Flying High

I said yesterday that an American flag would be featured later and here it is. I waited for the wind to blow the flag across the camera, that took a really long time since the wind was blowing directly into me. I seized the very brief moment and I have this. I almost missed it because a started to leave and had given up hope. Remember though, anything with patience is possible even the wind changing directions.

White House

It might not be white or have the butlers and secret service, but this red-brown building has the columns and looks of the White House. It has the dome on top and has three floors. There is an American flag behind me, which will be featured later that makes it, even more, like the White House.

Old School

As this school, SMU has been around for 116 years. Some of the buildings are new and modern while others are more classical and some are old school. This more classical building has a walkway up to it's front pillars and tall door. Something else interesting about this picture is the two twin lightposts on the sides of the picture. They are symmetrical so that is nice but they are covering some of the windows which is not good.

Open Water

In the earlier parts of the day, around 10, there were no boats on the water. I was confused but then jumped on the chance that with no one around that lake would make for a cool picture. The clouds were yet again in my favor. They are just scattered randomly making the picture have different points to where your eye is drawn to. An added feature I didn't realize at the time but realize how wonderful it is now.

Pilot

The last time I checked, boats this smaller didn't have autopilot. I mean maybe some but not enough to drive, control, park the boat. This means that a human has to pilot the boat. In this picture, we were tied up to the boat but if we were on the lake at the time and this was the same picture, I think something would be wrong.

Moss

In the shady morning then the sunny afternoon is this rock covered in Moss. I took this picture in the afternoon so the light was on the rock. This meant that the sunlight was coming from behind the rock. For some people, it might be bad but I think this is actually good. The sunlight creates a shadow from the Moss adding some more character to the picture.

Lake Peephole

Peeping through a hole in the trees is the lake. On our side is the green grass and moss and then the tree create the door. Once you open the door you can see the lake, a few power lines, and a boat. I made the sky a bright white to counteract with the dark trees and grass. Looking through the peephole is an amazing view. You can see clear across the lake and it is one of the most pretty lakes I've seen.

Disappearing Sky

As the sun sets on this beautiful lake, the trees and lake houses made for the perfect bottom to the bright sunset up top. The sun was shining away from the trees which made the trees dark and some even black. I would like to thank the Whitehead's for inviting and hosting us, I gained some amazing pictures that I would never get anywhere else.

Nightfall

As I hinted yesterday, I am starting this series on a lake. I didn't have an underwater camera or a way to take pictures from above, but ground pictures are one of the most seen pictures. It was cloudy that night so the sun could sometimes go through and other times not. That is why some of the clouds are red and others are gray, some are being hit with the sun and the others are not.

Pollination

As this part of the Dallas Arts District comes to a close, I am going to open up a new category. This new category will feature water, a boat, and a place to put the boat on. Don't worry about the Dallas Arts District coming to a close because I will be going there and taking pictures all the way until April 2018. Just wait a minute or two and that series will be back.

Summer Flower

Most people think that bees only come out in the spring to make the flower bloom but they really are out between spring and the beginning of fall. Without bees, the Earth would become a dark and deoxygenated place. Bees help provide the Earth with oxygen since they keep the flowers alive. Without them, could you imagine what life would be like?

Honey

Honey is that sweet thing that we put on biscuits, bread, and anything else that needs something sweet to it. It takes around 22,700 bees to make honey. That might seem like a lot of bees, but if the queen makes 100,000-200,000 bees a year, does it seem like a lot now? This means that one colony of bees makes about 5 jars a year.

Summer

Nothing beats the Texas summer heat than some cold water. Still in the arts district, this park has a water feature, a tree 'house', and a play area. As I tried to get the pictures of the water, I was very aware of what the water might do. I tried extremely carefully to stay as far away as I could and not get my camera, or me, wet and I only got a few specs of water.

Closer Look

This is another example of looking closer. It only takes a few seconds to move closer to that object, but one look at that could change your life. You could look at a fountain or flower but try something weird or different and see what you can find. Maybe that one look could change your whole view on that object you looked at.

Rainbow Way


Above an entrance to a park is this multicolored arch. The architect of this didn't stop there with the cool features. They added the symmetrical, white beams to add even more interesting features to the arch. I wish I could have taken a picture from above but that would require a way to lift the camera and I didn't think that was the best.

Wrong Seat

As birds fly they get tired and they have to rest. This bird decided to rest on a chair and not a tree. First, the bird went to another chair but I walked too close and scared it to this chair. I crept up ever so slowly this time and was able to get this picture of a bird sitting in the wrong seat.

