Willie's Playing Deep Ellum's Bomb Factory Tonight.

Willie Nelson is at the Bomb Factory Tonight. There is not a ticket to be had. Sold Out Performance and the Buses just hit the parking lot. It's cold today and the streets in Deep Ellum were packed. The lines at Pecans was out the door, down the street and around the corner.Tower Cranes are taking the Ellum to new heights! Twenty Years ago when I was doing marketing studies for a Fortune 100, things were quiet the difference than today, but it was apparent  even then, that  Deep Ellum was coming to what is happening now, then. It's nice to know that I was on target then and have been able to watch the development  rise to the top.

Willie Nelson Plays The Bomb Factory Tonight

This Sky Crane is getting engine work done. It's been flying over my house for a couple of months, now. Out of sight is two massive HVAC systems that seem to be heading to the rooftop. That is---when the three workers are done. There were some 20 workers in neon yellow vest and hard hats in the parking lot huddled in  a tight group---waiting for some kind of signal  that the work was complete.

This is the Canton Street Side of the Bomb Factory. The busses are on the other side of this view.

One Pelican Struck By Car on Garland Road Bridge

This morning, on the east side of the 78 Garland Road bridge at the dam, one of the big American White Pelicans was struck by a car. Seeing it on the roadway was unfortunate. When we share the park, it is also with the wildlife.

Yesterdays Rains Runoff.

In one of these images, after closer inspection, it looks as if a dog is on the island.

Web Engineer

Two Months of Rain in 3 Days

 Yesterday, for the first time in sometime, I was able to be out with the big camera for a bit and regardless of where I was, it rained enough to have the camera stay on the front seat of the car. I do have some rain gear to protect the camera from rain but somehow, it's just not me. Freelance with a rain coat on the camera doesn't sound like the tone of just saying freelance and ending it there. The weight of the extra words just does not sing like the lesser.

Today is also heavy with a 60 percent chance of rain. The one thing that I did notice was that the grasses have turned that lust green of Springtime again. However, there are plenty signs of fall showing up as I wrote about a couple of weeks back. The weathermen, as well as the models where they get their information, are forecasting already another cold front due to move in next week. It will keep the temps back down in the below normal category again.This coming Friday, the 17th, is when our average high temps drop a degree and then drop off more rapidly during the next 45 days. It is a welcomed relief. It has been a long hot summer this year, for sure.

Never-the-less, photography is about timing. Sometimes, the timing is good and sometimes it just is an empty box. Ansel Adams said that a being a good photographer is about where you stand. He has a point there and if you are not standing where the timing is right, then you are in the wrong place. I've had good days. I've have had bad. Over the course of the year, looking back, it boils down to about 1-3 percent of all shots are when the timing is right. There are those that will tell you that I'm wrong. On the flip side of that coin, I can say that they are wrong, too. It isn't about who is right or wrong. It's not about the flip side of the coin. It's about 1-3 percent of all shots are keepers. Technique can only do certain things. Wind can mess up a shot in a hot second. Just like it can bring down a jet liner at DFW, and did, before there was wind shear equipment. It's all relative in some manner.

With this writing, there are now over 7K images on line today under the Dallaspaparazzo tag. Those are with agents from coast to coast, the UK and Germany. And, their agents span markets from China to Australia to Eastern Slavic nations (Russia, Belarus and Ukraine), Western (Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia) and Southern (Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Bulgaria). 

With that said, helping these images find a useful place in someones blog, their web page, their newsletters or advertising piece or just an image you find something special about that is dear to your heart has become a growing challenge with so many cameras out there today. Yet, there are things that over the years have become embedded in my subject matter that is selling more and more each year. 

If, from a business standpoint every cost factor was weighed in, I am loosing money. But how much weight do you place on a hobby vs. a business. From a business standpoint, the IRS says that I must count it as a business. From a personal standpoint, I'm officially retired and consider it a hobby. But, the bottom line is it cost money to either.  Just to have a camera cleaned professionally today cost $50.00. Any adjustments made are extra. So, take the came in for a cleaning and you can walk out of the camera store with a bill of $150.00 on a good day. 

I have stayed away from advertising. I really don't want to get into that game at this late stage in life. Or, with the haters on social media out there doing their destructive thing to society as a whole. There is no place in my life for those things, today. Absolutely none.

The passion that I have for photography in an urban setting is tops. I love this city, I love the momentum it generates, and I love to see a city that is alive culturally, and still keep nature and  green spaces running like veins throughout itself. Already, looking back at a lot of my shots, those things do not exist today. They are gone, destroyed, lost, decayed, and a lots have been reduced to sawdust or firewood.

