37/365: Musk Ox

Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops are always interesting places to go. In addition to all manner of outdoor and sporting goods to drool over, both chains have impressive taxidermy displays. Cabela's has lots of whitetail deer, as well as axis, fallow and red deer--but pretty much anyone can see those species on a summer drive through the Texas Hill Country. I was much more taken by the musk ox, which aren't easy to come by on these parts, even on game ranches.

Camera: Canon 7D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8

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36/365: License to brew

I don't like taking cell phone pictures. In fact, I generally hate them. But while running an errand in town without my camera (I know, my bad) I happened across this magnificent personalized license plate. It tells those in the know that the driver takes his beer brewing very seriously!

Camera: Samsun Galaxy Note
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35/365: NASFiC or bust!

More catch-up photos for the 365 project (I swear, someday I will be up-to-date). This is from the second day of ConDFW, when the room parties were in full swing. The unparalleled Kim Kofmel, obviously suffering from having too much time on her hands, is now working on yet another convention bid, this one on behalf of Detroit for the 2014 NASFiC convention. Hey, if Kim's involved in the bid, it's got to be a quality con.

Camera: Canon 7D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8

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34/365: Battletech

Once again I find myself playing catch-up with my 365 photography project. Taking 9 hours of university classwork, plus working a 40 hour week, plus fulfilling family obligations does not make for an over abundance of free time. I haven't even managed any edits to my Chicken Ranch book these past two weeks! In any event, here's a shot from last weekend, when the family and I attended ConDFW in Dallas. It was my first visit to that convention in a decade, and I'd missed the great people who put it on. Bug was in his element, and found the gamers right away. Here he is learning the intricacies of Battletech from a seasoned pro:

Camera: Canon 7D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8

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33/365: Crescent

Had a rare clear night last week, and despite a very hectic schedule, pulled out the tripod around 10 p.m. to squeeze off a few lunar astrophotos. I wanted to set up my telescope for this, but the moon was already low in the sky and my window of opportunity was shrinking fast. So the 500mm reflex had to suffice. It didn't do too badly. I plan to eventually do a month-long chronicle of the lunar phases, but expecting 28-plus days of cloudless nights is asking a bit much, perhaps.

Camera: Canon 7D
Lens: Canon FD 500mm f/8 reflex plus Vivitar 2x telextender

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32/365: Sculpt

This glass sculpture once resided on the grounds of Aquarena, but has since been relocated to the J.C. Mitte Art Building on the Texas State campus due to the restoration of the natural habitat around Aquarena. This is an interesting wide-angle view, but the bare trees and cloudless sky detract some. Maybe this spring I'll give it another shot.

Camera: Canon 7D
Lens: Canon EF-S 10-22mm

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31/365: Traktor Chelyabinsk

Last Friday, a spectacular meteor exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia. It made worldwide news, and for many proved to be the first time they'd ever heard of the industrial city near the Ural Mountains. No me, though. Back in my days as a newspaper sports reporter, the Chelyabinsk hockey team, "Traktor" (named after the tractor factory in town) toured Texas playing teams in the Western Professional Hockey League. I bought one of their pennants as a souvenir.

So, I have to wonder: Will they change their name to "Meteor" now?

Camera: Galaxy Note

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