I had Friday afternoon off, the weather was nice, and I needed to get out and do something. It had rained heavily the day before and I didn’t feel like getting muddy somewhere so I decided to go and hike around downtown Austin. The forecast originally called for heavy cloud cover so I had planned for some long exposures possibly in black and white to get sort of a minimalist photo of downtown. Don’t you just love weather forecasters? Check out the heavy cloud cover in the photo below.
The above photo was shot with a polarizer attached. The polarizer can cut down on bright reflections and haze and so the sky is a bit deeper blue and the leaves are a bit greener than without. I was trying to avoid having a harsh look that you might get with strong, unfiltered afternoon sun.
The below shot is from much farther down the trail looking back west. I tried to include some of the board walk. As you can see there is always lots of construction downtown. I think I counted at least 5 buildings going up. According to wikipedia Austin was a city of about 656,000 when I moved to the area in 2000. It is now estimated at about a million.
I don’t think I used polarization on this photo as the sun was to the right side and the polarizer would have made the sky uneven.
The next photo is from a different camera and lens. I really wanted a photo with the hiking and jogging trail in the foreground. I also like the idea of framing it with the trees plus I was shooting around something floating next to the trail that you can see through the rails if you look.
I enjoy the urban hiking even though there are a bit too many people and it is kind of a pain to find a place to park. Thanks for reading.
Jason Frels 
I guess the key word is “urban.” Expect a crowd. Nonetheless, Austin looks like a beautiful city. I like the blend of different colored skyscrapers.
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It’s always interesting to see what they are going to build next.
There is one tall one that looks like a giant USB stick to me. I have hear one of the others described as the Jinga tower.
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I guess that’s why architecture is considered an art, by some.
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Love the beautiful blue “cloud covered” sky!
The buildings make a nice picture, but I wouldn’t want to live there. I will take my small town any day! We visited NYC once and once was enough for me. I stood in times Square and felt claustrophobic with all the tall buildings surrounding me. I prefer the wide open country.
So you didn’t bump into Myrtle’s mate at all on your walk by the river? It seems like she lost him again. 🙂
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I saw a lot of turtles 🐢. In fact I took some photos of them but didn’t post them. They were all gathered up on tree branches and roots soaking in the sun. I didn’t ask any of them their names.
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Gathered up in tree branche? Gee, I would have liked to see that! So you did talk to them? You just didn’t think to ask their names. 🙂
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I will put a picture up later. I am sitting at a lake right now.
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So turtles really do clinb trees? Perhaps I don’t know as much as I thought I did about turtles. ☺
Enjoy the lake.
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I just said they were on branches. The branches are low and in the water.
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Okay that makes more sense. I guess I missed that part about the branches. I thought maybe they were extra special turtles.
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Only in your stories, I’m afraid
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Well hey, you never know when something in my stories may come true. I happened to see a special picture of Myrtle, so apparently she is real. 🙂
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She seemed lost. All the other turtles were in the pond.
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With the ducks in fairyland?
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I’ll take a small town or a city. I like that there is usually something going on in Austin, but I do like some peace and quiet as well.
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Yes, cities can have interesting things going on, that is true. My daughter LOVES the city, but thats mainly because she loves shopping!
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It’s a city I’ve always wanted to visit, and now that one of my sons will be moving there, we will soon get the chance. Your photos make it look wonderful, and I hear the music scene is incredible, although it has been hurt by the lockdowns…
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Yeah, I hope the music scene comes back. I enjoyed just being able to go somewhere on any Friday evening and having a choice of a variety of live music.
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that sounds wonderful…
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Like most cities there are some nice things about Austin and some not so nice. I hope your son enjoys it here. And I hope he doesn’t mind hot summers.
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he’s been spoiled living in Hawaii for the past several years… 🙂
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Hawaii?? Wow, that would be so tough being surrounded by sand and water! Why is he leaving Hawaii for Texas?
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his girlfriend is going back to school in Austin. I know he will miss Hawaii…
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,Ahh! Well thats a good reason to move. I hope he does end up liking Texas and at least now it will be a little easier for you guys to see him!
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he has visited Austin a few times and does like it there, and yes, we are excited that he will be much closer…
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😊
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I like the first one. I find that a polariser can make the colours look a lot more vibrant without over-saturating. And, yes, I usually for get to put it on!
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I have been reminding myself recently to put on the polarizer as I usually to think about it until I get home and look at my photos.
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I was getting ready to say, I see that downtown tall building construction hasn’t changed.
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