Timewarp - Texas Style

Today, visited Fort Worth's Log Cabin Village. This is a collection of authentic log cabins from around Texas (mostly North Central and North West Texas). I have lived in Fort Worth for many years now - for about 6 years I lived just down the street from this "living museum" (a comfortable walking distance at that) and would pass it by daily and yet I never went in. You would think that my love of Texas history that I would have visited long ago.

Anyway, it's quite interesting. The Parker cabin is here. Parker County was named after the Parkers and two of the daughters were kidnapped by indians. One, Cynthia Ann, survived but lived through some brutality that I just can not imagine ever in my worst nightmares. Quanah Parker, her son by her indian husband is a famous Texas figure - although I do not know if he actually did anything except be the son of a famous Texan woman and Chief of a tribe. He has a town named for him up near the panhandle at the beginning of the north end of Hwy 6. I've camped in Quanah, TX before. The cabin has a breeze-way in the middle, which was unusual but not all together unheard of. The heat of Texan summers is brutal and the breezeway helped a great deal.

The Parkers were also friends of MY personal favorite Texan hero, Sam Houston. He'd sit in this chair when he would visit.

It's a TINY chair and Sam was NOT a short little guy. But, you take what you can get with sparse pickin's.

Anyway, I took about 40 photos of log-cabin type stuff but not in the mood to post much more than what I have already done. I did have a good day and the weather was perfect although a tad chilly. There were a few costumed people there to answer questions and give demonstrations of how people lived back in the pioneering days of Texas. I personally have no desire to live in that era. =)

One more thing... this house overlooks the village. I found the juxtoposition amusing:

Yes, this is a house - not an office building.

Bright Ideas and My Competitive Nature...

I just had a "bright idea" for Christmas or birthday gifts - I am going to print out notecard sets of my favorite photos. Sets of 5 each. I just printed the first set - two of the photos look very fuzzy. =( I could not figure out how to print on the back of the cards to put the name of the shot and my name as the photographer so I printed on clear mailing lables.


Let me tell you - the cards look like POOP! BUT it's an idea and I think I am going to still do this but will have Shutterfly.com handle the printing. The insides will be blank. The first set I will be keeping for myself. Cost would be about the same when you factor in how much paper and ink costs.

Another thing is there is a new artist on the wall at Starbucks. Well, actually I have seen this artist show there before. But anyway - I think the artist is a "she" - so I will write "she" here as I discuss my delimma.

She is a fabulous photographer. Her show is all stuff from around Fort Worth (there are noticeable landmarks - the Bass Hall Angels, the round bridge at the FWBG, etc - all of which I have photographed as well - just like thousands of other people with cameras).

The 3 items from FtW that I will be showing are not noticeably "Fort Worth" - well, maybe "Coffee Break" but it's pretty annonymous... and if you know the Modern Museum at all from the inside... you'll recognize the stairs, but I doubt you'd know unless I told you (like I just did). The other 3 or 4 I will be showing are all Germany but even those are vague except for a sign hanging in an alley way that is written in German but you have to get really close to make it out.

Anyway, it is obvious I will be showing my amateur-out-of-focus stuff after a professional and that is freaking me out a bit - enough to pull it all and not show at all. I've already told friends, family, and strangers about the show so... there is no turning back. This is what other snow-boarders must feel like when they have to go AFTER Shaun White in competition. "What's the point?" Ya know? (and I have no idea why I used him as an example as I have never seen him in action.)

She also has 2 11x14 prints in 16x20 (or so) frames. All of mine are 8x10 in 11x14 frames (double white matted). They look good but now I fear they are all too small. I am not going to change this or it might look like I am copying her (which in a way - I would be) and then it would also look like she has new prints to show instead of an artist change on the wall. If I ever do this again, I will add a bit of variety. Right now, I did want them all the same size because all of the photos I have framed right now are hanging in my dining room - straight across in matching frames... it LOOKS like a gallery which is the way I want my dining room to look.

Well, I am nervous. April 9th is fast approaching.

Tunnels, Stairs, and a Cartoon

I have a fascination with stairs and long passageways... and tunnels. I dont know why - I just do. I didn't realize this until I started getting out and photographing things and places. These types of places remind me of travel in some way... some sort of activity that gets you from one space to another  - and usually has a beginning and an end so you meet a sort of goal.

