Happy New Year

This is my last posting of 2010.  This is different than the pic I posted on Facebook in fear of the Facebook censors.  I took this a few weeks ago in a photo shoot with model Jade Bryce.  Jade's career is taking off and you might even find her in Playboy, soon.  When she isn't modeling, she is an ambassador to a village in Africa where she has visited a couple of times and raises money and awareness.  Today, I'll be posting this and several pics from recent shoots on my website at www.douggraybealphotography.com.

Time to look back and say, "what a year".  For me, this was a year of transition.  For many reasons, I'm glad the year is over but as I look back, there was a lot of good that came out of it.  I started 2010 looking at photography as a fun hobby. By the end of the year, I was shooting models like Jade to build up a portfolio.  I now have a solid plan and clear direction with where I will take my photography.  In fact, in 2011 it will no longer be a hobby but a business.  I'll be making announcements over the next few months about launching a new web site where you can purchase fine art photography for calendars, cards, posters, prints and just about anything else you can think of that takes a picture.  I'll also be available for hire for portrait, glamour and boudoir photography.

This year certainly has been a journey.  With 10% unemployment and 2 wars that don't seem to end, it seems there isn't much to celebrate.  On the other hand, we can see these as challenges and overcome them.  I believe that makes us better than had we never had the challenges in the first place.  I know that if I become successful in photography, this past year would have been worth every amount of sacrifice.  That's why life is All About The Journey.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Merry Christmas, From My Family, To Yours

How often have you put all the time and effort in to getting the perfect Christmas pic and end up frustrated because nothing goes right.  Some of you have already seen this pic but since it is Christmas Eve, I wanted to share our family Christmas pic one last time.  If you believe that life is All About the Journey, then you have to embrace imperfection.  We finally got some good shots that night, but after we looked at all of them, this was clearly the best.  It is real, and that's what we like about it.  Apparently, many of you agree.  I received several comments on my personal Facebook page when I first posted it. My wife also posted this on another popular Facebook page for the Texas Hill Country and it received over 50 "likes" and 20 comments.  

I wish everyone a great Christmas or Hanukah or Kwansa or just have a great Festivus for the Rest of us!  That's what I plan on doing.  To our family and friends back in Washington, we miss you and wish we were there.   

Embrace imperfection.  It's liberating.

And to our friends here in Austin and friends, family and strangers everywhere, Merry Christmas.

"Hey. I'm watching You."

Happy Friday, everyone.  This is one of my favorite pics from my shoot in Amarillo, Texas a few weeks ago.  Sometimes, cows seem a little smarter than they really are.  I love the way this one stares at me while I am taking this pic, as if to say, "I'm watching you.  Don't make any sudden moves."  This was taken at Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas.  I wrote a few blogs about it last month and posted several pictures on my website atwww.douggraybealphotography.com.  

I was asked last weekend if I ever did a photo shoot with exotic animals and a model.  "Uh, no.  Why?  You got any?"  I don't have many animal pictures, but not for any particular reason.  The few I have seem to be taken when something inspired me at the moment.  That's one of the things I like about photography.  It can be spontaneous.  It captures a moment in time.  A fraction of a second.  And yet, it can say so much without using words.  I've looked at this picture enough times and come up with a million stories to go with it.  I even thought it might be fun giving it to some kindergartners and asking them to make up a story about it. 

When I was in college I took an art history course on the French Riviera.  Since I was majoring in economics,  I was trying to get a few easy classes down to help my GPA.  We went to the Picasso Museum in Antibbe, France.  It was incredible.  I remember my professor telling us that anyone can paint.  I, of course, thought she was nuts.  Well, she really was nuts but that's a blog for some other day.  Then, a class of kindergartners came in and laid on the floor.  Their teacher gave them paper and markers and they all had to draw a copy of one of Picasso's paintings.  I was in the same room, taking notes for one of our exams and I walked around to see what the children were drawing.  It was incredible.  All of these children were drawing as well as Picasso's originals.  Seriously!

Picasso said he felt like a failure because the limitations in his mind kept him from being honest in his paintings (that's my interpretation, not a direct quote).  He also said that children had no limitations, yet, and he hoped he could get back to that point.  This class of students proved that to me.  As someone who tries to create art with photography, I'm challenged by  my own limitations.  Sometimes we need to let it all go and see what happens.  I went to Amarillo to photograph a model and came back with great pictures of some cows.  (My pics of the model came out great, too.)  Who would've thought?  .....Well, maybe that's the problem.

Wakeboarder Dude Hits The Water In December

Okay, lots going on these days with work, the holidays, family and trying to have a life.  I haven’t blogged in over a week, which is my longest dry streak since I started this.  That must mean I have a lot to blog about.  I’ll skip the boring stuff and get right to the fun stuff.

I had 3 photo shoots this weekend.  The first two were models and a make-up artist I brought in to experiment on some artistic ideas that I have.  I posted some sneak previews of those over the weekend.  Jade has been modeling for a long time and has appeared in magazines such as Maxim and Playboy while Yolany had never posed for a photographer before.  Both were great and Kaylin, the MUA, was fantastic. We got some excellent fine art pics that I’ll be posting soon.

Sunday evening I did a photo shoot for some friends that were recently engaged.  These were family/engagement pics.  They were good sports and let me try some different poses and we captured some great moments of the two of them and their kids.  Congratulations, Adam and Janet!  By now, you’re probably wondering what this has to do with a wake boarder in the picture.