Yet, I have seen a couple of species of Raptors excel in their magnificence. I have watched cornfields become homes to not just hundreds, but thousands of individuals in less than 20 years. I want to continue to shoot urban settings. They are the heartbeat of one area of humanity called Dallas, Texas. Growing up watching the Thanksgiving Day parades from Dallas or seeing the Cotton Bowl Football game is part of who I am. Now, being here in Dallas watching the next great adventure take place---the transformation of  Fair Park with its many museums, the Cotton Bowl and Starplex ,the Midway, aquarium, Pan American Arena and the largest collection of Art Decco Buildings assembled in one place in the nation, into the daily park that it should have been years ago, is like an adrenal rush of excitement.  It's like a kid's excitement of something new and exciting. The potential for photography to show off Dallas is at hand. 

The bottom line is that to get those shots--to log a piece of history--is going to take money to keep this blog, these images, etc going. Plus keeping pace with vectors and videos, I must explore a way to do that which will make those creative visions possible.The old clock is ticking faster each and every day. I'm coming to the end of the first ten years of this pacemaker. While the technology is smaller and better for the upcoming number 2 maker or battery change (which every the electrician determines necessary) so, I got to get running (pardon the pun).

This is a writing to let you know that the upcoming changes to this blog and even the website, is rooted in staying on line if at all possible. When changes begin to occur, it will have been the best choice in which to continue this project, to grow it and to enhance it to those what follow us online. 
We thank you for your support. We appreciate your comments when we see you out and about. We believe that with God's help, this project will have opened hearts, minds and spirit through a lens on a camera that has benefited you in some small way; thanks be to God.  

The Horse

The Cows

 

 

The Cowboy, in Dallas

Far Time More Than I Care To Remember

--- this same thing has happened. One weekend last winter when it was cold and gray and rather miserable, I started at the beginning of my archive and started scanning through my images. When I found one that was not longer there physically, I'd say, "that's gone now!" and would hash mark a talley of images that I had taken that can only be archive files and memories now.

Sunday, I found yet another one.

This is the old Casablanca Restaurant. The number of breakfast meals eaten there, let alone the number of cups of coffee consumed there are uncountable. My friend, Malek had two restaurants in the downtown area, but I liked this one because of the atmosphere. As recent as July 8th while just ending my period of Annual Mourning I had photographed the new paint and colorful windows that had been done not so long ago. Now, I have these images to remember how life moves onward and time waits for no man.

This was infront and along side the old and new Sheds at Dallas Farmer's Market.My time eating there was prior to the destruction, rebuilding and renovation of the old farmers market.

 The old Casablanca Restaurant.

copyright all rights reserved dallaspaparazzo.com

 This image is available on our site at Alamy. Use the block Black A link and when it opens click above the search bar where it says dallaspaparazzo and search "colorful windows".

A Turn of Events For The Better

It was early when I headed out on Saturday. The humidity was like 88% and the dew point wasn't much better. In short, it was muggy and it's still was not officially spring with mother sun. During my outs and abouts, generally, my gas comes from Kroger's gas pumps. Yes, I use my discounts! Once in a while I might stop at QT or RaceTrac if the price is lower than my Kroger discount at purchase. The main reason is that on my rounds, I travel between two Kroger gas stations and it's just johnny-on-the-spot to get gas. On Friday, I had noticed that the southern Kroger gas station sells gas for $1.99 per gallon and I estimated (wrong, as it turned out) that the northern Kroger by my house would be the same. So that's where I headed Saturday morning to gas up.

When I got to the pumps, the price was $2.06 and with my $0.03 a gallon discount (I already used my $0.10 a gallon discount up) it dropped the price to $2.03.That's a $0.04 per gallon difference. However, that was not worth the effort or the savings to go elsewhere. Sometimes, I get Kroger's. Sometime, Kroger's get me. That's the way of the gas cycle. Alright. It cost me a big $0.40 to stay put.  That just means that I have to sell more photos.

When I left the station, normally, I would go right. Yesterday, my car turned left for some reason. As I got to the first intersection, I spotted a line of people holding place cards and signs outside the  Islamic Association of North Texas. It's the Dallas Central Mosque and to the Muslim community, it's like the Archdiocese Church which is usually a cathedral in the Catholic diocese. You get the point none-the-less. So, I made the block and came back around, parking in the parking lot of the church across the street from the mosque.

