23 - Cantina

22 - By the Light of the Flickering Flame

Funny, but some of my favorite photos of this project have been when I'm scrounging around for something to shoot.  Good thing, because by the time I get a few months into this, I might be really desperate for subject matter.

21 - I Believe I Can Fly

I'm a little late posting this, but I did take my photo yesterday.  I was fairly busy with my younger child's 7th birthday.  This isn't a particularly amazing picture, but I like it.  I shot it while all the kids were playing on the playscape at his birthday party.  I tried to emphasize the sense of motion by playing with zooming blur.

20 - Glass and Not Glass

19 - CityCentre

Traffic was terrible this evening.  Even worse than usual.  My plan was to go home, eat dinner, put the kids to bed, then go out again and get my photo for the day.  Traffic was so bad though and the location I'd chosen for the photo was on the way, so I decided to wait for the traffic to ease up while snapping my pics.  I called the wife and headed for CityCentre.

CityCentre is a very tony shopping plaza.  It's really big, really expensive, and really trendy.  I like to look at places like this and window shop, but I almost never buy anything.  Most everything is a bit too ostentatious for my tastes.  But I knew there would be some pretty photos to be had here.  I found this water feature with elevated fire pits and infinity edge that was really lovely, especially with the tree lights reflecting off of it.

18 - Big Four

Had to go downtown today for a business meeting with a partner.  It was one of the "Big Four" consulting firms.  They have very swanky digs in a skyscraper with a terrific view.  Now, my company's office is nice and it has a pretty respectable view of its own, but this office was nice.  Hell, even the elevator had fancy and very expensive rosewood trim.  For a brief moment I had a touch of envy and nostalgia for working at a big, established company.  But of course there's a tremendous downside too, that I know from hard-earned experience just really grinds me.  I'm a little company guy.  Strike that.  I'm a young company guy.

17 - Blue Light Special

Here's a tip from Captain Obvious:  If you want to photograph a hotel bar, but you don't want anybody walking through your shot, arrive early in the morning.  Unless there's a special on mimosas, it'll be empty.

16 - The Relentless Progression of Time

In my first post, I mentioned that time is accelerating.  I truly believe that it is.  Now, I don't think it is accelerating for everybody.  Therefore, I think the velocity of time is relative to perspective.  In other words, I think we all mark time differently.  But mark time we do, because time doesn't stand still.  It marches forward without rest and without mercy.

15 - Venus de Milkmaid

14 - Shizukesa

Today's photo is from the Japanese garden in Hermann Park in Houston.  The weather has been pretty crappy since the new year, either uncommonly cold or rainy and overcast.  So when this morning began in sunshine I was ready to get out and enjoy it.  The Japanese garden is a gorgeous place, even in the winter when a lot of things are dormant.  It must be absolutely stunning in the spring (and I will be returning).  Even the boys were relatively entertained.  They spotted an otter that lived in one of the ponds and they were very excited by that since otters are their favorite animals.

13 - Google Maps Special

Took off from work a little early today to grab my photo and get a start on the weekend.  The location for this picture is a Google Maps Special.  Sometimes I'll get on Google Maps and look up a location where I know I'll be that day.  Then I'll turn on the "photos" feature in Maps which overlays photo icons on the map that you can click on to see a photo from nearby locations.  If I see something interesting there, I'll visit the spot myself and maybe get my own photo.  I always from do it from a different vantage point, but it's helpful to find photo-worthy places near places where I'm already planning to be.

12 - Jagged Terrace

The Koch office in Houston has an interesting architectural feature where the building splits into two interlocking pieces that form terraced decks for every other floor.  I hadn't noticed the building until they bulldozed a square block adjacent to it and revealed it to Richmond Avenue where I sometime drive.

