Tag: waxahachie

An Afternoon in Downtown Waxahachie in the Dreamworld of Infrared

CParisLeave a comment

Yesterday I went downtown in Waxahachie and shot some infrared images of the beautiful old architecture of the area. Though I was dripping sweat in the Texas summer heat I got some wonderful images that are great representations of Waxahachie. Thought I would share!

Ellis County Courthouse The beautiful courthouse was erected in 1895 during an economic boom in the area. Several years back the county spent approximately $11 million to renovate the structure back to it's original glory; both inside and out and re-opened the courthouse in 2002.
Ellis County Courthouse
The beautiful courthouse was erected in 1895 during an economic boom in the area. Several years back the county spent approximately $11 million to renovate the structure back to it’s original glory; both inside and out and re-opened the courthouse in 2002.
Ellis County Courthouse and Trees Another view of the absolutely stunning architecture of this 1895 courthouse in rural North Texas.
Ellis County Courthouse and Trees
Another view of the absolutely stunning architecture of this 1895 courthouse in rural North Texas.
Missouri/Kansas/Texas Railroad Caboose and Depot The former MKT or Katy Railroad depot in Waxahachie Texas with a restored caboose sits downtown.
Missouri/Kansas/Texas Railroad Caboose and Depot
The former MKT or Katy Railroad depot in Waxahachie Texas with a restored caboose sits downtown.
Rogers St. Railroad Crossing Just to the side of Rogers St. near downtown Waxahachie, TX sits the beautiful view of small town Texas with old buildings, a feed store, grain elevators, and the rails.
Rogers St. Railroad Crossing
Just to the side of Rogers St. near downtown Waxahachie, TX sits the beautiful view of small town Texas with old buildings, a feed store, grain elevators, and the rails.

Week two of infrared dreamscapes

CParisLeave a comment

I have been out using my infrared converted Nikon D200 for another week and here are some more results. The infrared spectrum definitely gives the world a more dream-like look with the different color spectrum it provides. It intrigues me that with such technologies (infrared cameras, x-ray machines, ultraviolet cameras) we are able to view the world in ways our eyes are unable to perceive. Just because we don’t see our surroundings in these ways does not make them any less of a reality. All deep thought aside, here are some more images.

 

Hwy. 287 Roadside View Stopping on the frontage road to Hwy. 287 between Midlothian and Waxahachie in rural Ellis County this tree is quite a sight to behold as the summer afternoon clouds move across the sky behind it.
Hwy. 287 Roadside View
Stopping on the frontage road to Hwy. 287 between Midlothian and Waxahachie in rural Ellis County this tree is quite a sight to behold as the summer afternoon clouds move across the sky behind it.
Miller St. Abandoned House A house sits rotting to waste next to Miller St. in rural Ellis County near Midlothian, TX on a warm summer's afternoon.
Miller St. Abandoned House
A house sits rotting to waste next to Miller St. in rural Ellis County near Midlothian, TX on a warm summer’s afternoon.
Farm & Market 664 Clouds roll across rural North Texas during the afternoon after a thunderstorm over a farm field next to Farm & Market 664 in Ellis County.
Farm & Market 664
Clouds roll across rural North Texas during the afternoon after a thunderstorm over a farm field next to Farm & Market 664 in Ellis County.
Old Waxahachie Rd. A farmer's field, trees and power lines border Old Waxahachie Rd. in rural Ellis County on a warm and humid summer afternoon.
Old Waxahachie Rd.
A farmer’s field, trees and power lines border Old Waxahachie Rd. in rural Ellis County on a warm and humid summer afternoon.
Patrick Rd. Tree and Barns A farm alongside Patrick Rd. in Waxahachie, TX sits still after an afternoon thunderstorm in rural Ellis County.
Boyce Rd. Field An old and worn barbed wire fence separates a North Texas field from the world in rural Ellis County on a June afternoon as the post-rain clouds move across the sky.
Boyce Rd. Field
An old and worn barbed wire fence separates a North Texas field from the world in rural Ellis County on a June afternoon as the post-rain clouds move across the sky.
Pigg Rd. Waxahachie Creek Bridge Waxahachie Creek is full of water and litter this afternoon after a summer morning rain.
Pigg Rd. Waxahachie Creek Bridge
Waxahachie Creek is full of water and litter this afternoon after a summer morning rain.
Hwy. 287 Tree A tree blows gently in the summer breeze on a hot afternoon just off Hwy. 287 between Midlothian and Waxahachie with a beautiful, cloud filled sky behind it.
Hwy. 287 Tree
A tree blows gently in the summer breeze on a hot afternoon just off Hwy. 287 between Midlothian and Waxahachie with a beautiful, cloud filled sky behind it.
Patrick Rd. Barn Farm equipment sits awaiting use on a summer afternoon in rural Ellis County Texas.
Patrick Rd. Barn
Farm equipment sits awaiting use on a summer afternoon in rural Ellis County Texas.
Miller St. Field A field sits next to Miller St. in rural Ellis County near Midolothian with rolls of hay in the midst of tall grass near crops.
Miller St. Field
A field sits next to Miller St. in rural Ellis County near Midolothian with rolls of hay in the midst of tall grass near crops.

