Another model

McKinney City Hospital - McKinney, Texas

I was just looking through some old photos that I have taken for work and found this one. Again, I have applied that model effect on this one. The building is so colorful in the middle of the green park. I took this in July 2004 when I took my husband on a discovery flight from Collin County Regional Airport. It was a surprise for his birthday and he got to fly the plane during the flight. A very exciting birthday present. I just sat in the back and took advantage of the flight to take some aerials of McKinney.

©2009 Laura Smetak All rights reserved.
All photos and stories on this blog are copyrighted and use without the artists express permission is prohibited.

Let's go back to Luckenbach, Texas

Everybody's somebody in Luckenbach, Texas

Now if you're expecting a thriving metropolis when you visit Luckenbach, you need to think again. Boasting a population of 3, this is one of 2 buildings there. A combination of Post Office, Saloon and General Store, this building is 150 years old and is walk back in time.

As a photographer, I was taught to crop with the camera, so I have a hard time cropping my photos to odd shapes. But I had a long frame and thought it might be interesting to try to crop this photo. The old oak tree in the back was a part of the original composition, but I forced myself to crop the photo to nearly half its original height. I think it brought more attention to layers of signatures from visitors to the iconic Texas town.

I like what turned out by pushing myself to do something against my training.

©2009 Laura Smetak All rights reserved.
All photos and stories on this blog are copyrighted and use without the artists express permission is prohibited.

Remember the Alamo

Alamo Village - Bracketville, Texas

Earlier this past summer, we took a trip to the Texas Hill Country and ended up in Bracketville and about 50 miles from Mexico. We found ourselves on the movie set of many famous westerns such as The Alamo with John Wayne, and Two Rode Together with Jimmy Stewart and Richard Widmark. Many famous people had walked the same western streets I was now walking. We were the only people there that day, other than the reenactors that sat waiting for someone to perform for.

The set was built in the 50s for the movie The Alamo and the replica of the Alamo is still there. It is quite impressive. If you've been shocked to find the real Alamo in the middle of a urban city, it is kind of cool to see this one, sitting in the middle of a field, with fortress walls around it. The way it should be.

I strolled the set and found some really cool things to photograph. This was the window to the prop building. I just took a couple of shots, and just moved on. But several months later, I decided to try some sharpening and adjustments to play with the rustic look of the adobe and the wooden spokes. I am quite pleased at what came out here.

©2009 Laura Smetak All rights reserved.
All photos and stories on this blog are copyrighted and use without the artists express permission is prohibited.

Oh, Venus...

Venus Rising - McKinney, Texas

Lucky shot. I was working late on Monday and almost missed that beautiful sunset. I just caught the tail end, and luckily had my camera with me. All I had time for was this one shot of the First United Methodist Church in Downtown McKinney, looking west. Venus was shining brightly overhead

If only I had been 30 minutes earlier leaving work, I could have seen the red skies in all their glory. I bet it was beautiful.

©2009 Laura Smetak All rights reserved.
All photos and stories on this blog are copyrighted and use without the artists express permission is prohibited.