sjfphotography: *fine art images *natural light portraits *greeting cards


Sunday, March 31, 2013

easter morn
 
Garden of Gethsemane
Resthaven Cemetery
Lubbock, Texas

Saturday, March 30, 2013

my easter dress
 
My frilly Easter outfit included hat, gloves, lace-trimmed sock and black patent maryjanes.
 
New Deal, Texas
March 25, 1951

Friday, March 29, 2013

first gerber
 
This gerber daisy (Gerbera jamesonii) has been wind-blown, sand-blasted and frost-nipped but is a happy harbinger of spring.
 
My backyard
Lubbock, Texas

Thursday, March 28, 2013

polo practice 2
 
Texas Tech Women's Water Polo Team
Lubbock, Texas

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

polo practice
 
 The Texas Tech women's water polo team practices for upcoming matches in the Collegiate Water Polo Association against Texas A&M, Rice and Texas State. Guns up!
 
Student Rec Center
Lubbock, Texas

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

club house
 
As you can tell from the graphic, this is the club house of a motorcycle club.  The Messengers is a Clean & Sober Club whose members have chosen to abstain from drugs and booze.  Although the barred door isn't exactly welcoming, you may attend an AA meeting there on Sunday afternoons.
 
Vicinity of North Avenue Q and Kemper
Lubbock, Texas 


Monday, March 25, 2013


Need something or someone located?  Try National Locator Services - but first you have to locate them.  There's no listing in the phone book or on the web.  And your GPS would probably be challenged to locate the office.  Photographically speaking, this was an interesting street to find while locating roads I'd never traveled on.

1115 North Avenue T
Lubbock, Texas

Sunday, March 24, 2013

"a safe place to buy"
 
Need a building, a garage, a used car sales office?  By the looks of the place, and the saplings and weeds, this housemoving business is not bustling.  Wonder if the cars sold out of this car lot office lasted long enough for the warranty?  And what did "a safe place to buy" mean?  They won't break your legs if you miss a week's payment?
 
North Avenue N and Kemper Street
Lubbock, Texas

Saturday, March 23, 2013

window, bench and reindeer
 
There are some interesting tableaux on the lesser traveled streets in Lubbock.  I understand the metal bench in front of the welding shop, but the light-festooned straw reindeer?
 
North Avenue T and Harvard
Lubbock, Texas

Friday, March 22, 2013

perspective
 
The undulating line of the collars on the iron fence posts caught my eye.  I liked the way the curves were a counterpoint to the horizontal lines of the railing, brick and grate.  But then that college kid chained his damn bike to the fence!  I was at the Southwest Collections to view Melinda Harvey's Where the Wind Gallops photography exhibit.
 
Southwest Collections Building
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas

Thursday, March 21, 2013

the zombie apocolypse
 
This isn't your regular street bike.  The rider took his 260 moped and turned it into the "zombie apocolypse" complete with skulls and crosses.  The fenders state "Fight the Dead -- Fear the Living."  You really have to notice the details -- the yellow-painted tires, the cranium and intestines on the cargo box, the skeleton key ring which the rider has had since age 15 (he's 50 now), and the hood ornament from his 1968 Cutlass.  I really wish I could have seen the zombie apocolypse at night - the eyes of the skull above the rider's seat light up and its jaw drops. The vehicle is probably a jaw-dropping experience for motorists on Lubbock streets.
 
60th and Slide
Lubbock, Texas

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

benny
 
Lubbock, Texas
3.14.2013

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

navajo
 

Benny, a new acquaintance, is a Navajo Indian.  He says he makes much of his jewelry; to the Navajo tribe, the color turquoise represents happiness, luck, and health.

Lubbock, Texas
3.18.2013

Monday, March 18, 2013

boots at breakfast
 
You can run into some interesting characters at the Ranch House.  No, this cowboy did not arrive by horse; he dismounted from public transportation.  Join us for breakfast sometime.
 
Ranch House
1520 Buddy Holly Avenue
Lubbock, Texas

Sunday, March 17, 2013

tractor man
 
Today we celebrated Pop's 89th birthday at the tractor museum.  His great-grandson and namesake, William, contributed toy tractors for the centerpiece.  Then he took them back and played with them.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

bentley and doc
 
Bentley, the 7-pound Maltese, thinks he's a farm doc just like Doc.  Bentley rides in the tractor, chases cottontails and wades in the irrigation run-off -- but, unlike Doc, he can't jump into the back of the pick-up without assistance.

New Deal, Texas
3.14.2013

Friday, March 15, 2013

obligatory spring iris photo
 
My backyard
Lubbock, Texas

Thursday, March 14, 2013

spring fever
 
Although it is too early to plant these coleus, it's not too late to start thinking about it. with today's 80 degree temperature.  According to weather history, the latest recorded freeze in Lubbock was May 8, 1938.  And I remember it snowing on May 1 once!
 
