John Hark Photography

Old School Stevedoring

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:38:23 -0800

This photo was taken less than a week after Hurricane Ike came through Houston and the terminal did not even have full power back yet. The vessel we were loading had been drifting off the Yucatan waiting for Ike to go through and so was delayed coming into Houston by about a week. The cargo being loaded was rail cars to Colombia and the guys are waiting for a car to be rolled into position for lifting on board from the tracks alongside the vessel. B&W seemed to be fitting as this scene would have looked basically the same 60+ years ago. Non-containerized cargo operations have changed little, if any, over the years. It is still hard dangerous work and you always need to be looking up.

South Beach Model

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 19:33:00 -0800

Playing around some more with tilt shift techniques. Captured this shot of South Beach on approach to Miami last week.

Avianca Flight 2

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 23:08:36 -0800

I flew back to Miami (and then Houston) yesterday from Barranquilla, Colombia. The aircraft was an older MD-83, but I ended up with a pretty decent window and the clouds cooperated as well. This shot was captured right around the area of Jamaica. The trusty G9 really comes in handy for these out the window plane shots.

Caribbean Sunset

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:46:03 -0800

Headed down to Colombia again this week. Lucked out with a flight on a brand new Avianca Airbus A330 with crystal clear windows. Captured this Sunset shot somewhere over the Caribbean with the G9.

Primeval

Sat, 8 Nov 2008 19:12:39 -0800

I captured this image last weekend at Huntsville State Park which is about 30 miles North of where I live. It is dense forest and this particular morning had a foggy mist throughout the area with rays of the morning Sun coming through. It reminded me of the BBC TV show "Primeval". I also like the mixture of pines and hardwoods.

Spoonbills

Thu, 6 Nov 2008 19:11:51 -0800

On my trek to Galveston last weekend, we came across this group of Roseate Spoonbills. I have only seen these birds one at a time and never in a group like this. They made a great reflection on the water surface.

Monarch

Tue, 4 Nov 2008 19:05:52 -0800

Here is another capture of a butterfly in our flower garden, from this weekend. I have to thank my wife for planting this Lantana that really attracts them. LIke the last one, I shot this with my Nikkor 18-200VR. Not meant to be a macro lens, but it seems to do well with these shots.

After Ike

Sun, 2 Nov 2008 21:19:36 -0800

We are coming up on 2 months since Ike came through Galveston and I made my first trek down this weekend since the storm came through. There is still a lot of clean up and plenty of rebuilding to do, but life is starting to get back to normal. I shot this Sunrise pic on the East end of the Island. Lucked out with a great tidal pool to reflect the early morning sky and a colleague with me that said we needed to drive out to this point.

Mini Maritime

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:57:34 -0800

Taking a departure from the wildlife and playing around a bit with "tilt shift" effect on some of my maritime shots.

Flight

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 07:21:03 -0800

I am sticking with the nature theme. Captured this shot of a Great Blue Heron yesterday morning with a perfect angle on the light. I have been trying for some shots like this for a while with the early morning Sun or evening Sun and I think the wing dipping in the water also adds interest to the shot. This shot was taken at a small lake a few miles from my house.

In the spotlight

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:29:22 -0800

Here is one more shot from my time with the Egrets this weekend. I like the way only certain birds have the early Sun shining on them in this shot and how the focus fades as you move back from the flying bird through the others.

Breakfast

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:54:10 -0800

Staying on the nature theme and meal time, I went out on Saturday morning and decided to stop at a local golf course where 100's of Egrets have been hanging out since Hurricane Ike came through. Ended up shooting quite a few images of them in the early Sunlight and caught this guy just has he had come up with a fish in his mouth. Even at 1/640 the shutter was not quite fast enough to freeze all the action, but I like the fact that there is some motion in the wings. Also like the drops of water that 1/640 was able to capture.

