AUSTIN: THIS AND THAT

I thought I would wind up the posts for our stay in Austin with one of photos that I liked but that didn't find their way into any of the other posts on our trip.

These first few are black & white shots that could have been included in my post of Austin architecture, except that I took them on my last visit to Austin's downtown area, after I had already done a post on architecture.  The first is obviously a structural support for one of the bridges over Lady Bird Lake.

The next is of an older building in the downtown area.  The day was cloudy and I liked the way the light was being reflected in the 1960s(?) building's windows.

The third is of a stairway leading down a level from the pavilion at the front of the LBJ Library building.  An interesting abstract, I thought.

The following is of some park benches adjacent to the walking/running/biking trail that extends along the north side of Lady Bird Lake.

Speaking of benches, here is a shot of a couple outside the front entrance to the LBJ Library.  I liked the way that the reflections of the benches in the windows were dark, creating a sort of contrasting symmetry.

One of the last places we visited was the Zilker Botanical Gardens.  They were surprisingly extensive and offered a quiet interlude from the city's hurly-burly.  But I found them a little boring, actually.  However, I did like one of the wrought iron gates leading into the gardens.  These gates were obviously custom-made and were much larger than the portion I wound up shooting.  However, I was limited by the fact that I wanted to pose the dark of the wrought iron against the cloudy but light sky and only a small portion of the gate was available for that perspective.  Note the spider's web.

I liked this 6th Street nightclub neon sign for the way the light was being reflected off the nearby brick walls.

The following shot, of a musician on 6th Street, is very poor technically.  The light was poor; the musician was moving, causing motion blur; and there is minimal definition.  But I thought that the shot somehow caught nicely the spirit of the situation.

Finally, after having visited the Texas Capitol building four times, I finally visited the Texas Capitol Visitors Center, located just a half block south of the Capitol itself.  Turns out, I hadn't missed much.  But I did like the following serendipitous shot that featured a series of complementary arches.

John