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Monday, December 24, 2007

Sunset jet stream

The last rays of the sun capture this high flying streaker. Standing on the ground, it was obvious that the plain was zooming across the sky. The camera, lens however, looses track of up, down -- a sort of vertigo, loosing track of the horizon. The effect makes it look like a comet striking down.

In a sense, it's a kind of metaphor for life. Loose track of what's terra firma in your life and things that are just streaking by you seemed to be crashing down on you.

--steve buser

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Bird watching

This critter is one of the regulars at the Trinity River Mouth Waterbird Rookery on the east side of the I-10 bridge over the Trinity River. The Rookery has a parking area and a overlook pier that makes a favorite spot for bird watchin. Bring binoculars -- the view is incredible but the action is often on the other side of the lake. Look for Anhingas, White Ibis, Little Blue Herons, and Roseate Spoonbills in this area. It is incredible that a site such as this is available just off the I-10.

So what's this guy doing there? Well, birds sometime slip from the trees.

Boy in a bubble

Another shot from the Downtown Aquarium in Houston. Our grandson, Sullivan, gets a fish-eyed view into a tank filled with sting rays.

--steve buser

Friday, December 21, 2007

It's Christmas time in the village

The Christmas Village, where time stands still. Peace and warm lights. Snow, for sure, but not the messy kind. No traffic. No snarling faces. No fences. No jails. No crime. No run down buildings -- they're all ideal, architecturally perfect.


I was just preoccupying myself for a few moments at my daughter Vicky's house and started shooting pictures of the Christmas Village on her counter.


The Village has been reinforced over and over in our mind from young ages. It lays deep in our psyche. For one moment in time --- a week, a fortnight, a day, a morning -- we drop our defenses, our bickering, our jostling and enjoy the peace of the season with one another.


It's Christmas time in the Village. May yours be Merry and Bright.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Fog focused

A walk along the waterfront in Victoria on Vancouver Island. The fog doesn't let distractions sneak in. You're fully in the moment. Strolling. Sharing the moment with friends. Even the cold seems more of a friend than an enemy. The water is only making soft rippling sounds. The birds are quiet. "Why sing when you don't know what lurks?" they think.


The quiet stillness of fog. One could say the focus of fog.




--steve buser

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Ferried away

One of life's simple pleasures -- the ferry boat ride. The water and the waves. The passing ships. The eager seagulls. The sea breezes. Kids of all ages love it And why not. Fifteen minutes off from the regular world into a world which we share with explorers of yore. This is the ferry from the Bolivar Peninsula to Galveston Island, Texas.


--steve buser

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

WhatChaGot?

Expecting some good eats, the sea gulls zoom in on a lad just wanting to see the ducks down in the water at Kemah, Texas. The Kemah Boardwalk had a bird feed vending machine just behind the rail here, so the gulls knew what the rules are and what to expect. They zoomed in and took a very close look over and over, wondering "what's wrong with this guy?"


--steve buser

Monday, December 17, 2007

Not with a whimper but a bang


And thus it end, not with a whimper, but with a bang. After the jousting match, while the band plays Renaissance songs, the fireworks explode above. The Texas Renaissance Festival closes for another night. The fall festival outside of Houston is an annual attraction for thousands
--steve buser

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Spindled sunset

Your guess is as good as mine what the four poles are doing out in the middle of Keith Lake. The lake is one of a handful of shallow lakes just to the north and west of Sabine Pass, Texas. The sun was doing one of its high value shows and so I pulled over to capture it. The black band on the horizon was a front passing through. The sun had to skip over it to find clouds to paint. Thus the sunset colors only start in the middle of the lake.


-- steve buser

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Gator baiting

This guy came swimming up to our boat on a swamp tour in Orange, Texas a couple years ago. I think he was hoping one of us would hop overboard. He was about 4 1/2 foot long -- I guess that makes him a teenager or something. Tour guide Eli Tate of Adventure Tours 2000+ had a great command of the ways of the river and bayous and where to find these wild creatures.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Galloping water steeds

The Aquarium in downtown Houston is the home for these two gallopers. The Sea Horse tank is at kids' eye level, so you will always see little faces pushed against the glass is wonder.


-- steve buser

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Late gate wait

You've been there. The plane waits at the gate for clearance. You wait for the plane to board. The sun doesn't wait. When it's tired it slips below the horizon. It will be a dark flight through the night back home. And then a dark drive to your house.


Travel. The destination and the journey are not the same -- that is never more clear than when you are suspended in twilight time.


--steve buser