Herons have a grotesque call. The best comparison I’ve been able to come up with is that they sound like old corrugated metal trash cans banging together when trash collectors would throw them around. If I hear it, I know where to look for them, but it’s OK when they stay quiet.

In the nature park, I once ran into another photographer and chatted for a bit, and she was surprised and a bit doubtful when I said that herons would sometimes be quite high in the branches. I wished I had a copy of this photo to show her.

February 22, 2020. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm lens at 400mm (35mm equivalent: 600mm), f/6.3, 1/2,000, ISO 1,100.

A good friend and I had been along the Mississippi River walk for a fireworks display. Our bus was approaching in a chaotic scene of traffic blockages and we had to run to catch it, but I saw this composition and, well, I appreciate that she coaxed the bus driver to wait an extra moment for me.

July 26, 2025. OnePlus 12 cell phone, 13.3mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 70mm), f/2.6, 1/20, ISO 2,500.

At the height of Summer, these common mulleins start to look pretty weedy, with little of interest, but catch one early in its life with just a couple of flowers starting to emerge, its leaves all nice and velvety, and some good light giving it an interesting shape, and you can make it look like a flower you don’t mind seeing.

June 17, 2012. Nikon D90 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 195mm (35mm equivalent: 290mm), f/16, 1/180, ISO 200.

Here’s another photo taken with the Lensbaby special-effect lens, this time in the first days of Fall, as one of my beloved milkweed pods had finally cracked open but not yet spread its seed. Again, the lens was hard to use and didn’t really bring me results that meant much to me most of the time, but this was another of the shots that did work, bringing just a bit of abstraction to a well-exposed photo.

September 25, 2010. Nikon D90 (DX sensor), 50mm Lensbaby lens, f/8, 1/1,250, ISO 800.

I mean, it isn’t like I found a black hole on my way home from a bar, but it’s a pretty cool effect.

May 10, 2018. Samsung Galaxy S8+ cell phone, focal length 4.25mm (35mm equivalent: 26mm), f/1.7, 1/12, ISO 250.

There are goodbyes that are “See you soon,” goodbyes that are “See you next time,” and goodbyes that are “It’s been great,” and sometimes you know. I visited Threadgill’s many times over many trips to Austin between 1989 and 2019, and when I went for some great chicken-fried steak and music in the Summer of 2019, I had a vibe that I should take a good number of pictures of it. It closed permanently in 2020 during Covid, leaving me many good memories of great meals, fine music, and the night one of my favorite songwriters walked past, put his hand on my shoulder, and said, “Good to see you, Bob.” I’ve got another story or two about the place, but you’ll have to let me bore you in person to hear them.

July 19, 2019. Samsung S10+ cell phone, 1.8mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 13mm), f/2.2, 1/25, ISO 2,500.

For a little while, I had fun experimenting with the Lensbaby line of special-effect optics, mostly a mock tilt-shift system where you could move the lens around while it was plugged into the camera so that you could play with depth of field. It was hard to expose correctly with these lenses, and I didn’t really miss them when they were lost during a move, but there were a few photos that came out really well, and this photo of tracks in the snow covering a frozen pond was one of my favorites.

January 26, 2013. Nikon D90 (DX sensor), 50mm Lensbaby lens, f/8, 1/350, ISO 400.

This is a shot from one of the boat tours along the industrial Calumet River, but rather than a feature along the banks, it’s the chain and pulley that raise and lower the anchor. It was the first photo I took that trip because it just looked pretty cool and put me in the frame of mind of capturing more metal and more heavy machinery.

July 15, 2012. Nikon D90 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 70mm (35mm equivalent: 105mm), f/16, 1/250, ISO 500.

I’m not one for pageantry, but a friend and I were walking to a performance of Cirque de Soleil some years ago, and she saw this before I did. We both admired it for a moment and she said, “You should take a picture of it.” I did, and she’s smart, because it’s a great picture.

September 2, 2017. Samsung Galaxy S8+ cell phone, focal length 4.25mm (35mm equivalent: 26mm), f/1.7, 1/1,125, ISO 50.

Aw, Minnie.

April 22, 2025. OnePlus 12 cell phone, 13.3mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 140mm), f/2.6, 1/250, ISO 50.

At a state fair, the joy of winning is balanced by the agony of choosing between two all-but-identical prizes. I hope that scarf is machine-washable, because state fair food is going to make its mark on whichever of those big happy bears comes home with him.

August 26, 2025. Nikon Coolpix P1000 (1/2.3-inch sensor), focal length 54mm (35mm equivalent: 300mm), f/8, 1/500, ISO 800.

Here’s another photo I love taken from an Amtrak train near Red Wing, Minn., at high speed. There’s a lot to love, from the fall colors of the nearby foliage to the receding clouds with the blue sky showing through in the distance. When you’re rolling along at 60 mph, you have the briefest split second to react to what you see and then capture it, and of the photos I took under those conditions, I think this one makes me happiest of all.

October 14, 2024. OnePlus 12 cell phone, 6.06mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 23mm), f/1.6, 1/1,600, ISO 200.

On a visit to Boston, I spent a day at the local aquarium, and had the time of my life. Its biggest and best feature is the ocean tank, three stories tall and full of fish and other sea life that mostly ignores each other. The tank is surrounded by a ramp that spirals to the top and back down, and two critters made a point of swimming over to check me out. Myrtle here has been at the aquarium for more than 55 years; we made eye contact from across the tank and she gracefully glided over for a photo op.

September 23, 2025. OnePlus 12 cell phone, 6.06mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 23mm), f/1.6, 1/50, ISO 640.

The heron I showed off in an early post here splashed around for quite a while. I liked that photo best, but on social media, a number of friends liked this one more, and I thought I’d share it.

April 15, 2023. Nikon D850 (FX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm at 400mm, f/6.3, 1/2,000, ISO 800.

When you’re on a road trip, who doesn’t love a stop for a little snack en route?

November 18, 2012. Nikon D90 (DX sensor), 105mm Nikon macro lens (35mm equivalent: 155mm), f/4.8, 1/350, ISO 500.