Sharing Our Space at Landa Park {Project 365}

I've spent some time at Landa Park over the past week with several family sessions and then returning a few times to feed the stray kittens, which I'm happy to report have all found homes. So I decided to photograph a few of the other creatures who spend a lot of time in the park as well. I couldn't decide between these two so I'll just show you both of them.

Twenty-nine down, 336 to go.

Lisa On Location Photography

365 / 29 {Texas 365 photo challenge}

Went for a little walk on my lunch break today, scouting out Blanco Shoals Natural Area in San Marcos for possible future photo shoots. As undeveloped park land, it's a little confusing getting around and knowing where the boundaries are. There are some old, overgrown roads that offer a rough guide for the hiker, but beyond that you're on your own. There are only a couple access points to the Blanco River--and most of the time it's not even visible, which is surprising considering that it borders the length of the park. Today's Photo of the Day is from the south end of the park, looking north east. I thought it would make a good false-color infrared scene, and it looks as if I was right.

Camera: Canon XTi/400D 720nm infrared converted
Lens: Canon EF-S 10-22mm

Lisa On Location Photography

Christmas Traditions {Project 365}

Today we put up the tree in the house. Putting the tree up in our home is a walk through time of sorts. When the kids were little we used to get ornaments that represented whatever they were into that year. Thus we have an assortment of Hannay Montana, Winnie the Pooh, Clifford, Barbie, Hello Kitty and various other cartoon characters and toys.

Even though the girls laugh at the red Teletubby, Po, as we hang her on the tree. I refuse to not put her up there. She means something about the family. That stupid red Teletubby convinced us to drop a buttload of money on toys and merchandise back in 1999. It's going on the tree!.

The photo I share today is even older than that Teletubby ornament. This little soldier ornament made out of a clothespin and a ball of cotton was made in the fall of around 1973 or 74. I remember my mom sitting at our dining room table with the floral print chairs, painstakingly painting these clothespins to look like little soldiers. She made dozens of them. Gluing the pieces together with craft glue in the days before hot glue. They were all over our tree for many years. Their numbers diminished year after year as they fell apart or were lost. But a few still remain. I grabbed one of them off my mom's tree a few years ago and brought it home with me to grace our tree. It's a small fragment of my childhood. It's a reminder of the passage of time and the carrying on of Christmas traditions. I wonder which of the ornaments I cover our tree with year after year will survive and make it onto the trees of my children and grandchildren. I wonder if they'll tell the story of the red Teletubby ornament to others many years from now.

I hope so. Twenty-eight down, 337 to go.

Lisa On Location Photography

365 / 28 {Texas 365 photo challenge}

How about a little local flavor for today's 365 photo? Here is the legendary live music venue Gruene Hall, smack dab in the middle of downtown Gruene, Texas. They've decked it out for the holidays with a wreath right there amidst the famed logo.

Camera: Canon 7D
Lens: Canon EF-S 10-22mm

Lisa On Location Photography

Sunset in Martindale {Project 365}

I had the pleasure of shooting a session in Martindale tonight and on the way out, I drove past the cemetery at sunset. I've been in this neighborhood a few times and I've always done a double take when I see the way the light plays off the backside of these tombstones and shines through the trees. This time, I instantly though of my Project 365 and actually pulled over to shoot it rather than think to myself "I need to photography that some day" as I have in the past.

So today I give you the Martindale Cemetery at sunset. Twenty-seven down, 338 to go.

Lisa On Location Photography

365 / 27 {Texas 365 photo challenge}

I (Jayme) spent today home sick, trying to sleep off sinus congestion and a nasty sore throat. I'm better now, thanks. But hovering in the house all day put a crimp in my 365 photo acquisition. I suspect "pictures of the lenses I use" will become my go-to feature when I don't have anything else better to run, but hey, a least you folks get to see the cool toys Lisa and I play with. This here is a personal favorite of mine: The Canon EF 50mm 1.8 mark I. The (good) optics are the same as the current EF 50mm 1.8 mark II lens available for around $120, but the build quality of the lens is much better. I believe the autofocus in the older model lens is slightly faster and more accurate, but more importantly, it has a easy-to-use manual focus ring, which is something the newer version can't claim. I bought this lens used back when I first started getting serious about infrared photography. Ever since my Rebel XTi was converted to full-time infrared, it's become my absolute favorite go-to lens for portraits. From my vantage point, it's an even better performer in infrared than in visible light. It's a workhorse, and one of the oldest EF lenses Canon ever produced: Judging from the serial number on it, it rolled out of the factory a month or so before the first EOS cameras became available for sale in the U.S. That makes it at least 25 years old, and still earning it's keep.

Camera: Canon 7D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8

Lisa On Location Photography

365 / 26 {Texas 365 photo challenge}

Through a series of unfortunate events which I'll not bore you with, I spent today in Cuero, banging my head into a proverbial wall. On the way home, my Picture Of The Day was the furthest thing from my mind. So much so that when I drove past the woman parked on the side of the road taking pictures of buffalo grazing in the nearby pasture, the only thing that crossed my mind was, "She's got a nice lens. That looks like the Canon EF 70-200 f/4 L." About a mile later, the lightbulb went off in my head, and I turned around to get today's shot.

Camera: Canon 7D
Lens: Canon FD 500mm f/8 reflex

Lisa On Location Photography