The local TV stations were there with their heavy tripods and video cams. I ask one of the cameramen what was going on. He pretty well summed it up but omitted a key factor that there was an opposition side and then a counter opposition side to the protest about the Mosque congregation. Then, I saw the AK-47s or what ever they call those curved clip rifles. I'm not a gun person. Then, I saw the Richardson Police. One here, one there, one over there and they were a bit jittery. That made me even more jittery and I got in my car and made another block coming in the back door lot of the Mosque  parking lot.

Never seen one of these at a protest before, but glad that they do.

This is not a Texas 6-shooter and somewhat disturbing to me.

Some of those that embraced the Mosque with their support. The two opposition groups were on the other side of the street.

Making my way around to those lined up along the side walk it was soon to be made clear that they were not formally, part of the armed protest but where embracing the Mosque with a line of supporters. Then, something else happened that was so different from some of the other marches that I had photographed in the Dallas area. I saw several people with blue vest like they wear at Home Depot with the words on the back in white letters that read: ACLU of Texas Legal Observer. They all had clipboards with a form-type check list that was a notation of various things they observed. Later, there was a chance to speak with one of the women and she told me that they were just bringing back this type of operation. There were fourteen of them.  Most people don't realize that the ACLU needs community support financially to do some of the things that they do such as this type service.

As it turned out after some time had gone by, a spokesman from the IANT came along the line bringing the supporters that had embraced the Mosque together to announce that an agreement between the opposition and the counter opposition and that they would be going to a local Mediterranean restaurant to have lunch and discuss the differences that they had. He also announced that those that had embraced the Mosque in support were welcome to stay but that the IANT would suggest that they disband so as not to add any more discourse to the meeting. With that, people began to leave peacefully.

 It was announced later in the evening news that the meeting had gone well and that differences were smoothed over to the point that both sides would march together in the upcoming march for unity later this month. After looking at my images again this morning, I noticed that I had missed an image that to me was more chilling that initially though: A Richardson policeman with creased marks between his eyes brows holding one of those AK-47- like tactical guns at the ready.

From there, I went looking for angles in a very large and old cemetery. This is what I found.

I looked at this amazing art for nearly forty-five minutes reflecting on what had just been witnessed earlier in the day.

Eureka and No Way!

Eureka. After looking for the spot where an old image was taken for more than a year, today was the day when the lost puzzle piece dropped on the table. That would be picture A. On the other hand, I did not go looking for this one and I didn't hang around long after snapping this shot. That would be picture B.

Picture A: Highway to Dallas

Picture B:  A reptile that  was soaking in the sun.

Still Amazed Today

This is not an Air France but it is under the Emirates Paint Scheme an A-380 (same type)

This is also an A-380 operated by Qantas and still not an Air France but again, under the paint scheme of Qantas the air frame is still an A-380 my friend! Big! And. it was certainly not around in mid 1950s when I spent those lazy summer days looking up at air plane's contrails, which I still do today! Thank you very much!

My grandmother's were born at a time when the telegraph  (the electromagnetic one of 1832) invented by Samuel Morse; the telephone of Alexander Graham Bell's doings (1839) were all but 50 years old. At the time of my maternal grandmother's death, she had witnessed men walking on the moon. She saw the first cars made by Henry Ford in 1908 as a young girl and I remember when my paternal grandmother and grandfather got their first Westinghouse refrigerator and both my grandparents had telephones in their houses. Although, my maternal grandparents lived next to their grocery store seperated by a wall and a doorway and had a wall handcrank phone I wished that I had today.  I also remember my mom and dad getting our first television in 1952 and we didn't get a color set until 1962. I can remember using the old Translux teletype and getting a newer one with a CPU monitor. It took a half day to have my first cell phone installed in my car's trunk and the hand held portables were the size of the first walkie talkies. Big! I recall my optomologist encouring me to get contact lens when they first came out. I wore them for a staggering 44 years afterwards! I can still see a hawk or an airplane miles away from the cornea molding.

But, most of all, as a young boy, I remember the long hot summers spent sprawled out on the grassy hilltop up the hill one lot from our recently built brick house watching the contrails of jet aircraft (then, not much older than I was at the time) wondering where they were going. I still look up today at jet contrails and wonder where those jets are going, although I do know a bit more about cross-country vectoring today than I did then.

This morning, while checking the images that I had running on the live news feeds from the weekend, I ran across an image from a photographer in Essex ,England, UK. It was an image of a big Airbus A-380's contrail flying over Essex in Southeast England in one of those infamous vectors that airplanes fly. As was reported, the man knew that the A-380 was from Charles deGaulle/Roissy Airport in Paris going to LA here in the states. The contrails were beautiful against a deep blue sky and it reminded me of those summer days as a kid stretched out on that hilltop looking at contrails and wondering were they were going.

