Posts Tagged → digital photography
Rivendell
This afternoon I was driving around and came upon this arch about 50 feet tall in the affluent Rivendell housing development in Southwest Oklahoma City where some home values exceed $1 million dollars. This arch is at a roundabout near Southwest 131st Street, just East of May Avenue. I was amazed that it was not gated allowing me to drive through the neighborhood.
In this photo we see the tree lined entry way to this neighborhood on Southwest 131st Street. I was impressed at the whole area and these photos do not give it justice. I thought it was a nice area that I have not been to in years. In fact I had no idea this neighborhood even existed. I was surprised at how much population had settled this far South. The last time I came through here a few years ago this was all rural farm land. Now it has filled up pretty dense almost down to Southwest 149th Street. Although this is still Oklahoma City, it is actually in Cleveland county almost to Norman. If you care to look it up on Google Earth, you can go to 35.338095° -97.557840° and you can zoom right on top of it though when the pictures were taken, this did not exist.
I am not one of those wealth or celebrity worshippers like some you see on television but just thought this was a pretty area. I for one would not want to live this extravagant even if I had the money. There becomes a point where I think keeping up with the Jones’ can become more work than it is worth. It is nice though to see our city thrive with success and know that not all is bad despite what you hear on the news.
God’s Beauty
All jokes aside about the weather the last few days what an amazing day it has turned out to be. I went out this morning and took advantage of the pretty spring time weather to take some pictures and it just makes a person happy to be outside today.
I took this picture of some flowers in the area around the Presbyterian Health Research Foundation at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. Among all the medical research towers I found this area near I-235 that had such pretty flowers. I had no intentions of stopping here but I took the wrong exit off the freeway at I-235 and Harrison Avenue just South of the State capitol. As I was trying to navigate the confusing parking lots in the area, these caught my eye.
I don’t care how manly you are, you have to recognize the beauty in God’s design here. We have been enduring a terrible drought over the last few months until two days ago when we had two inches of rain and freezing temperatures and yet these flowers survived. I only wish I had more time to get out and see more of God’s miracles that we have been blessed with. If you are like me and too busy to enjoy life, you should stop and take a look around and recognize what you have been blessed with.
In the photo above you can see the line of severe thunderstorms that were moving into the Oklahoma City area on March 27, 2009 that preceded the snow storm of the century spoken of here… 
This storm had some amazing cloud formations though no tornados in this one. I only wish I would have had time to get into a clearing to get this shot before it lost its look but this was taken in my front yard.
My blessing are too many to count but chief among them is the sacrifice that Jesus did for me on the cross followed by my wonderful family. I know I often use sarcasm in an attempt at being humorous on this blog but I do try to keep in mind the blessings that I have. When I graduate in May, I would like to make a point to take more photographs and post them on here. Photography forces you to take note of the beauty around you. I hope those that read my previous posts about the storm realize that I was just poking fun at the local meteorologists here in Oklahoma City. For the record as one that loves weather as a science, I do understand there are many variables that can change a forecast on a daily basis especially here in the central plains. For an explanation of why the weather can be so violent here, read this article from the National Severe Storms Laboratory here in Norman, Oklahoma.
Our climate is so volatile in the spring that it can go from a beautiful day like today to a violent storm within hours. This is something that we are use to in this part of the country and some love it while some hate it. If you are one of those that does not like this type of weather you do not have to worry about it too much because it does not happen nearly as much as the media would have you believe. I love watching them and even with me looking for them, they do not happen as much as I like. One thing is for sure though, you will never be surprised by one of these storms because as I joked about earlier weather coverage on our local media has become a contact sport and they will let you know if there is a storm 150 miles away. They will let you know if there is even the potential that one will occur within the next week. Also we have tornado sirens all over the place that will shake you out of bed in the night.