Lunchtime

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:49:19 -0800

I know I know.. You are wondering if I actually took this picture since it is not a sunrise, sunset, cloudscape, landscape, "shipscape", etc etc. Yes, I took it and surprised myself too. Happen to see this guy flying around as I was getting into my car Saturday afternoon in front of my house. Had the D200 with me and fired off quite a few shots. I like the fact that he is in between the flowers and I think the shadow on the pole does add some interest as well. The shot was taken with the Nikkor 18-200VR.

Skies of Texas

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 10:01:30 -0800

I have become pretty obsessed with capturing shots from the windows of the many flights I have been on lately and Continental Airlines definitely has the clearest windows. This was the scene coming into Houston this week after a quick trip to New Orleans. Plenty of storms around to make for a very bumpy approach.

The G9 has really performed well on these shots.

The Big Easy

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:31:39 -0800

Sunrise this morning over the Mississippi River in New Orleans. Lucked out with a good view from my hotel room.

Moonrise

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:56:53 -0800

I shot this at 1135 pm en route from Nassau to Castaway Cay, from our veranda. I know it has movement in the clouds and plenty of noise, but I still think it is an interesting shot. The ship was doing about 24 knots at this point with some moderate rolling and the clouds were moving in the sky as well.

I had to get creative with shooting this and used one of those little Joby Gorillapods.. It is not meant to have a Nikon D200 with the 18-200VR attached to it and then have it gripped around the railing of a rolling ship. Of course put the strap around my neck as well and used the timer since I did not have my cable release with me. Had one hand on the legs of the Gorillapod that were gripped around the wood railing since it would not stay secure on its own. The VR also helped and I shot quite a few different exposures. This one was 10 seconds at f3.5.

Bahamian Sunrise

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:41:46 -0800

One of the great Sunrises we had during our Disney Cruise in the Bahamas. Well worth forcing yourself out of bed for after a late night.

"Happiest Place on Earth"

Thu, 9 Oct 2008 18:07:45 -0800

My family and I just got back from a trip to Disney World and a Disney cruise. I would imagine plenty of people capture a photo of Cinderella's Castle when they visit the Magic Kingdom, but I thought it would be interesting to photograph it with the early evening sky behind it. I did not have a tripod with me and so made use of my Nikkor 18-200 VR. The VR came in handy for this handheld shot in fairly low light. Have a few more shots from the week that I will be posting. To our 5 year old daughter, it is the "Happiest Place on Earth".

Miami to Houston

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 18:19:22 -0800

Here is one last shot from my Bogota trip. Captured this great view en route from Miami back home to Houston.

Colombian Sunset

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:42:21 -0800

Captured this great Sunset, in Bogota, the same evening as getting the rainbow last week. A little bit of rain and stormy weather always makes for some great skies at Sunset.

Caribbean Clouds

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 13:21:25 -0800

Had my first trip to Colombia (Bogota) this past week for some business meetings. As with all places I've been in South America, the people are very friendly and I felt safe at all times, although I would always stay away from Cali and Buenaventura and would never venture too far outside the city areas of the country.

This cloud really cooperated, as most were down lower to the Sea, but this one was up at our cruising level.

Captured en route, from Miami to Bogota, somewhere over the Caribbean close to Sunset. I also thought it was cool the way the lower clouds were throwing shadows on the sea surface. Had some worries about taking the D200 and left it at home and took just the G9. It has turned out to be a very handy and well performing little rig to take on business trips, when I don't want to take the D200.

Bogota Rainbow

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:08:19 -0800

We had some rain right around Sunset this evening in Bogota, Colombia and had this rainbow appear over the hills surrounding the city. Had actually gone out to capture some shots of the Sunset and had the rainbow pop up behind me. Enjoy the weekend.

Last effects of Ike

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:55:06 -0800

OK, this is the last of the effect of Ike. On the Monday morning after the storm came through, we road tripped to Dallas to pick up a couple of generators flown over from our Miami office. The remnants of Ike made for a great Sunrise somewhere South of Dallas.