As we were doing their photo shoot on Lake Austin, there were a few die hard water rats on jet skis and wake boarding in the distance.  Now, Lake Austin is cold by Texas standards any time of year.  In December, the water is probably around 55 degrees F.   (That’s my very unofficial guestimate.)  Either way, it’s cold, which made me respect this guy even more.  As we saw him jumping the wake, our attention shifted from our photo shoot to watching this guy perform.  On one pass, I asked him to jump right in front of me so I could snag a pic.  I had one shot and the result is posted above.

It is easy to say life is All About The Journey.  The truth is, you have no idea where that journey will lead you.  A simple moment like this brought 3 different groups of people together: a wake boarder who wanted to get some water time when no one else would be out there; a couple recently engaged trying to capture an exciting time in their lives; and a wannabe pro photographer trying to forget about the day job and explore his creative side.  For one moment, all three journeys came together and then gone again.  And it sure was cool. 

Holiday Season Creates a Holiday Buzz

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  I wanted to post one more photograph of Cadillac Ranch before I move on to other subjects.  All of the pics I’ve posted thus far have been close up shots.  I took this wide angle shot to show the entire area as well as the flat and desolate landscape of the Texas Panhandle.  I have now posted all of my recent pics in the gallery of my website at www.douggraybealphotography.com in the Texas section of inspiring places as well as glamour and portraits.  The one thing this picture doesn’t tell you is how cold it was.  People think Texas is always hot, but it was 39 degrees F and the wind was blowing 30 – 40 miles per hour.  I have no idea what the wind-chill factor was, but it was c-c-cold.

Christmas season is now upon us and everyone seems instantly busier.  People are busy getting Christmas trees, hanging lights, putting up decorations, baking Christmas cookies, going shopping and planning dinners and parties.  That’s a lot to add to anyone’s schedule and yet most people seem to go through these rituals every year.  Woody Allen said, “tradition is the illusion of permanence”.  Obviously, we’re trying to hold on to something by carrying out all of these traditions every year.

I know some people load themselves up to the point where they can’t handle it and become very stressed out.  Others tend to get depressed during the holidays.  I have heard that psychiatrists and counselors say that they have more business this time of year.  Most people, however, seem to get a buzz from all the energy created from everything going on.  I believe energy creates more energy – good or bad.  If you feel stressed out – slow down.  You don’t have to do carry on all these traditions.  You just don’t!  But if you are enjoying the holidays, then let’s keep it going.  Let’s see if we can make that holiday buzz a permanent thing.

Happy Thanksgiving - travel Safe and Enjoy the Journey

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.  Many people are hitting the road so I think it is fitting to do one more blog on Cadillac Ranch, one of America’s top roadside attractions.  This is Amber Hunter posing in front of one of the old automobiles.  You would never know that it was 39 degrees outside that day and the wind was whipping at 30 to 40 miles per hour.  We kept having to stop to give her a chance to warm up with a coat and get the dirt out of her eyes.  I have posted several pics of Amber on my website at www.douggraybealphotography.com under portraits and glamour.  I have others just of the Cadillacs and cows in the gallery under inspiring places – Texas.

I was amazed at how many people stopped at this place while I was there.  My guess would be over 100 people streamed in over 2 hours.  There probably wasn’t 5 minutes where I was alone.  I saw two vans pull up with what looked like a church group of 20 or more.  Several cars pulled over including a rock band.  I talked to two women there who had stopped to take some pictures.  They were driving from the West Coast back to their home in Rhode Island.  They said they knew they had to check this out before they hit Amarillo. 

That’s the other cool thing about Cadillac Ranch.  The number and diversity of people that make it part of their trip.  Who would’ve thought that nearly 40 years later, millions of people would have taken an interest in such a quirky landmark.  As you hit the road to spend time with friends and family this weekend, think about the trip itself.  It is too easy to get caught up in “just trying to get there” when half the fun can be “getting there”.  We have a 3hour drive from Austin to Fort Worth where we’ll spend a few days with family.  We’re stopping half way in between to show our kids a dinosaur museum.  After all, - it’s All About The Journey.

Have a great Thanksgiving.

Models Come in All Shapes and Sizes

If you follow my blog, then you know last Friday I posted a pic of the beautiful model Amber Hunter posing in front of one of the cars at Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas.  I find these pics of cows posing for me to be entertaining, too.  I have now posted all of my pics from this trip on my web site at www.douggraybealphotography.com in the gallery under inspiring places – Texas as well as Portraits and Glamour.

Cadillac Ranch consists of 10 Cadillac models from 1949 to 1963, buried nose down in the ground just a few miles outside of Amarillo on Hwy 40.  According to Wikipedia, they are buried at an angle that corresponds to the Great Pyramid of Giza.  It was intended to be a statement about America’s fascination with roadside attractions and the automobile, itself.   The original Cadillac Ranch was in a different field and in 1997, relocated a few miles further away to avoid the city growth from Amarillo.

Today, Cadillac Ranch sits in a cow pasture right off the freeway.  It would be easy to drive by and miss it, although there is a constant stream of people stopping to take pictures.  Over the years, people have stripped the cars of anything they could.  Now, the cars are basically just the shells.  Even the tires are gone.  Tourists have also spray painted graffiti every where.  Not a square inch shows the original paint.  When I first heard this, I was disappointed that people would destroy a piece of art that someone created to share with the public.  They put their time and money in to creating it and left it open to share with everyone.  There is no admission, no ticket takers and no guards like in a museum.  They trust people to do the right thing.

After I saw it, my views changed.  Part of the attraction is how quirky and odd it is.  Part of it is also how the public has been invited to share in it and help create the art.  These ten Cadillacs are colorful and inspiring.  There are personal messages, political messages and even a pair of tennis shoes that someone donated and left hanging on one of the cars.  It is the public’s interaction that keeps it evolving.  By the time I left, I had wished I would have brought my own can of spray paint.  Cadillac Ranch represents more than just cars and roadside attractions.  Today, it is something that bonds people from all over the country as they stop and leave their mark on these ten cars.

Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo – One of America’s Best Road Side Attractions

“Well there she sits buddy just a-gleaming in the sun

there to greet a working man when his day is done

I’m gonna pack my pa, gonna pack my aunt

I’m gonna take them down to the Cadlillac Ranch”

                                                - Charles Jones, Chris Waters

I did a tour through West Texas this week on business and brought my camera and gear with me.  Knowing I’d be spending a lot of time on the road, I didn’t want to take a chance of missing something cool to photograph.  I had heard of the Cadlillac Ranch in Amarillo, but even though I had been to this city in the Texas pan handle a half dozen times, I had never been to this bizarre landmark.  I’ll be posting this and other pictures of the trip this weekend in the gallery on my website at www.douggraybealphotography.com.  I also have to give credit to Amber Hunter who modeled for me.  She braved 39 degree weather and 40 mile an hour winds (not to mention stepping over and around a lot of cow dung in high heels) and never complained.  Way to go, Amber.  You’re a true professional.

In 1974, local billionaire Stanley Marsh 3 (apparently he doesn’t like the Roman numeral III) commissioned hippies from San Francisco to create a piece of art on Route 66 that would get the motorist’s attention.  They called themselves the Ant Farm and created Cadillac Ranch.  It now sits about 10 minutes West of Amarillo.  It consists of 10 Cadillacs buried nose end in the ground in the middle of a working cattle ranch.  Over the years, people have stripped them of anything possible and spray painted their own message on the cars, but somehow, that just adds to the attraction. 

I’ll write more about the Cadillac Ranch in next week’s blogs, but I couldn’t wait to get at least one pic up for you to see.  Cadillac Ranch just proves that anyone, anywhere can surprise you.  Amarillo is a good ole Texas town.  It is a long way from anywhere and is the center for cattle ranching and cotton farming for hundreds of miles in to New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas.  It is the kind of place where not much changes and the locals like it that way.  The land is flat and the trees are sparse.  Not too many city folk would want to settle there and I suppose the locals like that, too.  And then there is the Cadillac Ranch – a quirky piece of public art created by an eccentric rich guy and some hippies nearly 40 years ago and still thriving. 

There is a lot that is inspiring about this place:  the creation itself and the fact that it has held its popularity after all these years, are a few examples.  But what inspires me the most is the contrast between hippie infused art and small town conservative America.  And yet, everyone loves it.  Stories and poems have been written about Cadillac Ranch.  Many photo essay’s have dealt with it, too.  Since visiting it this week, I couldn’t get Bruce Springsteen’s rendition of the song out of my head. I’ll post more photos on Monday and Wednesday next week.  In the mean time, click this link to share in the spirit and feel free to comment here on my blog about your favorite quirky roadside art.

http://www.lyrics.com/cadillac-ranch-lyrics-bruce-springsteen.html

Commitments Help Make the Journey More Valuable

I hope everybody had a great weekend.  I spent a large part of mine making plans for my next couple of photo shoots.  I have two different models coming over in December along with 2 different make-up artists (or as we like to call them in the biz – MUA’s) in December.  I’m also headed to West Texas tomorrow on business and will have my camera with me so we should be seeing a lot of new pics coming soon. 

This pic is of Alex Vara, a model here in Austin.  Alex has modeled for countless photographers for commercial work and has appeared in the show Friday Night Lights.  I’m happy to say I have had the opportunity to shoot her twice.  You can find more pics of Alex and other models atwww.douggraybealphotography.com in the gallery under portraits and glamour.

Not a lot in my blog, today.   Life seems to be getting in the way this morning.   As I write this, I know I need to take my car in for an oil change, go to the gym and, oh yah, start working at the job that actually pays for my living.  Still, I didn’t want to ignore my blog.  I’ve made a commitment and need to stick to it. I like making commitments to myself.  It is a way to build character, accomplish goals and make sure that I’m not cheating myself on my journey.  It would be too easy to procrastinate.  But if I have a commitment, then I have to stick to it and the journey is more valuable in the long run.

I’ll have more stories from the road later this week.  In the meantime, enjoy your journey by going to an inspiring place, meeting some cool people or do some interesting things.  I’ll be doing all three this week and look forward to sharing it with you in a few days.

Make Today A Great Day For A Vet

Today’s blog goes out to all of the Veteran’s out there.  The flag in this photograph was randomly hanging on the side of a building as I was driving through San Jose, CA this past summer.  I thought it was cool that someone had hung it out there to show their patriotism.  It wasn’t a holiday and flags were not flying at half-staff.  My guess is that someone just wanted to be patriotic.  This pic is on my web site at www.douggraybealphotography.com in the gallery under inspiring places and then San Fran.

I’ll be at an event at my son’s middle school this afternoon where they are honoring veterans in an assembly.  I felt a little awkward when initially invited because, while I am a veteran, I did not serve in combat.  I did serve during the first Gulf War, but I never left Germany.  My job, as a firefighter, wasn’t so tough compared to the folks serving their country now.

We hear a lot about patriotism from a lot of people.  I think any vet will tell you, you don’t have to serve in the armed forces to be patriotic.  It seems, however, that I hear a lot of people – politicians, political pundits and regular people – talking about being patriotic but not wanting to sacrifice anything for their country.  There are countless ways to show patriotism.  You can volunteer in your community, run for local public office or simply work on someone’s campaign, and even paying your taxes, to name a few.  I would also submit that simply wearing a flag pin on your lapel does not make you patriotic.  Where’s the effort in that?

