Christmas Tree - Texas Style

Time for the annual lighting of the largest oak tree in Cedar Park tonight from 6:30 PM - 9 PM. Read more about the event at http://www.cedarparktexas.gov/index.aspx?page=448.

Twin Falls

I pulled this shot out of the archives as I was doing a little house cleaning on my website. I took this several years ago along Cypress Creek at Twin Creeks Park in Cedar Park. When I found it I realized it was one that I had overlooked. It's all the perspective in this shot, but it gives the feeling that these falls are a LOT bigger than they are. With all the recent rain I imagine the creek is flowing nicely and these falls are probably in fine form. May need to take a little trip down there to check it out. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

Blur

A close up look at one of the waterfalls we had last spring in Cedar Park. Hard to believe there was running water like this only 3 months ago.

Evening Paddle

Enjoying a paddle on Brushy Creek Lake on a late summer evening.

Tree Light

I made this shot last winter when the sun was still setting in the southwest sky behind this tree on one of the lake water features in Cedar Park, Texas. Looks so peaceful, if only you knew there was a Costco behind me. :-)

Cool Clouds

The clock tower in Cedar Park was part of a vision for a downtown shopping district in the late 90s. The shopping district never materialized, but the clock tower made for a great backdrop with the clouds we had the day I was out making photos.

End of the Day

Another winter day comes to an end on the lake behind the Cedar Park Rec Center. I love living in Texas where this is our experience most of the season. Moments of cold weather followed by warming trends and beautiful sunsets.

Feathery Delight

We were out running errands Saturday when we noticed how cool the clouds looked. We decided to take a walk around the lake behind the Cedar Park Rec Center. The tree I discovered last week did not disappoint as it provided a nice focal point to help the clouds really stand out.

President's Day

Happy President's Day! When I noticed the US flags on the street lamp post the other night, I thought it might make for a nice President's Day shot.

Evening Glow

Evening sets on the lake behind the Cedar Park Rec Center.

Sunset Pink

Most of the time I'm watching the sunset for the right moment to capture a shot, but sometimes it's fun to turn around and see what effect the sunset is having on the sky behind me. Such was the case when I grabbed this shot last week on the Cedar Park Rec Center lake. As I've said before, sometimes it pays to look behind you. Never know what you're missing.

Star Light, Star Bright

First star I see tonight (actually probably a planet) shines dimly in the sky over the lake by the Cedar Park Rec Center. I was headed back to the van when I turned around and saw this shot. Always remember to look over your shoulder. Don't know what you'll see.

Winter Drought

The ravages of a winter with little rain have left trees barren of leaves (with the exception of the evergreen cedar trees in the shot) and very little water in this stream on the Brushy Creek Trail behind the YMCA in Cedar Park. Hoping for a much wetter Spring so I can return to this spot when the stream is flowing well and capture this waterfall as it really should look in better conditions.

Lighting Ceremony

One of the shots I made right after the Heritage Oak in Cedar Park was lit last Friday. With two weeks to go til Christmas I thought this was an appropriate shot for the day. Having the crowd in the shot gives you a better idea of just how big this 400 year old oak tree is. The city used over 60,000 lights on the tree to represent all of the citizens of Cedar Park, many of whom were present for the lighting. There were big flood lights to our left lighting up the scene, so the lights on the tree do not show up as well as they would have had it been dark, but with all the people present and the different activites going on, the lights were a must. What I liked best was the full moon rising over the tree just as it was lit up.

City Sunset

Went for a walk yesterday evening around the lake behind the Cedar Park Rec Center. I always enjoy capturing shots of this old oak tree along the walk. The colors in the western sky were great as the day was coming to a close. Just enough clouds to show it off nicely.

King Homestead

The John M. King Log Cabin in Cedar Park's Twin Creeks Historic Park, is the oldest home in the city that I'm aware of. The historic marker in front of the home indicate that it could have been built as early as 1859. King bought the property in 1879 and indicated there was a home on the land at the time. He and his family lived here until 1917. I read several years ago that the city had plans to restore this old home and there has been some work done on the place since I first saw it, but it still appears to have a ways to go before the restoration will be complete. For more information on the park, check out the city's website at http://cedarparktexas.gov/index.aspx?page=238.

Falling Water

Something you don't see very often in central Texas, moss growing on exposed rocks in a creek bed. I made this shot along Cypress Creek in the Twin Creeks Historic Park on Saturday. We've had just enough rain this winter to supply enough moisture and there is enough shade along this creek that moss has started to grow. This little creek eventually flows into Lake Travis, the water supply for Austin and many surrounding cities, including Cedar Park where this shot was made.

Train Spotting

My wife and I were looking for bluebonnets along the Brushy Creek Trail in Cedar Park yesterday when we had stopped to take a break under the train trestle. As we were sitting there the Capitol Metro train came racing by. I had just enough time to raise my camera and fire off a shot. Luckily I had been using a slow exposure earlier so it added a nice motion blur to the speeding train. I believe the granite my wife is sitting on was from a train derailment that occurred in the 1800s when they were moving granite from Burnet to Austin for the construction of the state capitol. They deemed the granite to heavy to try to pull it out of the creek bed so they left it. There are still several pieces in the area that you see along the trail.

Lights Ablaze

I went down to the annual lighting of the Heritage Oak in Cedar Park last night. Had a little fun playing with the lights. I captured this shot as one of the horse drawn wagons went by. Interesting patterns and a different view than other shots I've captured of this tree.

Bluebonnet Compression

Happy Friday! Most of the time when I'm shooting landscape shots I'm using a wide angle lens to capture as much of the scene as possible. But once in a while it's fun to put a twist onto landscape shots and compress them like I did in this scene. It almost gives the park benches along the trail a miniature look. In this instance I really felt telephoto was the way to go! Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day everyone! I was out on a midday walk last week when I made this shot in one of our local parks. One of my friends had posted that he thought this was one of the prettiest springs he had seen in quite sometime and I whole heartedly agree. The bluebonnets have faded, but the yellow flowers are coming on strong. The blanket on this field in the middle of a city park was especially nice on this sunny midday afternoon. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

Lunar Lights

The city of Cedar Park had lit the Heritage Oak tree on Friday night but I had decided to skip the fanfare and instead wait til Sunday night to see if I could get lucky with the Super Moon. However, when I was driving to see the tree last night I had little hope that I'd be able to see the Super Moon as the sunset was obscured by clouds and there were more clouds in the east where the moon would soon be rising. But just as I was about to head back to the van and home for the night I saw the old familiar glow begin to rise in the east. I waited for the moon to clear the treeline behind the Heritage Oak and was able to capture it looking down on the city's handiwork of adding 60,000 lights to the oldest tree in town. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)