Category Archives: Photography

Ever seen a Question Mark? Now you have. That’s the name of this butterfly.

Ever seen a Question Mark? Now you have. That’s the name of this butterfly.

Ever seen a Question Mark? Now you have. That’s the name of this butterfly. This one showed up in my moss garden just after I had watched a cardinal, cedar waxwing, and black capped chickadee perching on the rim of the birdbath facing each other and taking turns splashing in the water. After they left, the great architect Christopher Wren dropped by for a visit. I’m so thankful for this view of God’s creativity from my office window.

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Photo taken at: East Dallas, Dallas

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The Amazing Passion Flower

The passion flower never ceases to amaze me. From an A&M horticulture website: “Roman Catholic priests of the late 1500’s named it for the Passion (suffering and death) ofJesus Christ. They believed that several parts of the plant, including the petals, rays, and sepals, symbolized features of the Passion.”

The passion flower never ceases to amaze me. From a Texas A&M horticulture website: “Roman Catholic priests of the late 1500’s named it for the Passion (suffering and death) of Jesus Christ. They believed that several parts of the plant, including the petals, rays, and sepals, symbolized features of the Passion.”

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Photo taken at: White Rock Lake Bike & Hiking Trail

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Penngift Crownvetch

Penngift Crownvetch

See this interesting writeup about the flower (excerpt: “First discovered in 1935 on Mr. Gift’s farm in Pennsylvania, Penngift Crownvetch (Coronilla Varia L. Penngift) is valuable as food for livestock, erosion control , and nitrogen feeding of the soil. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has planted it along roads throughout the state. Penngift Crownvetch produces attractive rose, white, or pinkish-white flowers from June to September.”)

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Photo taken at: White Rock Lake Bike & Hiking Trail

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Molly and Oreo

LISTEN:

As I walked along the shore of White Rock Lake, this runner and her dog kept pulling ahead of me, only to fall behind again whenever they got to a tree. Each time, the lady would stop running and stand there patiently while the little dog sniffed around and looked intently up in the branches.

“What’s so important,” I asked myself, “that this lady is willing to break up her run?”

Finally, I drew even with them again and said, “Please forgive my curiosity. Why do you stop at every tree?”

She smiled and said, “Oreo is hunting squirrels. She also hunts for snakes, and sometimes she even finds them!”

Approvingly, I answered, “And you honor Oreo’s wishes! May I take your picture? People seem to like it when I share my delightful discoveries at the lake.”

“Sure,” she said. “I’m Molly.”

“God bless you, Molly. I’m Brad.”

A Retrospective on this Story

When I shared this on Facebook, I wrote

“Please forgive my curiosity…” That’s the opening of many a delightful discovery. READ or LISTEN to this story. You’ll see that I sometimes understand runners more than dogs, and achievement more than honor.

I’d love to get to the point where I can recognize and quickly acknowledge/articulate God’s image reflected in those I meet (and those I’ve known for a long time). When the event described above was happening, I sensed there was something special in the way Molly was treating her little dog. We talked a little more and I found out that Molly has not been a “dog person” most of her life. But recently she adopted this spunky little one-eyed dog who Molly says is “almost perfect, except that she sometimes nips me.” The word that immediately came to mind is “honor.” Taking time to let a little dog fulfill its purpose in life — to hunt! — seems like a good picture of what we’re called to do for people:

Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

1 Peter 2:17

Thou Shalt Not Covet

I encountered this beauty when I had picked up supper at Torchy’s. I’m told it’s an MGA, ca 1962. The light was just right, but it had awful surroundings. The picture above is the best I could do editing with Snapseed and Photoshop Express on my smartphone. If it were really important, I’d take it onto my desktop computer and isolate the car with Photoshop. Below is the original image.

Indian Blanket

Indian Blanket

A friend asked, “What did you take the picture with?” 

I told him, “This, like almost all of my photos these days, was taken with my smartphone (Google Nexus 6P, using the “A Better Camera” app). My phone doesn’t really focus reliably at closer distances, so I put it on manual focus and shoot several shots as I move in and out of the distance I know to be approximately correct. Once I get home, I pick the sharpest and edit, usually with Snapseed. I’m thinking of buying a reversing ring and using one of my old Nikkor prime lenses on my DSLR to achieve better macro shots. Mainly, though, I’m just shooting while walking, so I don’t want to burden myself with lots of equipment!”

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Photo taken at: White Rock Lake Bike & Hiking Trail

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Red-Shouldered Hawk (please excuse the blur)

Red-Shouldered Hawk (please excuse the blur)

On a balmy day, in the month of May, around White Rock Lake I was walking. Suddenly this hawk came flying right at me. I think it must not have noticed me until just before it turned sideways, flared, and pounced on the lizard that was sunning on a Pecan tree just 15 feet from where I stood. I may have distracted Mamma Hawk just enough to foil its attempt to grab food for chicks in the nest that I have been watching. Sorry, Mrs. Hawk.

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Photo taken at: White Rock Lake Bike & Hiking Trail

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The pedestrian’s antipode

The pedestrian’s antipode

PEDESTRIAN is that which pertains to someone merely walking about, often boring or unremarkable. A second-rate artist might call his company “Pedestrian Graphics.”

ANTIPODE refers to the direct opposite of something else.

[pardon a thought not fully-formed]: Life is best when this pedestrian is framing the work of true artists. As a bench provides relief to the weary walker, so discovering and framing art produced by one friend or Another refreshes my beauty-seeking soul. [getting there]