Full Circle

A little more than 30 years ago, my mom and dad brought our whole gang to Enchanted Rock between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas to climb the granite outcropping. Now, all of these years later, here I am with my kids climbing to the top once again.

Summer Velvet

I love getting out during this time of the summer in order to catch a glimpse of whitetails in their summer coats and velvet antlers.

I saw this guy yesterday as he milled around in a grass field in the great light just before sunset.

The Storm

If you'll notice I haven't been blogging much lately - largely in part to the massive June 15th wind and hail storm we had here in Childress.

The storm dumped a bunch of hail on town as well as winds in excess of 90 miles per hour. My house, while it fared better than most, suffered roof damage and my backyard fence was blown down.

For a while, life here in Childress was surreal. No power and phone service for a number of hours coupled with no leaves on any tree in town made things look and feel strange.

I actually watched the storm from south of town for a while. The radio indicated that the storm had passed so I went home. Right when I got to my street, the wind started. Then when I got to my house, the power failed and the hail began.

Right at nightfall, the storm was over and the whole town was enveloped in an unfamiliar darkness.

My kids, however, loved the post-storm experience as they though it was like camping.

Balmorhea State Park

This past weekend, me and the family traveled to far West Texas to once again experience one of the crown jewels in Texas - Balmorhea State Park. Balmorhea is an oasis in the desert. Where San Solomon Springs bubble from beneath the rocks, the Civilian Conservation Corp built a pool around the springs back in the 1930's.

This place is so cool as a destination to swim and just hang out in the Texas desert. The pool is full of Mexican tetra, soft-shelled turtles, catfish, and the endangered Comanche Springs Pupfish (see first image below).

Be sure to check out the pics and the video I shot. All of these images AND the video was shot with the ultra-cool Canon G9 point and shoot camera in a Canon underwater housing.

Surprising Find

Yesterday, I was passing through Ropesville, Texas when I spotted a billboard with a familiar photo. When I slowed down to take a look, I noticed it was mine.

More times than not, whenever I license an image for a billboard, I never see it. Therefore, it was neat to be able to finally see one of my pictures in action!

Original Image

WOW!

From Fort Davis, Texas...

Sign of Spring

It is so cool to roam around the Texas Rolling Plains and see bobwhite perched on a fence post singing for a prospective mate.

Over most of their range, the bobwhite quail has either disappeared or their numbers are on the steep decline. However, here in Northwest Texas, they still hang on strong.

Medicine Mounds, Texas

During the last full moon, I traveled over to Medicine Mound, Texas to photograph the cool rock buildings that still stand in the old Hardeman County ghost town. I'd been to Medicine Mound before and have even perused their cool little museum . Therefore, I put it on my list of places I had to photograph at night.

Medicine Mound has an interesting history. Here is an excerpt from the Handbook of Texas on-line:

"MEDICINE MOUND, TEXAS. Medicine Mound, on Farm Road 1167 twelve miles east of Quanah in east central Hardeman County, took its name from four local elevations, 200 to 250 feet high: these mounds were camps and ceremonial sites of the Comanches. The community moved 2½ miles north in 1908, when the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway was built. At one time Medicine Mound had a population of 500 and twenty-two businesses, including a newspaper (the Citizen). A fire in 1932 destroyed most of the business buildings, and few were rebuilt. In 1940 the town had six stores and 210 people. Its school was consolidated with that of Quanah in 1955, and the post office and gin shut down in the 1950s. The population was fifty in 1980 through 2000."

Be sure to check out the town's website at www.medicinemound.com

Only in Texas

I think this is a really cool photo of my buddy Stacy Wellborn and a tag-along horny toad.

The Joys of Summer

The kids and I had a great time this past weekend. They played in the backyard while I made some delicious mesquite-grilled hamburgers.

Although hot in Texas, I love summer and all of the family time that goes along with it.

Bison Fight

Spring means the bison rut and there are few things that I've ever witness that can compare to it. The guttural bellows of the big bulls combined with the loud thud of crashing skulls definitely makes my heart race.

There is even a measure of danger. The testosterone charged atmosphere of the prairie makes these guys want to fight just about everything close by.

Happy Mothers Day!

Even prairie dogs love their mothers.

West Texas Birds

I am not a big birder but each year, I am amazed at the number of grassland birds that are around here.

