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.

Fall Color is Cause to Celebrate

I wanted to use this pic for my photo blog since tomorrow is the first day of Fall.  I’ve written about street performers before and I have to say, this guy must have a tough gig.  He’s a bubble maker.  That can’t be an easy way to make a living.  I like this photograph because of the way the rainbow umbrella and blue shirt stand out amongst the burnt orange, which dominates the picture.

You’ll find this pic on my website in the gallery of Inspiring Places.  It was taken in Seattle during the Fall of 2008 near Greenlake.  If you’re not from Seattle, Greenlake is a few miles from downtown and a gathering place for riding, running, blading, walking and definitely people watching.  And in the Fall, the maple trees are showing their color in full force, as you can see here.

Fall is a great time of year. Weekends are now consumed with football and we can almost smell pumpkin and caramel apples, which are right around d the corner.   In Austin, Texas, where I live, it is also a time to enjoy the outdoors again without suffocating from humidity and melting from heat.  We know that we now have 9 months of outdoor activities ahead of us.  In September, parents get a break as their kids go back to school, college students move out of their parent’s houses and start life as an adult, new shows come on TV and we have about 6 weeks before we have to succumb to over exposure of Christmas commercials.

No matter what part of the world you’re in, there are lots of reasons to celebrate Autumn.  My son, for example, already has his Halloween costume figured out.  Let’s enjoy it while it lasts because soon we’ll be consumed with holiday parties, Christmas shopping and family functions.  Since life is All About the Journey, I don’t want to overlook a colorful time of year.  Don’t worry, though, I’ll have plenty of great things to say about winter, too…as long as I can go skiing.

Cosmic Energy Vortexes - Sedona, Arizona

Energy vortexes.  Some people believe in them and some don’t. I’m in the middle on this one.  I have a few pics of Sedona, AZ in my photo gallery.  Looking back, I’m not sure why I don’t have more.  It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.  There is an endless amount of landscapes blended with quirky things to photograph.

This is the Bell Rock Vortex in Sedona.  The town is known for its cosmic energy and vortexes.  In fact, there are several vortexes around the area.  For those of you not in the know, a vortex is an energy point where various forms of energy leak out from the center of the earth.  Many people say they feel it when they are there.  Some use the vortexes for spiritual, physical and mental healing.  Others say the massive amount of energy can have a butterfly effect on events around the world and is so powerful that it can twist the trunks of trees.  For the record, there are trees with spiral twisted trunks all around the area.

I don’t know if I felt any cosmic energy when I left there, but standing on the edge looking out at the canyon walls lined with bright red rock and lush, green foliage left me feeling good.  That’s it -just plain good.  Sedona has become so popular for its energy that it is home to many world cosmic energy conferences and hundreds of psychics and spiritual healers.  In case that’s not your thing, it is also full of world class golf courses, resorts, hiking, rafting and great restaurants.  Pretty much, something for everyone.  And that is what I like about it.  Whatever your “thing” is, Sedona has it.  It’s a great place to spend a day, weekend or a lifetime. 

I think the energy comes from within.  By doing things that we like, we feel good.  When we feel good, we create positive energy.  I felt pretty good at Bell Rock, but with a view like that, who wouldn’t?

Pursuing Talents Requires Passion

So, this is my 3^rd blog on the J. Lorraine Ghost Town in Manor, Texas.  For those of you tired of hearing about it, I promise to move on to other inspiring places next week.  But, I’m finishing up the portraits of the models and I hadn’t posted one of Kelley and I’d be dropping the ball if I didn’t feature her in at least one of my blogs.

I never used to know much about modeling.  Still don’t, really.  When I first started shooting models, I was surprised at how hard it is for them.  Now that I’ve shot several, I can tell you, there is a true talent there and not all of them have it.  Kelley was great and I look forward to shooting her again.  I could post 6 photographs of her in the same pose with 6 different facial expressions, 6 different hand placements, an arched back, or not and I would get 6 different pictures.  Some models really just have 1 look and that is all your going to get. 

Most models I have met are paying their way through college.  What a cool job.  I’m sure we all can think of many jobs that are much worse.   I admire people that choose careers like modeling, acting, music or the arts.  It’s a tough gig, but what a great way to get the most out life by pursuing your talents.  I guess it doesn’t really matter what you do in life, as long as you’re passionate about it….and it’s legal…and it doesn’t hurt anybody.  Okay, maybe there are a couple things that you probably shouldn’t be passionate about, but you get the point.  Here’s to everyone in  a high school marching band, community theatre, the starving artist, the semi-pro athlete, etc.  This blog’s for you.

All pictures from the J. Lorraine Ghost Town will be posted on my website by late tonight.  Check back at www.douggraybealphotography.com tomorrow morning to see them. 

