Purely Texas
It’s Spring in Texas and that brings out the official state flower, the Texas Bluebonnet. It grows wild and on the right of ways cannot be mowed until after blooming season. Here in North Texas there is a Bluebonnet Festival, which really consists more of people driving around clogging the country highways, and plopping their kids, dogs and themselves down in the middle of the patches for photos. Of course, avid photographers that we are, we gullibly join the hunt for the best patches. Along with the Indian Paint Brush flower, which is a red to reddish orange in color, the countryside is awash in colors.
Yesterday was the start of the two day Festival in Ennis, Texas, and the only day that we were able to go for our drive. Granted, given the fact the bluebonnets have been out for weeks, we could have gone at any time, but it’s more fun watching the crowd and discovering all the places we could that had yet been trampled. Unfortunately, yesterday started out rainy and cool, so we were afraid that we wouldn’t be able to get any photos, but after a quick prayer, the sky dried up and we were blessed with temps in the upper 60’s to low 70’s and overcast skies – until very late afternoon. It was a perfect day for exploring the countryside and find some good photos.
Posted in Seasons by Jason with no comments yet.
Making a difference
Ever since I can remember I have loved to look at pictures. It didn’t matter if they were of people I didn’t know or places that I had never been, or objects I had never seen. I just love looking at pictures, or photos, if you will. Black and white, color, sepia/vintage – those are the color formats that I love looking at.
When I got my first camera, a Kodak Instamatic, I was excited, but only took those quick snapshots that kids back then took. Mostly of nothing and mostly frivolous. I loved the camera, but as a kid I wasn’t very serious about taking good photos.
My next camera was a Kodak [gotta love the brand!] Tele-Ektra 110mm camera, but at this point in life I don’t remember the model. I do remember thinking that at the time it was a pretty cool camera and it did take good photos. And it was this camera that started me wanting a 35mm camera.
I’ve had only two 35mm film cameras, and they were both pretty much alike: Pentax K-1000 and a ProMaster 1000. I loved my Pentax and used it extensively, but was limited by my budget. The ProMaster was a replacement/addition, but by the time I bought it relatively inexpensive digital cameras were becoming popular, and the camera was doomed to be obsolete.
Ever since I became serious about photography with my Pentax I had wanted to make a difference in life. Oh, I didn’t know how, or in what way, and still don’t, but that desire is there. I see publications such as Life and National Geographic and the photos that they have held over time and I know some of those photos have made a difference to people all over the world. Remember the famous Afghan woman whose beautiful face and eyes became one of the most famous National Geographic covers? For me, I had always wanted to take a photo like that, but of an elderly American Native woman on a reservation. That has, to date, never happened. , and most likely won’t.
My desire to make a difference hasn’t changed, but I realize that I probably won’t make a difference to anyone through my photos because I will never be famous, which might be a good thing because that would be overwhelming and I’d probably lose my love for the art. And so, my photos are there to make a difference to me; I’m not in any competition, I’m not out to make money, I’m not out to be famous. If I can share my photos from time to time and have them appreciated just because I took them, I think that for now, that is enough. They don’t have to be spectacular or life changing. They don’t have to be whimsical or stunning, or even taken quite well. Just appreciated for the time and thought.
Posted in Reflections by Jason with no comments yet.