This past week I attended the Professional Photographers Association meeting in San Antonio Texas. My first night in my hotel room was one of those misty rainy nights that make for an interesting sky as the city lights light up the low clouds above. I love it when the clouds are just at the height of the buildings. San Antonio is such a cool city and the PPA conference was great. All in all it was a great trip!
A previous client returned last month to get a few updated images. Our previous shoot was in an urban setting so we thought we would do something different for this session. Denise put on her cowboy boots & jeans and we shot in local park that still had some color in the trees. (One advantage of shooting in Texas is the leaves don’t really drop till late December.) The shoot was tons of fun & Denise ended up with some great images to update her portfolio.
You may see a few images from the urban shoot here: http://johnrrogers.com/austin-texas/austin-portrait-session-with-denise-holyn/
and a couple of more images from this shoot on my flickr photostream here:
www.flickr.com/photos/visualistimages/5343458286/ and here:
www.flickr.com/photos/visualistimages/5343425492/
Rome obviously has no shortage of water. There are hundreds (perhaps thousands) of drinking fountains scattered around the city. The water runs continuously and I am told is quite safe to drink. I believe you would agree it’s also somewhat more beautiful than a plastic water bottle.
I very rarely use this forum to cast editorial comments, however speaking of bottled water check out this quite interesting & entertaining video about the bottled water industry:
My brother & I just spent a few days walking around Rome on a quickie getaway. On our last evening we tried to time our arrival at the Colosseum to take a few ‘purple hour’ photos. It was a great trip! We did some walking, ate some fine meals & drank some good wine while shooting a lot of photos and visiting areas that are ancient enough to make me feel quite young, if not insignificant 
.
Just down the road from Waring Texas you will find the Don Strange Ranch. When you close your eyes and imagine a Texas Ranch complete with Longhorn Cattle the picture in your mind is probably pretty close to what you see with your eyes wide open here on the ranch; Old Chuck Wagons, Longhorn Cattle & this very cool little cabin are just a few of the sights. Although I confess I’m a bit skeptical about the “Fallout Shelter” sign on the cabin. Then again, I suppose if you need a fallout shelter it probably doesn’t matter…
By the way, I love comments on this site. If you like what you see or have questions, please comment. I tend to get lots of comments on my Flickr site but few here. You are welcome to help me change that.
Also, as with all on my images on my site you may click on the image to load it in Flickr. If you then click again on the image there, you can see a larger version.
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.
One evening before dinner at the Mogotlho Lodge in Botswana I set my camera up on the deck for a long star trail exposure. Since the deck faces almost due south I thought it might make a nice shot. I used my portable flashlight to paint the tree for the first twenty seconds or so in the distance and then sat down for a wonderful dinner. Behind the camera was a fire pit which is providing the reddish orange illumination you see in the foreground.
Unfortunately my battery died during the exposure so the trails are not as long as I intended and the camera was not able to do it’s automatic noise reduction, nonetheless I believe it was a worthwhile exercise.
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”
I recently had the opportunity to shoot some portraits of Rose along with her family. As an Austin photographer I have the opportunity to shoot everything, including Austin stock images, Austin commercial photography, family portraits baby portraits & senior portraits. It’s all fun and I love the opportunity to make each of them look their very best. Of course when you have a subject like Rose, my job is pretty easy! 
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.
