theStearns

What a blast shooting 2010 Seniors at multiple locations. While the storm clouds gathered we didn’t let it dampen our spirits. Thank you ladies for the great attitudes, smiles, and energy. It makes a photographer’s job easier and a lot more fun. Check out their Slideshow.

Celebrating Memorial Day at the Sutton’s spread east of Lake Houston with two excellent examples of Texas Longhorn with burnt orange coloring, descendants of the first domestic cattle to reach the Americas from Spain in the late 1400s. Texas Longhorn calves are tough – they can stand up sooner after birth than other breeds. This breed of cattle is distinguished by their innate gentle disposition and intelligence.

Lake Travis winds 65 miles through the central Texas hill country. The reservoir on the Colorado River was formed in 1942 by the construction of the Mansfield Dam (formerly Marshall Ford Dam) three miles northwest of Austin.

The Washington Memorial lies near the center of a cross formed by the U.S. Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, the White House and the Jefferson Memorial. Made of marble, sandstone, and granite, the obelisk is the world’s tallest stone structure and the world’s tallest obelisk. Construction took place over 30 years, between 1848 and 1884. The difference in shading about a third of the way up shows where progress stalled for a variety of reasons including intervention of the War Between the States.

Viewing the monuments in Washington D.C. at night can add a different dimension. Like all the memorials, the Lincoln Memorial is illuminated by enormous lights. In the image above, visitors seated along the front edge of the Greek temple-like structure have their shadows projected on the Yule marble wall.

A late afternoon view of the Potomac River near the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial with the Arlington Memorial Bridge in the background.

Last night rain showers rolled through Washington, DC. The inclement weather didn’t seem to stem the flow of visitors to the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall. Lincoln’s white marble statue in the central hall took four years to complete. It is alleged that sculptor Daniel Chester French, who was familiar with American Sign Language, formed the statue’s hands into sign language versions of Lincoln’s initials as a tribute to the 16th president signing legislation that benefited Gallaudet University, a university for the deaf. Each year almost 4 million people visit the Lincoln Memorial.

Seniors 2010: all dressed up and plenty of places to go. Congratulations to these students, and thanks for inviting me to capture the moment this afternoon before the prom.

It was news to me that live oak has more to do with a tree staying green through the winter (hey look, I’m alive!) than a specific type of oak. But there is a Southern live oak that’s an actual species. Ever heard of a mott? In Texas, a mott is a small grove of live oaks. If you wanna see a mott in Britain you may meet a prostitute. A mott in Dublin is a girlfriend. Who woulda known?