Photo for February 27: Painting with Light self-portrait

Self-portrait with two flashlights and a long exposure: No photoshop wizadry going on here (other than splicing two exposures together), just a 25 second exposure and two flashlights (thank you to my lovely wife for her assistance). I was inspired by Gjon Mili's famous photo of Pablo Picasso. For one of the shots I tried writing my name in light which resulted in two problems: one, it showed up backward (because I wrote it from my left to my right, as if I wrote it on a mirror and you were looking at from the other side), and two, it was completely illegible anyway! However, this was a fun photo to create.

Photo for February 26: Great real estate deal

Rental property, west of Giddings, TX on Highway 21. Those of you with extra cash on hand, here's a bargain in the making. Commuting to Austin by bike might be a bit tough however.

Photo for February 25: Nuts, screws, and bolts

Fasteners in a bucket. I was helping a colleague of mine on a shoot for a manufacturing company in Giddings, TX. These are some of the materials they use to build the pieces of furniture they market.

Photo for February 24: Everexpanding suburbia

Early stages of development, Parmer Villages, W. Parmer Lane, Williamson County. For the longest time this huge lot had been cleared with only drainage ditches and very large mounds of dirt. There are now a handful of houses finished with the beginnings of many more already evident.

Teaser of Photo for February 23: New game WTHIT

Okay, because of the overwhelming response to yesterdays game of "Where's Matt At?" (see post for 2/22) - with two followers guessing - I am introducing a new game. It's called WTHIT; "What The Heck Is That?". I'll show you a small portion of the photo for the day and you guys have until 8pm two days later to post your guesses.

i.e. the answer for today's posting will come sometime after 8pm on Wednesday, Feb. 25. I'll offer the same extension of time for the next Where's Matt At? in hope's of getting a greater response (thanks SMc and Chad for playing!).

BTW - SMc was correct, yesterday's photo was at Pei Wei. The next one will be tougher!

Good luck!

Photo for February 22: Where's Matt At?

Okay, to spice things up a little I'm going to sprinkle in some different games into some of my postings. Full Disclosure: part of this is to assuage my guilt when I can only afford the time to do a quick snapshot instead of spending 2-3 hours shooting and jazzing the image up in the computer.

So, this game is called "Where's Matt At?"; I post an uncaptioned photo of a place in Austin, you all post guesses as to where it is/what it's called, etc. I will post the answer at some point after five people have guessed or 8pm the next day has arrived, i.e. 8pm of the day after the date the photo is for (so for this photo for Feb 22, 8pm tomorrow 2/23). Absolutely no prizes will be given out, you only get the admiration of myself and my blog followers (all eleven of you). Look for a hint below the photo. Good luck!

This is a national restaurant chain not a home grown eatery.

Photo for February 21: Last rays on a dusty shelf

End of the day sunlight falling on one of the shelving units in my house. (I had the photo prepared earlier in the day, but wasn't able to post right then and forgot about it until just now!) I really love what light does when it strikes objects (or people) at extreme angles. I think it can make a mundane part of your everday life pop, shimmer and taken on an interest that doesn't exist at any other time of the day.

Photo for February 20: Mountain biking at Walnut Creek

Mountain biking at Walnut Creek Park, Austin, TX. What a great way to spend the end of the day on a Friday (or anyday for that matter). I have not been riding much so I was huffing and puffing most of the time. BTW, what do you think it means when my heart rate monitor flashes "Call 911"?
(for a complete gallery or other samples of my work click here)

Photo for February 19: Tractor collage

Portions of a tractor, Millwood subdivision, Austin, TX. I was probably quite a sight, lying on the ground in my khakis photographing this tractor. At least some dog didn't come by and do it's business on me while I was down there.
(for a complete gallery or other samples of my work click here)

Photo for February 18: Wiley's life as a dog

Wiley basking in the sun. Where exactly did the phrase "Working like a dog" come from?

Photo for February 17: Casual business headshot

An example of a headshot intended for business purposes but with a more casual feel than is typical. Another item on the seemingly endless list of why I love this town; a general business tone that I believe is more relaxed than in other places.

Photo for February 16: Threadgills

Threadgills Restaurant on Lamar, Austin, TX. Ever just have a craving for comfort food? We did tonight; my friend Chad suggested Threadgills. Amazingly, I had never been to this, the original location. Meatloaf, mashed taters, steamed asparagus, mmmmm.... I'll be comforted for the next week!