First week with a converted infrared camera. Photographs to share!

CParisLeave a comment

So this past Tuesday my color infrared converted Nikon D200 arrived in the mail from KEH. I couldn’t wait to get out and use it, and I shot every day last week with it. Today sadly is a dreary, grey, rainy afternoon in North Texas so I sit here trying to figure out how to better post process these images. Shooting and processing infrared images is a unique challenge.  Also had to face a few 100 degree weather, pop up showers, a scraped ankle, and poison ivy to capture these photographs.

Here are what I deem to be the best images from my days out photographing and exploring Ellis County in Texas last week and best represent “Texas” to me.

 

 

Dunn Rd. Railroad Crossing A beautiful summer's day in Waxahachie TX on a afternoon drive.
Dunn Rd. Railroad Crossing
A beautiful summer’s day in Waxahachie TX on a afternoon drive.

 

On a typical 90 degree Texas summer afternoon the clouds roll across the sky over the round hay bales and an old storage shed on a Rockett, TX farm.
Lyon Rd. Farmstead Rockett, TX
On a typical 90 degree Texas summer afternoon the clouds roll across the sky over the round hay bales and an old storage shed on a Rockett, TX farm.

 

The Texas prairie land travels as far as the eye can see in the afternoon sun on a hot summer day in Rockett, TX.
Farbar Rd. Prairie Land
The Texas prairie land travels as far as the eye can see in the afternoon sun on a hot summer day in Rockett, TX.

 

Cunningham Meadows A Dodge Charger moves quickly down a backroad in Ellis County Texas on a hot summer's afternoon while a farmer works in the field just off to the left of the image.
Cunningham Meadows
A Dodge Charger moves quickly down a backroad in Ellis County Texas on a hot summer’s afternoon while a farmer works in the field just off to the left of the image.
Lyon Rd. Rockett, TX
The clouds ripple across an afternoon sky in Rockett, TX on a summer’s afternoon at the entrance to the dead end Lyon Rd.
The fence marks the edge of the outfield on a baseball field next to Grove Creek Rd. in Waxahachie, TX.
Grove Creek Rd. Fence Line
The fence marks the edge of the outfield on a baseball field next to Grove Creek Rd. in Waxahachie, TX.

 

Youngblood Rd. Abandonment An abandoned home sits on the roadside next to Youngblood Rd. in Waxahachie, TX.
Youngblood Rd. Abandonment
An abandoned home sits on the roadside next to Youngblood Rd. in Waxahachie, TX.

 

'56 Chevy and Barn on Old Maypearl Rd. A aged and weathered barn sit next to Old Maypearl Rd. with a '56 Chevy in the driveway and farm equipment in the background.
’56 Chevy and Barn on Old Maypearl Rd.
A aged and weathered barn sit next to Old Maypearl Rd. with a ’56 Chevy in the driveway and farm equipment in the background.

 

A Weeks Worth Of Infrared Photographs From My Daily Adventures

CParisLeave a comment

For the past week I have been exploring the backroads of Ellis County in North Texas in my little Toyota Yaris with a tripod and my Nikon D70. I have been using a Neewer 760nm infrared filter to create uniquely beautiful images of the Texas countryside. Those of you who know me know my strong dislike for overly Photoshopped images; this being my disclaimer that these images are as shot. During my time at Anoka-Ramsey Community College I began to explore the world of infrared photography with film. Though I still have a few rolls of infrared film in my possession I don’t have a darkroom to process it, hence my use of the digital spectrum of photography to create infrared images. The past week has been a lot of learning and experimenting to figure out how to get the best image and learning the nuances of infrared with digital technology. Here are the best shots of the past week, and of course there will be more to come.

 

The biggest learning curve has been working with color infrared images. The skies in these look so dramatic with the blue looking eery being the only color in the image as the rest remains black and white. Even in these seven images you can see the growth and the final result looks better (the first images are at the bottom and the newest the top).

Patrick Rd. Farm The farm equipment sits waiting to be used on a summer afternoon in Waxahachie, TX.
Patrick Rd. Farm
The farm equipment sits waiting to be used on a summer afternoon in Waxahachie, TX.
Patrick Rd. Round Bales An aged barn and round bale sit still on a hot and windy summer afternoon in Waxahachie, TX.
Patrick Rd. Round Bales
An aged barn and round bale sit still on a hot and windy summer afternoon in Waxahachie, TX.
Boz Rd. Farm Field A typical Texas scene in the spring time. An endless aged fence splits the land to the horizon as a tractor sits waiting to work the fields again on a hot and humid afternoon.
Boz Rd. Farm Field
A typical Texas scene in the spring time. An endless aged fence splits the land to the horizon as a tractor sits waiting to work the fields again on a hot and humid afternoon.
Patrick Rd. Farm Field Semi A tractor and trailer sit waiting to be loaded up with hay in a farm field in Waxahachie, TX on a summer afternoon.
Patrick Rd. Farm Field Semi
A tractor and trailer sit waiting to be loaded up with hay in a farm field in Waxahachie, TX on a summer afternoon.
Old Maypearl Rd. Driveway A dirt driveway extends off Old Maypearl Rd. looking like a path that would have been traveled in Texas in the late 19th century.
Old Maypearl Rd. Driveway
A dirt driveway extends off Old Maypearl Rd. looking like a path that would have been traveled in Texas in the late 19th century.
Southern Summer Field On a beautiful spring evening the blue sky shows behind a field of trees that looks uniquely southern in a field near the cemetery in Waxahachie, TX.
Southern Summer Field
On a beautiful spring evening the blue sky shows behind a field of trees that looks uniquely southern in a field near the cemetery in Waxahachie, TX.
Texas Grave A grave long ago forgotten sits against a tree for support in the Waxahachie, TX cemetery.
Texas Grave
A grave long ago forgotten sits against a tree for support in the Waxahachie, TX cemetery.

