The new Austin skyline is finally getting to a point where a photograph doesn’t appear to obviously be a “work in progress”. I love this particular view of Austin. The arch at the Long Center for the Performing Arts frames the city perfectly. There is nothing like enjoying a great performance there and then stepping out on the patio during intermission and enjoying the view.
Since panoramas tend to be rather small on my blog I am also including a cropped portion of the photo.

Here is a crop of the image showing the new “Austonian”.

This was going to be a wildflower shot. I was driving home to Austin from Ft. Worth & thought I’d take the opportunity to photograph some of the amazing wildflower displays that this very wet spring has created. While driving down Interstate 35 I saw the exit for Maypearl Texas. (Maypearl is a little town about half way between Grandview on Interstate 35W and Waxahachie on Interstate 35E.) The town holds a special meaning for me because it’s the home of my maternal ancestral roots. As a child I would spend time every summer with my grandmother in the home my grandfather built. It’s a beautiful drive between Grandview & Maypearl & I felt hopeful i would see some great Bluebonnet displays. No such luck. The drive was beautiful (it’s always great to get off the main roads) but no super floral displays. I decided to shift gears & photograph some of the old buildings. Some were boarded up and quite sad, but the old Maypearl Garage has been reborn as a feed & pretty much anything else you might ever need store. I’m glad they did not cover up the old ‘ghost sign’. If you look closely, you can see where a previous owner covered up the old Maypearl Garage sign with a banner. Tacky. Now all it needs is a hound dog & a couple of old guys playing checkers on the porch.

I’ve been meaning to do a more current photo of the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue for awhile. The challenge is getting the rather dark statue to pop out from the evening sky. This image is a combination of light painting & HDR. I did three long exposures of Stevie while lighting the statue and surrounding area with my super duper mini flashlight. You can see my other photos of the Stevie statue here.

This is another image from my photowalk I did with my sister during SXSW in Austin last week. Austin has a number of these 10′ Gibson GuitarTown guitars around the city. (Gee, you would think we were known for our music…) This one is in front of the Frost Bank building on Congress Avenue. You can see a few more of my images of the guitars here.

While few long time Austinites don’t long for the time not too long ago when Austin was a smaller place without the outrageous traffic and sprawling suburbs, I do like the emerging look of the ‘new’ downtown. The Austin Skyline is developing into quite a beauty.
As a side note, don’t try a multiple exposure HDR shot like this from the middle of a busy road without an assistant (that likes you) to warn of traffic coming from behind.

Austin’s newest residential tower on the Austin skyline is almost finished. At 56 stories tall, The Austonian is the tallest residential building in Texas. You can see another view of The Austonian here. Although my dogs might disagree, I could easily see myself living in the heart of downtown Austin.

Today I decided to post another image from the Chihuly exhibit at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. I really love the glass of Dale Chihuly. I love the amazing color & detail he brings to his art.
This is a section of the ceiling from a hallway that joins two rooms in the Museum. As I very often do, I combined several exposures to create a High Dynamic Range or HDR  image that simply cannot be captured in any other way. You can see other images from the museum here.

Few rooms in the world are as awe inspiring as the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles just outside Paris. My family visited Europe when I was 16 and I still recall this room during our Paris visit. The day I shot this it was dreary & raining and I believe many of the tourist that perhaps might have been walking the wonderful grounds on a more beautiful day, were hanging out inside instead. I would love to go back and arrange for an hour or two of shooting before the crowds arrive.