Reflection in a Gazing Ball

8 December 2007
A Saturday. Hoorah. Despite a few emotional bits, I did manage to get out of the house. At least as far as the front yard.

Yep, that's just a decoration in the front yard. It sits in a garden area under a big Black Oak. It's pretty.
Cheers.

~KR (8 December 2007)

Listening to:
Pieces of You by Raintree
from Just Live

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/5.5
Focal Length: 23.2 mm
ISO Speed: 640
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

Tags: REFLECTION, GAZING+BALL, YARD, DECORATION, PHOTOBLOG

The Colours of Bradford Pears

7 December 2007
As if to put paid to all my whinging about fall in North Texas, these Bradford Pear trees decided to colour my world, at least for a few days.

I just love the tri-coloured hue they achieved: red on top, yellowing in the middle while maintaining a summer-like green at the bottom. These trees are in the courtyard I walk through each morning on the way into my office. Today, when I walked through, those trees have lost all their red, and the majority of the leaves are of a sickly yellow colour, although some green still tinges the fringe of the foliage.
Cheers.

~KR (7 December 2007)

Listening to:
Peak by Dayplayer
from Dayplayer

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 14.3 mm
ISO Speed: 500
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

Tags: AUTUMN, COLOURS, FALL, BRADLEY+PEARS, PHOTOBLOG

Nose

6 December 2007
Thursday evening. Much like Wednesday, no photo until late on. Luckily I have cute pets:
Getting him to sit still in a darkened living room, however, is quite the chore.
Cheers.

~KR (6 December 2007)

Listening to: Sighns by Lichens
from OMNS

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 1 sec (1)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 1 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

Tags: PET, BORDER+COLLIE, DOG, CLOSE-UP, PHOTOBLOG

Clever Carving

5 December 2007
A difficult day for photographs. In fact, I'm not even sure I thought about photography, or cameras or anything remotely artsy until, well, until I took this photo. Time for bed, and I hadn't done my daily duty. I've already had a "Shit! No Photo. Move Along." day. I couldn't have another one so soon. No. So, we get this:
.
This is a wonderful piece of knick-knackery that my parents picked up for me. I believe they obtained it while living in France. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but it's very cunningly carved so as to collapse upon itself. But, when fully extended, as it is in this photo, it still is no bigger than, say, 3 inches or so tall and 5 inches wide. It sits quite nicely on a bookshelf.
Cheers.

~KR (5 December 2007)

Listening to:
Return to the Old Forest by Freudstein
from Mondo Freudo

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.6 sec (3/5)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 1 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

Tags: KNICK+KNACK, CARVING, DECORATION, PHOTOBLOG

The Colours of Fall

4 December 2007
I mentioned elsewhere that the North Texas autumn was devoid of colours. The leaves fall off the trees like they do everywhere else, but here they don't seem to change colours first. I stand corrected. The Black Oaks in my yard don't change colours first. But, the Black Oak in my neighbours yard certainly did. When we returned from our weekend in Galveston, his tree was a wonderous conglomeration of colour. Witness:

Cheers.

~KR (4 December 2007)

Listening to:
Love Will Tear Us Apart by Bis
from Return to Central

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

Tags: AUTUMN, FALL, COLOURS, NATURE, TREE, PHOTOBLOG

Sign at the Tremont House

3 December 2007
Always the hardest day of the Dickens yearly retreat; it's the day we all say goodbye and go our separate ways. Some of these folks won't be seen again until next Dickens; some just a few days. But, it's always a sad farewell full of much hugging and kissing. This morning as we were doing our pack-out dance, we realised that a critical photo had not been snapped during daylight. My wife took a photo but, it was dark and, sadly, the photo didn't turn out so very well. Since she maintains her posting so religiously we were able to find this out and correct the oversight.

As you look at the photo, in the upper right corner you can just make out a sign hanging in the window. That sign, seen here, is the one that Ginger got for me, Marita Beth had framed and then made a fabulous travelling case for. That travelling case allowed me to bring the sign with me which proudly proclaimed to anyone looking that that room was mine!
Cheers.

~KR (3 December 2007)

Listening to:
Chanzonetta Tedesca by Wolgemut
from Schauspeluden

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 80
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

Tags: TREMONT+HOUSE, HISTORICAL, HOTEL, GALVESTON, TEXAS, DICKENS+ON+THE+STRAND, PHOTOBLOG

George and His Girls

2 December 2007
The Sunday of Dickens. Unlike the previous Sunday where we huddled under as many layers as we could, this time we shed as many layers as could be deemed appropriate(ish). Let me tell you that 79 degrees in Galveston is a miserable thing, especially when layered up in Silk, Wool, Taffeta & Leather. This trio of friends did the sensible thing and dressed down. Way down.

