When the weather man gives you a lemon....

Last Saturday I was in Mernard, Texas and really looking forward to shooting an outdoor concert by Will Dupy and Doghouse, a popular area country group. The gig was a key part of the annual Jim Bowie family reunion. Will and the boys were to take the stage at 3:00 Everybody was walking around with crossed fingers as the weather man has not been kind to the celebration recently. Last year's celebration was pretty much a non event as it rained most of the day. Well, either crossing fingers is pointless or somebody let their's slip because about 2:00 everybody, your's truly included got soaked. So not concert!



Well, not quite. One of the sponsors just so happend to have a warehouse less than a half mile away from the park where the Bowie festival was going on. And the band said they came to play and the location didn't make any difference to them.  So they loaded up their equipment and high tailed it over there. And I was right behind them with my camera.


I must tell you, Will and  his guys are no dogs. They had that place rocking. But..... there was another major obstacle. The lighting was terrible and they set up to play in the darkest place of all. I normally prefer available light for concerts but that was totally out of the question. Long story short, my present flash unit is inadequate and as could be expected my shots were nothing special. So I made lemonade.

Paint Mine Red

I believe in punctuality. I also love shooting photos of people getting sweaty and dirty while hard at work. A photographer friend calls them "workaday" images. Combine such scene with a predominant color scheme and you may as well order my casket because I'm about to die and go to heaven. So what happens when I'm putting the pedal to the metal to be some place on time and I happen to pass a crew hard at work, painting a barn roof bright red? I throw on the brakes and grab my camera, of course.

Seeing Through Glass

Shooting through windows or glass store fronts can be challenging. Stray reflections, gross underexposure tendencies, and color shifts must all be dealt with. But there's a huge upside: the interplay of light passing through glass has the potential for producing the feel of mystery and high drama. You just never know what to expect. And with the availability of endless special thanks to digital photo editing programs, the results can be spectacular. I never fail to have a blast shooting in this unique genre.

This little guy wanted out!

                        Splashing on soap suds got his attention!

 Mannequins and glass another great combo.

A polarizing filter would have helped with the reflections here but didn't have one available.

Chasing His Youth On Jockeys Ridge

Mystery and Magic Vs Flat Out Mundane