11 - Where the Magic Happens

This is my office.  There are many like it (actually, a couple dozen just like it) but this one is mine.  It's not much, but it does have a nice view and it beats a cubicle.  I'll give it that.  I was lucky in that for about 6 years or so I was able to work out of my home. That wonderful situation enabled me to spend a lot more time with my sons in the first years of their lives than most fathers, which was beneficial to both them and me.  I was lucky I got to do it and that I realized how lucky I was when I was doing it.  Maybe one day I'll get to do it again.

10 - Williams Tower

 

Williams Tower is an art deco revival skyscraper in the Galleria area of Houston.  I pass by it every day on my commute.   I love the look of it - it's classic art deco in terms of its symmetry and the terraced ziggurat at the top, but the mirrored glass is very modern.  In the mornings, the glass doesn't reflect much and it looks black, which is very attractive.  It's 64 stories and at night there's a search light on top that sweeps across the sky, searching like the Eye of Sauron.  Looks awesome in the fog.

9 - Wine Stopper

I'm not a wine connoisseur but I do enjoy a glass from time to time.  I'm too cheap to ever really get deeply into it.  The ideal for me would be to become an expert on wines under, say, $25 a bottle.

8 - Let Them Eat Cake!

That poor cake never really had a chance.

I swear, not more than 20 minutes afterwards, my younger one asked, "Can I have a snack?"

7 - Feather

Fate was conspiring against me today.   I had something of a plan.  I brought my "take everywhere" camera to date night tonight with the wife with the intention of grabbing my daily photo either at dinner or at the fancy schmancy megaplex movie theater they have here in town.  A jazz trio was playing at the restaurant and there was a decent angle near the drummer to get what I thought would be a good shot.  No dice - the battery went dead just after I turned the camera on.  (By the way, the movie we saw The Hunger Games - Catching Fire.  Other than an overly melodramatic ending, it was actually quite good!)  We got home and I intended to get a photo of the boys peering through the railing on the staircase, but they weren't having it.  The boys weren't cooperating, I was getting very testy, and the photos just sucked.  So then I started getting desperate.  I started looking through the house for stuff to put together a still life.  Of the few dozen attempts, this one of the peacock feather was the one I liked best.  I think I need to start stockpiling ideas for the days when I'm creatively dry...

6 - Waterwall

Today's picture is from the Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park in Houston.  It's a giant fountain with a 6-floor wall of water flowing down into a narrow half-circle perimeter pool.  Water flows down the outside of the structure as well.  The whole thing sits at the base of Williams Tower, which is a terrific art deco-esque skyscraper and a very worthy photo opportunity itself.  I'd been wanting to check it out for awhile and scout it as a photo location.  It'll definitely be worth a return visit because there are many more shots to be had here, including some with the kids.

5 - The End of the Day

I'd been wondering what my photo today would be.  I toyed with the idea of taking off from work for a half hour to do some street shooting but that didn't pan out.  Fortunately the sky provided an easy out today.  I will try not to overdo the sunset shot in this project, although if there's something else of interest I'll gladly shoot it during a sunset.

I should give a shout-out to my home state of New Mexico.  The combination of desert, rugged mountains, and dust in the sky make for gorgeous sunsets.  Best of any place I've been and I've been to a few places.

4 - Green Meanie

Today's picture is a new addition to my guitar series of photos.  I bought my first guitar with money I'd saved up mowing lawns over the summer.  I remember that one my friends thought I was crazy to spend so much money on it.  But in the end, it's been a passion for over 30 years, so I would argue that it was a very good investment.  I gave that first guitar to an old bandmate who had all his gear stolen from his van.  Like me, the guy lived and breathed guitar and it broke my heart to see him without one.

Oh, and the guitar in this picture is a '96 PRS Custom 22.  The Custom 22 is incredibly versatile and is probably the most playable guitar I've owned.  It sounds amazing through a vintage-type English amp, like a Marshall or a Vox.  Paul Reed Smith knows how to build an exceptional instrument.  Green is my favorite color and I particularly like this one's shade.