Coming from the world of infrared film photography I will always have a soft spot for the black and white images. They look so dreamy and unique with the white foliage and dark, ominous skies. These were some I created this past week also. The first is a creek bed I found along a road and it had fortunately rained that morning so there was water slowly trickling along the stone creek bed. The others are abandoned houses I found in my exploration. I find it fascinating the amount of structures that just get left to rot in this region. It is quite common to come across a dilapidated building on any drive in this area.

Higgins Rd. A creek bed that runs underneath Higgins Rd. in Waxahachie, TX. Part of Ellis County just south of Dallas. This would normally be a dry creek bed but rain the night before I took this made the rock slippery and filled the bed with some water.
Higgins Rd.
A creek bed that runs underneath Higgins Rd. in Waxahachie, TX. Part of Ellis County just south of Dallas. This would normally be a dry creek bed but rain the night before I took this made the rock slippery and filled the bed with some water.
Lone Elm Rd. #1 A house that has been left to waste on Lone Elm Rd. in outside Waxahachie, TX. The odd part of this property were the light poles that lie about 50 yards behind the house.
Lone Elm Rd. #1
A house that has been left to waste on Lone Elm Rd. in outside Waxahachie, TX. The odd part of this property were the light poles that lie about 50 yards behind the house.
Kaufman St. An abandoned house that sits on a lot that is currently for sale near downtown Waxahachie.
Kaufman St.
An abandoned house that sits on a lot that is currently for sale near downtown Waxahachie.

The Wide Open Road Always Seem to Catch My Eye, and My Camera

CParisLeave a comment

Before moving to Texas I always envisioned the wide open desert and cattle lands. Part of this image is the roads and trails that led to the American West.

Midday Drive 746 2014
Midday Drive 746
2014

Once you are off the major highways and interstates in Texas you suddenly find yourself on small rural roads. This quickly amazed me. You are almost instantly surrounded by fields and ranch land. In Minnesota there seems to always be many main roads off of the highways. Texas seems to forego these “extra” roads and build everything directly on the highways using frontage roads.

Farm Fence 2013
Farm Fence
2013

On some of my afternoon drives I find myself enjoying the sunlight beating down on the seemingly endless roads through rural North Texas. The roads are all lined with fences and trees, yet are all unique. The obvious history of the railroad is also omnipresent. The rails cross roads everywhere showing a link to the past and how people, livestock, and product moved through the vast expanse of the American West through the mid 1800’s until the demise of mass rail transit in the mid 1900’s.

Katy Line Waxahachie Bridge 2013
Katy Line Waxahachie Bridge
2013

These afternoon drives in the midday Texas sun are not only great to relax, but are also photo scouting for locations for night photographs (such as the Forreston bank building: Abandoned and Forgotten Remnants of the Past on the Roads of Small Town Texas). These winding, forgotten roads hold many pieces of the past that have often been left to the elements and now hold a beauty in their rugged state.

Waxahachie Drive 719 2014
Waxahachie Drive 719
2014

You would never guess it is 30 degrees

CParisLeave a comment

January Green

It is interesting how the midday sun creates such powerful shadows down here. The long branches reaching across the road grabbed my eye. This again is what I pictured Texas to look like before moving down here. From the long, endless road to the wide open fields. It surprises me how green everything still is at the end of January. Never surprising how quickly the landscape can go from suburban to this down here.

The Feed Store and Ansel Adams

CParisLeave a comment

I have been reading through the Ansel Adams three book photo series the past month. To begin with these books are wonderful and any person interested in further developing the photography skills should give them a read. Secondly reading photography books always has the same result; it makes you want to go out and shoot. I was currently in the middle of the second book, The Negative, when I decided to go chase a sunset one evening. I took a few okay photographs of the sunset, but it just wasn’t a colorful night. I then began the walk back to my car and saw the moon behind the local food store and couldn’t resist stopping to give it a try. After moving in closer to the feed store I noticed the beautiful wood grain on the ceiling of the building and loved the colors it produced in this image. It felt wonderful to get out and put some of the reading to use in new surroundings.

Moonlight Feed Store