Then, it hit me, that today, with the technology at hand, I could look up that flight and see were it was before it even landed. Which I did. That is absolutely amazing for us mortal humans. Yeah, I know. I am reminded all the time that the government has stuff that would rock your socks off, blah blah blah,blah-blah.

Here is the scoop if anyone wants to go look at the live news feed image then get on flightawares or flight radar and  follow what's left of the flight before it lands. I just think it is stunning to see that image and sit down at the computer and find where in the world it is withing a 7-minute delay and where it is going. After all, it is an A-380 and that within and of itself is astonishing.

The images (there are 2) GNF9JX-RM and GNF9kl-RM by Timothy Smith on Alamy.com, click on the live news feed in the search box (images) and scroll down to the live news feed.Sorry, they will roll off the cycle in 48-hours. You can purchase the image while there if you so desire. Mr. Smith would be happy, I'm sure. I would be if my image was purchased from a blog post like this. ☺♪☺♪♫

The flight is that of Air France #66 that left Charles de Gaulle/Roissy at 10:30a.m. CEST en route to Los Angeles International/LAX with arrival due at 12:06pmPDT 30th August 2016. It is a daily flight. That is why they call it scheduled airlines ♪☺☺♪.

The flight was at 40,000 feet at 490kts air speed or just call it .85mock. Anything over 600 MPH is pegged as mock speed anyway. Or so, I am told by those who know such things and remind me that MPH is a thing of the past. AARGH!!!!

So, not only is it amazing that one can figure out these things....it is most amazing that now, I have proven that a dream of a child's wondering of where that contrail is going can know be known thanks to a guy totally unknown to me on a different continent than myself, taking a picture of an airplanes contrail and having the know how to post it on a live news feed that I use myself. And where now I can this 30th August 2016 finally answer that question and dream of my childhood many years ago.

I must say, however, that not knowing where that plane I watched as a child was going 60 years ago was awesome then, as it still is today, but knowing today is still a childhood dream as it was then.That will never change and I am glad of that fact.

 

Unexpected Emotion from Motorcycles

As most are aware, this past week has been an awful week in Dallas. As expected, when the funerals began, the reporting on the news begin to wear down a lot of people emotionally. Usually, one can hold up and make it through the ordeal. It's hard. It hurts. It lingers. But as you make it through one, then the second one begins and the third and fourth. Today the fifth funeral takes place in Ft. Worth with a mass for Officer Patrick Zamarripa, followed by his burial at the Dallas/Fort Worth National Cemetery on Mountain Creek Parkway. It's a beautiful cemetery placed on top of an escarpment overlooking Mountain Creek Lake where, Dallas and Grand Prairie meet on the southern belt of the LBJ Freeway.

Still, after Officer Zamarripa's burial today, Officer Kroll's funeral that was held yesterday at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, will not be buried until Tuesday when his Detroit family will hold a service with burial in his native Detroit (Southfield), Michigan. Being familiar with Southfield area and it's infamous Southfield Freeway that splits Ford Motor Company's Headquarters with Fairlane Town Center, a large mall on the former Ford Property that sits east of the estate on Fair Lane Drive. The estate for the Ford Family, named Fairlane, near Evergreen and Hubbard area is  old Southfield, and the center of the universe known as  Michigan 12 and Southfield Freeway.  Ironically, Henry Ford Community College is in that same radii. The mile roads begin just north. Streets with names like Park Lane and Mercury Drive and Auto Club Drive, Lincoln Lane somehow just yell out FORD! The cemeteries up there are completely beautiful. They are like gardens very well cared for.  So, to me, it is fitting that the very last internment from last week will be Officer Kroll's. Then, the burials will be over. The healing is yet another thing. Most certainly, it will take a life-time for many and healing will never come for more than we will ever know. I've been there. The pain does lessen over time, but it never goes away completely. Yes, it's hard. it does hurt and it will linger on for a lifetime.

Waited for an hour to see the procession come over the bridge ramp.The procession is that of Sergeant  Michael Smith.

The sight brought an emotionally filled moment.

Then the sight of red, white and blue lights streaming in an endless line transferred to my arms as I held the camera, and with the shock mode still on, the blur is my emotional shaking from the sight. Over the years, I've seen a lot but never like this before this moment.