This morning, I saw a first for me out here - a red-headed woodpecker. In addition to the woodpeacker, I did see some other cool stuff.

It's impressive how in an area nearly devoid of big, mature trees, that these birds are cunning enough to make a living in a place that can be tough on both humans and animals.

Feather Dusters

You know, I have seen turkeys do a lot of stuff. However, this past week, I watched half a dozen hens stop by a small earthen depression, and dust themselves.

It was so cool to watch.

Backlit Turkeys

I tried to shoot some turkey pictures this weekend but they came in behind my blind.

Working fast, I tried my best to make lemonade out of lemons.

April Magic

This past weekend, my brother Bubba and I headed out again to do what we do best - hang out with each other. We spent the weekend hunting turkeys in the Texas Panhandle and made a video, pictures, and plenty more memories.

I love turkey season...

Turkey Tussle

Here are a few pics that I shot this weekend of turkeys not playing very nice together.

These guys are so cool to watch. I cannot think of any of animal in my part of Texas that I enjoy photographing more. They are so animated that every time to see one, they are doing something different.

Little Grouse on the Prairie

This morning I traveled up to Canadian, Texas to photograph lesser prairie chickens. Prairie chickens are really cool and what's amazing is that they go back to the same spot each year to do their mating dance. These "leks" are usually flat areas of short grass where the males congregate and perform their mating displays in hopes to attract females.

Aside from turkeys, these have to be the neatest birds I've ever seen.

Turkey Squared

I went out again this morning to photograph turkeys and I have to say... The boys really put on a show this morning. Of all the spectacles in the outdoors, for my money, spring breeding season for turkeys is among the coolest.

Turkey Time

After a long hiatus, I finally got back out to photograph turkeys. While the weather is still winter-like (it was 35 degrees when I went out this morning), the turkeys are starting to strut and gobble as if spring was in full gear.

Owl Flight

A montage of 11 barn owl images combined into one.

Good Food and Good Folks

I've said it a million times. One of the greatest things about being a photographer is the chance to meet some truly outstanding people. Take yesterday, for example.

I traveled to Buffalo Gap, Texas on a magazine assignment to photograph Tom Perini and Grady Spears. I've been a fan of both of these guys for years and have made some of the delicious recipes from Grady's book (although he has several), A Cowboy in the Kitchen and Tom's book Texas Cowboy Cooking. So it was an honor to get the meet them, have my books autographed, and hang out and photograph a couple of guys who are legendary in the Texas culinary scene.

Oh, yeah... The ribeye I ate was unbelievably good!

The Cowboy Way

I went out this evening to shoot a few simple compositions of a cowboy for a magazine assignment. Our location was an old stucco barn on a ranch about fifteen minutes from town. For me, the textures of the stucco, the light, and the shadows make this a great place for photography.

Trad Gang

Today, I spent some time with my brother and a couple of his friends from Alaska. Fred and Jeff, along with their expert guide Bubba, have been scouring the northeast Texas woods in search for wild hogs. They've found their mark on a couple of occasions so they were happy to slow down enough for a photo session.

Predator Calling

Since deer season is over and waterfowl season is drawing to a close, I been spending a bit of time shooting predator hunting images.

Hunting coyotes and bobcats could be among the most challenging of all game in which to hunt. It is kind of a hit-or-miss proposition as to whether or not you see anything and most of the time it is... well, miss.

Blessings

I have numerous blessings. Among them are my friends and family but I am also blessed to have such great rapport with a number of landowners. These generous men and women open their gates so that I may wander on their ranches and shoot pictures.

This morning, I was reminded why private landowners and ranchers are the ultimate environmentalists. They love their land and are able to produce magnificent animals such as this incredible desert mule deer.

Spotted Beauty

I went to a friend's ranch today because he reported to me that he'd been seeing a few wild pigs hanging out on the edge of a wheatfield.

So with my camera in tow, I saw this gal...

2007's Best

For the second year, I've perused some of my photos and picked out the ones - for various reasons - that area among my favorites of 2007.

If you want to know why some of them are my favorite, leave a comment or send me an e-mail and I'd love to explain it.

I will admit... I was so blessed in 2007 and the rest of my life for that matter. Therefore, I expect good things for 2008.

Return to the Marsh

Today, I found a little bit of time to get out and photograph in the beautiful weather we're experiencing in the Texas Panhandle. I was only on the marsh for about an hour but what a productive time!