(Click to enlarge, as always)
Here's a few more night photos from the grounds of the Witte Museum.
I'm not sure I want to go down this road... Two of the photos above were taken with my new camera-phone.
My thoughts have been all over the place as far as posting camera-phone photos here at all, and if I
do, what is my approach?
On the one hand, I could stay low-tech and not use Photoshop on them at all.
Or I could try every trick in the book to get them to look halfway decent, as I tried with these.
If I had a third hand, what choice would
it be holding?
Personally, the whole camera-phone thing has me torn.
When I see people pulling them out in situations where they should have known they were going to want photos and could have brought a so-called "real camera", I tend to dismiss them as fools. Holding one up and taking snaps from the 45th row of a concert is an exercise in futility, yet it happens every day.
After all, 80% of the US population owns at least one "real camera" and uses it regularly.
But now that I have one of these tiny toys, and always have it with me unlike my much larger F717, I find that it's a fun way to stay in touch with people and share my life with them
as it's happening.
As a serious student of photography, they seem like little more than hightech toys, and yet mine has 1.3 megapixels and the full range of white-balance settings, so it almost matches the state of the art digital cameras from a dozen years ago (if you ignore the little bitty shitty lens and lack of all other controls).
Mine even has a (Micro) SD memory card slot just like it's big brothers.
My dilemma is that I know that in a few years these toys will pack some serious features, and while I'm getting into the game at a nice point in their evolution I also don't take them or the resulting photos very seriously. Yet.
Do I post phone-camera photos on Views Of Texas once in a while, in the spirit of sharing what I see and do?
Or just when they come out really well, or there's no other way to get the shot?
Or do I explore all of my options with no attitude or preconceptions?
A little help, people?
There's no wrong answers, so please comment freely.
Sara flew in from Yuma Arizona. She ended up on the floor drunk-texting her ex. 
Kids young and old enjoy my fire. 
The neighbor's pecan tree, "painted" with a 2 million candlepower rechargeable spotlight during a long exposure. 
Fire is cool. 
Trying out my new flash combined with a long exposure, to balance the ambient light.
Not an easy camera to find these days. If I had $600 to spend I would have bought it as a spare. 
The mailman brought me something very nice today. 
My photo "Waiting To Cross Over" is today's Digital Photo Of The Day at Steve's Digicams, a popular site for camera reviews. 
This is a horizontal-format version of our Christmas card this year. 
This view from the Commerce Street bridge is one you'll see everywhere. Tourists and locals alike always seem to shoot from here, but I was the only one bothering to use a tripod and long exposure on Friday night that I saw.
Something I have always wanted to do but never managed to fit into the busy Holiday schedule before tonight is to capture the beauty of my city's downtown Christmas lights. Both of these were shot from the same area across the street from Alamo Plaza, using the white lights in the trees to frame some important landmarks. 
On our last trip to the beach in July I finally 'got' the night-photography lesson illustrated here: Between 15 and 45 minutes or so after sunset, long exposures benefit from a rich blue sky. This 'perfect' time fades quicker in the winter I think, because it sure went away fast tonight! 
At this time of year it seems like everyone posts photos of dead leaves. Some on the ground or floating on a lake, others clinging to the tree in a defiant gesture against the coming winter. 
Here's a few more night photos from the grounds of the Witte Museum. 
I'm not sure I want to go down this road... 
The Witte is my favorite museum in San Antonio. The emphasis is on natural history and education. 
A new Harley dealership recently opened in San Antonio. 
New buildings are a favorite of mine because the paint and details are crisp and clean, and this place had some unique architectural features like the metal shades with cutout designs and the tensioned canvas awnings that cover the cycle parking areas.
Sunset Station was one of the finest passenger depots on the Southern Pacific Railroad. 
Here's a view of the outside featuring an old Texas & New Orleans/Southern Pacific steam engine on display.
We have been walking a lot lately, so naturally I want to walk to weird places so I can add some photography to the mix. 
This concrete drain pipe feeds into the ditch underneath the bridge. The bluish light is from my flashlight, trying to see as far as possible up the pipe. 
If it's possible to have a favorite tree, this one is mine. I have watched it die, get big sections cut down by a firewood thief, and then come back with new growth over the last three years. 
Just so everyone knows where I stand: 
This was an attempt to recreate a photo from February 2005 which just barely topped the popular voting in the very first contest I entered, only to lose after the judges made their picks. 
Another side of our main library. The big balls are dual-purpose. 
While the shutter was open he walked into the shot to ask me the time, then stood waiting for the train to pass so he could cross the tracks and head for home after a long day's work. 
Traffic due to highway construction cut a lot of time off our visit Sunday, so after paying the $6/each admission I kind of rushed through the sprawling complex of gardens, sculpture and historic buildings. 
This is a scenic overlook in the middle of the property. 
The roof of the main entrance building, the Daniel Sullivan Carriage House, which was built in 1896 and later moved stone by stone from it's original location downtown. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 
This is a young mantis that was on the hunt for tasty bugs under our porch light one night. Little did he realize, there were six adult Turkish Geckos closing in from all sides. 
Saturday November 11, 2006 
This one required a lot more processing time to get right, but I kept at it until reaching the 'acceptable' level I hope.