Through the Air

Most people only see the fountains as water shooting up from the ground but take a picture of that water and you are able to see the individual droplets of water. The water is not always as the eye can see it. Any person walking by this might just see a stream of water shooting up and then back down. The next time you're by a fountain, stop and take a closer look. It might be more than rising and falling water.

Ant's Eye View


Down on an Ant's level, is where the tree are towering above and humans are monsters. We always see from a Bird's eye view but almost never from the ground up. I wonder how big we are, or how big some of the Oak trees are to the ants. Those must seem enormous. Just think, we believe that some skyscrapers are tall. How do the Ants think of them?

Rainy Tree


In the same inch deep pool of water as the Sunny Tree, the rain had started to fall and the water started to ripple. This picture could not have been made if it wasn't for the sun and clouds. The sun was blocked and the clouds provided a clean gray background. If the sun had been out, the background would have been blue and bright white.

Protection

On the outside of another museum in the Dallas Arts District, is a guardian. Not your average human security guard but rather a marble carved Lion. This artist gave every piece of the Lion something that a real Lion might have. I wasn't able to go inside of the museum, but I captured the first thing that you would see, the guard 'dog'.

Stretched


A rock carver made an interesting sculpture of a human face. He had all of the features of a human on the face and neck but had everything closer to together. I like the type of stone that he chose. It has bumps and has several different colors in it some like brown, black, and a dark tan. This is all what makes this human so different yet so similar.

Sun Deflector

On the inside of the sculpture museum, up the trio of stairs, is a glass museum. The only problem with the glass is that the sun will ruin it. To stop this the museum added sun deflectors on top of the ceiling. There still is some light coming from the sun up top but not enough that the pieces are being ruined.

Trio

This trio of staircases is the main way to get to the lower floor in a sculpture museum. The glass on the bottom staircase reflects the other two staircases giving the other two some more depth. I was even lucky enough that no one was walking on the staircases. Just after the picture, two sets of families came down, but I already had what I needed.

Fountains

The fountains are all lined up and are about three-fourths of the way behind the front of the pool. I went to the three-fourths marks and shot from there. This was a very nice shot because there are no people in the background and because I had a good focus on the first fountain. I have at least three more places to post pictures from so keep checking every day to see what they are.

Skyway Drive

Looking up the wall of a building almost into the sun, but not directly into it. Unfortunately the clouds weren't working with me and were not all the same. Some of the clouds were there and some were not even there letting us see the blue sky and not the clouds. Although I think it is not the best, you might think of it as being good because it adds some more dimension to the picture.

Garden Waterfall

Shooting out of a wall from basically nowhere, this waterfall was almost on the plants but were not too close to the point that the plants were constantly being sprayed. The water then hit the pool below and sprayed forward which created bubbles. I made my camera shoot fast enough that the water is actually just smaller bots and not one long stream.

Sunny Tree

With the sun overhead and the tree next to the sun, this picture was made. This less than an inch deep pool was all that was needed for the reflection seen. The water was moving so I couldn't get a clear focus but I tried my best and I think I did well. I like how the picture is almost black and white but it still has the soft colors of the blue and green.

Rustic Cross

Made with everyday items like sticks, wine corks, and tape this rustic cross was made with simple items that even you could probably make. Although this is using very simple items the artist made it look very neat. You could make it, but this is probably going to be better only because this artist has done this for 20 years.

Pencil Beam

In the same museum as the last two pictures, this colorful pencil beam was made of pencils and wood. It was almost like a xylophone, but since it was a museum you couldn't play with it. I guess you could but is it really worth how every much the cost of this is? Probably not, at least that's what I think.

Lights, Camera, Action

Inside of the Dallas Museum of Art, the wood stripped roof has the simpleness of a circle but the complexity of a decagon. It's simple, it's just wood and lights but you can take so many different pictures of it from almost every angle. I went onto the second floor and went nearly dead center and tried to capture the lights perpendicular to the lights.

Reflecting Flower

The best things about windows and shiny things are the reflections that they provide. In this Dallas Museum of Art window, the flowers on the inside provided the perfect backdrop for the street and cloudy sky. The sky was perfect on the first day that I photographed it. It was cloudy and bright but not too bright to the point that the background was always white.

Veteran Golf

These veterans lost their legs during combat. As a way to thank and help the wounded soldiers, President Bush started having the veterans play golf with him and others. This is the last photo from the Bush Presidential Library and Museum because tomorrow I am starting a series of Dallas's Arts District. One that I think you will really like.

Mr. Jim

This portrait, made by President Bush, was on display. This man's name is Jim Woodson. Once President Bush finished his time as the President, he started making oil paintings. He made the paintings of soldiers and veterans. This was a way for him to fill his time and try out a new hobby, a hobby that President Bush seems to be very good at.