But, with today being Veteran’s Day, let’s salute those that are coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan.  They need us.  They have sacrificed more than any of us will our entire lives.  We have that luxury because of them and we owe them much more than we can truly give.  So, make today a great day for a Vet.

A 12 Year Old's Journey Starts with Reaching Out

I’ve been wanting to find a way to use this picture in my blog for a long time.  Finally, yesterday, I had an experience I could write about that would work.  This picture is of a homeless person in New Orleans taking a nap on a bench. This is posted online at www.douggraybealphotography.com in my gallery under NOLA.  

I was walking around the French Quarter, looking for cool things and Interesting people to photograph when I first saw the mural and statue through a corridor.  I took a few pictures and then walked through to get a closer shot.  As I did, I couldn’t help but notice the homeless man sleeping on the bench. I think the mural is great but the connection between the man sleeping and the statue tell a story.  It is as if someone posed them.  Finally, his reflection in the puddle completes a triangle that makes the composition of the scene very interesting.  I wondered, how many people walk by and don’t even notice.

So, yesterday, I was out to brunch with my wife and two boys.  My oldest, Gavin, is almost 12 and thinks he is turning 25.  I know, typical.  The fun part is every once in a while we get a glimpse of what he will be like as a man.  As we were waiting for our table at the Moonshine Grill in downtown Austin, he came up with the idea of getting some food to give to a homeless person.  He saw a few people sleeping in a park and he said it wasn’t right for us to eat all we can while they are hungry with no food.  He then set off to find a place he could buy a burger, or a taco or some BBQ to give to someone.  Since it was Sunday morning, most places were closed and it looked like his idea wasn’t going to work out. 

Later, as we were wrapping up our feast (the Moonshine Grill is awesome, by the way) he brought it up again.  I then suggested he grab a muffin from the brunch to give to someone.  He came back with 5 muffins.  “Well, Dad, there are lots of homeless people out there”.  As my wife paid the bill, he and my younger son and I walked across the street to a park where he handed out muffins to several homeless people.  One person was sleeping so he left the muffin by his side for when he wakes up later.

When you think about life being all about the journey, you wonder what went wrong for those people.  I never thought I could help someone in that situation, but my 12 year old son never thought he couldn’t.   Maybe a photograph like this can help in some way.  Don’t just walk past with blinders on but see what you can do to help someone – anyone - in need.  My son Gavin made a lot of people happy yesterday, even if it was only for a moment.  I’d say that’s a good part of what the journey is all about.

Listen to the Ship Captain and Stay in Your Seat

This is a female alligator in a swamp outside of New Orleans.  I was just there this past week on business and was reminded of this pic, which I took last summer when my wife and I toured the Honey Creek Swamp.  You’ll find this pic at www.douggraybealphotography.com in my gallery under animal pics.  Even though this turned out to be a cool picture of her snout, it could have turned out very different.

About ten of us got in the aluminum-hulled boat with a guide to check out wildlife in the swamp.  The guide was amazing.  He was born, grew up and now lives in this very swamp.  So much I could say about it and probably will in future blogs, but for now, I’ll just say that the swamp is a very beautiful and peaceful place.  Much different than the images we have with Shrek and his ogre friends calling it home.  No, it doesn’t smell like swamp gas.  In fact, it is quite clean.

It is, however, full of alligators.  We must have seen 20 or more of them.  The guide and captain of our boat told everyone to stay in their seats.  These are wild alligators and will be quite happy to have you for a meal.  As he walked to the opposite side of the boat that I was on, she came up to our side, just a few feet away from us.  I leaned over and snapped this picture, just as she was opening her mouth.  No big deal, right?  Another lady saw me do that so as the alligator made her way to the other side of the boat, she did the same thing.  The captain saw her (his view was blocked when I did it and didn’t see me lean over) and he yelled and embarrassed her and threatened to take her back to the dock.  Later, he showed us why. 

He put a hot dog on the end of a stick and held it at rooftop level of the boat, about 6 – 8 feet off the surface of the water.  This alligator jump out of the water, slammed up against the boat and took the hot dog so fast that we really didn’t even see her.  Her rock hard body hit us so hard that the entire boat shook violently back and forth.  Alligators are nearly all bone, amazing strength and lightning speed.  And they are usually hungry. 

I don’t know if she was opening her snout with some thoughts about taking one of my arms for lunch but I do see it was quite possible.  As a photographer, I’m glad I got this pic.  As a tourist, in the future, I’ll always listen to my ship captain.

We Need That Peaceful, Easy Feeling For The Holidays

It’s that peaceful, easy feeling.  I recently saw the Eagles at Austin City Limits.  They are one of my all time favorite bands and they were as good as I could have hoped.  This pic, taken on the Blanco River near Wimberly, Texas reminds of me of that song.  I have this and other photographs of the Blanco at www.douggraybealphotography.com in the gallery under Inspiring Places.

The holidays are upon us, now, so I suspect that peaceful easy feeling might be gone for a while.  Time seems to speed up, everyone gets busier and a little stressed out and we eat too much during the holidays.  But we must enjoy it because we do it every year.

We celebrated Halloween last night and it was great.  My oldest son was a whoopee cushion and my younger son was a vampire.  Our neighborhood goes all out for Halloween.  There are hundreds of kids so most people set up a lawn chairs in their driveways and hand out the candy as the little creatures come by.  The streets are full of parents, chaos and small humans hyped up on adrenaline and sugar – a dangerous cocktail of speed that eventually leads to a crash.  Some of the houses turn their yards in to detailed displays of horror.  My favorite was the house that had torches burning in the front yard, a floating head in a box hanging from a tree and zombies coming out of the ground…everywhere.  There must have been a dozen or more.

