MSHfoto Blog

Tour of Austin - Pickle Crit

2009-09-09T22:27:00.003-05:00

The Tour of Austin was a three day race held over Labor Day weekend. I checked-out the Austinbikes Pickle Criterium on Sunday. More to come soon.

Breaking Away: Austin Style

2009-07-18T12:14:00.008-05:00

In 1979, before Lance, Lemond, and the 7-Eleven team, there were the Cutters. Breaking Away was and is one of the all-time great cycling movies. No, it doesn't take place on the roads of France, Italy or Belgium. It takes place in Bloomington, Indiana. Four townies, or "Cutters" as they're called, go head to head with the fraternity boys in the Little Indy 500 at Indiana University. While a majority of the movie is fictional, the Little 500 is very real. It's a massive event held every spring at I.U. In honor of the movie, and the event, local bike shop Mellow Johnny's put on their own "Little Indy 500" at Kealing Middle School on the east side of Austin. The race was followed by a party and screening of Breaking Away. I caught the race but didn't make it to the movie. Here's how the action went down (use the lower-right arrows to go full screen):

Another visit to the Driveway

2009-07-07T22:43:00.006-05:00

I paid another trip to the Driveway last Thursday to catch some cycling action.

Thursday Night @ The Driveway

2009-06-14T22:13:00.005-05:00

The Driveway, just east of downtown Austin is normally a motor sports track but on Thursday nights Austin cyclists take over the two plus mile track. Everyone from kids to Cat 1's and 2's (for you non-cyclists, fast people, like the one's pictured here) hits it up for some fast and furious criterium racing. [Arrows on the lower right give you a full screen view].

2009-06-06T21:00:00.002-05:00

Big Bend and Marfa, April 09

2009-06-06T19:58:00.008-05:00

We took a trip to Big Bend and Marfa back in April and I finally put together this slideshow. Important lesson learned: It's really hard to shoot black bears with a 50mm, so be a man and take the 70-200 even if it adds too much weight to your pack. Watch for some panoramics coming soon. Click the arrows/box in the lower right corner of the slideshow for a full screen view.

Saturday Morning on the Lake

2009-02-21T15:36:00.003-06:00

Mas del Archivo

2009-02-19T21:30:00.004-06:00

Museo de Bellas Artes, Santiago, Chile

Los Andes y Santiago, Chile desde Cerro Santa Lucia.

Court en el campo al norte del Santiago, Chile.

Metro, Santiago, Chile.

From the Archive

2009-01-25T15:16:00.006-06:00

Fiestas patronales, San Juan del Oriente, Nicaragua. 2002.
Socorro. Guardaparque, Reserva Natural Cerro Musun. La comunidad de Palan, Nicaragua. c. 2003.
Skater crew. Masaya, Nicaragua, c. 2004

Back in November

2009-01-18T20:36:00.002-06:00

Early morning at Lady Bird Lake. Austin, Texas.

Holiday at Home

2009-01-18T19:14:00.018-06:00

Gorilla at the Denver Zoo.

Tropical bird in Bird World at the Denver Zoo.

Sunset in Boulder, CO.

Mount Evans, Colorado.

Echo Lake, Colorado.

Echo Lake, Colorado.

Echo Lake, Colorado.

Smith Lake and boathouse in Washington Park. Denver, Colorado.

I emptied my memory card

2008-10-19T18:30:00.004-05:00

Cali in September

2008-10-13T22:27:00.003-05:00

My friends Apur and Sabrina got married, then Court and I spent a day in Santa Barbara. Just a few random images. Man I miss Cali liv'n because it really is the only kind of liv'n.

Stuck in traffic

2008-10-03T18:42:00.003-05:00

Texas Rudie Boy

2008-09-24T20:29:00.003-05:00

Last summer for the last of summer

2008-09-10T21:01:00.003-05:00

Summer is over (although here in the ATX it really doesn't feel like it yet). Barton Springs summer 2007.

Another Garden Panorama

2008-09-10T20:44:00.002-05:00

One more panoramic shot from that same roll of film. Court patiently waits for me to catch up.

Huck off the bridge

2008-09-07T22:13:00.002-05:00

I was on the way home from work when I came across these high school kids on one of their last days of summer. They were on the Pfluger Bridge (the bridge I had always called the Lamar pedestrian bridge) and two had already jumped by the time I rolled up. I had my Holga with two frames left. The first was shot too late and this one a bit too early. I really wanted one more frame to shoot the girl who was next, but I doubt she jumped. Her friends were giving her a hard time for taking so long to jump and a crowd had gathered, making her that much more hesitant. I got bored of waiting and took-off.

Rescue Training

2008-08-12T23:32:00.004-05:00

This image was made about a month ago. I was hanging out at Deep Eddy Pool (for those not in Austin - a natural spring pool that hovers around 68 degrees year round) and saw this Austin/'Travis County EMS training group doing some water training. When this photo was taken, they were almost done with their basic training. Each trainee would then be assigned to a station/truck were they would work as a trainee (like an internship). Once that is complete they apply for full time positions. They do this exercise to practice floating and swimming while wearing their full rescue gear. An example of a practical use: WHEN it rains in Central Texas we can get some nasty flash flooding. A civilian gets caught in a flash flood, these guys show up on the scene. While helping with the rescue one of them falls in the river. The rescue still goes off and everyone is fine because these guys and gals can manage while the civilian is rescued.

Running in the Garden

2008-08-10T22:36:00.003-05:00

This image was made with a Horizon Kompakt panoramic camera (thanks Court!). It uses 35mm film and you get 24 frames on a roll of 36. The photo is from the first roll I shot with the camera. I loaded the film incorrectly so half the roll was damaged. I may have one or two more images up here soon, but I have to look at them again. I used the camera at the bike race (gallery posted below) but that film has yet to be developed (what can I say, I'm behind). This image: Late afternoon at the Zilker Botanical Gardens this past spring. [NOTE: for the less tech savvy viewers - you know who you are - just click on the image to make it bigger.]

Big Bend, Spring 2007

2008-08-10T21:49:00.002-05:00

As you can see by the title, this is from the archive. It lived on Flickr for a long time so I thought I'd put it on here. Myself, Mike Andrick and Tino Mauricio spent a night in the desert and two nights in the Chisos. We hiked, Emory Peak, Boot Canyon, and part of the South Rim. A great trip in a great national park. I also highly recommend mountain biking on the jeep roads and trails in the desert. Except don't ride with anyone who doesn't bring tubes, has you go back for a spare, and then crashes you out on the sprint home. punk.

Old Feed Store - Weatherford, Texas

2008-08-06T21:30:00.006-05:00

This is one of the many cool old buildings in downtown Weatherford. I read a lot about the town when I was researching my thesis. At one time Weatherford was the last town in 'West' Texas. It was a major stop for cattle drives and is still a cowboy town today. Like most small town centers today, downtown Weatherford struggles to stay alive amidst the growth of big box stores and shopping malls along the highway.

The Electric Company

2008-07-31T20:56:00.003-05:00

A recent photo on the way home. Blue skies and 100 degrees.

Finally

2008-07-27T20:46:00.011-05:00

A year ago someone told me I should get a blog going, so I finally got around to it. This first post was shot a month ago and I have a bunch of old film I'm just now processing so I should have more stuff to post soon. Is that cheating? These are some images from the AT&T Downtown Austin Crit. Feedback and comments are welcome and appreciated. Thanks for checking it out.
Marc