It’s been way too long since I’ve been here. It’s good to be back!
Today’s photo is from a gig I did in the metropolis of Waring Texas. A few weeks ago I was contracted to videotape an event at the Waring General Store and really had no idea what to expect. After spending a few hours at the store having fun, eating great food and listening to live Texas music, I have to say; if you ever find yourself in the neighborhood on a Wednesday night, stop by the Waring General Store for Steak Night. Waring TX is really just a crossroads in the Texas Hill country between Welfare & Comfort Texas (come to think of it, I’ve spent a lot of time somewhere between welfare & comfort). Every Wednesday night Don Strange of Texas hosts a feast complete with lots of great food, live music and an atmosphere that can’t be beat.
I love old buildings. I love the architecture, the craftsmanship, the style. I particularly like old theaters. It’s truly amazing the amount of creativity & labor was spent on creating these spaces. Not too log ago I posted another photo that I shot on this same evening at the Paramount from the point of view of the drummer. You can see that image here.
If you find yourself in Austin Texas see if you can get tickets to a performance at the Paramount. It doesn’t really matter if it’s a movie or a live concert, the venue alone is worth the price of admission.
A storm was moving over Austin the afternoon I photographed the new Austin Skyline from Congress Avenue. As the new buildings are providing an ever changing skyline, new ‘icons’ appear. For several years it has been the Frost bank building. (The ‘pointy’ building on the right of this photo.) I believe for the next few years it will be the “Austonian”. (The tall building on the left.) It’s very challenging to find a good view showing the new skyline that also includes ultimate Austin icon, the Texas Capitol.
If you would like to see a larger version of any of my images with more detail you can click on the image to take you to my Flickr site. Then, from the Flickr site choose “All sizes” just above the photo to see a larger version.
One more thing… Since you are here, please make a comment. Let me know what you think, Ideas for future photos, or just say “Hello!” I love to read the comments!
Thanks for stopping by,
John
Austin Texas seems to have an ever changing skyline. I do a fair amount of Austin Stock photography sales so I am always looking for new images. Yesterday the clouds were looking interesting so I decided to do a little walking around downtown looking for photo opportunities. I parked my car on Congress Avenue (the main street in downtown Austin) and this wall was directly in front of me. I’m not sure why I had never noticed it before, but it was calling my name. I particularly like the juxtaposition of the ‘spear like’ Frost Bank building as though it’s providing an alternate answer to the message on the building.
I’ve done several post showing various photos of the Texas Capitol (here). This one is actually inside the Capitol looking down at the floor under the Rotunda. If you look closely, you will see the Texas DPS officers that keep an eye on things standing on the ground floor. To their credit, they have always pretty much left me alone while I photographed this beautiful building.
It’s getting more & more difficult to find an ‘iconic’ image of Austin Texas. Not too long ago you would photograph the Austin skyline from any hill and be able to include the Texas Capitol & the UT Tower. Now unless you are shooting straight down Congress Avenue the Capitol is obscured by all the new construction. I had a fellow photographer tell me that the Frost Bank Tower (The tall building to the right of the Capitol) is the ‘new’ Austin icon. Me, I still like the old traditional Capitol.
The day I shot this photograph I was not actually out “shooting” but simply playing tour guide to some out of town guest. I actually captured three marketable images that day. Two exterior shots including the garden (one vertical & one horizontal), and a photograph of the “Texas Marquee” inside. As a side note, I was not actually supposed to shoot inside the the museum, but I just could not help myself. Subsequently they became a vendor selling my images in the gift shop including the clandestinely photographed interior shot. I’ll include the Marquee images in a future post. You can see my other Texas History Museum Images here or other Austin images here.
There are lot’s of folks from Austin Texas and around the world hoping to see the University of Texas Tower with a big #1 tomorrow morning after tonights national championship football game. I took this photograph early one morning after they won the national championship game in 2005. The photo was taken with my 4×5 view camera and then the transparency was digitally scanned to a 500 megabyte file. With a resolution 50 times that of a good digital camera I am able to produce truly beautiful enlargements.
Awhile back I posted a similar image of the Texas Capitol Annex photographed during purple hour here that was shot on a photo walk with Trey Ratcliff. I actually shot this image several months before the previous posting and it has been quite successful for me. I license my images for use on websites, marketing materials & magazine publications as well as other uses. I also have prints and gift cards available of most of my images. Please contact me through the information provided on the contact page on my website page for more information.
This view of the Austin Skyline was photographed in late 2009. Although I grew up in Austin the skyline has changed so much that I find in this view it’s hardly recognizable.You can see the University of Texas Tower lit up with the #1 on the left side of the image. The Capitol building is completely obscured by all the new towers. I did take a little license and remove a few cranes from the photo to hurry along the never ending construction.
Close up of UT Tower etc…
