.org

From that brochure I learned that:

Canada first used water to generate electricity in 1881 at Chaudieres Falls. In 1965, the world’s first 735-kilovolt power transmission line ever built, about 600 kilometres long, linked the Manicouagan and Outardes generating stations to the metropolitan areas of Québec City and Montréal. It was one of the ten major engineering feats in Canada during the 20th Century, a breakthrough that allowed electrical power to be transferred long distances across Canada.

Canada generates most of its electricity with water for five main reasons:
1. water is abundant,
2. the technology is efficient,
3. the service life of stations is long,
4. the cost is competitive
5. and the electricity produced is renewable and clean.

Apparently, hydropower converts 95% of the rivers energy into electricity, while the best fossil fuel plants are only 60% efficient.

Only China produces more energy from hydro than Canada. The top countries in order of production: China, Canada, Brazil, and the United States.

This brochure says that there is still more potential areas for Canada to produce power from water. At the science fiction convention, the consensus was that probably hydro was already tapped out. The beauty of hydro is that it produces "clean" energy. But, I can see issues with habitat loss along the power grid transmission lines with the need to keep the area deforested. I'll talk more about Churchhill Falls, but they totally rerouted the river at Churchhill. I don't know whether migrating fish go up that tremendous waterfall or not, but certainly placing dams on other rivers can impact fish migration. In Washington state they have fish ladders around some of the dams. In the United States there has been a lot of resistance to building new dams and a lot of study as to what existing dams have done to riparian zones.

These major hydroplants are in areas largely unpopulated - and for the most part I think it is wonderful that this technology is being developed. It is amazing to me that these large generating facilities provide power not only for Canada but also for the northeastern United States.

A New Year - New Beginnings

I like the psychological boost that comes with a new year: The new year is new, fresh, unspoiled, filled with opportunities. While every day is a new beginning, the first of the year brings the hope that I can accomplish good things. The past year is over, the slate wiped clean. I can be the person I choose to be, hopefully the person that God wants me to be. I can set new goals, knowing I won't accomplish all of them, but knowing that even if I only accomplish some of them, I will be a better person for the effort.

New Year's Day is a great day to contemplate what you want your year to look like, a good day to establish new habits and new routines, a good day to rejoice in the blessings God has given, and a good day to look to the future with hope.

I've got my new planner set up. I'm going to start filling in the calendar. I'm going to set some goals for the year, the month, the week, and even for today. I am not going to let past failures, past defeats, past inadequacies, or past procrastination pull me down. Will I be "perfect" this year? No . . . but I can live in the present, I can do the best I can, and I know that God will help me make this a good year.

I wish for you, my readers, to take advantage of all the psychological boosts that the changing into a New Year can be. Try something new. Try to improve one of your skills. Reach out to someone around you. Set some goals for yourself. And, above all, choose a positive attitude. Believing that 2010 will be a great year is the first step into making it a reality!

Go for it!

Happy New Year!

My wish for all my faithful readers and all my new readers:

May you have a very blessed, happy, healthy, and wonderful New Year filled with boundless opportunities, special family moments, quiet times with family and friends, and spiritual growth! May you find joy, peace, and hope as you go about your daily routines!

Quebec's Road Signs

While there are international graphic based road signs, we found several interesting road signs as we drove through Canada. I was always amused by this one - warning of moose. For one thing, we've seen moose warning signs in other places along our travels and usually the moose are elusive and we don't see any. So when I see a moose crossing sign or a moose warning sign, my first thought is "Promises, Promises." Because I like opportunities to see moose.

However, one of our fellow travelers was worried about traveling at night, because there have been so many fatalities in Labrador and Newfoundland from car/moose collisions. They are the largest species in the deer family. You have to realize that a moose's antler rack is 6 feet wide, they are approximately 6 feet tall and can weigh 1,800 lbs (almost a ton). So hitting one would do serious damage to a car and its occupants.

