Canyonlands Sunset

There might be a better spot from which to shoot the sunset around here, but it's not accessible. This spot on the side of the road is convenient, a safe place to pull off, and offers the best view I've found in the area.

I'd like to see this one without the backside of the guardrail - or the road for that matter - but from a composition point of view the highlights on the guardrail balance the picture nicely.

Moving the tripod around a little, but basically shooting a bunch of pictures from the same spot doesn't make a lot of sense unless the light is changing. In studio work, it's all about the lighting; with landscapes too, it's mostly about the light (i.e., almost anywhere you can find a decent composition; the composition without good light just doesn't get it).

The bushes in the center of this picture, at the end of the guardrail, were the brightest foliage anywhere around, near or far. They drew my eye every time I turned in that direction, so I took this picture. The thickening stream of cloud to the left balances the guardrail on the right.

As the sun got lower, the clouds above the opposite hill took on a pink cast.

I guess I like this one because the amount of detail in the sky matches the amount of detail in the Ash Juniper and the limestone cut at the bottom right.

The first couple pictures above will have to suffice for the sunset. The sun just kind of disappeared behind the clouds while I had my back turned. But, that's just how it goes sometimes. . .

Happy Thanksgiving.

Taking Your Fall Color Where You Find It

Here in central Texas the yellows and golds of autumn are easy to come by - at least in the late afternoon - the reds, not so much. I remember in the mid-60s, my mother commented on how pretty the fall color was that year. I was still going to school in western North Carolina, and I couldn't see it. That's when I discovered that color is relative.

Scanning the pastoral scene above the thick fence post near the middle of the frame caught my eye and reminded me that a little detail might be interesting in the midst of these sweeping vistas. I have to remind myself of this regularly because of the way I shoot. I don't zoom in as close as I might; I like to leave enough space surrounding the subject that I can use judicious cropping later, when I can evaluate the image properly on my computer.

Here's that fake raincloud again, the one from yesterday's post. After this shot, I continued up to the end of Cow Creek Road, then turned southwest on FM 1174 to the gap where I'd shoot the sunset. I'd neglected to ascertain the time of sunset, so I didn't waste much time. Cow Creek not only wasn't flowing in its upper reaches, it was dry as a bone. The lack of water made it easy to dismiss the countryside, including the balcones for which these canyon lands are named.

As soon as I saw this I liked it. The title of today's post came from this shot. I'd finally captured enough red foliage to comment on, and the sun was picking up the rust colored paint on the steel gate and fence post. The vibrant green of the Ash Juniper - "Cedar" to Central Texans - was nicely scattered, and the westering sun provided enough yellow for that portion of the palette. And, finally, there was plenty of blue sky with a scattered layer of clouds adding detail and its own limited range of colors. It may not be a sugar maple, but it works for me.

As in the previous picture, I like shooting up the hill - especially when I can take advantage of an interesting sky. It probably has more to do with my working at home than any change in the nature of Texas skies, but when I do get out I really appreciate how much interest the clouds can add to an image.

If things go as planned here, you'll see Sunday's sunset tomorrow, while I'm up in Arlington at Angela's and Danny's for Thanksgiving.

Cow Creek Revisited

I've been wrestling recently (it seems like forever) with the results of my hard drive crash last month. I had been remiss in keeping things backed up and I had been remiss for quite some time. I'm now suffering the consequences. Needless to say, I lost a lot of work, photographic and genealogical mostly, but every day it seems I discover something else I'd been saving as a remembrance or a reference for when I finally write that book. You know, the one every blogger has inside.

Anyway, I finally left my cave Sunday afternoon and drove out to take pictures in the Hill Country. I didn't have any new place to go and didn't really feel like exploring, so I went back to survey Cow Creek Road, see whether there was any water flowing (there wasn't), and take a few pictures in the afternoon sun.

This shot is looking south along Cow Creek Road just a couple hundred yards from its start at FM-1431. The greenery belies our lack of rain here in the Hill Country as the drought continues.

This one is looking in the opposite direction from the creek side of the road. There's actually some standing water in the creek bed directly above the storm drains. I love the warmth of the late afternoon sun on the dry grass, but most of all - even though I know it's a lie - I love the promise of rain in the clouds.

These two pictures were shot from the same place; I just took the one shot and swiveled the camera on the tripod a frame or two to the right and took the other. I wanted to get a few back lit shots of the Central Texas Fall Color before Winter comes. The water disappeared around the next bend. I should have expected that since I was moving upstream. I always liked taking pictures along this road because the creek seemed so refreshing. I may have to go find a new favorite haunt for my cameras.

This picture surprised me when I got home and was able to work on it. Standing on the side of the road in the late afternoon it's very hard to see what I've got - especially when I'm looking at an LCD screen instead of a viewfinder. That means I've got to take a lot of pictures, trust my eye, my imagination, and finally, my luck. I seldom know just what I've got till I get home and download my pictures to the computer. The clouds here are not promising any rain, but at least they're promising a good sunset.