A Meal Fit for the President

This soup plate was used by President George Bush in his international dinner. The President hosted leaders from around one hundred countries. This silver plate has gold in the center and outside circles. This makes the plate very expensive, but if you're the President you would want only the best.

America

This American Flag has some of the words spoken by George Bush in his inauguration speech. I like this piece for three reasons, in is 3 dimensional, I has images of American Citizens, and is the American Flag. This is an amazing quote too. The magnitude of the words the George Bush said were some of the greatest words said, even if his presidency wasn't the best.

President Beazley Weazley

George Bush had 2 dogs, one of them was named Beazley Weazly. The dog seen here. He was the First Dog of America. Beazley was a gift from George to his wife Laura. In George's museum, he has a bronze statue of Beazley and his other dog. Beazley is a Scottish Terrier and his other dog, Spotty, was an English Springer Spaniel.  

Giddy Up

I went to visit the Bush Library and Museum in Dallas and was able to see a full size almost exact replica of the Oval Office. In George Bush's office, he had many pictures and art pieces showing off him and his past successors. You will see some George Washington, and other United States symbols and signs.

Flower

For a flower to grow it needs pollen and other essentials to survive. Bees provide some of these essentials for the flower. Outside where the flowers are, I spotted multiple Bees and a Butterfly. I didn't capture the Butterfly but captured the Bees on the flowers, like this picture here. Are you still remembering to Bee happy?

Flower Fingers

The flower outside of my house have these pink 'fingers' growing off of it. They might be for trapping food, or for decoration, or for food for others. Whatever they are, or whatever you might think it is, it sure is beautiful. Just another visual sign of how beautiful nature is and how much we need it.

Home Run

It was one of the many home runs hit by Joey Gallo. This was one of the many hits that I captured. This was Joey's lucky moment when he was the star and was one of the home runs that helped the Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals. Hopefully, today will be your day and you will hit your 'home run.'

Pop Fly

Sometimes your hits aren't always where you want them to be, this was one of them. The Rangers had a hit straight up and straight down. The straight into the left fielder's glove. This was another one of the 27 outs, but this one just one of those outs that just had to happen.

Out

If you predicted that Mike would get out, You were correct. Mike hit the ball to the right fielder and the was thrown out. This was just one of the 27 outs that are needed to receive the win or loss. In this game, the Rangers won one of few up until the 10-day winning streak. Now they are around 50% wins and losses.

Hit

Mike Moustakas had is hit, this was his pitch. I lined up and as Yu Darvish threw the pitch, I started my 10 picture series of pictures. This was the best picture out of the 10. Mike had just hit the ball and the ball just hit the ground. Tomorrow's picture will give you the ending of the hit. Will he make it to first or will he be one of the 27 outs?

Swing and a Miss

When batting at the major league level, you sometimes miss. This is what Rougned Odor did, he took a huge swing and missed. Luckily for him, he had a hit the next pitch. Sometimes when swinging, in life and baseball, you miss. But you never know when that 'home run' is about to come. It could even be your next pitch.

Sunset Flight

These ducks were in my pool when I ran out and scared them away. They took a slight running start, then they took flight. They flew over my head and through the trees. Like the Canadian Geese, from Colorado, these birds were also flying in unison. I wonder if this is a thing or if it is just a convenience.

Sea Scapes

These might not be your normal skyscrapers, but this wooden platform extends into the ocean. In the last picture, you could only see the blue and green, in this picture we can see another color. The dark blue created by the sand, the light blue is the sun reflecting off of the sand that is close to the surface. Another stunning shot by Chris C.

Folding Wave

Spring is a world wide season, in this picture we see it from the beach. The green and blue water that are flowing onto the sand. We even have the whitecaps, the white bubble on the top of the waves. What an amazing shot Chris C. Come back tomorrow for another shot by Chris.

Shaded Walk

Nothing beats a good old walk. Except for a good old walk in the shade. This short shaded walkway led to a series of four large frogs. Luckily for me, the people weren't in the walkway at this time so I was able to get a good shot without all of the people. At least the shade wasn't complete so you could still see something under the trees.

Wavy Waterfall

This is the 300th post. We now have 5000 page views from all around the world including Europe and Asia. Coming from the higher pond to the lower pond, these miniature waves are the cause of the uneven rocks below. Then the waves all off the ledge and into the smaller, lower pond. There must have been some algae on the rocks below because the water turned green as soon as it hit the rocks before the ledge. What a cool water feature, since I'm all into the water and water features.

Monkey Snack

These sculpted Monkeys were hungry, so they got a banana. I like how the sculptor made the face have a different texture and color from the rest of the body. It's like the face is glowing from the sunlight. This sculptor must have been really good because I know I could have not done this.