Ike Sunset

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:31:29 -0800

Another Ike Sunset shot in Spring, Texas. The storm of course did plenty of damage, but also produced some great skies.

The calm after the storm

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:25:01 -0800

Here is another shot of the Sunset about 12 hours after Ike came through Spring, Texas. Earlier in the day, this road was impassable with the water you see going all the way across the road and too deep to safely pass through.

Post Ike

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 19:24:33 -0800

Well, it has been a week since Hurricane Ike slammed into the Texas Coast just a few miles East of Galveston. Up here where I live (almost 90 miles from the coast) we did have sustained hurricane force winds. We ended up losing power for 4 days, but some are still without and may not get it back for another couple of weeks or more. Luckily, we had no damage to our house, but many houses in our area had major damage and many of you have probably seen the completely destroyed homes along the coast. I personally know some people who lost everything. My company was back up and running on Tuesday, although most of our employees are still without power and some without running water as well.

Many families are now trying to figure out their next steps with their damaged and in some cases completely destroyed homes. I also teach at Texas A&M in Galveston and they have decided to move the classes and students to the main campus in College Station since the road and bridge to the campus on Pelican Island is impassable. It will be quite some time before Galveston is back up to speed with basic services like power, water, gas, and sewer. Some students are considering withdrawing for the semester as the move will not be possible for them.

Since everyone has seen the destruction pictures on the news (took some myself), I decided to share some Sunrise and Sunset shots of Ike's skies instead. This particular shot was taken last Saturday evening about 12 hours after Ike had moved through this very area. This was the scene for several days as gas stations had no power to their pumps. The few that got power back had people waiting in line for hours to get some gas for their cars and generators. There is a Dominos Pizza store and a Radio Shack store in this photo and a couple of days after the storm and without power, a lot of people would have loved a pizza and could have used some batteries, flashlights and radios from the Radio Shack. Unfortunately, they weren't open.

Hurricane Ike

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 07:37:34 -0800

Saturday morning.. Power is out in the entire Houston-Galveston area (could be weeks for some people), major flooding in the region, still 50mph winds here with higher gusts, some windows blown out in Downtown Houston, still have sideways heavy rain, spotty/slow coverage with my Verizon aircard, only spotty GSM network with TMobile on the Blackberry..

Shot this picture just a little while ago from my front porch.

Hurricane Ike

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:15:44 -0800

Hurricane Ike clouds are now coming ashore. We live about 90 miles inland from Galveston, but expect hurricane force winds here and we expect to have at least 10 hours of sustained 50-60 mile an hour winds. Hopefully, this tree will be standing tomorrow. Wish us luck.

The view from 7 miles up

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 19:48:09 -0800

Another shot from the flight on Saturday morning back to Houston from Miami - somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico.

Wish us luck here in Houston, Hurricane Ike is on his way towards us and is looking pretty bad.

Over the Gulf of Mexico - 6 Sept 2008

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 19:58:59 -0800

Captured this shot over the Gulf of Mexico heading back to Houston from Miami. Got lucky with a nice clear window and great view.

Tropical Storm Hanna

Mon, 8 Sep 2008 20:52:39 -0800

I flew over to Miami for the day this past Friday and captured the trailing edge of Tropical Storm Hannah as we came in on the approach to Miami International. Have really been into these shots from airplanes lately (must be a result of so much traveling recently) . Have a couple more to post from this trip when we were over the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday morning headed back to Houston. Hope you like them.

Richmond, England Thames River

Fri, 5 Sep 2008 14:11:04 -0800

Taken earlier this week during my trip to England. This is a very scenic area along the Thames River in Richmond, England and all the better with the Sunshine.

Thames River

Thu, 4 Sep 2008 03:05:23 -0800

I had a business trip over the past week in Germany and England. In England, we stayed in Richmond at the Petersham Hotel on the Thames and this was the great view across the street. I was able to get out for a bit with the camera after our meetings one afternoon and the Sun even came out.