 

The Massai Culture Right Here In Dallas

Generally, there is a plethora of places from which ideals can be drawn. My ideal well has always been full and seldom sees a drought. Those moments of inspiration do come from that thought well so to speak. They always have. Mom, was creative like that and mine comes from here side of the family tree. Today, opening the door and stepping outside after all the rain and flooding, big puffy billowing clouds against a blue sky awaited me. In just that instant, my thoughts raced ahead of my shooting list to the Dallas High 5.

Dallas High 5
For one, the High 5 is a very unusual forest of concrete pilings that stretches out beyond the project itself and travels west for about 11-miles to another massive interchange of roadways at LBJ Freeway and IH-35E. Of course, the High 5 was built first in 2001 to unstress the high volume of traffic on the LBJ and U.S. Highway 75, Central Expressway.The ground zero point was the old tight-wound traditional 1950s cloverleaf. Then, boom! This giant piling came jetting out the center of that clover leaf and the High 5 was born for Dallas traffic commuters. To this day, my GPS can pinpoint that actual piling and in my head, the vision of  all that came after it is like a Red Box movie.

My first stop was in the mid cross over in front of Texas Instrument's North Campus complex. There is an office complex there where generally Saturdays will find very light use of the parking lot and having inquired with security a long way back if using one of the  out-of-the-way parking spaces would be okay. So, the word was, yes, and then the security guy added, if you need to use it sometime in the future, the area were you described would be okay unless there was a fire or police emergency in the building. Thanking him, I filed that away until today.

Meeting the Maasai Grill people
Moving on, down to the heart of the High 5. Ground Zero..The Center of the Mix. Or, as has been noted at the Starbucks from time-to-time, where the Red Light Camera winks way to much at LBJ and Coit Road. So just before getting to that intersection, a new sign grabbed my attention. Pulling into the parking lot and going inside, I ask a gentleman if I could park there for about 15 minutes or so. Explaining that I needed to take a few pictures of the High 5 and just don't have anyplace to park. He said yes and after wards, I went back inside to thank him and showed him a few pictures of his business that I had taken. It was the high point of my the day.

 He and the lady behind the counter  are native Kenyan people. They are Maasai people. They are Maasai culture. Mom taught me about cloth years ago and I have long admired the color of the cloth that the Maasai people wear.  The restaurant, bar and lounges name was inspired from the Maasai people. Their culture is current and up-to-date. The Tribe in Kenya are well known and associated with Kenya and Northern Tanzania. They are known in the Ngorongoro Crater of Tanzania for more than 150 years as cattle hearding people. It is to the ancestorial Tribe as my Genesis 1:1 beginning is to me.

The menu will feature authentic Kenyan Food, music and dance.

The Menu
On the menu is samosas, chapatti's goat meat, ugali, pilau and much more are offered. They are located on the north side of the west bound service road between SB Central at LBJ and WB service road at Coit. The address is 8059 LBJ Freeway. Go enjoy  authentic Kenyan Maasai food.

Link to a history and culture
Maasai Tribe Information

This family was so nice. They will enjoy greeting you to sample their Kenyan culture

The rock garden greets you as you make your way to the door.

See that truck in the Express lane? The restaurant is immediately on the left on the service road WB. 8059 LBJ at Coit

That pole is pointing to 8059.

The Unofficial Easter Decoration

When traveling by an area, usually, my eye will catch the unusual, new, or what once was. It goes with being a photographer. Photography does train the eye. It has been noted many times by many experts--of course, today, every one is some kind of expert-- but, usually the meaning is of a professional statue.

Never-the-less, Easter egg rolls may be fun for the kids, but they have been done so many times, it just isn't worth the time or energy. And, with no disrespect to the churches that put out a rugged cross and yoke it in the church calendar linen of red or purple for that period in the liturgical calendar, it is about the same as an Easter egg roll that has been done the same year in and year out. While the meaning of Easter never get old, the thoughtfulness and good taste that draws attention is pretty rare today.

However, this year, my interest was peaked when I drove by Royal Lane Baptist Church this Easter Sunday morning.. In fact, it caught my attention so much, I turned around and came back. Usually, I drive with my camera ready on the passenger seat with the bag on it's side to shield the camera from the sun, heat and  dust. Today, the camera wasn't even unpacked but the display at the corner of Royal Lane and Hillcrest Avenue was worth every bit of the effort to unpack for these images. So, if there was a winner to be judged in any contest of sort, Royal Lane Baptist Church was the winner in many ways. Good job and well done. It was a beautiful display for this Easter morn. Hallelujah!

