Oak

Oak trees are seen every where in Texas. This particular tree was spotted right inside the Texas border on our trip down from Montana.

St Edwards Trail -- Wildflowers

On one of Austin's many blue bird sky days we set out for a little day hike.  Being new to Austin we decided to go for a short hike to get a feel for the terrain, weather etc.  The hike mostly took place along Bull Creek.  The wildflowers depicted in this photograph were found in the clearing before the creek.  The bluebonnets were blanketing the ground giving off a really sweet scent.  The bluebonnet is the Texas state flower and this spring has been in full bloom all over.  The amount of rain we've received has allowed for a wide variety of colors and types of wildflowers.  

Yellowstone National Park - Enduring Trees

The interesting colors do not come from a filter but from nature.  This image is from the same trip that I took to Yellowstone during the fire.  These particular trees have seen fire in their past.  You can see the old growth on top that wasn't reach by the fire and the new growth coming up from the forest floor.  I found this to be an interesting juxtaposition of new and old.

Yellowstone National Park - Fire

Driving through Yellowstone National Park at the end of it's busy season we found ourselves slowed down by traffic.  Usually large crowds of visitors to the park would slow down travel, but on this particular day a lightning started fire was slowing down our progress through the park- named the Arnica Fire.  Lightning started fires in the park generally extinguish on their own.  Yellowstone is a fire-adapted ecosystem, and fire plays a major role in maintaing the health of the area's wildlife and vegetation by clearing old underbrush and allowing for new growth - Mother Nature's way of cleaning!

This photograph was taken off the road near a grove right before Yellowstone Lake came into view.  The sun was shining beautifully on the landscape while the smoke was diffusing it.

Tyler - Photo Session

This handsome man is my cousin Tyler.  He recently asked me to take some professional photos of him for an upcoming television show he is going to be apart of.  These are a few of my favorites from the session we had.  He's a natural in front of the camera and I hope these help his days of fame.  Best wishes Tyler!