Summer Camping…

I spent half of July and all of August camping at state parks in Texas this summer. Each weekend was spent in a different park and one I had never visited before. The idea was to get away from work and stress in the big city and do some solo camping, find some solitude in nature, scout locations for future trips with my daughter, and to take my camera and hike.

Despite the Texas heat, I found it very meditative and rejuvenating. The camping gear was minimal. A tent, a stove, a cooler, comfy camp chair etc. Because of the heat, I always chose a site with electricity and either shade or a screen shelter. Electricity for a fan and a shelter to make sure I did not get rained out.

Gear on the camera side… just my Olympus PenF and a couple of lenses. I have the EZ 14-42mm pancake lens which makes this a completely pocketable camera. I have a 17mm prime and a 42-150mm zoom. With a good pair of cargo shorts … I can fit all this in pockets and don’t have t carry a camera bag on my hikes. I also had a small tripod for some long exposers at night.

Here are just a few of the images I took. I especially loved that the deer seemed to stop and “pose” for the shot. Almost to say… “taking my time here… are you done yet?”

Check my instagram for more of the summer camping series.

All in all, it was a great summer. I am not sure what I enjoyed more… the photography and discovery on my park hikes or the smell of coffee, eggs and sausage on the camp stove each morning at sunrise.

Olympus celebrates 100 year anniversary with a new video...

I was a Pentax shooter back in the early 80’s in college. When I recently came back to interchangeable lens cameras, I knew I wanted mirrorless as I am a tech guy and love “new” technology. Some quick research let me immediately to the micro fourthirds systems as I knew, for me, small and light was going to be the primary factor that would allow me to stay engaged with photography. If the systems were big and bulky and expensive, I would simply not use them and revert back to using my iPhone.

Skip ahead a bit… I fell in love with the Olympus Pen F… but that is a post for another day.

All that to say… Happy Birthday Olympus?

Here is a nice video they have shared to celebrate a long history … enjoy.

If you want to know more about the history of technology and innovation at Olympus, check out there 100 year anniversary page on the web.

NOTE: Olympus has since spun off / sold their camera business and those videos are no longer available.

Abandon hospital photo walk…

A few weeks ago I took a drive south and joined the Houston Photo Walks MeetUp group for a daytime tour of the Yorktown Memorial Hospital. We had a great time shooting the interesting and possibly haunted building (if you believe our hosts).

What a storied and sometimes bleak history this building has had. I have posted some of my shots on instagram if you would like to see more. I shot everything handheld with Olympus PEN F and my 17mm 1.8f prime. As suggested by our more experienced photographers on the tour, I did not changes lenses in the dusty abandoned building for fear of exposing the camera internals.

I tried to focus on the little (and often creepy) details. Two of my favorites are shown here. The “unfolded” shadow of the wheelchair abandoned in the hallway and the table of long unused bulletin board letters scattered on a table. Both felt like they conveyed the mysterious and untold story of this abandon building.

As always with the Houston Photo Walks meetup group. https://www.meetup.com/HoustonPhotowalks/ I am so glad I found this great group of folks to help me get out and shoot and learn from more experienced photographers and just friendly people.

 

Jesse H Jones park photo walk…

Once again I attended a photo walk with the Houston Photo Walks meetup group. https://www.meetup.com/HoustonPhotowalks/

So glad I found this great group of folks to help me get out and shoot and learn from so many more experienced photographers.

I was really loving that I have a complete articulating LCD screen on my Olympus Pen F camera to be able to take some ground level shots w/out having to lay down in the grass or mud. ( or pavement in this case)

Most of the images were sot with my 17mm prime at f1.8.

I will have to go back soon before it gets too hot and try more of the trails as I did not have time to walk the longer trails.

You can locate Jesse H Jones Park and Nature center by clicking on the map below

 

Salvage Texas - Tiny Texas Homes

I recently attended an overnight at Salvage Texas (just across  IH10 from Luling Texas) as part of the Houston Photowalks Photography Club. < https://www.meetup.com/HoustonPhotowalks/ >

It was a bit cold and cloudy much of the time, but what a great event and trip. We spent the night in  tiny homes built almost completely from recycled materials. The warehouse onsite is said to contain enough recycled materials to create some 300 more of these tiny homes. If you want to know more, check out www.tinytexashouses.com. You can also search Airbnb and rent one of the homes yourself if you are up for a unique experience that is really more camping than a vacation cabin rental. 

The smallest of the units we stayed in was a total of 118 square feet and that included the sleeping loft. You can check out my Instagram feed for more photos from the trip. Above is a sunset photo of the newest project under construction. Hard to look at it and not have your mind wander off to Peter Pan’s never never land. The other photo above is of one of the work areas in the warehouse. 