The cross covered in fresh flowers

Coming down Royal Lane it could not be missed!

Move Over New York

The electronic arm of the Dallas Morning News, the DallasNews, ran an article earlier this week about the rapid growth that we are experiencing here in the Metroplex and a side bar article mixed in about the even more expansive growth in Houston.  We are the fourth largest area in the country; New York and New Jersey is third.

Dallas came in at 131.000 in the count period in 2013 to 2014. Houston:156,000 in the same period. When you look at the New York and New Jersey numbers in comparison, they added just 91,000. That's 105,000 plus/minus more above each reaching New York's numbers in both Houston and Dallas. That is 287.67 people per day arriving in each  city of Houston, Dallas, The Woodlands, Arlington.

No wonder vacant land, from single lots to open fields, are under construction. For the past month, I have been counting  houses in the framing mode. The numbers add up more than the fingers on both hands, always!

The new homes on just single lots number more than the fingers on each hand in Dallas. That does not include the 300-500 apartment complexes that are going up en mass and the 8-10 unite condos that are squeezed onto 2 or 3 acres.

DallasMorningNew article

 

A Rare Find At Bachmann Lake

The Caxixi [ka shee-shee] rattle and stick

It has been years since seeing one of these in Brazil, but immediately recognized the instrument. It's a bit harder to explain  in as much as there are five parts to the instrument. So, after looking for a video on line, finally one that explains the instrument and allows you to hear the sound works best here. The link will be included after the images. The guy was very nice to confirm for me that it was, in fact, a birembau with a caxixi [ka shee-shee].Click on the link and be amazed.

Thanks to this guy, he confirmed the instrument was a birembau [beri-baw]

Up close

 Link to hear the sound generated and the instrument explained.

Happy 2016 From Dallas

New Year is about reflecting on the past and hopes for the future. The older I get it seems to me that the reflecting list grows longer than the hopes for the future list. It is not a negative statement by any means.  It's all based in fact. What also seems to stack the deck on the reflective side is the archive of this blog. While reflecting, some of the past articles even made me laugh. My, how times change perspectives. Then, finally, if not being struck again by one of my amazing eureka points, it hit me that the hopes for the future is by design a short list. It's always going to be a short list. Peace, Hope and Joy. Three words over many, but powerful words at that. I did gleam a couple of things from the review of past January's list. Rather timely, but still in a different way that they were and are now viewed.

One,the latest tornadoes and the path of destruction and death that befell the peninsula at Lake Ray Hubbard generated my archives and brought up an article about the area that was struck hard. Bad Karma, some say. Yes, the city of Dallas sale on the sly--made to look like the voters had approved the sale when it was a legal manipulation of words that tricked a lost of voters--of Robinson Park to the city of Rowlett. That area, Dalrock and I-30 was where the most damage and the most deaths occured .The question of the landmark water tower in line of  the 13-mile on-the-ground- tornadoes for a sale of land does make a story that movies have been made from.

Another post came up about an old college professor, now deceased, that was an early mentor for me. He had written so many translation on the works of Percy Bysshe Shelley, loved American Jazz, was a connaisseur of fine brandy and quoted Shelley repeatedly. The most famous of his likes could be a tribute to those that lost their lives on I-30.  

Death is the veil which 

Those who live call Life.

They sleep, and it is lifted.

Two, there were a lot of broken hearts in Arlington on New Year's Eve. There were a lot of joyous fans as well. Like a stop light, there were green hearts and red hearts. The green hearts go back to Ingham County to re-group.

A red-tailed bird ( I would not want to misrepresent, especially to those of 600mm lens, the experts in all fields. )

The last full year for Obama in the White House. He will have to fly on this old bird because the Military has announced that the new Boeing 747-800's will have to wait because of budget  restraints. Don has his own plane and helicopter, anyway. Is that The Omen? Nah, that must be the 40-year old film by that name that I'm thinking about.

edit peninsula and description 01Jan16

First Soggy Month Since May

Well, as so many know, it rained again. The official total at DFW International for a 24-hour period from 06:53 on October 30 to 06:53 on October 31 (today) was 2.24 inches of rain. Add that to the 7.67 total fell just a few days ago and the soggy total tallies up to 9.91 inches.

Needless to say, Dallas only received a little less than half the amount of  the near 20-inch totals Austin area received. That's why their Round Rock is round--all that water keeps swirling around grinding that old rock down and down until it's round. Of course, that's why Austin is weird and keeps getting more weird.

Rain, glorious rain.

