Austin Texas

This page is dedicated to photos that I have take around the city of Austin Texas. These photos are mostly taken around downtown.

Austin at Dawn

Downtown can be a crowded place and it can be difficult to find a parking place, so I often get up early on a Sunday morning and get downtown to see the city greet the dawn. The two photos below show Austin at sunrise from two different vantage points.

Downtown Austin before dawn reflected HDR — Austin Texas downtown at dawn taken from the 1st Street Bridge

Austin Texas skyline Lady Bird Lake dawn — Austin Texas skyline at dawn with mist rising off of Lady Bird Lake

During the pre-dawn twilight, the lake is often still and the sky has enough color in it so that the city lights do not overload the scene. The below image was taken on the shore of Lady Bird Lake before dawn. The Austin Central Library is lit up bright blue across the water.

Downtown Austin Texas in the predawn twilight

There is a pedestrian bridge across Lady Bird Lake that is a fantastic place to take in a sunrise if you don’t mind getting up early. There are few people there at dawn; mostly a few joggers and a photographer or two.

Long exposure of Austin Texas at dawn — Long Exposure of downtown Austin Texas at dawn from pedestrian bridge

Downtown Austin Texas and Lady Bird Lake at dawn — Downtown Austin Texas at sunrise from pedestrian bridge

Long exposure of downtown Austin Texas on cloudy morning — Long exposure of Austin Texas downtown in early morning

Pedestrian bridge in downtown Austin at sunrise — Austin Texas downtown at sunrise from pedestrian bridge

During the autumn, Austin can get a little color along the shore of Lady Bird Lake. The three photos below attempt to capture some of that color. The two photos below were shot just after dawn from the opposite shore while the first light of the morning sun begins to shine on the trees across the water.

Downtown Austin at Dawn with Autumn Color

The photo below was shot from the pedestrian walkway along IH-35 and shows the boardwalk with downtown in the distance.

Doug Sahm Hill

There is a hill in the park across from downtown with a compass rose on top. I often see people up here taking wedding photos. Below is a photo from Doug Sahm Hill at sunrise with the compass in the foreground and downtown in the background. This was shot with a 14mm lens at sunrise.

Sunset

I have tried to capture sunset over downtown on multiple occasions. It is difficult to find a good vantage point on the east side of downtown from which to shoot. Below are some shots that I have taken from a parking garage overlooking downtown from the North East. I go to this location for some sunset photos and to get long exposures of the car lights on Interstate 35 in the evening.

Downtown Austin Texas after Sunset — Long exposure of car lights on IH35 in Austin Texas

Long Exposure of Austin Texas after sunset — Long exposure showing light trails on IH35 in Austin Texas at sunset

Austin Texas skyline at night with car light trails on IH35 — Long exposure showing car light trails on IH35 in Austin Texas after sunset

Sunset over downtown Austin Texas — Sun setting over Austin Texas

The State Capitol

Below are some photos that I have shot around the state capitol building.

Texas Capitol Christmas Tree in Austin — Christmas Tree at State Capitol in Austin Texas

Austin Texas capitol building frontier woman statue — Statue at Texas State Capitol in Austin

Capitol Building in Austin Texas at sunrise — Texas State Capitol in Austin looking up Congress Avenue

Focus stacked stars at the Texas capitol building in Austin — Scene at the Texas State Capitol in Austin

Texas Capitol with Christmas Tree in Austin — Christmas tree in front of the Texas State Capitol in Austin

The Austin Central Library

The Austin Central Library is lit up with nice colors at night and is fun to photograph. Below are some of my favorite photos, including some long exposures to blur the car lights on the street.