We did see moose in a few places on our trip - after dark on the Chapleau Crown Game Preserve and one rainy evening out of St. Anthony, Newfoundland. Fortunately we did not have any close encounters, but there were plenty of these signs warning us of the possibility.

Leaving the St. Lawrence and heading north

Aug 14 - After the whales we headed east along the St. Lawrence heading for highway 389 that heads north to Labrador. This little park was our last stop before leaving the river. The lighting was bad because the rain was coming in. But sometimes I need to take memory pictures in spite of poor lighting. I was suprised what a little bit of post processing did.



This was a place I would love to have had time to be there in the early morning and before sunset. It is a tidal zone, so it would be interesting to see how it looks at high tide and low tide with golden light and sunset/sunrise glow. But our time was short and it was still a long way to Labrador so we pressed on.

But I couldn't resist photographing this rainbow. There was not a good vantage point for it, but it was so lovely, I wanted the memory.



Too often on this trip, I would be seeing lovely areas, but gray skies and no "magic" lighting. My instincts were to leave the camera alone - knowing that the photos would not be "saleable." But I had to keep reminding myself that there are many reasons to take photographs - even snapshots. They are one of the ways we remember where we've been and what we've done long after we have returned home.

Baie St. Catherine

Aug14th - One of the goals for the Canada trip was to explore the St. Lawrence Seaway. Baie St. Catherine offers two sets of cruises - whale watching and a cruise up the Saguenay Fjord. I was eager to do the whale watching, so we didn't check the schedule for the cruises - turns out the whale cruises are offered both morning and afternoon, while the Fjord is only a morning cruise. I felt a little bad, because Henry had wanted to do the Fjord cruise and we realized the scheduling after we'd already done the morning whale watching. We tried to guess where to ride the whale cruise from, but it turns out that the boats pick you up from several docks to take you out to where the whales are - the docks are about 20 minutes apart.

But the morning cruise was nice . . . It was a little foggy over the water. The cliffs were really lovely.



This is where the Saguenay Fjord enters the St. Lawrence. A pair of ferry boats transports cars across the fjord here. We took this ferry later in the day.


While I love it when the whales are close to the boat, many times whale watching is just getting to see a species no matter how far away. I'd seen beluga whales at one of the SeaWorlds, but this was my first time to see belugas in the wild. They appear like white spots or white blobs out on the water. They seem to stay in pods as they feed.



Belugas are not large whales, but they are easy to identify in the water because they are so white.



Sometimes when you're whale watching you only see the back and the dorsal fin as the whales feed along the surface and as they surface for air.



You can also take Zodiac cruises. They outfit you with raincoats, because you can end up close to the whale action.



I have to admit, part of me would like to have been on the zodiac that was so close to the breeching whale.


Occasionally you get lucky and the whale surfaces right near the boat and you have the opportunity to catch the tail as the whale makes its dive.



I never know when I take a whale watching cruise whether I will end up with great images or mediocre images. But I always, always enjoy being out on the water marveling at these wondrous creatures.

Parc National Des Hautes-Gorges-de-la Riviere-Malbaie

Aug 13 - After visiting Grand Jardins, the next major park was Hautes-Gorges. This park is very pretty with a series of valleys cut deep in a range of mountains that are the highest rock faces east of the Rockies. A shuttle bus takes you from a central parking lot up a park road with several opportunities to get off for hikes through the beautiful forested mountains. We were headed to the uppermost stop where there was a lake with a boat ride up one of the gorges. This lake had many people out in canoes and kayaks exploring the area at their leisure. When we got out on the tour boat, we saw lots of people in their canoes and having picnic lunches in beautiful spots around the lake. We didn't have time to do canoeing this trip, but it sure looked like this would be a fun place to explore on your own. The concession had plenty of rental canoes and kayaks.

We wanted to take the 1 1/2 hour cruise on Le Menard. As a photographer, it can be frustrating when you have only a limited amount of time and you can't be everywhere during magic light. But you make the most of it. The dusk cruise would probably have given me better light, but we were very near where the whale cruises were and the whales were calling me. We missed the 11:00 boat and had to take the 1:00 cruise.