Diagnosis: Moment in Maine

It was an October morning, on the coast of Maine in 1975, when I first noticed the symptoms. Two weeks later, the symptoms returned.  Over the next thirty years there were moments that came and went and I continued to ignore the symptoms until 2005. By then, it was a full blown disease.  I live with it every day, now. I can still recall that fateful morning sitting on a cliff before sunrise in the mist and fog hearing lobster boats put,put,put as they went about their daily trips of putting out lobster traps. The sun's glow began to light the morning sky before  that beautiful ring  of nuclear  fire crested in that rainbow-like arch and I could feel the heat on my face.I know now that it was then, that the disease had entered my bloodstream.

In 2005, the time had come to acknowledge the disease. It was a difficult thing to do. But someone had already made the statement that I was feeling. Although it was an Anonymous statement, it said exactly what I already knew about that Moment in Maine. So I can use that Anonymous statement :

"Once photography enters your bloodstream, it is like a disease." --Anonymous

Yes, the disease is photography and I work at it daily to keep my eyes sharp. With that said, I will begin to post on the side bar a column from some of the best photographers that have this disease, also. It is to be hoped that you will enjoy reading their quotes.

A Man Takes Time on a Hot Roof to Smile for the Camera

Under the Pink Umbrella--Life is Good.

From The Ground Up

It was another beautiful spring day in Dallas. The temperature topped out at 81-degrees F and there was no wind or breeze. Flags hung limp on flagpoles on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. The grass was a beautiful green against a medium blue sky. Yet, for me, it was a tad warmer than I like when I am out with the camera. A camera crew five-strong, with all their heavy and well-padded cases, were heard complaining also. They said they were "shooting Dallas" on a positive note as they headed down between the levees.

I have been rather anxious for spring this year.  I wanted to try out a couple of things on my old and trusty cameras. Well, camera in this case because the big Nikon over the winter is still in the hospital with a bad case of software malfunction. Nikon wants me to up grade. Funny thing about that, though. Nikon does not want to kick in anything toward the upgrade.  Over the years, I have known several AP photographers that have used the same equipment for many more years than I have used the new digital, but we have one thing in common: they liked shooting with their equipment and I like shooting with the cameras that I have. I'm not totally sold that I need 24 mega pixels or sensors twice the size with no mirrors, either. The case to be made is that cameras are kind of like an Apple i phone series 5 or 6. Apple wants to sell phones so before you learn all the features on your 5, you just have to have that new series 6! As my grandfather would say,"hogwash". That is were I am now with the decision on cameras. I'm not so sure that upgrades are always the right choice. Never-the-less, I was able to test out the adjustments and the adjustments worked just fine.

A bee sits on a flower with his wings folded.

This tree has been flowering for ages. It has about a 60 foot circumference

See, there really is water below the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge!

White Rock Lake Just Got Healthier

At least once a week I try to make a trip around White Rock Lake. Building leg muscles again has been a task, I can say. My heart is strong according to the cardi-man, but the meds have taken a toll on muscle building. I have  tried to get three cardio-walks in a week and that has helped. I am up to two miles per trip and still building. And, I can see why people fall into declining health if they do not make an effort to work toward building their body mass after a major heart event or any health issue that drains your strength or ability to function. But my goal is to be back riding my bike on 25-50 mile runs a gain.

If my former friend and college professor, Si Ma, can run the Boston Marathon at 70 years old for many years after age 70, then I  should be able to get my bike numbers up to when I could do 50-mile trips regularly on my bike.

This summer, I lost over 50 pounds. It was possible because I cut out sugars, starting eating more fresh fruit and eating health generally. I will say that one of the secrets for me was eating extra sharp cheddar cheese. My evening snack was a couple of slices cut in half and eaten on a unsalted saltine cracker. The next night, I ate 4-teaspoons of bulk popcorn popped in a McDonald bag in my microwave. I gave the bag a coupe of shakes with the salt shaker and that was it. The third night I eat a Mullers Yogart with raspberry side. That is what I do and I don't suggest to anyone that they would or will or could obtain the same results. It's all about math and metabolism activation. Mine activates in a different way than anyone else, but the key seems to be learning how to activate your own metabolism engine.

Now-- having said all that-- One of my favorite stores has finally arrived in Dallas and it touches the end of White Rock Lake at Gaston and Garland Road (TX78).

Yes, The Fresh Market has arrived and I have already consumed  a loaf of Batard and a loaf of Pumpkin bread. There is a loaf of Chocolate Chip Banana in the freezer until Christmas Eve Day when I will set it out to de-thaw for Christmas morning with my coffee.

