South Congress in Austin is known for it’s many eclectic shops and venues including the many food trailers. The Hey Cupcake food trailer was one of the first and remains one of the most popular of the veritable plethora of foodie options. The only thing really missing from the photo is I should be sitting in one of the empty chairs enjoying a nice chocolate cupcake…
You can see another photo of the Hey Cupcake trailer from an earlier post here.
More playing with the 16mm fisheye lens here. This is from a little hidden spot in South Austin. Ok, it’s not truly hidden, but you sorta have to know it’s there or you would never see it. This place is truly in the “Keep Austin Weird” tradition. I was able to capture several publishable images in a 10 minute walk around this little complex so there will be more to come…
Last night I had the opportunity to do some photography of the Austin skyline after dark for a long time client. I decided to get to the location early to grab some personal pre-sunset images as well, and shot this while I was waiting. I’m not sure, but the client may decide they like this better than their original vision. We shall see…
One thing that is obvious (if you look close) is the cranes have returned to Austin. Not the pretty flying kind but the big ugly steel ones. You can see where work has begun on at least one large project. It seemed like it took years of waiting to get a shot of the Austin skyline without numerous cranes in the shot. Finally, last year the skyline was (relatively) crane free. It looks like those days are over as the ‘progress’ continues.
The Paramount Theatre in Austin Texas is one of the very few remaining ‘hemp houses’ left in America that still use hemp ropes and sandbags for the theatrical rigging. It’s hard to believe how much of this stuff it takes to make the curtains, lights, scenery etc. apparently effortlessly fly in and out as needed during a performance. In reality, there is a crew working up here pulling on a lot of rope to make it happen.
You can see my other photos of the Paramount Theatre here:
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.
Last week we took a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate our daughters 21st birthday. We all had a great time. We saw a couple of shows (“Love” and “The Mac King Show”) “Love” was very good, although acrobatically not on a par with the other Cirque shows we have seen. So far “O” is my favorite. “The Mac King Show” was a last minute addition to our trip and a very pleasant surprise. He was quite entertaining & easily worth the inexpensive (for Las Vegas) $35.00 cover.
The above shot was taken from our daughters suite at the Bellagio. A couple of months ago I booked a couple of rooms at a cheapo rate through Hotels.com. I was rather surprised when we checked in and the front desk clerk notified me we actually had a suite and a standard room. Since it was Audrea’s birthday, we gave her the suite. A few hours later we were notified that there was an error & the suite was actually reserved for another John Rogers, however we were welcome to stay in the suite for the previously paid rate. Sweeet! (Or should I say Suite!?) Later that evening the four of us watched the amazing choreographed fountains perform their magic to the music of “Chorus Line”
Last night my mom and I had a great time at a Texas Rangers game in Arlington. The game was great (we won), the staff was wonderful & the hot-dogs were only a dollar. When my mom talked to me about going to see a Rangers game I was excited. I also was really hoping to be able to bring my camera. I was very pleasantly surprised when I checked out the Rangers website to see what would be allowed. In fact, the Texas Rangers have amazingly reasonable rules regarding photography equipment. They basically state that cameras are fine as long as they don’t interfere with another guests enjoyment of the game. That makes sense. Heck, they even allowed me to bring my tripod. The whole attitude at the ballpark was very friendly. While shooting the photo below I was approached by a security officer. I was anticipating the typical reprimand for taking photographs and a bit of questioning as to what I was photographing. I was amazed to discover the officers mission was to suggest I also take a look at the view from one level up as a possible photograph. Unbelievable.
In contrast, the Dallas Cowboy’s (and many professional & college sports venues) have rules that approach the ridiculous. For instance, the new Cowboy’s Stadium rules state:” ONLY small cameras are allowed, video cameras and cameras with zoom lenses are prohibited.” I suppose they are now confiscating guests new iPhones at the gate since they have zoom lenses… Anyway enough of my ranting. I just hate ridiculous rules created my lawyers to protect people from taking photographs. Speaking of the Dallas Cowboys; The Rangers Ballpark in Arlington has an amazing view of the new Cowboy’s Stadium. I’m sure the reverse is also true, but I would never be able to do a similar photograph of the Rangers Ballpark. The Dallas Cowboys would never allow me to bring my camera into their stadium.
This cute guy’s (or girl, it’s difficult to tell from this angle…) ancestors were no doubt partially to credit for us having National Parks. Theodore Roosevelt visited this area to hunt buffalo (bison actually,) when he was young and fell in love with nature. Later during his presidency he created the first National Parks to help protect and prevent development of our unspoiled lands. It was quite a new and controversial concept.
We recently attended a wedding in North Dakota. As first time visitors we really had no idea what to expect. We were quite pleasantly surprised by beauty of the badlands. We stayed in Medora which happens to be the location of the South Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This guy (and many of his cousins) greeted us as we made a morning drive through the park.
Katz’s New York style deli has been a fixture in Austin for over 30 years. For many in Austin Katz’s was the ‘go to’ place after closing down the bars on Austin’s 6th Street or Warehouse district. With it’s parent company recently filing for bankruptcy protection & rumors that they may be looking to move from their iconic 6th street Austin location, I thought I’d better grab a photo of this long time Austin landmark before it disappears like so many others.
Here is yet another view of the Austin Skyline from the Long Center for the Performing Arts. (Can you tell I like this view of Austin?) This photograph was made the same evening the I shot the Austin Skyline Panorama. (You can see that photo here.) When I photograph I virtually always do multiple angles and perspectives of my subject matter. Due to time constraints, I generally only retouch one of the images immediately to post. Later it’s always fun to go back through my files after some time has past to mine another photograph. It’s interesting how an image that did not jump out at me during the first pass will really stand out during a second look. This image was like that. When I was browsing through my photographs for my (sometimes) daily posting I found this shot of the Long Center. It’s hard to say, but I may like it better than the original Panorama.