Photo for February 15: Iron rail bridge

Iron rail bridge by I-10 westbound close to Sealy, TX. I took this shot yesterday on our return trip from Houston, however, I completely forgot to post it once I got home! We exited off I-10 and drove back on the two-way access road. There were a bit of gravel road that gave some closer access to the bridge. It was quite rustic, complete with the earthy odor of decaying deer and cow carcass. I was very fortunate; I had been on the lookout for the bridge and our stop happened to coincide with that wonderful end of day light. I love the juxtaposition of the angular and rigid iron beams with the curving shapes of the deadvine.

Photo for February 14: Cool converses

My 7 year-old niece's pink converse high tops: Houston, TX. These shoes carried my niece flying up and down the b-ball court on Saturday during her little league basketball game. She was certainly the most stylish player. Let me tell you, you haven't experienced fun or chaos until you've watched eight 7-year olds scrambling and dribbling up and down a court for an hour!

Photo for February 13: Disco fish

Rock fish in aquarium, La Viet Vietnamese Restaurant, Houston, TX. You can take the fish out of the 70's, but you can't take the disco out of this fish! Eat your heart out Travolta!

Photo for February 12: Roman aquaduct : )

Who knew the ancient romans made it all the way to Cedar Park?! This fine example of an aquaduct was built along Anderson Mill just past Cedar Park High School. Some of the descendants of those old romans probably are attending CPHS right now.

Photo for February 11: Downtown cranes

Austin's downtown cranes: My wife and I moved to Florida for 5 years, from 1999 to 2004. Austin seems to have shown up on the map during that time. When we came back, there were all of these cranes on the downtown skyline. It was almost like a different town!

Photo for February 10: Brushy Creek Park

Tree at twilight; Brushy Creek Park. I almost started to despair. My first shots of a different composition were pretty yawnsville. It was getting darker and the sun was clouded so I wasn't going to get that beautiful end of day light. But I didn't want to settle, so I moved around and found a different composition that I liked. I went out to this park really just wanting to get something quick and go. I had to remember that conquering haste sometimes breeds wonderful opportunities.

Photo for February 9: The ghost of Millwood

The ghost of Millwood. Often rumored, never seen in the full light of day, it lives only in the periphery of our vision, the fleeting blur at the edge of our perception... or is it someone walking through a timed exposure?

Photo for February 8: Still life of dresser top

Still life of our dresser top. Sometimes its fun to work with longer exposures, light painting, and layers in Photoshop. If these don't mean anything to you, don't worry, they don't mean anything to me either. : )

Photo for February 7: Sushi chef

Sushi chef @ Mushashinos restaurant, Austin, TX. If anyone is keeping tabs, yes... this got posted late. But be impressed, it's because we were trying not to be an old married couple. We went to dinner and then to Sherlocks to listen to an 80's hair metal cover band and we didn't get home until 12:30am! So, the photo was taken Saturday but posted Sunday. Had a great sushi dinner/friends birthday party here last night; it was very interesting to watch the chefs prepare their offerings.

Photo for February 6: Dried vines on fence

Dried vines growing through my neighbors fence. It will be interesting to photograph this scene again later in the year when the vines are green and lush.

Photo for February 5: Austin changes - Austin Java on Barton Springs

Austin Java Cafe & condo construction on Barton Springs Rd. Remember those pecan trees? And Pizza Nizza? A side project of mine is to photograph the constant and the changing in Austin (and the constantly changing!). These aren't necessarily meant to be art pieces so much as a record of what is, was, and will be in these places. Anyone remember Liberty Lunch? Steamboat? Antone's on Guadalupe..?

Photo for February 4: My feet

My view while doing "Down dog" at Lifetime Fitness gym. I'm sporting my new phoenix emblem socks from REI. They're almost ripping at the seams from the pump I'm getting in my ankles.

Photo for February 3: Corporate headshot

Corporate headshot client. In case you thought I didn't actually make a living at photography. This is one of the typical types of services that people come to me for. I'll be posting a production video soon showing what it takes to set up for something like this.

Photo for February 2: Flower display

Roses on display at my HEB store. The Christmas rush is over, the Valentine's Day onslaught begins!

Photo for February 1: sculptures

Sculptures by Jose Acosta, Austin, TX. These wonderful art pieces were created by my friend Jose Acosta, an accomplished Austin artist. It was an interesting exercise getting all of the subleties of his pieces to come through in the photos. For some behind-the-scenes photos go to http://matthewlemke.com/acostaprod/ (thank you to Amy Smith for taking the production photos).