Angels

Two from Oakwood Cemetery, Austin, Texas

Now for something completely different.

NBA D-League: Oklahoma City Blue @ Austin Spurs 2014-12-06

I did not not know the D-League games were on YouTube until today. This is the game I took photos at in the previous post. I am even in some of the video. for example, 2:42:56 mark has a photographer in blue sitting to the right holding his camera.  That would be...me.

Austin Spurs

Start taking photos of the Austin Spurs for the Hill Country News.

Pet Photography Resources

I have created a resource pages for photographing animals in shelters and rescues.

The page has a link to One Picture Saves a Life tutorial video page. I have also embedded two intro videos and two training videos that were created for Shelter Cats are Beautiful tour.

There is a small section of links at the bottom.

Hope you find my Pet Photography Resources page useful

Example of small f-stop

Here is an example of what happens when you use a small f stop.  This is f1.8.   With such a short distance between the beginning and the end of the focused area, everything behind your subject begins to blur out.  Allows you to "get rid" or tone down the busy backgrounds.

Animal Defense League

Had a wonderful time at the Animal Defense League where I was teaching a workshop for Shelter Cats are Beautiful.  Here are a couple of the cats I took photos of last Saturday afterwards.

Shelter Cats Are Beautiful tour

I have been selected as a photographer and instructor for the two Texas stops of Rachel Ray's Shelter Cats are Beautiful tour.

I will be showing photography techniques to volunteers at shelters on how to get the most out of taking photos of shelter cats and kittens

Shelter Cats are Beautiful is partnering with One Photo Saves a Life and GreaterGood.org to help Shelters and Rescues learn how to take better photos of kittens and adult cats to help improve their adoption rates.  Besides photography demos, there will also be easy to learn grooming tips.

I love having this opportunity to use my skills to help shelter/rescue cats find their forever homes.

A couple news articles on the tour.

In New York (April 16th)
Pixable (July 11th)
Philly.com (July 15th)
 

Roadside Makers

I have been starting a series of photos documenting Texas Historical markers along with other interesting memorials and markings that commemorate Texas's historical past on my Roadside Markers blog.

Citizen of The Republic of Texas

This marker/emblem can be found on some of the historical graves of early Texas settlers.

Difficult in using Black and White Filters

Sometimes it is hard to come up with the right filters to use to get the most out of your photo.

Sepia Tone

Red Filter with High Contrast

Infrared Filter

Fascinating Creative Gravestone

Saw this beautiful glass and natural stone grave marker at the State Cemetery of Texas.

My Kaiju Movie List

A list of the Kaiju movies I have seen or reseen recently.

• Gojira (1954)
• Godzilla, King of Monsters (1956)
• Rodan (1956)
• Godzilla Raids Again or Gigantis, the Fire Monster (1955)
• Godzilla (2014)
• Pacific Rim (2013)

"Gojira 1954 Japanese poster" by Toho Company Ltd.	"Godzilla King of the Monsters poster" by Toho Company Ltd.
"Rodan poster" by Toho Company Ltd.	Godzilla Raids Again by Toho Company Ltd.
Godzilla (2014) by Legendary Pictures	"Pacific Rim (2013)" by Legendary Pictures

Topaz Hanna, Foster Greyhound.

I have a new foster Greyhound to work with and take care of.   Greyhound Pets of America - Central Texas chapter is doing great work in rehoming and finding forever homes for these ex-racers and breeder surrenders.  Hanna raced in 34 races and had seven pups before the owner surrendered her.  She is 8 1/2 and is one of the sweetest dogs I have seen.

Please consider helping them out either by volunteering, fostering or donating.

Gojira aka Godzilla (1954)

Finally saw the original Japanese Godzilla movie and not the the American King of Monsters version.

This classic movie was unlike most Monster movies. And it was a more darker, more message driven movie then the sequels that were to follow.

It was also commentary about Nuclear Weapons.  Instead of a bomb, Godzilla played the ultimate destructive force in it places.  The results were much the same. There was a strong anti-war message, not shirking the horrors of such tragedy.   Plus a examination on the ethics of scientists who make great discoveries that could be used as terrible weapons.

If you get a chance, you should watch the original in Japanese with sub-titles.  It is a great piece of cinema history that is still relevant today despite what we would consider to be bad special effects.

"Gojira 1954 poster 3" by Toho Company Ltd. (東宝株式会社, Tōhō Kabushiki-kaisha) © 1954 - movie poster made by Toho Company Ltd. (東宝株式会社, Tōhō Kabushiki-kaisha).. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956)

Saw this last week before going to watch the latest incarnation.  Godzilla, King of the Monsters was an Americanized version of the original 1954 Godzilla movie which was produced by Toho.  The original was a darker drama on the perils of the use of Nuclear Weapons.

The American dubbed version also pasted in the actor Raymond Burr as a reporter on assignment to Japan.  He was not in the original Japanese version at all.  With a little careful editing and shooting angles, this was pretty transparent most of the time.  Though I do remember once when one of the actresses' blouse didn't quite match the original character's.  This editing and recasting created a different feel to the movie, giving it a more campy American monster movie take that audiences in America were used to. It is the version most of us are used to and is still makes for a very enjoyable film.

What was funny is that this American version was reimported back into Japan later.

Images and information mostly from wikipedia and wikipedia commons.

The Kaiju and Godzilla

Been watching some Kaiju films lately.  Monster Movies! BIG Monster Movies! Mostly in the form of Americanized Godzilla spins.  Most of this was spurned on by the latest Godzilla movie which was a really fun movie.  Godzilla is a Japanese creation that American "Film Makers" keep seemingly to try and make their own.  The very first two Gozilla movies back in the 50's were really messed with to make Americanized versions.

Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks!

A couple interesting observations here.  One is a pro-tip, you do not always need to take a long trip out into the wild or visit some Nature Preserve to take interesting animal photos.  With a little cropping or careful shooting angles, you can eliminate almost all human elements from a photograph.  These photos were taken in my backyard inside the Austin city limits.  I posted one photo showing a duck on my backyard arch just to illustrate the location.

Second is that these are Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks!  I had never heard of these "tree" ducks before I moved into my current home.  Ducks go with water and wetlands.  Neither are found near my home.  But there is a little flock of about 8 birds that land on top of the roofs of houses in my neighborhood and in trees as seen here.

Out? Safe? Out? SAFE!

The umpire said that the Vista Ridge catcher bobbled the ball, so the runner was safe.  Only one problem, no one else saw the ball come loose. (5/2/2014)

Long Afternoon

The Leander pitcher just wasn't able to get it together in this playoff game against Hays High School (5/10/2014)