Last Weekend

Catching up on an exhausting weekend. It started at 5am Saturday when I headed to Galveston for a photoshoot with the Houston Photowalk Meetup at the Galveston Railroad Museum.

I laid out the route in Denny’s—I think there were five total but I only made two, the one on I45 at Airport and the one in Texas City on 146 North—both got it right without out any help--they get Good Denny's stickers. Still haven’t heard from my email about the Bad Denny’s on 290 at West 34^th. Should have called today but still cleaning up processing.

Had a great shoot at the Museum. Joe, the organizer of the group, donated $150 to the museum in order to get us in two hours prior to opening. It appears that another club from Houston visited there recently and messed it up for everyone else. Joe didn’t share any details but there were strong instructions that there would be no modeling so it’s pretty easy to figure out. Unfortunately there are a number of photography meetup groups that specialize in half dressed women. I believe the Photowalks groups may have redeemed photographers, for a while anyway. First the problems at George Ranch and now the Railroad Museum.

Then Saturday afternoon I went on a photoshoot with the Photoshoots of Houston to the Gulf Coast Football Associations Super Bowl event at Thorn Stadium in Aldine. I came away knowing why I had not shot a sporting event from the field since I was in Junior High (Middle School for you young people.) Considering the longest lens I had was a 200mm, I didn’t do as badly as I had expected and it was a lot of fun. I only lasted until half time. Old people start dragging after ten hours.

In all I had a couple thousand photographs to cull through between the two shoots. I think I got it all done. Time to move on to new adventures. And to complete the second volume of the 2011 Photo Journal..

The Museum is in the Moody Plaza Building. Bottom floor is the original train depot.

Museum's Switch Engine

Yes, Big Brother, the switch engine is badly distorted. I was wearing my photographer’s hat instead of my railroader’s hat.

Many years ago in another life I clerked for the Fort Worth and Denver. Loved the railroad, hated the union.

In the terminal building there was a display of twenty or more plaster figures called The Ghosts of Travelers Past. Because I enjoy playing with mixed light and with unbalanced light I had about as much fun photographing them as I did the railway cars—and the terminal was air conditioned.

Okay, so I won't make it as a sports photographer but it was fun to give it a shot.