Hamburg to Heathrow

Tue, 2 Sep 2008 16:56:36 -0800

Have been in Germany and London the past week on business. Lucked out with a clear window and captured this shot on the flight from Hamburg to Heathrow.

Islamorada, Florida Keys - Tropical Storm Fay

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:08:39 -0800

So this is my last shot from Tropical Storm Fay. My buddy and I drove almost 2 hours down to Islamorada after work on Friday night to check out the Sunset down there. We made it just in time (literally jumped out of the car and started shooting - we had turned down the a/c in the car about 30 minutes before arrival so that we would not have cold cameras fogging up from the heat and humidity) and I came away with this last shot of the ending effects of Fay. The clouds in the distance were the last of the clouds wrapping around from the storm. Hope you enjoyed the series.

Everglades Farm - Tropical Storm Fay

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:44:39 -0800

Another shot from a farm just on the edge of the Everglades, West of Miami. Several things came together for these shots. 1) Being in the right place at the right time (my buddy who I stayed with lives out West of Miami near the edge of the Everglades, so we were heading in the right direction after work), 2) had just fantastic conditions from Fay, and 3) had my gear with me on this business trip. This shot was taken handheld with my new Canon G9. It is one slick point & shoot that shoots in RAW..

Fay has finally started to dissipate, but we now have another storm moving towards the Gulf of Mexico and possibly towards us here in Texas, Hurricane Gustav. He is forecast to be in the Gulf by Sunday morning as a Cat 3 storm.

Edge of the Everglades - Tropical Storm Fay

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:16:29 -0800

Shot this one just West of Miami at the edge of the Everglades. Fay really provided some incredible Sunsets last week.

I was fortunate to be over there on business and had my gear with me.

Tropical Storm Fay

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 10:18:36 -0800

Here is another Tropical Storm Fay Sunset shot from Thursday evening in Miami.

The storm finally started moving again after dumping 24+ inches of rain over parts of Northern Florida.

The Storm that keeps on giving.

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:05:54 -0800

Tropical Storm Fay continues to sit on top of Florida after coming ashore 3 days ago.

At least she is providing some nice photo ops in the evening. Caught this shot last night in the Everglades aka Mosquito Central.

Small Town Texas

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:47:24 -0800

Here is another shot from the Sunrise on Sunday morning in Wadsworth, Texas. A good friend of mine commented that this image reminds him of simpler times in America. I think he is right. Scenes like this are certainly vanishing ones and let's hope they don't all go away. As you can tell from my photos, I seem to have become somewhat obsessed with capturing Sunrises and Sunsets. They are certainly both great times of the day, but I really enjoy the Sunrises. Not many people around and very quiet and calm. Rarely am I disappointed for forcing myself out of bed at such early hours before even a hint of daylight is showing. Hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy seeing them, capturing them, and sharing them.

Wadsworth, Texas - Population 3,083

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:14:36 -0800

We were at a wedding last night in Bay City Texas and I was surprisingly able to to get myself up this morning before the Sun to try for some Sunrise shots in the surrounding countryside.

Captured the early Sunlight over this field in the farming community of Wadsworth, Texas. Definitely small town America.

Boomvang Sunrise

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:13:25 -0800

And here we have the Boomvang Sunrise about 125 miles off the Texas Coast. We drifted the Boomvang Spar Rig all night long jigging for tuna and caught quite a few.

What a great way to start a day with a Sunrise like this.. We had headed out at Sunrise on Saturday morning and headed in just after Sunrise on Sunday morning.

Boomvang Sunset

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:01:37 -0800

Great Sunset out at the Boomvang Spar - 125 miles off the Texas Coast

Slick Calm at Boomvang

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:35:01 -0800

When you are 125 miles offshore in a 26 foot boat, this is the weather you want. We hooked up to a blue marlin shortly after this shot was taken.