Our incorrigible George with the delicious Allyson (left) and the delectable Brittney (right). Only a sense of decorum (and brand new duds) kept me from joining in their romp. :-)
Cheers.

~KR (2 December 2007)

Listening to:
Heat of the Night by Bryan Adams
from Into the Fire

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 125
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

Tags: VICTORIAN, COSTUME, DICKENS+ON+THE+STRAND, GALVESTON, TEXAS, CANON, PHOTOBLOG

Gingerbread in Motion

1 December 2007
One of the highlights of the year is the gathering of Y.E.S. and associates at the Gingerbread Ball. It kicks off the Dickens on the Strand event in Galveston with beauty and appropriate fun. Waltzing, Polkas & figure dances are made astonishingly beautiful by the folk who so proudly adorn the clothing of the era. In the foreground of this photo we see the delightful Ginger (the organiser behind the Gingerbread Ball) dancing with someone. In the background is Missy (again dancing with someone).

Being one of the final dances of the evening (and very early on the 1st of December), the floor is not as crowded as it is through most of the evening. A grand time, a great time, I look forward to many more years of the Gingerbread Ball and Dickens on the Strand.
Cheers.

~KR (1 December 2007)

Listening to:
Terra Nova by iLiKETRAiNS
from Progress Reform

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.25 sec (1/4)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 14.3 mm
ISO Speed: 320
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

Tags: DICKENS+ON+THE+STRAND, GINGERBREAD+BALL, WALTZ, DANCE, BALL, GALVESTON, TEXAS, TX, CANON, PHOTOBLOG

Collar Box, Candle and Reflected Photo

30 December 2007
Well we go the room thing all sussed out, and Marita Beth and I moved into the new (but proper) room around 1ish. Thanks to Erin at the front desk & Sharon the maid (who were, by the way, the only competent hotel employees I met all weekend), the whole thing was accomplished relatively painlessly. We got moved in and set up just in time for me to get downstairs and set up the music for the Gingerbread Ball. Setup was also very painless this year thanks to so many people giving so much of themselves to help out. In fact, Jim & I managed to get to hotel bar and order a couple of drinks before it was time to change for the event. When I got back to the room, Marita Beth was dressing Dana having already setup the room. I snapped some photos, but I'm not going to publish a photo of Dana in her underwear. Instead you get this:
.
I could post photos of the ball itself, but Clay will have taken many more and better quality photos than I. So, out with them, Clay! Schnell!
Cheers.

~KR (30 November 2007)

Listening to:
I Can See Clearly Now by Neil Finn
from Unknown

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.05 sec (1/20)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 800
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

Tags: VICTORIAN, DECORATION, TABLE, DICKENS+ON+THE+STRAND, GALVESTON, PHOTOBLOG

and the brushes go 'round

29 November 2007
The day before Dickens on the Strand. A traditional day off for me as we generally try to get to Galveston on Thursday night so as to make Friday a wee bit less stressful. This Thursday MB had quite a few errands for me, and I had a couple for myself so off I went. One of our primary concerns, rightfully so, was to get the car cleaned. When we get to Galveston we hand it over to a valet and didn't really want to do that with 8 weeks of the gross TRF red mud built up on it. So, while filling up with gas I decided, what the heck let's kill this bird. So, I purchased a car wash with the full tank of gas (goodness, that's expensive!) and drove through. I had my camera so I snapped a dozen or so photos of the varied-hue soap, and the brushes and so on. Quite amusing actually.

After that I ran to Sargeant's to get a pair of pants that they didn't have. So, I drove to the stockyards in cowtown to check the one store I was pretty sure would have what I needed. They didn't either. But, luckily, MB had located a pair online and had them shipped to the Tremont House in Galveston. Then, finally, time for the drive. We arrived at the Tremont House near midnight to find that through a series of miscommunications they didn't have our reservation. Bugger all. 'Salright though, we figured it out and got a decent night's sleep.
Cheers.

~KR (29 November 2007)

Listening to:
Every Woman in the World by Air Supply 
from Air Supply - Greatest Hits

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 250
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash fired, auto mode, red-eye reduction

Tags: ORANGE, CARWASH, SOAP, MOTION, PHOTOBLOG, CANON

Guinness and Co.

28 November 2007
Any who read this thing know that I have a passion about beer. Some of my friends even refer to me as a beer-snob. I'm not nearly so picky as that, but most definitely know what I like. Guinness could very possibly be called my first true love. My dear friend Ginger knows that. She got this beautiful print for me which my darling wife then had exquisitely framed for me.

What's more, it's framed in such a way as to travel-worthy.
Hooray, beer!
Cheers.

~KR (28 November 2007)

Listening to:
Everywhere by Tim McGraw
on Everywhere

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 11.8 mm
ISO Speed: 250
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash fired, auto mode, red-eye reduction

Tags: GUINNESS, SIGN, ART, PRINT, CANON, PHOTOBLOG