This is just the beginning.  Now we turn our attention to Thanksgiving where we start planning a feast, travelling to see family, Christmas shopping, holiday parties with friends, holiday parties at work, more Christmas shopping, taking time off at work to enjoy the holidays, then Christmas Eve, Christmas and then, oh yah, football games, New Year’s Eve and one final holiday.  If that isn’t enough, in m y family we also throw a birthday in there, too.

Rather than focus on getting stuff done this season, take your time to enjoy doing the stuff.  Regardless what we see and hear, the holidays aren’t about Thanksgiving and Christmas – it’s about all of it that leads to those days.  A good holiday season is one where we enjoy the build up to the holiday more than the holiday itself. So when it all seems a bit much, pull up this picture of the Blanco River and give yourself that peaceful, easy feeling and have a great holiday season.

Is It Stealing If I Bring It Back? I Need More Island Culture

Something about this picture makes me want to get lost for a day.  These canoes are near Agate Beach on Lopez Island in northern Washington State.  This is found on my website (www.douggraybealphotography.com) in my gallery of inspiring places.  I took this a few years ago when I was just starting to get interested in photography and it has been one of my favorites, since.

Lopez Island is one of 743 islands in the Northwestern corner of Washington.  Of all the islands, only 4, including Lopez, are accessible by ferryboat. The rest are available by private boat or private plane and some are completely off limits to humans.  Each island has it’s own character and reputation.  Lopez is fairly flat so it is good for bike riding.  There really isn’t a town on the island but it does have a small village with a general store and, well, that’s about it.  Most people have vacation homes but there is a small group that calls the island home year round.  Lopez is the kind of place where a celebrity can have a hide away home next door to a hippie who rents from an artist who makes a living selling her artwork to the tourists.

To me, Lopez Island is the kind of place where once I walk off the boat, the hustle and stress of daily life is instantly replaced with easygoing island culture and contentment.  Which brings me back to these canoes.  No matter what calls you to the island, one thing is for certain:  it is time to chill out.  Whether you are hiking a trail on the coastline, scouting for bald eagles or whales, seals or sea lions or taking a nap on a hammock in the fresh air, riding a bike across the island, fishing, crabbing or boating or canoeing, it’s all about chilling out.

The canoes in this picture are actually for the guests staying in a bed and breakfast across the street.   I was strolling the beach, looking for rocks to hit in to the water using a piece of driftwood as a bat (one of my favorite things to do at the beach) and stumbled upon these canoes.  It was all I could do to not help myself to one of them for an hour.  I settled for a photograph, instead, but every time I see this pic, I feel like I’m right back there on the beach, wondering if anybody would mind if I just…..

More to Life Than Fighting for Food, Shelter and Sex

I’ve said before sometimes you just get lucky.  I also believe that the harder I work, the luckier I get.  This pic was taken at a wildlife animal farm in Sequim, Washington.  (For those of that are not from the Pacific Northwest, Sequim is pronounced “skwim”.)  This is on my website (www.douggraybealphotography.com) in the gallery under Wildlife.

Things are crazier in the animal world.  You basically have to get up and fight for food, then find some food.  Then fight to be kept from becoming someone else’s food.  Then fight for a mate.  Then find a mate.  Then, fight for more food.

I don’t know what these prairie dogs were fighting over but I’m sure it was one of those things.  I love the hands in the air right before an attack while the other is on defense as if he is pushing his opponent.  The third is coming in to get in the action.

This picture was taken just at the right time.  To get this shot, I had to be patient and persistent.  I waited and waited and watched for a long time as they were running all over the place.  I also took a lot of pictures until I knew I got one right.  Then, surprise! Prairie dog action!

I really don’t take many photographs of animals.  I have some and you can see them on my website but most of my photography has been either landscapes or people.   No particular reason but that just seems to be the way it works out for me.  I’ve got a photo shoot later this week with some new themes in mind.  Stay tuned for that.  Meanwhile, I’m glad that I have more going on in my life than fighting for food, shelter and sex.

Sometimes Pictures Tell The Story Better

Sometimes pictures tell the story better than anything written. This was about as scary as it looks and keep in mind, I took this with my zoom lens.  He’s probably about 30 feet off the ground at this point.  This, and a few other pics from our trip to Enchanted Rock State Park will be posted today in my gallery of inspiring places on my website.

Every Junkie Needs A Fix - Or Should I Say, Everyone Needs A Passion

So, on Friday I wrote in my blog that it was time to get back to nature.  We certainly did just that this past weekend.  My son, Gavin, and I hiked throughout Enchanted Rock State Park, near Fredericksburg, Texas.  This photograph is not Enchanted Rock but it is one of the many rocks to climb in the park.  I’ll be posting this and several other new pics from the trip to the gallery on my website later on this week.

Enchanted Rock State Park is known for its rock climbing.  The main rock itself stands more than 1,800 feet above sea level.  Then there are countless other rocks sticking out of the ground every where you turn.  Any and all are open for climbing.  I haven’t done much rock climbing but after exposing Gavin to countless activities trying to help him find a passion, we put him in a rock climbing camp this past summer.  He loved it.  Walking around this place with him was like walking with a junkie in to a crack house.  He kept repeating over and over, “I just want a rock to climb” and “how about this one, Dad…or that one”.  Of course, we hadn’t even found a camp site yet and taken the packs off our backs.