Cowboy in Texas Ghost Town

What’s a ghost town in Texas without a cowboy?  As you know, Saturday’s photo shoot was at the J. Lorraine Ghost town in Manor, Texas near Austin.  It was a fun workshop for photographers listening to lectures on how to use lighting in outdoor photography more effectively.  I think what made it more fun was spending the day with people who share the same hobby.  There is a good feeling you get when you spend your time with people that have the same passion as you.

I’ve had several hobbies over the years.  Some have come and gone but photography is here to stay.  As long as I have more to learn and can be challenged, I can’t see getting bored.  Someone once said to me, “you’re not growing if you’re always in your comfort zone. “  Getting out of the comfort zone is different for everyone.  For me, it is about taking on new challenges until I feel I have gotten as good as I can get at them. 

If you have been to my website, you know that I have only shot portraits of female models.  This photo shoot gave me the chance to shoot a male model.  To be honest, I wasn’t sure how that was going to go.  As a result, his pictures were some of the best I took this weekend.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  Shooting female models still has the advantage in my book.  But, at least, I can say that I have taken on another challenge outside of my comfort zone.  Eleanor Roosevelt said, “do something everyday that scares you” (sic).  In other words, go outside your comfort zone today and be challenged.  After all, life is all about the journey.  

Ghost Town

I spent Saturday in the blistering heat at a photography workshop in Manor, Texas.  The setting was a ghost town and the theme of the workshop was how to use outdoor light.  Okay, I admit, unless you’re in to creative photography, that’s probably a boring subject.  But, the day was fun…and hot.  We’re talkin’ 98* F and I forgot sunscreen.

After nearly 400 pictures taken, I chose this one for today because it screams out, “Old Western Town”.  Most of my other pictures are of models posing for us and those will be coming in future blogs and posted to my website.  There is something to be said for a pair of worn out boots.  They just look so comfortable.  You can come up with a thousand stories of where these boots have been and why they are sitting alone on a bench in a ghost town.

I wish I had more history on the town itself, but the truth is, it was built in 1999.  It isn’t a real ghost town.  It’s just made to look like one.  Either way, it is a pretty cool place and not just for photographers.  You can rent the town for parties, weddings or any other kind of gathering.  I don’t know much about the J. Lorraine Ghost Town but I am guessing whoever built it had a fascination for old western towns and this was their way of expressing that.  That’s good enough for me.

She's Got Legs - San Fran is one of America's Best Cities

In honor of the tragedy that struck the Bay Area last night, my blog today is about one of my favorite cities of all time, San Francisco.  You’ll see several pics of San Fran on my web site and I’m sure I’ll add more over time.

I first started travelling there over 10 years ago on business.  I fell in love with the area on my first trip and have returned dozens of times – for work and fun.  It’s an inspiring place full of culture, diversity, and character. 

It would have been easy for me to post a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge….but everyone does that.  I think it is pretty easy to figure out what part of town I took this picture.  The funny thing is, I’ve been to Haight St. many times and never noticed these legs before.  Now I find out, they’re an often-photographed icon, as well.  I guess I was too busy looking around that I never looked up.  The legs belong to a clothing boutique on the first floor.

San Francisco is great for just about any lifestyle.  You can get up in the morning and go for a jog through Golden Gate Park and run the bridge.  Catch lunch in the Marina District.  Do some shopping at Union Square.  Tour anyone of the dozens of world-class museums in the afternoon.  Get a mojito in the Mission to hold you over before dinner, attend the opera at the Civic Center, have traditional Italian food for dinner on Columbus and then wrap up the evening at any number of night clubs in every neighborhood.  Or, you can just spend the day on the beach with a good book and call it a life.  Either way is fine.

People live in the Bay Area for good reason. I haven’t even mentioned a drive down the Coast or up to Napa or Sonoma Valley or east to Tahoe.  It is a place with endless opportunities.  I couldn’t imagine living in the Bay Area and never leaving the house.  After all, life is All About the Journey.  Best wishes to those in San Bruno. 

Balconies - Living in New Orleans

It’s pretty obvious from my blog and my website that I like taking pictures of cool people, inspiring places and interesting things.   To me, this picture represents all three. 

You might look at it and think it’s just an old dirty building, but this apartment in the French Quarter in New Orleans says so much more.  The building itself was probably built in the late 1700’s or early 1800’s, as were most of the buildings in NOLA.  

I walked around the city looking for things that caught my eye when I saw these balconies.  Most of the buildings in the French Quarter have shops, galleries, restaurants and bars on the first floor and apartments above.  Absorbing all the city has, I felt like I was back in Europe, and wondered what it would be like to live here.  You would have to be the type of person who embraced all that NOLA has to offer – the music, the people, the culture as well as the noise and challenges of a big city.  But I’m guessing you must also be someone who makes life your own. 

While there isn’t much they can do to make this building attractive – it is old and dirty - they’ve done a lot to make it their own space.  The painted shutters, the plants, decorations, Christmas lights (even though this was taken in July) and flags all say that these people take pride in where they live and color it with their own personalities.  It seems to me, by where they live and how they celebrate it, they are getting the most from their journies in life.  I think that’s what makes them pretty cool; makes NOLA is an inspiring place; and this building an interesting thing.   