Such a great place to spend time taking photographs. So many details and textures, colors and materials, shapes and silhouettes to discover. And the hand crafted and artful “tiny homes” are such a great example of  human creativity manifest in the built environment.

Thanks to the great folks running / hosting at Salvage Texas and to all the interesting and welcoming folks in the Houston Photowalks group that attended. 

Hermann Park Kite Festival

I will often take my camera and shoot photos on Sunday afternoons while waiting to pick up my daughter from youth group at church. I noticed that this particular Sunday there was a kite festival at Hermann Park and thought this might be a great opportunity to photograph all the fun colors of the kites as they flew against the late afternoon sky.

To my surprise, I ended up taking very few photos of kites. Maybe this shows how new I am to this “photography thing”, but I was simply amazed and fascinated by all the people I encountered.

What a pleasure it was spending three hours amongst  the crowds of people of every race and age, size and color, culture and creed. Everyone filled with emotion. The joy of community. All smiling and laughing and reveling in the  pleasure of being outside, on a Sunday in the park. Whether flying a kite, helping each other, watching it all, or listening to the music and performances, everyone seemed simply happy to be there... to share this day with each other... and be a child again where the only thing that mattered was the joy of seeing your kite ride the wind and join all the other colorful creations tethered to the earth by only the small string in your hand.

I spent three hours soaking it all in. Taking photos and grinning from ear to ear myself. I am thankful for the pure joy that was shared by so many people that day. I am hopeful that we all find more times like this where we can just be together in community, accepting of each other, or differences, or successes, our failures, our uniqueness, and our incontrovertible bond as fellow travelers on a journey together.

What do you say? Lets go fly a kite! 

Hermann Park Kite Festival - Houston Texas 2019

Shot on iPhone winners announced...

Apple introduced a challenge to share great shots taken with iPhone at the end of January 2019.

https://www.instagram.com/yarosh.nikita_/

“Apple is kicking off 2019 by celebrating the most stunning photographs captured on iPhone, the world’s most popular camera, by inviting iPhone users to submit their best shots.
From January 22 to February 7, Apple is looking for outstanding photographs for a Shot on iPhone Challenge. A panel of judges will review worldwide submissions and select 10 winning photos, to be announced in February. The winning photos will be featured on billboards in select cities, Apple retail stores and online.”

— https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/01/share-your-best-photos-shot-on-iphone/

The winners can be found here or by clicking on the image included in this post.

I chose the tennis court image as one of my favorites as I was thrilled that Apple and the judges also chose images that were of taken as part of “every day life”. That seems in keeping with my intent for this site. That is to say… paying attention and being present.

Kudos to Apple and the judges for not taking the easy road and simply choosing shots of spectacular places… but for choosing shots that not only reflected the quality of the camera in the iPhone… but the quality of the vision of the photographer as well.

Going beyond your smartphone - #realcamerasrock

I stumbled upon this video today from an NBC affiliate in the Bay Area. I love the idea that there might be a resurgence of interest in “real” cameras. Don’t get me wrong. I know the the “best camera” is “the one you have with you” and that the smart phone cameras (and their computational software engines)  are here to stay. However, maybe the ubiquity of these cameras is just what the photography industry needed to jumpstart a revived interest in photography. I know that was the case for me.

Here is the video. Enjoy ...  

#realcamerasrock

Welcome to little RED dot photography

I am a “recovering architect” turned technology consultant … I am the owner and “head geek” at Envision Design, LLC … and I am a photography enthusiast.

In April of 2018 I purchased my first interchangeable lens camera in over 20 years and rediscovered the joy of photography.

For years now, photography via my mobile phone has been my version of meditation practice. My way to try to stay present and in the moment. To learn to slow down and see thru the lens what I might miss in an otherwise busy and hurried life. A daily photography practice as a means to learn to be present.

So I now take and share photographs as a daily mindfulness practice for me. I hope you too find some value, or joy, or respite from the hurried world in the images I share here as well.

I share this quote from Eckhart Tolle with you as it has become my inspiration and my reminder for my photography.

What can be more “present” and in the moment than the taking of a photograph? It is almost impossible to be dwelling on the past or worried about the future when you are taking the time to slow down and notice the world around you… right here… right now… in the present.

“Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry – all forms of fear – are caused by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of non-forgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

You can follow me on instagram where I post an “instagram a day” as part of this practice. I will work to write here on a regular basis as I am able. But the real intent of this new site is to have a place to be intentional about being present in the world thru photography. And to have a place to share with others who find joy in life.