The rock in this picture is on the main trail and medium difficulty to climb.  He shot right up there like a cat.  I grunted and groaned my way up.  Once we were on top, I saw our shadows painted on the neighboring rock.  This is where the junkie in me gets a fix.  I checked out the remaining sunlight we had left and realized we didn’t have much time.  We quickly (or not so quickly, for me) climbed off the rock, hiked the half mile back to our campsite and grabbed my camera bag.  Then, back to the rock.  I was concerned that the sunlight had change by the time we would get back and the shadows would be gone.  They weren’t.  He was grinning from ear to ear  because he got to climb this rock twice.  I was grinning from ear to ear because I got the shot I wanted.

I suppose most people would simply hand a stranger their camera and ask them to take their picture.  After taking this shot, I didn’t feel like that would be necessary.  We climbed more rocks and hiked about 12 miles total on Saturday, alone, plus about 2 miles Friday and 2 miles Sunday.  My body hurts today – his doesn’t – but I feel like a million bucks.

Get Out and Enjoy Mother Nature Today

I’m going backpacking this weekend so I wanted to use a hiking picture of some type in my photo blog today.  This is the Quinault Rain Forest in Olympic National Park in Washington state.  My hike today will be in a very different place –the Hill Country of Texas.  You can find this pic and others from both Washington State and Texas in my gallery on my web site.

I’ve been hiking in Olympic National Park since I was a kid and I can say without a doubt, there is no place like it anywhere else in the world.  I could write a different blog everyday about the park and never run out of material. The Quinault Rain Forest is a narrow stretch of land that sits on the Pacific Coast.  Other than its remote location, 140 inches of rain a year, massive contribution to the world’s ecosystem and abundant wildlife of bears, cougars, deer and other animals, it also has some of the tallest trees in the world.  In fact, there are 6 “champion” trees in the rain forest including the largest Mountain Hemlock, Western Hemlock , Sitka Spruce (over 1,000 years old), Western Red Cedar and Douglas Fir which is the tallest of any tree in the world at 302 feet.  Just walking and camping among these giants is an awesome adventure.

This weekend’s trip will be very different but equally enjoyable.  I’ll be hiking in enchanted Rock State Park in the Texas Hill Country.  While the trees are barely 30 feet tall, the park has it’s own natural beauty.  Enchanted Rock is one of the most popular parks in all of Texas for camping and rock climbing and it has it’s own unique characteristics.  For example, the Tonkawa Indians used to say they could see ghost fires flicker at the top of the rock and could hear weird creaking and groaning.  Geologists now know this actually comes from the rock’s heating during the hot Texas days and cooling at night.  Whether you’re hiking in the cold, rainy climate among the tallest trees in the world, or in one of the largest underground rock formations uncovered by erosion, getting back to nature is all part of the journey.

Tulip Fields Are One Stop Along the Journey

Flowers are the most photographed subject in the world.  Anyone around them with a camera wants to capture the images forever.  For good reason, too, since you can almost never go wrong with a flower pic.  This photograph was taken at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Washington State.  You’ll find it in my gallery at www.douggraybealphotography.com under Inspiring Places.

Most people don’t know this but Washington State grows more tulips than Holland.  Just an hour’s drive north of Seattle, farmers enjoy the perfect climate and soil for growing tulip bulbs and tourists enjoy the perfect climate for taking some very colorful pictures.  While this picture shows a mixed variety, most of the fields are solid red, yellow or even black as far as the eye can see.  Some people go to take family pictures among the tulips.  Others go every year just walk around the fields and take in the never ending color.  Some people use the tulip fields as a rest stop in the middle of a long bike ride while others take in some wine tasting or a cold microbrew at a nearby winery or brewery.  Even though every one approaches the day differently, they are there for the same thing – the tulips.

The thing I like about it is watching the people.  You’ll see all ages enjoying the fields from the very young to the very old.  It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor or where you come from.  This is what I like about all festivals.  It is a time for everyone, for one day or even just a moment, to share something in common and taking in the tulips is just one example.   Every community has similar events.  Here in Austin, Texas, we just wrapped up the Austin City Limits Music Festival.  Yes, the music was fantastic but the people watching was incredible.   Thousands of people with one thing in common – good music.   It doesn’t matter if it is music or colorful flowers – or something else.  It’s just cool being around thousands of people – all enjoying the journey together.

It's Friday - Time to Step Out of the Box

Starting a blog with a pic of a hot model is always a great way to get everyone’s attention.  This is Kelly Grace who I recently shot in Austin, Texas.  You can find Kelly and several other models under Creative Portraits and Glamour shots in my gallery at www.douggraybealphotography.com. 

Today is Friday, but not just any Friday.  It is the first day of ACL.  If that doesn’t sound familiar to you, you don’t watch much PBS.   ACL is Austin City Limits.  The TV show is actually filmed at a studio at the University of Texas but the festival  is at a park near downtown Austin and starts today and runs through Sunday.  Hundreds of bands from all around the world will play in one weekend, at one park, on a handful of stages for thousands of people.  To me, this is the best festival in Austin - and Austin has a lot of festivals.

Aside from the music (I’m looking forward to seeing the Eagles on Sunday night) my favorite part of ACL is the crowd.  In addition to the typical corporate promotional junk that we don’t like but secretly admit it helps pay for the festival, you’ll see hippies selling tie die shirts; Rastafarians selling pipes and bongs; artists showing off their talents and best of all, a crowd of people from virtually all walks of life.  This is the kind of festival where a young college group will be shoulder to shoulder with a group of over 40 yuppies and an even older hippy that doesn’t know and doesn’t care that the 60’s ended a long time ago.  I guess that’s because the crowd is a reflection of the music, which comes from all around the world and from all genres.  Whether you’re in to rap, country, heavy metal, adult alternative, folk music or classic rock, you’ll find it at ACL.

What does this have to do with the pic of a hot model?  Nothing.  But, I like the pic and wanted to use it today.  And, it’s Friday.  Time to step out of the box and get ready for a fun weekend.  See…if you don’t let people define you, you’ll find it easier to get the most out of your journey.