Ivey Gardens
1318 Municipal Drive
Lubbock, Texas

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

love or something like it
 
 
Spring is in the air and these green anoles must have heard Kenny Rogers' 1978 hit:
"Something's got a hold on me
It's cheap but it ain' free
Love or somethin like it's got a hold on me"


Tuesday, March 12, 2013

neighborhood beautification
 
This homeowner uses graffiti art to spruce up his place.  Visible from University Avenue, the painting on the fence and garage catches the eye of passers-by.  Crowns and skulls are popular graffiti motifs; I don't know what the message being sent is.
 
University Avenue and Colgate
Lubbock, Texas

Monday, March 11, 2013

drive thru to nowhere
 
Closed Liquor Store at The Strip
901 98th Street
Lubbock, Texas

Sunday, March 10, 2013

signs of the times
 
With the passing of the law allowing package liquor sales within the city limits, the demise of the Strip was assured.  Citizen no longer needed to drive to the neon-lit area where liquor stores lined the highway.  The Double T Discount store closed its door.  The Lubbock Gentlemen's Club occupied the space, but not for long. All signs point to a barred building, cracked pavement and tumbleweeds.
 
901 98th Street
Lubbock, Texas

Friday, March 8, 2013

"areas of blowing dust with chance of evening thunderstorms"
 
The spring weather forecast in West Texas is predictable in its unpredictability.  Blue skies, strong winds, blowing dust and, hopefully, possibility of rain this evening.
 
FM 597 and Onion Shed Road
Hockley County, Texas
 


Thursday, March 7, 2013

700 cotton street
 

There's not much history on the Arlington Hotel -- also known as the Martin.  Built somewhere around the early 1900s, the story has it that  the hotel faced closing before ever opening after an unscrupulous contractor took money without completing the work.  A local oil discovery  that attracted hundreds of workers looking for lodging saved the day.  The building is in dire need of another economic upturn--which would also help most of downtown and the historic district.

Arlington Hotel
Shreveport, Louisiana
3.4.2013

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

maybe once upon a time
 
Parts of Shreveport immediately west of downtown are some of the most notable haunted spots in town.  This row of furniture warehouses are interesting but creepy enough to fit the part; I was advised to be careful since the the buildings are "haunted" by the homeless.  Not surprisingly there are guided haunted tours in Shreveport and active paranormal societies.  In fact, according to the website (http://www.paranormalsocieties.com/state_list.cfm?state=la) there are 33 Paranormal Investigation Societies listed in Louisiana.
 
Downtown Historic District
Shreveport, Louisiana
3.4.2013

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

row houses
 
Shreveport was established in the early 1800s at the junction of the Texas Trail and the Red River.  It prospered with steam boat traffic and served as the capital of Confederate Louisiana during the Civil War.  Downtown abounds with buildings of great architectural interest -- from Victorian to Italian Renaissance to Art Deco -- although many are abandoned and dilapidated.  The Oakland Cemetery intrigued but I was dissuaded from driving through it by the presence of its living occupants.
 
Historic Downtown
Shreveport, Louisiana

Monday, March 4, 2013

louisiana hayride
 
Elvis got his start at the Louisiana Hayride - produced on the stage of the Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport.  The building, completed in 1929, is an outstanding example of Art Deco brickwork. Honoring WWI soldiers, I like the frieze on the front that states " Dedicated to those who served in the World War" as if that were the last and only war  (which in 1929 was true).  One difference from this vintage structure and the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum is the effort to save the structure.  A workman, who saw me on the ground shooting up at Elvis, thought I had fallen and came to check on me.  We talked and he offered me a glimpse inside (with original light fixtures, decorative plaster and yes, the original wooden theater seats in the balcony.  His crew was busy caulking windows and he mentioned the repainting, plastering, etc to maintain the building (follow link to Friends of the Municipal website).
 
Municipal Memorial Auditorium
Shreveport, Louisiana

Sunday, March 3, 2013

red, white and blue
 
The condition of this mail box reflects the status of the postal service -- and maybe the nation.  Still functional but in need of rehabilitation.
 
19th and Avenue C
Lubbock, Texas

Saturday, March 2, 2013

remember the alamo
 
Texas Independence Day -March 2
The Alamo - Mission San Antonio de Valero
San Antonio, Texas
3.24.2009

Friday, March 1, 2013

shadows on brick
 
At high noon today at the Buddy Holly Center, I was attracted by the shadows of the patio furniture.  BHC is situated in the old train depot (hence the name "Depot District") and a set of rails still can be seen in the courtyard.  These bricks would have stories to tell from nights of the Depot Bar & Grill -- long before the District was a concept.
 
Buddy Holly Center
1801 Crickets Avenue
Lubbock, Texas