We had some extra time so I explored this building and the stories of the 1996 flood. I left my camera with Henry and took his as I went up the stairs and followed the trail to an overlook.



I was glad I didn't take my good camera, becasue not only were the stairs steep, but the trail was up and down over rocks and tree roots. But I was glad I had taken Henry's camera because the view from the overlook was spectacular.



If you look carefully, you'll see Henry at one of the chairs on the outdoor patio. I tried to get his attention to wave at him, but he was busy reading something on his iPhone. This visitor center has a little cafeteria where we had a nice lunch and a nice gift store as well.



While you see inukshuks all over northern Canada, there was an area along the lakeshore that had many of them all in one place.



The light and shadows created by the clouds made for some good pictures in spite of it being in the middle of the day.

A Black Bear Encounter

Aug 3: On the way to the Chapleau Game Preserve, we had another bear encounter on the side of the road. This bear saw us and came right up to the car, making us think that people on the road construction crew or other automobiles had been feeding him. He came so close that I could hear him panting just like a dog. I don't think I had known before that bears pant. Naturally I was taking pictures up until he was really close to the car (I think I did close the window briefly and then opened it when he turned around.)



When I looked at the photos afterward, I realized that nature isn't always kind to its critters. Notice the flies and other insects buzzing this bear's face!



This bear hung around us for several minutes giving me some good opportunities for portraits.

I also realized that I wasn't getting shots of the bear with good backgrounds. So after the bear had retreated back into the woods, I shot some photos of the underbrush with the thought of doing some DA (digital art) later. One of the advantages of thinking about DA while still at the site: you have lighting at the same angle and intensity as your animal and your vegetation or surroundings are natural for the animal you are photographing. Ethically, if I submit this photo, I will label it as a composite or digital art.

I knew as I was shooting that this bear shot was likely to "work" because I got the whole bear and things looked pretty sharp in the camera. but this background is not that interesting.



I found this underbrush near where we saw the bear.



And then I combined the two images to get this:



I've added some artistic filters to make the background look better and so that it is obvious that this is "art" rather than straight photography. I don't know yet if I will do much more with this composite or whether I will submit it anywhere. But sometimes it is good to practice techniques like this because I learn things by playing.

Zambia's Village Children Calendar 2010

When we were in Zambia a year ago, my heart was touched by the orphans living at the Namwianga Mission. Inspired by another photographer, Karen Ande, who does calendars each year to benefit a different set of children in Africa, I decided to do calendars to help raise money for these precious children. Life in the rural African bush has many challenges. Children are orphaned when their mom dies from AIDS, death during childbirth, and other health issues. Some of these orphaned children have lost both parents, others only their mom. Some of these children live at Namwianga until they are about three and then a relative comes to bring them back to their village. Others have no relatives to go to and grow up at Namwianga. These precious children often come to Namwianga as infants and some do not survive infancy because of health issues they are born with.

The workers at the orphanage and the medical clinic love these children and give them amazing care. As one small thing I can do for this important ministry, I have put together a calendar whose profits will go to benefit these chidlren.



Here are sample of the images for each month. This year some of the photos were taken by me and others were taken by David Gregersen using my camera while we were there.




To order calendars, click here to go to the "Donate button" at the Zambia Mission Website:

Zambia Mission Donation

Click on Donate and then fill in the form: The calendars cost $20.00 and the cost to mail is $1.73 so enter $21.73 for each calendar and hit Update Total, then log on to PayPal. There is a place to give special instructions, please mark this to indicate that you want to purchase a calendar or how many calendars. Please include the address where you would like the calendar sent.

If you prefer, you may also email me with your name, address, and how many calendars you wish and mail a check made out to Zambia Mission to this address:

Zambia Mission
658 E.N. 21st
Abilene, TX 79601