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I was lounging in our backyard hammock and noticed the setting sun producing heavy contrast on the bare branches of this crepe myrtle tree. The tree really isn’t actually as twisted and tangled as it appears in this image. The long telephoto lens I used to capture this image compresses the foreground and background to create the perception of a tangled mess of branches.

Tangle of Branches

All images copyright Daniel Ray Photography.

Last evening I was feeling the call of the camera so I decided to put some of the knowledge I gained from reading the book to good use. So at about 7:00 PM I head out to see if I could capture a decent sunset and possibly some night photos.

I’m not thrilled with the sunset photos. Not because of the sky but because other than buildings and trees there isn’t much else to in West Houston to use as the foreground subject in a sunset. Mountains are hard to find in these parts!

Orange Sunset

Purple Sky

The following two images are of a building near our home. I was actually driving back home after capturing the sunset images and saw the sun reflecting off this building.  So I pulled into a shopping center parking lot and setup my tripod and camera and snapped these two images all while a rent-a-cop sat in his/her truck and watched me the entire time.  It seems these days  anyone with camera is suspitious and needs to be monitored.

Westchase at Sunset

Sun setting on Westchase

All Images Copyright Daniel Ray Photography

We arrived at 6:45 AM with plenty of time to allow me to setup my Canon HD video camera and tripod and my Canon 40D still camera and tripod. But wait! Oops, I forgot my still camera tripod at home. Oh well nothing I can do about it now. I’m just going to have to make do by setting the ISO to 800 or 1600 so I can get the shutter speed up to compensate for the motion blur that will no dought be introduced by me hand holding the camera.

Cherry Demolition had a reception for thier guests. We accidently wandered into their roped off area and we were given free red “Cherry Demolition” hats. As soon as I relized what we had done we relocated outside their roped off area. Sorry about that, but thanks for the hats anyway.

The weather was cool with a light sprinkle of rain every now and then. At times the low clouds partially concealed the top of Williams tower which is the building where I work. I’m sure several of my co-workers were watching from the 53rd floor. Hi guys! I was a little concerned that the demolition would be cancelled because of the low cloud cover which could bounce the sound from the explosions back down into nearby buildings and possibly break windows.

There were a lot of video and still image photographers ready to capture the event. This fellow didn’t forget his tripod like I did. This image was overexposed by about 1.5 stops so I could capture the detail of the forground which was much darker than the building and the areas under the parking lot lights.

The crowd and anticipation began to build as the five minute warning was given to the spectators.

Five, four, three, two, one… Boom, boom, boom. The sounds of the implosion could be heard while at the same time small yellow flashes could bee seen as the explosive charges began to detonate inside the building.

Almost as if in in slow-motion the northeast corner of the building began to sag and then it fell to the earth just as they had planned.

The southeast corner followed shortly after.

Then the rest of the building is pulled down to the ground.

A cloud of dust started to rise as the building settled into a huge pile of concrete and twisted steel.

As the cloud of dust spread wider and grew taller people begin to run for cover.

But the wind was blowing away from us so the cloud of dust moved away from our location.

The aftermath of dust a debris with the Galleria Mall and Williams Tower in the background.

What a spectacular event to witness first hand. You can watch my video of this demolition, titled “Demolition” on my YouTube page or watch the smaller embedded video below.

All images copyright Daniel Ray Photography.

Austin and Cameron drag race down a small hill.

Zachary didn’t have such a good start. the first hill he tried to walk down he fell on his butt and started crying. After a little consoling and encouragement he gave it another go.

A great view of Houston’s skyline from the skatepark.

There were about 100 kids and young adults skating in the park and there were some that had quite a bit of talent and didn’t mind showing their stuff for the spectators and a few photographers.

This guy was good

Surfing the concrete wave.

 

Wipeout!

 

Climbing the wall

The 1900 Storm Commemorative Sculpture
Dedicated on September 9, 2000 represents the suffering of those who perished and the tenacity of those who survived this nation’s deadliest natural disaster. On September 8, 1900 a powerful hurricane struck Galveston Island, killing more than 6,000 people and leaving the island in ruins. The next day the survivors began the cleanup, and the city began making plans to rebuild the island with a seawall to protect it against future storms. Over the next decade, the wall was completed and the land behind it raised. These measures served Galveston well. In 1915, when another intense hurricane struck the island, less than a dozen people living behind the seawall lost their lives.

 

Galveston Island State Park
Galveston Island is believed to be approximately 5000 years old and has had an interesting history during the past 500 years. It is generally believed Cabeza de Vaca and his crew were shipwrecked here in 1520 and eventually made their way from the island to colonies in Mexico. The LaFitte brothers, fleeing the prosecution of pirates in the United States, established a government here in 1817, with visions of creating a “Manhattan on the Gulf.” Commerce did thrive here, but major storms in 1867, 1871, 1875, and 1886 greatly slowed progress. The great storm of 1900 devastated the island, killing 5000 to 10,000 people, and prompted the construction of the seawall which protects the northern half of the island.

Bishop’s Palace
Galveston’s grandest and best-known building, the Bishop’s Palace is an ornate delight of colored stone, intricately carved ornaments, rare woods, stained-glass windows, bronze dragons and other sculptures, luxury materials and furnishings, and impressive fireplaces from around the world (including one lined with pure silver!). Built by lawyer Colonel Walter Gresham and designed by Nicholas Clayton, Galveston’s premier architect, this Victorian castle was cited by the American Institute of Architects as one of the 100 most important buildings in America. The home was built from 1886 to1892.

Beach Chair and Umbrella Rental
There were not many customers on this cool, foggy early spring day to rent their beach chairs and umbrellas.

Wild Flowers Growing Along the Seawall
Vivid wild flowers growing at the bottom of the seawall on the sand dunes with the painted seawall in the background. I found this composition interesting becuase it looked like the shrimp boat was cutting through a sea of flowers.

Two Couples Strolling on the Beach
These four looked somewhat out of place walking along the beach. I though they possibly bad a very late night out on the town and found themselves waking up on the beach the next morning. Brings back memories of a spring break trip I took to Florida in the mid 1980′s.