2022 Photo-A-Day

A Bridgeland Sunset

The footbridge takes walkers out to an island bird observatory. We have an assorted variety of cranes, egrets and songbirds in the Bridgeland community.

Gone Fishing

The Shrimp boat, "Jack Pot," leaving the 20th St. Pier in Galveston at sunrise. I had to clean this image up in Ps but I think it turned out good.

Me & My Shadow

That's Tanner and I, at least our shadows. We entered this one into our monthly photo contest, category: Shadows. Tanner got a 2nd place ribbon! He's a cool dog, loves walks, treats, and his family.

CAPT JOEL Headed to Work

I caught the Capt Joel as it departed the 20th St. Docks in Galveston last Tuesday.

The Old Blacksmith

Portrait

The Blacksmith

The photo was taken at a big knife and blacksmith exposition in Bellville, TX in April. This old smith is making some kind of punch. He used coal as a heat source with a hand cranked blower to raise the temperature.

Checking the Weather

Aboard the shrimp boat, "CAPT JOEL", captain Joel is checking the weather before departing the 20th St. docks. The USCG Barque "Eagle" was docked near the Galveston shrimp boats. These two were preparing their boat for the day's work. Fishermen are always concerned about the weather, so Capt. Joel is looking at his cell phone for the day's weather report.

U. S. Coast Guard Barque "Eagle" in Black & White

Here is my B&W version with a dramatic sky thanks to Luminar Neo. It's been cropped to an 11 X 14 and printed for mat.

The "Eagle" in High Key B&W

When I saw the ship on the water and how the cloudless blue sky provides such a canvas, I decided it would look great in black and white. I was right. I have two versions. This one is deliberate high key, almost white background. I'll post the other version tomorrow and you tell me which one you like. BTW: I took these with a mirrorless Fujifilm X-S10 & 70-300 lens. The camera continues to exceed my expectations.

USCGC Tall Ship: Eagle

The USCGC Eagle is a 295-foot, three-masted barque used as a training vessel for future officers of the United States Coast Guard. Known as "America's Tall Ship," the majestic Eagle is the largest tall ship flying the Stars and Stripes and the only active square-rigger in U.S. government service. Facts and Figures Length of Eagle: 295 ft. (roughly equivalent to a football field) Number of sails: 23 Sail area: 22,227 square feet Tallest mast: 150 feet (roughly equivalent to a 15-story building) Length of rigging: 6 miles Working crew: 55 Maximum people capacity: 239 Weight: 1,655 tons (Eagle’s hull and decks are made of steel) Speed under sail: 17 knots (20 mph) Speed under power: 10 knots (11 mph) Gallons of fuel oil: 24,215 Weight of anchors: 3,860 lbs. History of Eagle Built at the Blohm+Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany in 1936, and commissioned as Horst Wessel, Eagle was one of three sail-training ships operated by the pre-World War II German navy. At the close of the war, the ship was taken as a war reparation by the U.S., re-commissioned as the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle and sailed to New London, Connecticut, which has been her permanent homeport ever since. Goodwill Eagle USCGC Eagle’s primary mission is training cadets and officer candidates, but the ship also performs a public relations role for the Coast Guard and America. Eagle welcomes the public to visit during domestic port calls, and makes calls at foreign ports as a floating goodwill ambassador for US diplomatic relations. Eagle has hosted Presidents Kennedy, Nixon and Truman. https://www.uscga.edu/about-eagle/ I made the drive yesterday morning to Galveston to see and photograph this majestic ship. It was docked near the 20th St. Pier where I've photographed so many shrimp boats. There was a small contingent of crew on the pier at the gang -plank. These young men and women are the best of America and we should be proud of them and their service. When I see the news today of all the things that are wrong in our country, these young people are what is right. The "Eagle" departed the dock at 11am assisted by two tugboats. David Holland and I were waiting at the east end of Galveston Island for it to sail by. Alas, they did not unferrel the sails but it was a great photo op. Sorry about my curt comments on your photos yesterday.....I was very tired when I got home yesterday.

A Walk On The Beach

Galveston sunrise two years ago....I'll be there this morning to see the USCG tall ship "Eagle" departure from its weekend visit.

