Morning Path, originally uploaded by daveham.

I made a scouting trip to the Wichita Mountains WMA in Oklahoma. I left Dallas at 3:30 in the morning, thinking that would give me enough time to get to the Charon's Garden area of the preserve. There are a few small lakes there and lots of boulders that I hoped would make nice subjects for sunrise photography.

As I was driving north of Wichita Falls and crossing into Oklahoma, I could see that I would not make it for sunrise. There was a nice rain storm developing south of Lawton so I pulled off the highway to find a spot to capture the storm and sunrise. This shot is one of a few that I posted to flickr where I caught the rain, the sunrise and some of the local "wildlife" - see the other shots on flickr.

By the time I got to the WMA, the clouds had moved in and I didn't get the sunlight I had hoped for. Even so, it was a good scouting trip and I really like the area. I think my next tirp will be a drive up on an afternoon with camping gear so I can get evening and morning sessions without driving through the graveyard shift.

San Jacinto Monument with Moon, originally uploaded by daveham.

Another trip to Houston, another attempt at a dramatic San Jacinto Monument. This monument is not too far from Hobby Airport, my usual airport when flying from Dallas to Houston. I keep coming here to practice with an increasingly more familiar subject.

I drove almost straight from the rental car lot (a quick stop at a convenience store for water, snack and mosquito spray - very important). The sky was cloudy but the sun was promising to break through for the last 30 minutes or so.

I was fairly happy with this result, but I also knew that a better sky was possible. I only had this one night to shoot as my flight back to Dallas was an hour before sunset the next day. And, true enough, after a day of thunderstorms, I saw a beautiful, dramatic sunset - from my window seat on Southwest Airlines.

As they say, there's always next time.

On Pinnacle Mountain, originally uploaded by daveham.

We made a trip to Little Rock over the recent Memorial Day weekend to visit family. On almost every trip to Little Rock, we take time out to climb Pinnacle Mountain. The state park is only about 30 minutes away and everyone in the family can do the hike which takes 60-90 minutes round trip.

One of these trips, I'll try go solo to be there at either first or last light. On this trip, it was a middle-of-the-day hike with Lori and all three kids. I took this shot on the way down where I left the trail to see this patch of flowers. They were under the tree canopy and sheltered from the harsh midday sun.

Face Mask, originally uploaded by daveham.

At an outdoor meet in Arlingon this weekend, I got some nice sharp shots of Jack. Also, the meet concluded with a 1500 meter open water event where the kids raced around four orange buoys, somewhat like a race would be held in a lake or ocean. Jack excels at the longer distances and handily won this event. It was fun for both swimmers and spectators as a departure from the usual "back and forth a million times" that normally occurs on the longer races.

Jack Butterfly in 200 IM, originally uploaded by daveham.

I made it to the last day of Jack's swim meet on the campus of SMU. I was going to miss it for an out of town trip, but the trip was cancelled because of bad weather. But, the earlier sessions of the swim meet were also cancelled due to the same bad weather. I was looking forward to it because it was one of the rare outdoor meets with good light for taking photos. The weather turned out fine this morning and I got a few good shots which you can find on flickr.

Pearce Parking, originally uploaded by daveham.

A little local color from Monday night. I was leaving the house to pick up my kids from swim practice at the high school natatorium. I noticed some color in the sky (it had been cloudy all day) so grabbed my camera as I went out the door. This was the view from the high school parking lot. The late sun was hitting the underside of these clouds and creating a vibrant reflection on the wet surface.

Sunday Morning Warm Up, originally uploaded by daveham.

Long course swim season has started. Long course means events are held in 50 meter pools rather than 25 yard pools. Times tend to be a bit faster as there are fewer turns within a single event. Our first long corse meet was over a week ago in Rockwall - a BB meet for Katie. I volunteered as a lane timer so didn't have a chance to take any photos. The Rockwall pool is a new facility and lighting appears to be above average. I look forward to the next swim meet there where I will be able to use my camera.

This last weekend was an A meet (Jack competed) held in Mansfield Texas. Mansfield has a great pool with lots of good stadium seating and pretty good light. During early morning warmup (at 7:30 am on Sunday), there is great side lighting streaming in from windows high over one end of the pool.

Union Hill Road, originally uploaded by daveham.

A short addition to the previous entry. I returned to the Bluebonnet Trail for a second day and explored another road, this time Union Hill Road. The weather was a bit better, but I had hoped to catch some late rays of sun slicing through the cloud cover - no such luck. Third times the charm? We shall see.

Sugar Ridge Road, originally uploaded by daveham.

Been away a little while, from the blog and photography. I checked out the Bluebonnet Trail near Ennis yesterday. Not great weather, but was still an enjoyable trip. Now I know exactly where to go when the sun comes back out and I can get away for a few hours.

Frozen Charles, originally uploaded by daveham.

I took my camera along on a work trip to Boston. My meeting was actually in Cambridge in the Microsoft Research buidling on the edge of the campus of MIT. Snow was predicted the morning of the second day so I took the first evening to scout locations for an early morning outing. I walked along Memorial drive to look at the frozen Charles River and eventually crossed one of the bridges to look back across the river at Cambridge. I took a few shots, including this one and planned to return in the morning. My alarm woke me at 5 am and I discovered that the promised snow never arrived. I checked the weather and decided two more hours of sleep was a better use of my time. I'm glad now that I took a few shots the evening before.