Street Lamps Are Part of the Journey

Street lamps.  They tell you a lot about a place.  They are a representation of a city’s culture, how they see themselves and how they see their future.  These lamps are in the French Quarter of New Orleans.  If you’re new to my blog, you’ll find these and many other pics of NOLA on my website in my gallery of inspiring places.  You’ll also find photographs of Texas, Washington State, California, Arizona and Hawaii.  What can I say – I like to travel.

I’ve written before about New Orleans.  My wife, Gayle, and I visited there this past summer.  Our kids were in camp so we drove down to spend a week there.  Our original plan was to volunteer for a few days cleaning up the oil spill.  After trying for weeks before the trip to get through, we finally realized there was more red tape than what we could peel off.  We were actually told, “we’ll call you if we need you.”   Undeterred, we still headed to New Orleans but took the time exploring the city and experiencing the culture as much as possible.  We never did make it down to the oil spill.

The French Quarter is truly amazing.  The architecture takes you back 200 years.  The narrow streets remind me of most European cities.  There is music on every street corner.  Literally, a 5-piece Dixie Jazz band showed up every night around 5 PM to  play on the street corner below our hotel.  Everywhere we turned, museums, art galleries, antique shops, boutique clothing stores, amazing restaurants and bars tempted us.  Yes, lots and lots of bars.

My blog has been titled All About The Journey because I think too often we are so focused on a destination that we don’t enjoy how we got there.  Life is all about experiences.  Good and bad.  In fact, the bad experiences teach us the most lessons.  And, those experiences give us the ability to appreciate the destination and not take it for granted.  A marathon runner appreciates completing a marathon because of the hard work and training the she put in to it, not because she finished the race.

I think back on my time in the Air Force.  My goal was to go to college.  Next thing I knew, I was in Germany.  I put all of my focus on taking classes and studying and when I was done with my tour, I had a bachelor’s degree in economics.  But when I look back on those years, I realize I got more out of traveling around Europe, the camaraderie with my fellow airmen, the ridiculous things we used to do at work to keep from getting bored and the ridiculous things we used to do after work because we just felt like it.  I think most people who went to college will agree; the experience of college was as much or more of a reward than the diploma.

I think there are 3 kinds of people in this world.  Those that focus on the journey; those that focus on the destination; and those with no focus at all.  By only focusing on the destination, we know that we’re missing many of the experiences that give life so much power.  Someone once said to me, “When you die, nobody talks about how big their desk was at the office.”  (I actually knew someone who measured his desk and complained because someone else lower on the totem pole had a slightly larger desk).  And those with no focus at all, well, they seem to be people who drift, and drift, and drift.  I know.  I’ve been all three of these people at various points in my life.

So what, you ask, does any of this have to do with street lamps?  Great question.  These street lamps in New Orleans are full of the same culture that emanates throughout the entire city.  The city has made a conscious choice to preserve a culture of music, food, history and nightlife and exemplifies this throughout everything, right down to the detail of the street lamps.  These aren’t facades like what you’ll see in Las Vegas.  This is the real deal.  Now, how many people walk right under them everyday and don’t even notice them?  How many people are so focused on their destination, or have no focus at all, and they don’t notice the detail of the street lamp?  I’m not saying everyone has to be “in to” street lamps. I’m just saying slow down and take in all the moment has to bring you.

Gayle and I still talk about our trip to New Orleans.  But it was the night we stayed at a smoky run down casino in Shreveport; stopping for lunch in Baton Rouge; touring a swamp outside of town, the museums, the food, the people, the music and, yes, the bars.  Lots and lots of bars.  I noticed these street lamps toward the end of the week and took this picture.  They, as much as anything else, represent New Orleans, to me.  And taking time to reflect on them is all part of the journey.

 

When it comes to photography, sunsets are irresistible to me . This one was on the Northern California coast near Redwood National Park.  It is actually hard to take a good picture of a sunset because you’re shooting right in to the bright sun, creating a sharp change in light from foreground to background.  I’ve taken many, but this is the only sunset pic worthy of making my gallery of inspiring places.

I think a good sunset is a signal to take a few minutes and reflect as well as look forward.  If you had a bad day, you can relax as the sun goes down and feel good knowing that tomorrow, everything starts fresh.  On the other hand, if you had a great day, it is a time to think about the good that came to you and plan to repeat it again tomorrow.  Either way, it is a time of closure repeated over and over again.  For some, it’s just the start as they leave their jobs behind and turn the darkness in to nightlife, excitement and energy.

If you think about it, sunsets are probably one of the biggest natural events taken for granted.  Everyone gets them.  They happen every day.  They are one of the few things in life guaranteed to us.  And yet, for most of us, they have to be truly spectacular in color for us to pay attention to them.  For something so common, it is so overlooked.  For something so overlooked, it brings us reflection, closure, peace, anticipation, hope and optimism, to name a few.  If you believe in the mantra that life is All About The Journey, then take some time to enjoy a good sunset.  I know I will.  After all, it is a big part of the journey. 

Next, maybe I’ll start working on that sunrise thing….but I’d have to get up early for that.  For now, I’ll stick with sunsets.

Hiking Olympic National Park - A 9 Year Old's First Backpack trip

Nothing like your first real camping trip.  This pic is of a popular hike in Olympic National Park in Washington State.  I have it on my web site in the gallery under Kids Being Kids and other pics of the park under Inspiring Places.  Olympic National Park has many great places to visit from the glaciers on Mt. Olympus rising nearly 8,000, to the Sol Duc Hot Springs to Hurricane Ridge where your view of the thousands of mountain peaks are visible in one place like nowhere else you’ve been.  My personal favorite, though, is the 3 mile hike from Lake Ozette, through the rain forest, to the Pacific Ocean.

