Regular Life

She showed me much more than I expected.

I wandered recently to downtown McKinney, Texas, my goal to see the inside of the former Collin County Courthouse. Now used to host live theater and small concerts, it is an historic building that for years I had seen only from the outside. From the ice cream crank-off to visits from family, friends, and for a photo shoot, I saw it as a centerpiece getting lost in the past while renovations went on all around it.

My vision, it seems, was lacking.

I parked less than a block off the square, across the street from a staircase that always catches my eye but has eluded my camera. Not content merely to take a few shots of it from below, I carefully ascended the iron helix and snapped a few from the top. The weather was so nice I could have sat there all day watching the town bustle past.

Down from my perch, I crossed the street to the old courthouse and entered the basement doors. Straight ahead I saw several women, most of them sitting on the floor, working to decorate a room in Relay for Life banners.

“May I help you?” asked a woman as she approached.

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As one who brings his lunch to work, I rarely get out of the office until quitting time. When the weather’s right, however, I can be found wandering away from work. I have made a few discoveries along the way.

 
I saw this on a walk back from my mechanic’s garage, the same day that I captured WAW Five. It made me wonder how many other countries so revere their flag that they carefully document how to display it, care for it, and dispose of it. The Veterans of Foreign Wars no doubt could teach all of us a lot about respect for country.

Nikon D50
Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5 – 5.6G AF-S ED DX
f/8
1/3200 sec
Aperture Priority
Spot Metering

As one who brings his lunch to work, I rarely get out of the office until quitting time. When the weather’s right, however, I can be found wandering away from work. I have made a few discoveries along the way.

(click to enlarge)

I shot this on the walk from my mechanic’s garage to work. On such a wonderful day, it didn’t even occur to me to call a co-worker to come pick me up. I smiled when I noticed that I had left my sneakers in the back of my car after a recent trip with Benjamin, and off I went. I didn’t come up with as many keepers as I did on a photographic journey along the same route, but it was a great day for a walk.

As one who brings his lunch to work, I rarely get out of the office until quitting time. When the weather’s right, however, I can be found wandering away from work. I have made a few discoveries along the way.

(Click to enlarge.)

 
On the way into work Thursday morning a stream caught my eye, but I didn’t have time to stop and take pictures. Come lunch time it was a welcome break for someone taking his midday meal two hours later than usual.

I parked my car next to the suburban street curb, finished my lunch, and then wandered over to the stream to see what my camera and I could do. In the picture above, note how clear the water is all the way to the bottom, and the curvature of the water where the surface tension holds up the leaves.

Because the clouds and the wind combined to give me a variety of lighting situations, I’ll be using this trip for examples in instructional posts. I haven’t written anything like that in a while.

Other “Wandering” entries:
One, Two, Three

As one who brings his lunch to work, I rarely get out of the office until quitting time. When the weather’s right, however, I can be found wandering away from work. I have made a few discoveries along the way.

Wandering last Thursday, I drove to the spot where Plano holds its annual Balloonfest. If nothing else, I wanted to see the area without all the crowds, food and drink vendors, and other accoutrement of a summertime festival. The signs told me it was Oak Point Park, which I recognized from earlier online research of potential local hiking destinations.

I worked my earbuds into my ears, pressed “play” for some Rilo Kiley on my music player, grabbed my camera gear, and hit the paved path toward the woods. Just a hundred feet short of a bridge crossing a wide creek, I spotted and veered onto a trail leading into the trees.

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As one who brings his lunch to work, I rarely get out of the office until quitting time. When the weather’s right, however, I can be found wandering away from work. I have made a few discoveries along the way.

This area is a challenge for finding fall colors. Most trees featuring colorful leaves are very young ornamentals — a bit of a letdown considering the beautiful forests aflame with red, orange, and yellow back in our Arkansas home. Doing my best with the noon light, I captured a tree with yellow leaves beside a white fence.

A few days later, I noticed a path running through a narrow strip of woods near a stream. I made my way there by way of a bank parking lot. Although I didn’t come away with much, I enjoyed the 75-degree weather.

Rewarding photos or not, I escaped the four walls of the office just long enough to stretch my legs and focus on things more distant than 18 inches.

As one who brings his lunch to work, I rarely get out of the office until quitting time. When the weather’s right, however, I can be found wandering away from work. I have made a few discoveries along the way.

Lately, I have gravitated toward one particular stretch of road. I never know exactly what I’m trying to find until I’m there looking, which goes a long way toward preventing disappointment.

One day as I drove past a small strip mall, I noticed a sign that was new to me. It immediately made me want to go there and meet the folks who worked at, and, with any luck, owned a shop with such a great name. I also wanted to know exactly what it was they offered. The name alone was not a dead giveaway.

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