TEST Only

This is a test to see if this works ok on a diff computer. Photo was taken at a fire on Hwy1431 in Marble Falls, TX. 

Atypical Firefighter

Structure fire tonight in Cottonwood Shores. Nothing much to photograph since the fire was almost out. Ironically, just as I was getting to THIS fire, another structure fire broke out at the opposite end of town, about the same distance from home. Nothing much of that one either....a admin building for a cemetery.

Anyways, I thought this guy had good character in his face. 

Hunting in Texas

Always wondered how hard it is to hunt in TX. But, apparently you just go to any gated community and wait for them to lay down in your driveway. Not hard at all! 

Test Poster

Again, just messing around in PhotoShop and came up with this poster. A little late, but oh well. 

You get the point!

Now, this is the hard one to keep in focus. After trampling the kid he decided that the big ol' camera man made a nice target! 

HotShot of the Day

The hotshot of the day is actually a series of photos. I had to post them backwards so you could see them forward. Having the full weight of a bucking longhorn can't be any fun for this kid. Watch the action of the bull-fighter (white shirt) and the judge (wine shirt). This rodeo was the benefit for the judge's medical bills from the last rodeo....where he had 5 metal plates implanted to hold his cheek/jaw together. 

Deflection

Here the Bull-fighter (they don't like to be called Rodeo Clowns anymore and after this sequence of photos I think they deserve that) rushes in and prepares to deflect more kicks of the hooves. 

The Cowboy Way

This is where training becomes 2nd nature. Notice the Bull-fighter doesn't hesitate to put his body over that of the fallen rider and in between the bucking steer. I was really impressed when this happened and am even more amazed after seeing the photos. Just amazing stuff. 

Another photo by my wife shot at Seaworld. 

Another photo by Shelley taken at Seaworld San Antonio. Just added some framing and texture. 

Whale Ho!

Yep....these Orca's ho themselves out for buckets of fish. Worse than working for peanuts. Photo taken by my wife, Shelley. Seaworld San Antonio, TX 

American HotRod

Just fooling around in PhotoShop I came up with this. One of the best ways to learn a new program is to 1) work with a copy of your original so you aren't afraid of ruining it, and 2) doodle....just go through everything and fiddle with different settings. Don't be scared....you can't hurt anything. 

On Gossamer Wings

A photo I took at WestCave Preserve, added some framing, soft edges, and a poem about butterflies. 

WestCave Preserve

This is a photo taken by either my wife or my son. We aren't sure which one took it since they were passing the 300D Rebel backand forth. It was taken at WestCave Preserve (http://www.westcave.org) just a little southeast of Marble Falls (go to Round Mountain and turn East).

Anyways, they both ended up taking better photos than me. They were using the Rebel with the cheapie 18-55mm lens, and I set it on 400iso before I handed it to them. I on the other hand was using the 20D with a Sigma 20mm f1.8 lens set on 100iso. This might have had a lot to do with it but not sure. That lens also might have had a smudge on it causing the soft focus effect in the highlights. Regardless, they ended up with the better photos :) 

Show N Shine

Saturday was the 4th Annual Show n Shine for the local Hot Rod club. They close down about 5 blocks of Main St. for the day and it draws quite a crowd. There were at least 50 cars there.....probably much more. This year I organized our photo club to go as a group and we ended up shooting some great photos. You can look at the gallery here: http://www.dailyhotshot.com/shownshine/ 

Fire

Just getting around to posting this photo of a fire last Sat nite. We were on our way out of town when this call came thru and we had to turn around. The neighbours discovered it and knew the owners were out for the night. Ouch. And out where the nearest hydrant was 1/4 mile away at least. 

This is our younger kitty Spooky. Certainly named correctly, she spooks at the drop of a pin. She didn't act very cat-like for the first few years...other than the meowing, she didn't sit like a cat, or sleep like a cat, or snuggle like a cat. We had her neutered a few months ago because her 'heat' cycles were driving us absolutely batty....like the Cartman's kitty-in-heat episode of the South Park. Strangely she's started acting more like a cat now. We never really trained her....we think she learned right from wrong from our older cat who was trained with squirt bottles....now SHE was a rascal when she was a kitty!
©2005 HotShots Photo

This is the second in a series of Texas Folkart. I made this photo yesterday while geocaching. I actually think it would make a good virtual cache. When I emailed it to my mom, she replied, 'I suppose it tinkles when the wind blows'.
©2005 HotShots Photo

Birdhouses we saw in someone's yard in Spicewood, TX. while we out geocaching today. There must have been about 30 of these hanging from the tree.
©2005 HotShots Photo

Believe it or not, this is a good representation of my Dad. Yeah, it's a photo of him on some Hallowe'en years ago. He was never afraid of dressing up or acting kookie...especially for Hallowe'en. Which reminds me....one Hallowe'en I spent 6 hours carving out intricate designs in pumpkins. I think I have a picture of a couple of them somewhere. There were about 10 pumpkins lit up in front of our house....the kids were all awestruck when they saw them. Of course, that was just part of the display.
©2005 HotShots Photo