Captured this with the Canon G9.

Boomvang

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:13:09 -0800

Here you have the Boomvang Spar. We didn't see much action at Cerveza, so we headed out to this rig. This guy sits in almost 3,500 feet of water about 125 miles offshore and is well known for its tuna and marlin fishery. We were not disappointed as we caught 10 blackfin tuna, 2 wahoo, and had 1 blue marlin hooked for a few minutes before it threw the hook. We actually spent the whole night drift fishing for tuna around this rig. Due to the distance you need to run to get here, not many boats make the trip. We were in an outboard 26 foot center console and only saw 4 other boats.

I like this photo because it really shows the scale of this rig with the boat trolling around it. The rig is actually floating and is anchored to the bottom. The Spar goes down about 500 feet underwater with massive chains anchoring it to the bottom which is another 3,000 feet down. This is very modern technology. Boomvang has a sister Spar Rig, Nansen, sitting about 6 miles away in over 3,600 feet of water.

Cerveza

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:43:20 -0800

Yes, this rig is known as "Cerveza" West. The area around this rig and it's Sister, "Cerveza East", is in the top 10 USA locations to catch a Blue Marlin. This rig is 80 miles from dry land, so you need to be pretty self sufficient. This shot was taken with the G9. Have to say that I am very impressed with it after using it this past weekend. Certainly no substitute for a digital SLR, but it is a slick little unit. It was hot out there. Barely a breeze and upper 90's.

Heading Offshore

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:51:04 -0800

I had the opportunity to join a good friend this weekend on his boat for an offshore fishing trip chasing tuna and billfish.

This is a shot from our very early run down the Texas Intracoastal Waterway to San Luis Pass, where we head out in into the Gulf of Mexico.

Also picked up a Canon G9 on Friday and took it with me to experiment with and had the D200 as well.

Tropical Storm Edouard

Tue, 5 Aug 2008 18:16:09 -0800

Houston was all ready for Tropical Storm Edouard today and luckily not much came of it. We did need the rain.

This is the leading edge of the circulation passing overhead early this morning.

Hark Work

Sun, 3 Aug 2008 16:49:12 -0800

This is hard dangerous work. It is made even more so by temps nearing 100 degrees with high humidity.

Tight fit

Sat, 2 Aug 2008 19:51:16 -0800

Pretty tight fit for this 679,000 pound Cold Box. Headed to Thailand from Houston.

Heavy Lifting

Fri, 1 Aug 2008 19:12:59 -0800

These guys really know what they are doing! That is 679,000 pounds hanging in the air there.

Houston Longshoremen

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:02:55 -0800

Houston Longshoremen preparing for heavy lift operation.

679,000 pounds / 308 metric tons

Cargo ops in Houston

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:38:26 -0800

679,000 pound Cold Box alongside vessel in Houston for loading onboard

Galveston Sunset

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:59:36 -0800

This was the view this evening just West of San Luis Pass - near Galveston, Texas.

Tanker at Sunrise - Galveston, Texas

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:38:18 -0800

Tanker departing Galveston Harbor at Sunrise.

"In awe..."

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:02:07 -0800

Lufthansa 440 - Houston Texas

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:54:12 -0800

I took my 4 year old daughter to see the planes landing today. There is still an area at Houston's Bush International Airport where you are sitting at the end of one of the runways. Makes for a pretty exciting time when a 747 comes in.

TBC Brass Band - New Orleans

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:29:20 -0800

Saw these guys performing in New Orleans this week at the corner of Bourbon and Canal. They were awesome and had a big crowd. Plenty of street musicians there, but these guys really stood out with their talent and energy.

20,000 foot Sunrise

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:48:53 -0800

I flew over to New Orleans from Houston on Tuesday morning via a 6:15 am flight. The early start had this fantastic Sunrise to photograph out the window of the Continental Embraer RJ145.

Lucked out with a clear window and no lights on in the cabin.