Dancing With the Birds

Such happiness on display, this little girl on the beach says it all.

Sunrise: A Family Affair

I saw this family bringing their own chairs to sit on the beach for the sunrise. Photo taken with an IPhone 8.

"Mine! This One is Mine!"

Fiddler crab on the beach at San Luis Pass. I recognized Mr. Krabs from my grandson, Jacob's, favorite cartoon SpongeBob when he was a wee boy. He is now 22, graduated from Belmont University, working at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital and getting married in November to his high school sweetheart. My how time flies. Photo taken with a Nikon D500 & Nikkor 200-500mm lens at f/5.6 1/3000th sec with 400 ISO. Camera and lens were on the ground, eye level with the crab.

"Rock Bottom" Dragging the Channel

While in Galveston, Dave B. and I like to get on the Bolivar ferry and ride it across to Bolivar and then ride it back. The smaller shrimp boats drag their nets in the channel picking up small loads of brown shrimp It looks like the captain is sorting his catch tossing any illegal fish or bait. These boats are subject to a game warden search at any time.

Heron in the Highlights

At San Luis Pass Wednesday morning this Great Blue Heron paid me no attention as he worked the shallow waters looking for prey. It was a beautiful sunrise with the light on the clouds and water. Photo was taken with a handheld Fujifilm X-S10 with an 18-55mm lens, ISO-800, f/11 at 1/100th sec. Thank you for your comments, critiques and suggestions.

Footprints in the Sand

Yesterday began at 3:30 am, getting up, gathering cameras & gear and driving to Spring Branch where I met Loyd & David. We headed to San Luis Pass for a sunrise photo. We arrived in the parking lot around 6:00am, sunrise was 6:21. We went in three different directions and I headed to a spot I had in mind from last year which would give me a shoreline leading line. I saw the footprints and said a quiet prayer of thanks. The photo looks bright but it was actually darker which resulted in a 10 second exposure. You can see what a long shutter does to the water and clouds. The sunrise was spectacular. It's as if God takes a brush and water colors and begins to paint the sky. Alleluia, alleluia for the Lord God Almighty reigns. Footprints in the Sand One night I dreamed a dream. As I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, One belonging to me and one to my Lord. After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that at many times along the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints. This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it. "Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, You'd walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me." He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you Never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you."

Indian Blanket Sunrise

Galveston Pleasure Pier Sunrise (Long Shutter Technique)

ISO-80, f/18 @ 6sec I was using a variable ND filter which allowed me to stop down 8 stops on the shutter. The water is still wavy and I probably should have used 15-20 seconds. I bought a Hoya ND1000 which will give me 10 stops. I'll try it next week.

Fishing for a Sunrise

Last week a friend and I made an early morning journey to Galveston to catch the sunrise. I wanted to try some long exposures. This photo is not a long exposure buta a nice silhouetted fisherman and with my little Fujifilm X-S10. You can just see the sun peeking up on the horizon under the Pleasure Pier.

