Dallas International Festival

As I said the other day, I joined a photography meetup group.  This past Saturday, the trip was to the Dallas International Festival, in the Arts District in downtown Dallas.  There were many different nationalities represented with ethnic food, booths and entertainment on 4 stages.   It was a great venue, lots of colors, flavors.   Here are some shots I took from there.

Bike The Bricks

On Friday May 25, the third annual Bike The Bricks Criterium was held in downtown Mckinney.  I attended last years but did not have my camera with me so I definately wanted to get back for the next race.  I arrived later than I wanted to, around 7:30 pm so there wasn't a lot of light left.  I ended up using my flash at one of the corners to some success while panning.  I tried to set my camera to second curtain flash but I didn't have my manuals and did not have any luck figuring it out.  Still generally happy with the results.  Had to use high ISO as well I believe by the end of the evening I was shooting ISO 3200 and 1/20 second shutter speed.

Inspiration

I have in the past belonged to the Plano Photography Club and let my membership lapse.  I recently attended a session and am planning on going back but not sure if I'l fully renew or not.  The meetings are once a month on a Monday and that will likely be a travel day.  However, I have also discovered meetup.com and have joined and attended a couple of photography meetup groups.  I've only attended a couple to this point but so far have enjoyed and looking forward to many more.  To date they have been smaller groups of folks and a bit more intimate than the PPC meetings and outings.   Some of the meetups are run by professionals and therefore may have a cost associated but conversely they are quite educational.

One I belong to is a local group, focused more on the social aspect of a group of folks with a common interest.  It's the North Texas Photo Explorers.   I attended a meetup in Frisco on 4/27 and got a couple of nice shots and we ate at Babe's Chicken.  There were only three of us but I am planning on  attending at least one meetup this weekend.

I've also started shooting more in RAW format and it seems to be paying off a bit.  Still need to improve my PS skills though.....

Train Locomotive rivets and reflection

Frisco Heritage Village at dusk

Bluebonnets Abound!

After a rather disappointing bluebonnet trip the previous weekend, I decided to head out to Ennis, Tx as the reports were very encouraging.  This was April 7 and I left the house before sunrise so I could get better lighting.

Wow.  

I have never seen so many bluebonnets in my life.  The weather cooperated for the most part, a bit overcast but generally worked well.  Here are some of my favorite shots of the day.  (I really have to learn better Photoshop skills)

Honey Grove, Tx

I took a trip out to East Texas a few weeks ago, at the start of Blue Bonnet season.  I was a bit early as the wildflowers were not at peak and a bit early.  The shots I got of the bluebonnets were not as good as I wanted but it was a good drive and scouting trip.  There are lots of small towns in the area, and unfortunately many of them are getting smaller.

Honey Grove is one of those towns.  It was apparently discovered by Davy Crockett.

 I arrived around mid-day with the bright sun high in the sky, so the lighting was harsh and less than ideal for taking pictures.  The town appears to be on its way to a ghost town with many of the buildings downtown is disrepair or much worse.  I need to get back there either earlier is the day or later in the day when the lighting is more friendly.

This is a shot of a iron, probably cast iron, staircase on the outside of one of the buildings downtown.