Sunset in Austin

I love the Austin skyline.  I think it’s very photogenic, especially when you are on the banks of Lady Bird Lake and get the reflections and lights twinkling in the water.  Normally I am aiming my camera to the larger part of the skyline, which is out of frame to the right.  You can see that pic here.

But in this instance, the sunset was producing some nice color out West which was in this direction, so I swung the camera around and aimed this way for a shot.  This probably makes Austin seem small, but the town has grown a lot over the years, and people keep coming here.  

As a result, the skyline is vastly different from what it was just a few short years ago.  But in my opinion, the skyline has actually improved as these new buildings have gone up. If nothing else, it’s more stuff to aim a camera at!

Antique gas pumps

I swear, some things are just MADE for HDR photography.  Old rusty stuff is one of those things – it’s just perfect for HDR.  All the nice little details come out through the processing, and when you get some radical clouds in the background, it makes you all happy inside.  Well ok, it makes ME all happy inside.

These lovely antique gas pumps sit in front of the City Garage in Salado, TX which is a great place to shoot.  Whenever I drive to Dallas, I make it a point to stop here.  It’s a small spot so it’s a quick stop, but it’s always rewarding.  Normally I shoot toward the little building which is covered in old gas signs (find all my pics of this place here).  It’s got character.

But on this day I was just loving those clouds so I turned around to shoot them behind the gas pumps.  And then a red truck drove by…

Blue hour on the Austin skyline

I may be a little biased, but I think the Austin skyline is pretty awesome.  Anytime I can get a skyline with a river in front of it (hello, Nashville!) then I am pretty happy, especially during sunset or blue hour.  Everything just seems so calm and peaceful...but in reality, I am firing brackets like a madman!

I grabbed this one a few weeks back when I was out with my friends Andy and Kay (and Kay’s wife - they were in town from Germany).  Glad we were able to show them a nice view of Austin!

At the Austin Graffiti Wall

I am a fan of graffiti.  There, I said it.  I know lots of folks don’t like it and consider it ugly or a nuisance (or both) - and in some cases it is.  But many times, I find that it is beautiful.  I have seen some incredible stuff in my travels, and these folks are true artists.

There is an awesome spot here in Austin which is a graffiti wall - it’s open for graffiti artists to go crazy on, which I consider a great idea.  It gives them a place to artistically express themselves, without defacing someone else’s property (which is most people’s issue with graffiti, I assume).

I was there recently and fired away for a bit, taking home a LOT of photos.  So, here’s the first one - pretty cool huh?

A warm sunset in Bull Creek

More goodness from my favorite park in Austin - Bull Creek! 

I had a great sunset shoot here a few weeks ago.  The light was just incredible and I was clicking away pretty furiously for a little while.  At one point, I turned around and saw this scene.  The clouds were excellent and the warm light cast a nice glow on the whole scene.

I visit this park several times a week - usually to do a trail run or hike.  Normally I have my iPhone with me, so that means I have a million iPhone shots from all around this area.  I was really glad on this evening that I opted to stop here and shoot with my Nikon - I ended up with some pretty nice shots that night!