Butchart Gardens Best Photo of the Day

Butchart Gardens Sidewalk Flowers

Butchart Gardens

Perhaps the most memorable sight in Victoria is a day trip to Butchart Gardens. We bought a day tour through our hotel which took us by bus to the Gardens. Beautiful is an understatement. Here's a short history I found on Wikipedia: Robert Pim Butchart (1856–1943) began manufacturing Portland cement in 1888 near his birthplace of Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. He and his wife Jennie Butchart (1866–1950) came to the west coast of Canada because of rich limestone deposits necessary for cement production. In 1904, they established their home near his quarry on Tod Inlet at the base of the Saanich Peninsula on Vancouver Island.[2] In 1907 Isaburo Kishida, a sixty-five-year-old garden designer from Yokohama, Japan, came to Victoria at the request of his son to build a tea garden for Esquimalt Gorge Park. This garden was wildly popular. Several prominent citizens, Jennie Butchart among them, commissioned Kishida to build Japanese gardens for their estates before Kishida returned to Japan in 1912.[3][4] In 1909, when the limestone quarry was exhausted, Jennie set about turning it into the Sunken Garden, which was completed in 1921. They named their home "Benvenuto" ("welcome" in Italian), and began to receive visitors to their gardens. In 1926, they replaced their tennis courts with an Italian garden and in 1929 they replaced their kitchen vegetable garden with a large rose garden to the design of Butler Sturtevant of Seattle. Samuel Maclure, who was consultant to the Butchart Gardens, reflected the aesthetic of the English Arts and Crafts Movement. In 1939, the Butcharts gave the Gardens to their grandson Ian Ross (1918–1997) on his 21st birthday. Ross was involved in the operation and promotion of the gardens until his death 58 years later. In 1953, miles of underground wiring were laid to provide night illumination, to mark the 50th anniversary of The Gardens. In 1964, the ever-changing Ross Fountain was installed in the lower reservoir to celebrate the 60th anniversary. In 1994, the Canadian Heraldic Authority granted a coat of arms to the Butchart Gardens. In 2004, two 30-foot (9.1 m) totem poles were installed to mark the 100th anniversary, and The Gardens were designated as a national historic site. Ownership of The Gardens remains within the Butchart family; the owner and managing director since 2001 is the Butcharts' great-granddaughter Robin-Lee Clarke.[5] In 1982 the Butchart Gardens was used as the inspiration for the gardens at the Canadian pavilion opened at Epcot Centre in Orlando Florida. In December 2009 the Children's Pavilion and the Rose Carousel were opened. The menagerie includes thirty animals ranging from bears, to horses, to ostriches, to zebras and mirrors the world from which The Gardens draws its visitors. The designs were hand-picked by the owner, in consultation with an artist from North Carolina. The carvings were done by some of the few remaining carvers of carousel art. Each animal is carved from basswood and took many months to complete. There are also two chariots able to accommodate disabled persons.

Totem Pole Among the Flowers

I found this composition on the Parliament grounds in Victoria. If you like flowers, tomorrow we'll go to Butchart Gardens.

Victoria, B.C. House of Parliament & Totem

On the grounds of the Parliament I found several totems from Native Canadians. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about these Native Americans. First Nations in British Columbia constitute many First Nations governments and peoples in the province of British Columbia. Many of these Indigenous Canadians are affiliated in tribal councils. Ethnic groups include the Haida, Coast Salish, Kwakwaka'wakw, Gitxsan, Tsimshian, Nisga'a and other examples of the Pacific Northwest Coast cultures, and also various Interior Salish and Athapaskan peoples, and also the Ktunaxa.----Wikipedia The Knowledge Totem Pole The Knowledge Totem Pole was carved by Cicero August, a Coast Salish artist from Duncan, and his sons, Darrell and Doug August. It was raised on February 2, 1990, during the Commonwealth Games held in Auckland, New Zealand. The pole was made to welcome visitors to Victoria for the next games in 1994. The pole refers to the oral traditions of the Indigenous peoples of the northwest coast. Mr. August had the opportunity to explain the symbolism of the Knowledge Pole to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during the royal tour of 1994. The top figure, the loon, represents "the teacher of the speakers" as well as an interpreter of all the Indigenous languages spoken. The fisher represents the traditional way of life of coastal Indigenous peoples. Below the fisher is the bone player, who represents a non-verbal game that can be played by people who do not share the same language. The bottom figure, the frog, is from an old mountain story and also symbolizes a tear. In August of 2007, Doug August Sr. (who is also known by his Hul'qumi'num name, Sume'lh) and his two sons Matthew Louie and Doug August Jr. performed the first restoration of the pole since its creation. This was done without lowering the totem. In 2021, the Knowledge Totem Pole was refurbished in a process supervised by cousins Doug August Jr. and Derrick Peter. The refurbishment involved lowering the Totem onto its side, replacing any rotted wood, sealing cracks in the wood, removing the faded paint and then repainting it, all before raising the Totem once again. Several small changes to the figures were also made to enhance their unique features. For example, spots were added to the loon to make it look more distinctive, and a handle was added to the fisher's spear to make it a more authentic depiction. The refurbishing process was supported by Doug Jr.'s son, Ryan August, and his daughter-in-law, Tiffany Wilson. https://www.leg.bc.ca/dyl/Pages/Knowledge-Totem-Pole.aspx