Galveston Harbor Sunrise

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:41:39 -0800

One more from Saturday morning in Galveston. It really was a fantastic Sunrise.

Golden Sunrise - Galveston Texas

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:33:40 -0800

Another shot from Saturday morning in Galveston.

Galveston Sunrise

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 15:49:12 -0800

Got up pretty early this morning to get this shot of the Sun coming up. Well worth it to see it and shoot it.

4th of July in Texas - 2008

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:22:25 -0800

One more from the 4th of July celebration

4th of July in Texas - 2008

Wed, 9 Jul 2008 20:41:23 -0800

4th of July fireworks in Texas.

This is one of the photos from my first try at shooting fireworks.

Independence Day 2008

Fri, 4 Jul 2008 20:00:24 -0800

July 4th is the birthdate of the USA. I photographed this US Marine at a parade today in The Woodlands, Texas.

This is why this beach is called Sunset Beach..

Wed, 2 Jul 2008 19:14:28 -0800

Sunset Beach, Cape May NJ

Not a care in the world.

Tue, 1 Jul 2008 20:54:35 -0800

Photographed at Cape May Point, NJ . In case you are wondering, the one in the middle is ours.

SS Atlantus at Sunset

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:02:22 -0800

Smoke from North Carolina forest fires moved up the East Coast and added to the Sunset on this particular evening, in Cape May.

A New Day - Poverty Beach, Cape May NJ

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:32:36 -0800

Early Sun

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:19:46 -0800

This is one of my favorite captures of the Sunrise from our recent week in Cape May, New Jersey.

Ready for the crowds..

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:46:10 -0800

Summer is officially here. At least in the Northern Hemisphere.

Cape May Fishing Fleet

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:22:33 -0800

This scene looked like a good candidate for b&w.

Early Reflections

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 17:23:16 -0800

Sunrise in Cape May, New Jersey. Our week in Cape May provided some great photo opportunities.

Hope you enjoy the images as much as I enjoyed capturing them. Also, "Early Reflections" really means early! This was taken around 0545..

Ray of Light

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:26:11 -0800

I have been fortunate with great conditions here in Cape May this week This was the scene last night as the Sun started to set. Storms came through again and created some great clouds at just the right time.

Stormy Sunset

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:47:55 -0800

Stormy weather can create some great conditions for Sunset photos, especially by the sea. This shot was captured at the same place and time as the rainbow shot. This was the view on one side and the Rainbow was behind me. You can't beat that!

Cape May Fire Tower 23

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:45:17 -0800

This is an old Fire Tower built during the Second World War as part of a coastal protection system. It is located at the very end of Cape May Point, New Jersey.

Thought it would be interesting to get a night shot of it with the full Moon.

You can read more about it here: www.capemay.com/Editorial/June06/wwIItower.html

Sunset Beach Rainbow - Cape May NJ

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:10:56 -0800

This rainbow came out tonight after some strong thunderstorms passed through Cape May, NJ.. I was shooting the Sunset and turned around and saw this! Quickly switched from my 18-200VR to the 12-24. I think it is also amazing that I was just by chance dead center in relation to it.

Thank goodness for my Nikkor 12-24! Just barely fit it in.

29,937 Sunsets have taken place over this wreck

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 18:57:50 -0800

The smoke cleared and I was able to get some sunset shots tonight. My main goal was to shoot some photos of the sun setting on the famous Cape May concrete ship wreck.

S. S. Atlantus
The S. S. Atlantus is probably the most famous concrete ship. She was built by the Liberty Ship Building Company in Brunswick, Georgia and launched on December 5, 1918. The war had ended a month earlier, but the Atlantus was used to transport American troops back home from Europe and also to transport coal in New England. In 1920, the ship was retired to a salvage yard in Virginia.

In 1926, the Atlantus was purchased by Colonel Jesse Rosenfeld to be used as ferry dock in Cape May, New Jersey for a proposed ferry between Cape May, NJ and Cape Henlopen, DE.