The Fresh Market is so much better than Whole Foods and Central Market in my view. I have shopped their stores before and I like them from the entry wall to the exit door and every where in between those walls. They have the bulk coffee beans, the bulk nuts, the bulk this and that and then, there is the wonderful world of bulk candy! Orange slices that look orange, taste orange and chewy, not gummy. There isn't time or space to mention it all other than to conclude with the out-of-this-world Maryland Crab Cakes. Oh, my. I could grill for eternity! Here is a couple of pictures that are a bit grainy but you can experience the supermarket where the angles must shop!


So, without hardly gaining a pound-- 1500 calories = one-half pound in weight gain-- I will start planning my meals around some good fresh,quality foods and not waste an ounce of gas in the meanwhile.

Breads and coffee to sip as you shop

 Produce and classical music to listen as you shop

Columbus Day Parade

It seems that the Continental Bridge Pedestrian Park is getting quite the work out. The Columbus Day Parade was held Sunday, starting on the east end of the bridge park, winding its way to the west Plaza area, where a member of the Italian Parliament gave a brief address. It was a well done event!

The Color Guard

Strike Up The Band. You know that Purple is the color of Royalty, don't you?

Texas Horse Park  Riders and this was no laughing matter!

Not Everything Is Revealed At A Grand Opening.

This Father's Day the city of Dallas held another big party on a bridge. The first one was the opening of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, the Santiago Calatrava designed cable-stayed bridge over the Trinity River. With connecting of downtown to west Dallas, new development soon followed.

This time, the party was held on the adjacent Continental Bridge that carried traffic across the Trinity for 85 years. After the transformation of the Continental Bridge was complete, it was opened Father's Day as the Continental Bridge Pedestrian Park and below it, the city opened the new Skyline Trail along and between the Trinity levees on both sides of the river.

The party also celebrated by serving a gourmet lunch on a 100 yard long table by 50 top chefs in Dallas. A 5 k run had been taken off below earlier in the morning. The turnout was a success for visitors, riders and runners.

Two weeks later, the new park brought out the fun stuff. The water jets that shoot streams of water into the air were working as was the misting stations and not just for the kids. A lady in her wheel chair was being pushed by a member of her family and all were having fun and laughs at getting wet. The separate misting stations have contour chaise lounges under them.

 While the chess board was seen at the opening, there are also tables with chess boards and checker boards inlaid in the tables and I had suspected that the squares on the deck were just to denote where the chess and checkers would be available. Wrong! beautiful, heavy wooden chess pieces were out on the squares at this visit. They were stunning! Beautiful wood. Lacquered finishes that shined in the sun. Amazing. They are designed for a game of stand up chess.

The opponent: Black in color with the same high gloss look.

Father's Day Opening Luncheon on the bridge.

Dos Equis, I need a Stay Thirsty Grant because.......

There are gadgets invented, created (not all equally) and sold every single day of the year. We hear about some of the most promising if not the most exciting. The information overload would be just out of the universe if all of it was paid attention to when it came out.

Once upon a time, I was invited to attend a motivational speaker's presentation because at that time, he ran the hottest direct mail advertising company in the US. For nearly a week I got to pick his brain about how he had made his company one of the most recognizable organizations in the country. I never forgot the pointers that he left with me.  Not that I have been interested of late. I have been running a test experiment for nearly five years now putting into play the new technology that wasn't there when Whitt  did his thing so successfully in the early 70s.

Yesterday, I got to see, talk and observe a demonstration that kept my brain going well into the wee hours of this morning thinking about the possibilities of what this device can and could do from here on out. The problem now is more bifurcated as to what end one would want to be involved. One, do you want to use the technology and device as it is currently and develop it to its fullest, or two, do you want to be on the horizon of where this thing is going?

So, Dos Equis , with a Stay Thirsty Grant,  I'll photograph the Dallas outdoor sidewalk patio's with  the Dos Equis interesting people and blog about them  on my blog, your blog and twitter!!

This is not a toy, it's a work horse for Photographers

Legally, it can fly at an altitude of 400 feet in open terrain.

 

Dos Equis, I need a Stay Thirsty Grant because.......

http://heinekenusa.com/tag/stay-thirsty-grant/

Edited to remove copy and add the copy below.
I just learned, there really is a Stay Thirsty Grant Contest by Heinekenusa and that doesn't change a thing.  I don't need 25k, I just need a video camera and a drone !  The creative juices are already generating a list of uses for photography.