Sun Aug 17, 2008

Yes - another State Capitol picture

Texas State Capitol HDR, originally uploaded by David A G Wilson.

I'm still working my way through the images I shot a couple of weeks ago (don't worry - I'm almost finished) and just processed this picture of the capitol. Once again, this was taken with a very wide angle lens overlooking the extension rotunda on the north side of the building. It's not quite as dramatic as the landscape version from the same position that I posted last week but I think the foreground patterns make it a more interesting image.

Posted by: Dave on Aug 17, 08 | 7:27 pm | Profile

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Sun Aug 10, 2008

Dragonfly Migration

Widow Skimmer Dragonfly, originally uploaded by David A G Wilson.

It seems that the annual dragonfly migration is underway in Central Texas. While out walking this morning, looking upward would generally show 2 to 4 dragonflies heading south. In previous years, the numbers were a lot higher than this, though, and I can remember one spectacular occasion 3 or 4 years ago when the sky outside my office window was filled with hundreds of the insects all flying quickly down the line of Loop 360.

For some reason, there are very few insects around Austin this year. In the past, I have been able to rely upon finding a ready supply of butterflies and dragonflies to photograph near the house but this year there have been practically none - I've not taken a single flying insect picture this summer. I suspect a late freeze combined with the very dry conditions has affected them but am surprised at the magnitude of the population decline compared to past years. Let's hope they recover next year.

Posted by: Dave on Aug 10, 08 | 11:50 am | Profile

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Sun Aug 03, 2008

Texas State History Museum

Texas State History Museum, originally uploaded by David A G Wilson.

Here's another picture of the Texas State History Museum. The one I posted a couple of weeks ago was taken using the Canon G9 compact, handheld. This one was taken from a tripod last weekend while on my photo walkabout. It's a single exposure from the D70 with 10-20mm lens to give the dramatic perspective. I processed this in Photomatix but, unlike the others so far, decided to use the tool merely to tweak the contrast and levels a bit, resulting in a natural looking result.

Posted by: Dave on Aug 03, 08 | 1:51 am | Profile

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Thu Jul 31, 2008

Katz's Never Kloses

Katz's Never Kloses, originally uploaded by David A G Wilson.

Ever find yourself in downtown Austin at 4am and desperate for an early breakfast? If so Katz's Deli is likely a place you would be interested in since it prides itself in being open 24 hours a day, every day. The food is excellent and, although the wait at peak times can be rather long, it's definitely a place worth visiting.

Posted by: Dave on Jul 31, 08 | 2:34 pm | Profile

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Wed Jul 30, 2008

Blanton Museum of Art, Austin

Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, originally uploaded by David A G Wilson.

Here's another image from Saturday's downtown walkabout with the Austin Photography Group. The Blanton Museum is just across the road from the Texas State History Museum and has been open for a couple of years. It's worth a visit, if nothing else for the architecture of the building itself. They have some superb American art and quite a few early European works from artists that I've never heard of. Their visiting exhibitions vary enormously and change often enough to make it worthwhile to go back a few times each year.

Posted by: Dave on Jul 30, 08 | 11:19 am | Profile

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Mon Jul 28, 2008

Texas State Capitol

Texas State Capitol, originally uploaded by David A G Wilson.

I had a great time on Saturday morning wandering around downtown Austin with a couple of dozen other members of the Austin Photography Group taking photographs. We started on Congress Avenue but the group got fragmented (too many different and interesting things to shoot) and I ended up on my own so I headed north past the Capitol and ended up going as far as the Blanton Museum before turning back to meet everyone again.

Since this was a morning shoot, the light was very different from usual (most of my downtown photo time has been in the afternoon previously) and I expecially enjoyed the view from the north side of the Capitol building. This particular shot is a 3 exposure HDR taken with an ultra-wide lens. The structure in the foreground is the rotunda of the "new" extension complex.

I've also generated a rather more natural looking version of this image that I will likely post to Flickr sometime soon but, for now, here's the dramatic version.

Posted by: Dave on Jul 28, 08 | 9:26 am | Profile

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Mon Jul 21, 2008