In March 1926, the Atlantus was repaired and towed to Cape May. On June 8th, a storm hit and the ship broke free of her moorings and ran aground 150 feet off the coast of Sunset Beach. Several attempts were made to free the ship, but none were successful.

Cape May Point, New Jersey

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 17:50:10 -0800

We made it to Cape May today for for our annual week here. It is a beautiful area at the very southern tip of New Jersey with the Atlantic Ocean on one side and Delaware Bay on the other. Unfortunately, we were greeted by a smoky haze that had blown North from a forest fire in North Carolina. Yes, it blew this far North and you can even smell the smoke. Any chances of a decent sunset were gone today, but it is supposed to blow out tomorrow. Hope you enjoy the pics.

Tanker "Pretty Scene"

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:03:00 -0800

The tanker "Pretty Scene" departing Galveston Harbor just ahead of the trailing edge of a strong cold front. "Pretty Scene" really is the name of the vessel.

Houston Waterfront

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:43:40 -0800

MV "UAL Rotterdam" loading cargo for West Africa.

Squirrel Days of Summer - 90+ deg F today

Sun, 8 Jun 2008 16:58:23 -0800

I put this squirrel food out yesterday. Have never seen a squirrel just lounging like this before. Guess he filled himself up on corn!

Heading in for the night

Wed, 4 Jun 2008 20:35:03 -0800

Pileated Woodpecker

Tue, 3 Jun 2008 18:05:18 -0800

Nearly as large as a crow, the Pileated Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in most of North America. Height: 16-19 in Wingspan: 26-30 in Captured this image in Louisiana. These guys are usually pretty wary and so I was lucky to get fairly close.

Swampy Stillness - Louisiana

Sun, 1 Jun 2008 10:18:09 -0800

90 deg F - 100 pct humidity + mosquitos

USA's Fourth Largest City

Fri, 30 May 2008 19:11:21 -0800

Recently found a "secret" vantage point to photograph Houston from the East Side.

Have also shot from here at night.

Pot of Gold

Thu, 29 May 2008 19:57:33 -0800

I was lucky again and caught this rainbow yesterday evening on the East side of Houston, Texas.

MV "Caledonia"

Wed, 28 May 2008 21:17:42 -0800

MV "Caledonia" berthed in Houston, Texas

Sunset Cruise - Toledo Bend, Louisiana

Mon, 26 May 2008 18:35:13 -0800

Sunset cruise on Sunday night - 25 May 2008

Falling

Thu, 22 May 2008 19:25:54 -0800

Slick Calm

Wed, 21 May 2008 18:11:29 -0800

Stillness

Mon, 19 May 2008 22:16:08 -0800

Which way is up?

Sun, 18 May 2008 17:45:28 -0800

Reflections in a Springtime Texas pond.

Summertime

Sun, 18 May 2008 08:19:44 -0800

Enjoying the Sunset

Fri, 16 May 2008 18:12:51 -0800

Cape May, New Jersey

Delaware Bay, Cape May

Wed, 14 May 2008 20:40:04 -0800

A great way to end a day.

Texas Rainforest

Sun, 11 May 2008 20:29:01 -0800

Most people probably think of Texas as being pretty dry. Although this scene looks straight out of a rainforest, it is actually the forest behind my house - just North of Houston. Obviously quite thick and "jungle" like..

Houston Ship Channel

Sat, 10 May 2008 19:24:13 -0800

The small boat is the Houston Police Department Marine Environmental Response Unit heading outbound on the channel. I would imagine they keep busy with all the industry along this waterway.

The Bayou City - Houston, TX

Thu, 8 May 2008 20:34:50 -0800

The Bunt - Astros 4 Nationals 3

Wed, 7 May 2008 22:30:30 -0800

Decided to take my camera with me to the Astros game tonight. Set the ISO high and shot with the Nikkor 18-200 VR..