The Dandelion

Tucker Hill

Tucker Hill is a Master Planned Community on the north side of McKinney, with a nostalgic, small-town feeling. The community is so far about 20% built-up. The fountain is the centerpiece of the community. I was out Friday while shooting some pics for our real estate website....

Oppositions in Harmony and Disharmony I

Living/Artifical I (2008)

Rough/Smooth I (2008)

I came up with the idea for this series the other day while walking along the Wilson Creek nature trail as the sun was setting Friday afternoon. I will post more from this series as I edit them.

Wilson Creek Nature Trail and Meditation Garden

Here are some more pics from my Tuesday trip down the street to the Towne Lake Recreation Area and Nature Trail. Along the trail, the squirrels (pronounced a little like "squiddels" if you are English, which will throw you off a little bit if you are an American hearing it for the first time...) were out in force, including one who seemed to be having a bad fur day. You could hear them before you saw them, for you would hear this odd-sounding "scritching" noise, then look around to see what creature was about to maul you, only to find a squirrel nibbling in a state of carefree nirvana upon a nut.

I also discovered the Howell Meditation Garden (second pic from the bottom) in the center of the trail area, which I did not know about. Apparently the area was dedicated in 2007. It is indeed a nice area for quiet reflection.

I refelected upon how cold my hands were getting....

Infrared

I love infrared! To those who may not be familiar with it, it is a form of film sensitive to both visible and infrared light that produces images like black and white, but with a far more ghostly or surreal appearance. They are often used with colored filters to block out different wavelengths of visible light to produce different effects.

Infrared can be simulated in Photoshop or PSP Photo, which is much easier and less expensive than messing around with infrared film, which has little exposure latitude.

I like infrared for some of my images to enhance a sense of isolation, aloneness, and separateness from normal reality. Whether it works or not, I leave that to others to decide.....

Return to the Fog...

Never one to be deterred, I noticed that the heavy fog that was supposed to roll in last night had arrived, so I put my camera in the car and headed out after taekwondo class to return to the decorated house and the Dairy Queen. This is a few of the shots I captured.

Things to do in McKinney at 3:30 am....

.....of course you grab the camera, hop in the car, and go take photographs. Doesn't everyone? I was actually hoping to catch a nice view of a Christmas decorated house, sitting across a pond, in the (32 degrees) early morning fog. The house was on Eldorado Parkway just before US 75. I had noticed the house last night on my way to Half Priced Books to do some shopping. Wouldn't you know, that when I get to the location to shoot, they've unplugged the lights before going to bed! I suppose that is the difference between them and me....My Christmas decorating consists of two strands of lights on my balcony, and I don't care if they burn all night.....

So, I shot the top picture of the foggy tree instead.

On the way home I stopped and shot some more pics of the Dairy Queen around the corner from my apartment. That's how I know we still have some small town-ness running in our veins...we still got a Dairy Queen! I decided to use the infrared effect on the pic shown.

Though I have to go to Whataburger if I want something to eat at 4am....

I did go back to sleep, by the way.

Winter Comes a Few Days Early

A light coating of sleet, ice, and snow dusted McKinney last night and into this morning. I decided to take the camera out to Towne Lake Park and these are a couple of the shots. More to follow tomorrow.....

The Red Staircase

I think the title says it all. This is a building in downtown McKinney.

A Random Image from my Collection

Lavon Lake at Sunrise, taken about one month ago.

The Bratwurst Flamingo

At the recent Dickens' Christmas in downtown McKinney, I snapped this shot of the sign above the food vendor I got a cheesesteak from.....it was very tasty as well....the cheesesteak, not the sign.....

Moon and Fast Moving Clouds

From the storms Monday night/Tuesday morning...

Tornadic December Storms in McKinney

Tornado sirens went off last night about 11 pm for a severe thunderstorm that formed southwest of McKinney and was moving to the northeast at about 40mph. That part of the storm passed just to my southeast, which is the view from my balcony in the bottom
photo, just after the sirens went off and the National Weather Service issued
the Tornado Warning.

After I saw the storm was moving off to the northeast I hopped in the car (with my NOAA alert radio) and drove north then east, hoping to catch some lightning photographs. About 10 miles north and east I got the top two photos. You are looking south and eastward.
McKinney would be to the right of the photos.

WARNING NOTE: The lightning photos were taken from the back side of the storm, with the storm moving away from me, and approximately 30 miles away. Chasing possible tornadic storms (especially at night) without knowledge of storm behavior and movement is stupid and can get you killed. Standing in open fields taking lightning photographs of near storms is equally stupid, and is even more likely to get you killed! Remember, if you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck.

Downtown Dallas Pre-Dawn and Dawn

Downtown Dallas lies about 25 miles to the south of McKinney. Here are a few photos I took while I was downtown for the Christmas parade.....the bottom photo is of Reunion Tower. I have lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth area long enough to remember when the tower was the tallest building in Dallas.

Let's Get Ready to Rummmmmmmmmmmble.....

When I was looking over and doing my computer "developing" of the photos, the top photo immediately reminded me of two boxers standing in their corners with the refereee standing in the middle. I wonder who the oddsmakers would favor in a Frosty vs. Santa match-up?

Also I think Frosty has been watching the first "Karate Kid" movie....he looks like he's about to perform the Crane move on Santa....

The bottom photo I might call "Frosty Does Dallas".

Neiman Marcus Adolphus Christmas Parade

For the second year, I was up very early this morning to serve as a "Giant Inflatable Handler" for the 21st Annual Neiman Marcus/Adolphus Children’s parade. The parade, presented by Capital One, benefits Children’s Medical Center, and is Dallas’ largest outdoor event. Ebby Halliday, Realtors, the broker my mom is an agent for, sponsors a balloon, and so the company asks for volunteers to carry a balloon. It is a lot of work, a lot of fun, and a lot of reward when you see the looks on the faces of both the children and the adults.......

Anyway, here are a few pics I took....okay, well the top pic I had a colleague take.....

McKinney High School Choir Feast of Carols

For the past 13 years McKinney High School's Choir Department holds a Feast of Carols Madrigal Dinner at First United Methodist Church in McKinney. Both my niece Ashley and nephew have participated. This year Ashley is participating, but my nephew Alex is now at Baylor. It's quite a fun evening. The lighting is very low, so I had to make do with ISO 1600 and shutter speeds that risk camera shake, but without a good flash diffuser I make do...plus I don't like the way flashes destroy the ambient lighting plus, in low light situations I myself hate annoying flashes going off repeatedly......

Pictured at top is my niece Ashley. Second from the bottom is my niece Virginia pictured with the Feast's Queen.

The Dickens' Kitten

Last Saturday night, while I was out shooting the Dicken's Christmas, I noticed this adorable kitten sitting in the middle of the blocked off street. As only a cat can do, he/she seemed wholly unimpressed by the evening's festivities....

Pictures of the Day: Water Towers Revisited

This is the water tower just off the Town Square. I like water towers, what can I say? Maybe it is because of my lifelong interest in the space program....something about the towers remind me of the launch towers for the old Saturn V rockets and Space Shuttles.....

The Statue

While I was out Sunday afternoon in McKinney Town Center walking back to my car I came across this.......I'm not sure but is that a cheeseburger he's carrying on is head? Have I stumbled upon the mythical "Kip's Big Boy as a Small Young Boy" statue......hmmmm.

A Dickens of a Christmas: More... In Color!

Well, this time I decided to stick with the color shots. I have included some that I included earlier in platinum or albumin, so you could compare....if you area person who is interested in such things.