NaNoWriMo

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Not the writing device I’ll be using.

Time to write! This year, for the first time, I’ll be participating in NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month. I’ll be trying to complete the first draft of Ring War, the third book in my Once Upon a Time in Central Oith series.

NaNoWri Mo is a creative writing project that takes place annually in November. The challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. NaNoWriMo started in July 1999 with 21 participants. By 2017, 306,230 writers participated. For a quick overview of NaNoWriMo, see the Wikipedia Article. If you are interested in participating, go to their website, NaNoWriMo.org.

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Five Frames of Pipes from San Diego

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Once again traveling for a scientific meeting, I had an opportunity to rove San Diego with my trusty DSLR in hand. What did I find? Well lots and lots of stuff. But first, here are five frames of pipes.

Big Red

Some friends took me to Liberty Station, a former Naval Training Center now a vibrant commercial and arts destination. Here is a big red pipe on a sunny day in southern California. Life is good.

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Five Frames from Oktoberfest

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Sorry, not the one in Munich. This one was held in San Angelo, Texas on September 28, 2019. It was sponsored by SoCo Taphouse and Brew Co., a local taphouse and brewpub. The name, SoCo, comes from the South Concho river.

SoCo

The SoCo sign and some of the revelers. If you are ever in the neighborhood and are interested in a brew, SoCo is located on the southeast corner of Oakes and East Concho in San Angelo, our fair city (with apologies to Click and Clack, the Tappet brothers). Note that the credit for this pictures goes to Kathryn.

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Five More Frames from Alpine

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In July, my brother, David, his wife, Cheryl, Kathryn, and I visited the quaint far-west Texas town of Alpine. Last week, I posted five frames from Alpine. Here are five more.

Donde Esta?

This bronze sculpture of a riderless horse can be found on the Sul Ross University campus between the Museum of the Big Bend and the Francois Fine Arts Building. The installation is dedicated to the fallen law enforcement officers of the Big Bend area. It was sponsored by BBALEOA, the Big Bend Area Law Enforcement Officers Association. The sculpture is titled “Donde Esta?” (Where is he?). The horse is hobbled, indicating that his rider had intended to return.

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Five Frames from Alpine

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In July, my brother, David, his wife, Cheryl, Kathryn, and I visited the quaint far-west Texas town of Alpine. It was fun and many photos resulted. Here are Five Frames from Alpine.

The Desk on Hancock Hill

Behind Sul Ross University, atop Hancock Hill is a desk that was carried up in 1981 by three Sul Ross students, Jim Kitchen, Bill Wagner, and Travis Miller. According to the Sul Ross website, they were seeking a place for “contemplation and reflection”. Here is the desk one morning in July. If you visit the desk, there is a notebook you can sign. Look for our names.

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Seaborn Selected for the Texas Photographic Society Members Only Show

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Seaborn Bound Upriver, New Orleans 2018

The Texas Photographic Society (TPS) has just announced the exhibiting artists for the 32nd annual Members Only Show (MOS). Juror Catherine Couturier has selected 50 works by 42 artists. Seaborn Bound Upriver, New Orleans 2018 is one of the works selected.

The TPS Members Only Show will open September 20, 2019 at the Cain Arts Gallery in Corpus Christi, Texas and will remain on view through December 4, 2019. There will be a reception on the opening night with a gallery talk by Catherine Couturier.

Seaward Bound Upriver was shown previously in the Visit the Galleries and the Five Frames from New Orleans posts. It is currently the lead photo in the Main Gallery.

At the time of writing, the Seaborn is currently at anchor in the Piraeus anchorage, Greece. For current information, see MarineTraffic.com.

GIMPressionistic Swan Boat

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Do you like impressionist paintings? Are you a photographer? Let me introduce you to GIMPressionist, a filter in the graphics program GIMP that you can use to render your photos in the impressionist style. The GIMPressionist filter “paints” brush strokes over your photo to give a painting-like feel to the photo. You can control many aspects of the process including brush type, with, aspect ratio, angle, and, as you will see, many more.

Swan Boat, Boston 2018

Here is the GIMPressionistic Swan Boat. In this post, I’ll show how I made this image from a photograph I took in the Boston Public Garden. For a while, you can see an enlarged version of this image in the Five Frames Gallery.

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Five Frames from The Retreat at Artesian Lakes

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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!

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Five Frames from En Plein Air Texas

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En Plein Air Texas is an outdoor painting event held annually for the past few years in San Angelo, my fair city. The 2018 edition had an event at the 65th Annual Roping Fiesta (a roping competition that includes calf roping and often other roping events) at the San Angelo Fairgrounds. I went out to photograph the painters and assorted other subjects. Here are five frame of hidden art.

Saddle

I liked the colors and textures of the saddle and rope.

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Five Frames from Fredricksburg

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Kathryn and I often go to Fredricksburg for short getaways.

Cotton Gin

When we are in Fredricksburg, we often stay at the Cotton Gin Village. The Cotton Gin Village is a bed and breakfast that consists of log cabins (with modern amenities) surrounding a central garden and koi pond. It is like being in another world. Here is a shot of the grounds.

In the Cotton Gin Village is the Cabernet Grill-Texas Wine Country Restaurant. The food and wine are excellent. Kathryn and I give it two thumbs up.

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