I wonder about a lot of things. I often find myself over analyzing the details of why I find myself drawn to stairs and tunnels, etc. I live on the 3rd floor of an apartment building with only stairs. I didnt just rent this place because it was cheaper than getting a lower floor (granted, that was the MAIN reason) - but I knew I would have to climb stairs all the time and I had this weird sort of "liking" of that. I'd get exercise, and when I look straight down from the top of the stairwell, I see a nifty sort of uniformity. I dislike chaos and clutter.

Remember that old cartoon (even before my time) of the dot and the squiggle? It was narrated by some British actor whom I loved but cant remember his name - Robert Morley... That's his name. Anyway, I loved that cartoon. I am very much the "line."

Here it is!

Lost in Texas - A Road Trip

Mineral Wells, TX - When you think of small traditional Texas towns - Mineral Wells should be at the top of your list. Home of Crazy Water and the Baker Hotel (reportedly haunted)

I've been meaning to get out there again. I actually drove through the first time I decided to get into my car and drive west. I wanted to get to Abilene for some unknown reason - I guess because "I could." I made it to Hwy 6/Stephenville which was about the halfway point. I had passed through Thurber, TX first and stopped at a restaurant called "New York Hill Restaurant" and had a "hashbrown omelette" (heartattack on a plate - for breakfast... this was before my current fitness regime). They sold the BEST hot sauce I have ever had... so I had to purchase a case (some of you have been lucky enough to get a bottle from me as a gift). I think Guy Whats-His-Name from Diners, Drive-Inns, and Dives (Food Network) should feature this place on his travels.

Anyway, I had originally taken I-20 straight to my destination but on the way back, I decided to go to Minerals Wells. The drive into town was beautiful. Rolling hills, no traffic, 2 lane farm roads - more people on horseback than in cars. It was a Sunday though. Sundays are "Cowboy Church" days for the natives here. The town was deserted (all stores closed). 

Well, next weekend I need to make a trip - I might go back to MW with the Canon instead of the Olympus. If anyone wants to come along - you are very welcome to join me. The weather should be heavenly.

Stolen Moments

This is a photo of a girl I do not know. She was with a lot of other Peruvian dressed children at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens some time in the autumn of 2009. She was the only person who noticed me and my camera (as far as I can tell).

This shot was not planned (I dislike posed shots anyway) and it has turned out to be one of my favorites of all the shots I have. I've had it blown up to 8x10 and framed. I will be showing this at my upcoming "show" at the local Starbucks in April. Her face is a little out of focus... but to me, it is perfect.

Contact me if you want to know more about the show.

Andi

My Photography Stuff

Photography is an expensive and addicting hobby - especially when you know that, as the artist using the equipment, you are not all that great and do not take the necessary time to study techniques to better your use of the equipment.

Here's my inventory:

Cameras

HTC Fuze Cellphone (not in photo - because I used it to take this "not-so-great" photo)

Canon Rebel XT

     Lenses
          18-55mm (stock with the camera kit)
          70-300mm Zoom IS
          75-300mm Zoom (not used - wanna buy it?)
     Flashes
          Speedlite 430EXII
Olympus Stylus 1010 (for portability)

Accessories

Canon Delux Backpack

Canon DSLR Gadget Bag

Canon ET-65B Lens Shield

Dynex DX-TRP60 Tripod

Manfrotto Monopod

Various Lens Filters

Software

Adobe Photoshop Elements 7

Olympus Master 2

Other Stuff

Kodak ESP9 All-In-One Printer

I also use http://www.shutterbug.com/ and http://www.qoop.com/ to order prints

So, why do I spend the money when I know I am no-where near being the next Ansel Adams or Annie Lebowitz and have no intentions of being so? Well, for one thing, it gets me out of the apartment. Another thing is that I am an observer of life. I don't search for the extra-ordinary but sometimes the ordinary becomes the extra-ordinary, at least to my eyes, and I try to capture those moments.

William S Burroughs once said,

"Nothing exists until or unless it is observed.

An artist is making something exist by observing it.

And his hope for other people is that they will also make it exist by observing it.

I call it 'creative observation.'"

I could not have said it better myself. My goal as an artist - is to create a world in which the ordinary becomes the extra-ordinary through 'creative observation.'

I hope you all enjoy.

First Blog Post! First Blog Post!

So, this is my first blog post with photo. Isn't is cute?

But seriously...

I have a goal for this blog. I dont want to be boring or post "Hi, I washed my hair today" type entries. I will most likely just post about my random adventures when I take them and will post photos as I go on them. Maybe I will post other stuff I find interesting too. *shrug*

For now, I need to figure this all out and create a plan of action.

Andi