I know some of you may be asking yourself how I can go from being thankful for God’s beauty to something as destructive as a tornado. I guess it is all in how you see things. I genuinely love thunderstorms as crazy as that sounds. I see them as a wonderful thing. For those that do not like them, you can understand that the same physical forces that created this world continue to operate. God has given us the technology to research and know when these things will happen and prepare for them. Again, I guess it is how you look at things because as we know anyone can see negative in anything if they want to. The forest fires that start by lightning usually result in cleaning out all the undergrowth for new growth helping the habitat for many animals. If you choose to see the beauty in them you can.
I have lived in three countries, and four states and choose to see the best in every place that I have been. Oklahoma is a great place to live if you have the right attitude. This is my home and I love it here.
Amazing Sky
Tonight we had an amazing site in the Western sky with the moon, Venus and Jupiter all in one spot. This photo does not give it justice to the amazing site. My camera is new and I still have not learned all the function that well. As you can see in the below picture the bright side of the moon is washed out.
It was cold outside so I did not want to stay out there long enough to get it perfect. Since my camera is brand new and I am busy all the time with school, and work I have not had the opportunity to practice with it. I just thought this was worthy of sharing. Each time I see the wonders that God has created, it makes me happier to serve him.
Centennial Clock
Centennial Clock at the Oklahoma State Fair.
Blogged with Flock
Autumn in Oklahoma City
One of the things that I love about living in Oklahoma City is having all four seasons. Our winters are short lived but we do have one. The last few weeks we had a couple of cold fronts that were a real change to our weather. Now that it is back up in the mid to high 70’s our leaves are really changing colors. I took the opportunity to use some of our $3.00 per gallon gas and drive around the city to take some pictures. You can gage our autumn season by the colors on November 11, 2007. The picture above was taken in the older part of Oklahoma City called Heritage Hills near N.W. 10th street and Walker. Since the wind was blowing 20 to 25 miles per hour, the leave were really blowing.
The trees take on a whole new look at the entrance to the neighborhood…
Below is a photo taken downtown…
I could go on and on about what a great place this is to live but I will spare you. If you click the photo above, it will take you to the whole set on Flickr.
Technorati Tags: Oklahoma City , Heritage Hills , foliage , photography , digital photography , fall , Autumn , Oklahoma
Cicadas in Oklahoma
This picture shows a macro image of a cicada shell. Every summer in Oklahoma these cicadas come out of the ground and come out of their shell. They fly into the trees and make a loud clicking sound that can be heard more than 100 yards away. The locals refer to them as “locus”. I have no idea where that term came from but that is what they are called here. If you called them their true name “Cicada”, people would not know what you were talking about. When ever you hear them in the trees, it is a true sign that summer is here. They seem to like it best when the temperature is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. This year we have had a lot of rain keeping the temperature lower than 100 and the cicadas have been late coming out. This picture was taken on the pull string of our lawn mower.
Technorati Tags: cicada, Oklahoma City, photography, digital photography, summer
Dell Oklahoma City
I was out a few days ago and when I passed the Dell campus on S.E. 15th Street, near Portland, I stopped to take a few pictures. Below is the front entrance. I thought since we has a lot of rain this early summer, the green grass would really look good. Normally in July we are well into a drought and the grass it pretty much withered away.
This is the front of building A of the Dell complex. As you can see by the rear view mirror, this was taken inside the car.
Technorati Tags: Dell, Dell Computers, Oklahoma City, photography, digital photography
Downtown Oklahoma City
Downtown Oklahoma City, originally uploaded by Paul L McCord Jr.
It is nice to be out where I can take some pictures again.
Self Portrait in Hitler’s Mirror
Self portrait in Hitler’s mirror Hosted on ZooomrOn a field trip to the 45th Infantry Division Museum in Oklahoma City, I found this mirror that belonged to Adolph Hitler. This mirror was in Hitler’s bedroom and is now on display at the museum. The self portrait was just incidental.
Technorati tags: photography, digital photography, Adolph Hitler, Hitler, Oklahoma City, 45th Infantry Division Museum
Checotah Berries
Christmas 2006 at Checotah, Oklahoma
Technorati tags: Christmas, berries, photography, digital photography, Checotah, Oklahoma