Labor Day

So, It’s Labor Day and I’m going through the pictures on my website trying to see what would make a good photograph about labor.  Some of you may remember this picture I took last year of the bats in Austin.  It might be a stretch, but these guys sure do work hard.

     Over 1 million bats (and some things I’ve read say up to 2 million) live underneath the Anne Richards Bridge  (a.k.a., Congress Ave Bridge) in downtown Austin.  They migrate up from Mexico in early spring and stay until late October.  During the day, thousands of cars and people commute across the bridge without any signs of bats.  But, at dusk every night, the the bats fly out in search of food.  Bats are mammals and like most mammals that live in colonies, they have 1 leader.  One bat is in charge of the whole group.  He decides when it is time to fly away for food.

     Watching the bats is one of my favorite things to do in Austin.  They create this ribbon of black, as you can see in the picture, as they fly out behind their leader.  You won’t find this many bats anywhere else in North America and here they are, in the middle of the city.  They help Austin live up to its slogan, “Keep Austin Weird”.   They also help me with my hobby of taking pictures of inspiring places interesting things.

     So, on this day when most of us have ta break from our job, I think I’ll take my boys down to the bridge tonight.  We’ll get some ice cream and watch the bats go to work.  

Lone Mountain Brings Great Memories

     

I was searching my archives for creative pictures for my new web site and found this scenic shot.  I was instantly hit with many memories.  I couldn’t believe that I never included it in my portfolio of landscape photographs.  This was taken a few years ago when Gayle and the boys and I were on a camping trip in Eastern Washington.   We were driving down the highway and out of nowhere, this small mountain popped up.  I just had to pull over and take a picture.

     We had covered a lot of ground that week.  Our first two camping spots were less than desirable.  The first campground was overcrowded - I could stretch out my arms and touch my RV on one side and my neighbor’s on the other.  The next campground was dirty – broken glass and litter everywhere…and a drunk guy passed out in the bathroom.  Our third night, we found paradise at Bridgeport State Park near Chief Joseph Damn.  It’s a great campground off the beaten path.  Just our style.

     What is fun to me now are the different memories we each took from that trip.   This one picture can bring back so much.  Of course, the things our boys remember are very different than what Gayle and I remember.  (They talk about riding their bikes, finding a beaver dam and the drunk guy.) 

     A picture like this gets my imagination to run wild.  I think of the Native Americans that used this mountain for protection from the hot summers and storms in the winter.  I can see pioneers using the land for their cattle to graze or just passing by on their wagon trains as they were headed to the West Coast.  Or, I wonder, how many people like me saw one mountain, by itself, surrounded by dry, flat land and thought it was cool.

     I like to take pictures of cool people, inspiring places and interesting things.  I think this qualifies.  I think of the times I saw something on the side of the road that I thought would be a good picture and I didn’t pull over.  What did I miss?  After all, life is about the journey. 

Street Walker Dude

     I love street performers.  They add a level of culture to a city that nothing else can.  Sometimes it’s as simple as the Bushman in San Francisco.  He hides behind a bush and pops out of nowhere scaring unsuspecting tourists that walk by.  Or it might be an incredibly talented musician like Spoonman in Seattle, who makes you wonder why he isn’t playing on a concert stage somewhere (and he has).

     I remember when I was in Amsterdam in the late 80’s and there was a guy doing a comedy routine with balloons.  I know… sounds childish, right?  Except he told incredible stories to the crowd as he made Daffy Duck out of a balloon.  I knew I recognized him from somewhere and sure enough, later that night he was in a bar doing more “adult oriented” balloon figures.  It was hilarious!  After talking to him one-on-one I realized he had spent 10 years in Seattle and had performed on the J.P. Patches show several times.  (Seattleites over 40 might remember him.) 

     This picture is in New Orleans.  Uncle Louie is seen all over the French quarter.  If you see him out of the corner of your eye, you’ll think he is just crossing the street.  If you stop and look, you’ll realize he is as still as a statue and he holds it for…well, forever.  I got my wife, Gayle, to pose with him.

     The thing about street performers is that they perform their talent simply for the love of performing their talent.  They don’t get much money - usually not enough to earn a real living.  But they love what they do and they do what they love.  In most cases, it’s at the expense of everything else.  I admire them for sacrificing so much for their passion and envy them for their talent.  I bet if you would poll street performers, they wouldn’t choose anything else other than to perform.

     This blog is the first of many.  I will write about things that I see that emulate people, places or things that are examples of a quality life.  My goal is to be sometimes inspiring, sometimes entertaining and sometimes to cause you to think, ”hmmm”.  Life is about the journey.  I think Uncle Louie has figured that out and is uncompromising in his journey.  I bet that’s a pretty good quality of life!