Five Frames from The Retreat at Artesian Lakes

Once again I was out and about with my camera. This time I was wandering around the The Retreat at Artesian Lakes in Cleveland, Texas using yet another scientific meeting as an excuse. Here are some random shots of critters, a sculpture, and finally a landscape.

Snapping Turtle

Also known as “The Monster from the Deep”, this turtle lives near a piling beneath the deck of the resort dining area (I’ve seen him there for years). If you toss fish food off the deck, you attract a lot of fish and, eventually, this monster rises up with his mouth open. The head on this bad boy is about eight inches across. I am not going swimming in that lake!

Gator

This is one of the local alligators that I found visiting the patrons at the meeting house one morning. This is a small one, only 4-5 feet. There was a larger one, 10-12 feet that spent the day sunning itself in view of the lunchroom most days. I am NOT going swimming in that lake.

Another Gator

This alligator sculpture lurks on the grounds of the retreat. It is made out of railroad ties and assorted other hardware. I feel remiss that I didn’t discover the name of the artist. I will report back.

Horses at Dawn

I saw this pair when I was out for an early morning walk. I liked the way the sun was lighting their manes and tails.

House in the Trees

Thank wind and water for this impressionistic effect. This is the reflection of a house and trees in a wind-rippled lake. I inverted the photo and cropped out almost all of the non-reflected image. I adjusted the contrast and saturation to enhance the effect.

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These photos were taken with a Canon 6D wearing a Canon 24-70 f2.8. They were processed from RAW files using Darktable, a free darkroom program available for Windoze, Mac, and Linux.