After having gone there many times in my youth, I took my son there when he was just 9 yeas old.  It was his first rugged backpacking trip.  My thought was, if he could carry his own pack, he was ready.  About a mile in to the hike, he started unloading his gear on me.  Didn’t matter.  He was still ready.  (After all, turned out I was the one who forgot to bring fire starter. Didn’t matter.  We got a fire going.) We also saw countless animals close enough to touch, Indian petroglyphs and a beached hump back whale.

They’ve built the wooden boardwalk to keep people off the actual ground.  Rain Forests are very sensitive and vital to our world ecosystem.  This rain forest gets about 150 inches of rain per year.  It is so isolated, that it is home to many species that are not found anywhere else in the world including the Roosevelt Elk, named after President Teddy Roosevelt, who fell in love with the place and commissioned the park.

The best part of this trip, for me, however, was hearing my son Gavin tell the stories after we came back  He still recounts every thing we did on that trip, including stopping at an old diner for breakfast on our way home the last day.  He remembers building the tent on the beach, hearing the ocean waves, seeing the animals and loves to tease me about struggling with the fire.  Going back to a place you spent some time as a kid is fun.  Camping on the ocean next to a rain forest is very cool.  Getting quality time with your kid and building his memories that will last a life time – priceless.  Now that’s a great part of the journey.

Guitar Lessons - Try Something New today

Someone once said if you aren’t changing every 10 years or so, you aren’t living.  I take that to mean it’s never too late to start a new hobby.  I wanted to do some experimenting with my photography using outdoor light and came up with this concept shot.  You’ll find it on my web site in the gallery under Portraits, even though it really is more of an editorial shot than a portrait.

The concept is that you have this woman who looks very much like a country western guitar player.  Her cowboy hat, torn jeans, rattlesnake pattern shirt all look the part. You can almost hear the music coming through the photograph.  She could be a street musician playing for a crowd in Nashville or anywhere else.  If you look closely, you’ll see the book underneath is of beginner guitar lessons, which completely changes the story.  Now, it is a photograph of someone just starting to learn guitar.

So there you go.  It’s never too late to start something new.  The hardest part is taking that first step.  Sometimes, you just have to start doing it.  If you start something new and don’t like it - so what?! It takes more courage to try and fail than to not try at all.   Whether you’re learning to play a new musical instrument, taking a class in a subject you’ve always been interested in, training for that marathon, taking that trip, or whatever else it may be, just give it a shot. I’ve got some ideas of my own.  I’m sure, good or bad, you’ll be hearing about them soon (or seeing them).  After all, life is All About The Journey.

New Orleans Stands Out with History and Culture

The French Quarter in New Orleans has an endless supply of subjects for fine art and travel photography. It is like no other city in the U.S. and reminds me of my time in Europe in the late 80’s and early 90’s.  This pic can be found in the gallery on my web site under Nola and was taken one morning this past summer. 

In Europe, you’ll see these sidewalk posts everywhere.  I suppose they installed them because the streets are so narrow that they keep the cars on the rode and off the sidewalks.  You’ll see them in other places in the U.S., but not as many and usually not decorative.  It’s not just the sidewalk posts that make the French Quarter look like Europe.  The architecture is mostly from the 1700’s to early 1800’s.  They’ve done a great job preserving a culture that is distinctive, flamboyant and historical.  If you’ve been there, you know what I mean.  If you haven’t been there, you need to go.

I like a simple photograph that tells a story.  This pic does just that.  I wonder who owns the bike in the background.  Where did they come from and why did they tie their bike up here. Since it is easy to go back in time in New Orleans, I wonder what it was like when the city was young and starting out.  Was it easy to spot a pirate, as legend would have you believe?

Travelling is one of my favorite hobbies.  Experiencing a new culture, meeting new people, tasting new food, hearing new music and being alive in a place you don’t know much about is good for the soul.  Some folks might say, “stop and smell the roses.  I say, “Stop and admire the sidewalk posts. 

Lucky Shot of Lucky Duck

Sometimes, you just get lucky.  That’s what happened when I took this shot of a Mallard showing off for his girlfriend.  You can’t see her in the pic but she was just off in the distance.  I took this in the Spring of 2009 on Towne Lake in Austin, Texas.  You won’t see many animal pics on my website but who can resist them when you have the chance.

Towne Lake is really the Colorado River and runs right though the heart of Austin.  On any day of the year, you’ll see people walking, running and riding bikes on the trails that line both sides of the lake.  On most weekends, people are gathering for any of the countless festivals at Zilker park, which partly borders the lake, as well.  As if that’s not enough, the lake is full of people on canoes, kayaks, paddle boats and stand up paddle boards.

I headed out one day to take pictures of waterscapes around the lake.  I saw dozens of turtles, a pair of white swans and other birds that I had never before seen sharing the lake with humans.  This guy was swimming in front of his mate and then suddenly stopped.  I trained my camera on him just in time for him to stand up in the water and perform this dance.  There wasn’t even enough time for a second shot.  It must have worked for him because he and his partner swam off together and headed to the trees.  Really? I know I’m not a very good dancer but it was never that easy for me. It’s that rhythm thing I’ve got to work on.

Nonetheless, I still look at this picture and remember the day like it was yesterday.  To catch a moment that lasted only a few second in photography s is like hitting a home run in baseball.  I know I was lucky to get this shot but I also know the more I do things I enjoy, the more I get opportunities like this and memories that last a lifetime.  That is what the journey is all about.