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.