sjf photography

fine art prints
natural light portraits
greeting cards

sjfberry@msn.com

September 30, 2010

true to texas

A true Texas beer would be Ziegenbock, Shiner Bock or even a Pearl.
Sign at Mesquite's on Broadway.

September 29, 2010

jaden

It's not hard to take a good picture of a cute baby. What doesn't show is her Texas Tech onesie.


September 28, 2010

mare

Not so surprisingly, there are a number of neighborhoods within Lubbock's city limits devoted to horse people with a bit a acreage, barns and corrals.

September 27, 2010

fireball run

Lubbock is one of the 18 cities in the 8-day, 3,500 mile 2010 Transcontinental Fireball Run. The Official Safety Car is this Lamborghini, driven by test driver Valentino Balboni. (Be advised that the trunk of the Lamborghini will only hold one 26" suitcase and that belongs to Valetino; I guess whoever rides shotgun has to wash his undies each night in the hotel). To enter this combination road race, rally and game, one should have a really neat car and $7,997.00 for the entry fee.


September 26, 2010

red locomotive

The red Indiana locomotive is siderailed by the grain elevator north of Plainview - Hale County.


September 25, 2010


When one thinks of dancing in the rustic setting of Lake Ransom in the Yellowhouse Canyon, what comes to mind are Indian feathers, buckskin and moccasins, not the veils, bangles and tassles of belly dancing.

September 24, 2010

undeliverable

1215 Avenue G will not be getting any mail. The building, formerly occupied by University Cleaners, sports a "condemned" sign.

September 23, 2010

south plains fair
The South Plains Fair opens today. At 4 pm it looked the "fair curse" would hold true as a major deluge hit. By 5:30 the storm had passed and the sun was shining. People could enjoy $1 ride night without umbrellas and galoshes. No, I did not get out of the car.

September 22, 2010

"Doors on Broadway Series #13"
2309 Broadway

The gate and fence are recent additions to this 1920s-era brick residence which now houses a commercial enterprise. The streetlamp appears to be one of those auctioned off by the city many years ago.


September 21, 2010

vote for pedro

Pedro hails from Van Horn, Texas and obviously he was not photographed today; however he is today's feature. Pedro has the distinction of having been in two exhibits. He spent February 2010 in El Paso as part of the Southwest High & Dry Exhibit at the UTEP Centennial Museum. In August Pedro joined other canines in "Best Friends: the dog as subject in fine art photography" at the International Cultural Center at Texas Tech. He's a winner in my book!

September 20, 2010

sculptor
Vivian Cooke retired from a job as an art teacher shaping young minds and now devotes her time to molding art pieces for bronze sculptures. Her "Sandlot Player" in Mae Simmons Park at E. 23th and MLK features a kid at bat, waiting for the right pitch. This sculpture is meaningful for her long-time community of Manhattan Heights where baseball fields serve as gathering places for neighbors.

September 19, 2010

one black cow
FM 2130
Hockley County

September 18, 2010

thunderstorm over yellowhouse canyon
An evening thunderstorm pops up over Yellowhouse Canyon but is all show and no rain. Yellowhouse Canyon is a geographic landmark running southeast through Lubbock County, cutting a 35-mile gorge into the eastern edge of the Caprock escarpment. The canyon was carved by erosion some two million years ago and evidence of inhabitation exists of more than 11,000 years. Where bison, giant armadillos and mammoths once roamed, now only Fords, Chevys and Toyotas raise dust clouds. (The Handbook of Texas Online)

September 17, 2010

vigilance


Women artists in Lubbock (like me) may not have heard of Bess Bigham Hubbard but she was a trailblazer for the arts in Lubbock. At the peak of her career in 1959, she designed this marker to stand over the graves of her husband and sister, buried in the City of Lubbock Cemetery. Bess Bigham was born February 18, 1896 in Fort Worth and attended TCU. She visited Lubbock in 1916 and met Chester Hubbard, a farmer and car dealer. They married and made Lubbock their home. Bess took up art as a hobby in 1925 and studied with noted artists of the time. In a short time her art hobby had become a career. During the 1940s, she used Taos Indians as models for her impressionistic-styled sculptures. By the 1950s she had international recognition, exhibited regularly at the Texas State Fair and was featured in the April 29, 1957 issue of Life magazine. After years of poor health, Bess died March 23, 1977 and is buried in the Hubbard plot.





September 16, 2010

window shopping on county road 7130
Lubbock County

September 15, 2010

ada atm
Wonder why the drive-through ATM at my bank has a braille display. I applaud ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) compliance but do blind people drive to the bank for cash?

September 14, 2010

"Doors on Broadway Series #12"
2202 East Broadway
Texas Bronze

Lubbock artist Steve Teeters has relocated his studio, Texas Bronze, to 2202 East Broadway. During the 1950s this building was a premier Furr's Grocery Store. Today it houses sculpture in progress, unique objects de art and Buddy Holly.

September 13, 2010

welcoming hand

This hand welcomes one to Texas Bronze, the studio of Steve Teeters, and current residence of Buddy Holly (the statue awaiting a new home). Teeters is also responsible for the glasses sculpture in front of the Buddy Holly Center. The Crossroads Sculpture Garden at MacKenzie Park features his work as well.

September 12, 2010

fruit of the vine
Pheasant Ridge Winery
3507 E. FM 5700
Lubbock, Texas
(located on the old John H. Reagan farm--where Phyllis and I rode our bikes on dirt roads)

September 11, 2010

9-11

Flag Display
Kastman Park
Lubbock, Texas


September 10, 2010

chuckwagon staples

Oklahoma onions must be this chuckwagon chef's secret ingredient for the cook-off on Saturday at the National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration.

September 9, 2010

horse trailer

Trailers of all sorts started arriving today for the National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration held this weekend at the Lubbock Civic Center. This trailer transports the Kenneth Wyatt Galleries (artist not in attendance - according to web page).

September 8, 2010

bury me not on the lone prairie

The lyrics of this 1800s cowboy lament illustrate the loneliness of the early South Plains. Ralls Cemetery (Crosby County) was established in 1915; the chapel is a recent addition.

September 7, 2010

happy birthday, buddy

I went to a birthday party today. The birthday day boy would have been 74. His brother Larry Holley was there and perhaps the striking gray-haired lady was Peggy Sue. The Buddy Holly Center served cake and offered free admission to the mementos of Buddy's life. The Rockabilly Band played all Buddy's hits for the crowd in the courtyard.

September 6, 2010

"Doors on Broadway Series #11"
Margaret's
2002 Broadway
The elegant door handles epitomized the style that Margaret's, the upscale women's speciality shop, graced Lubbock with for 50 years. The building is now occupied by College Flowers which continues the emphasis on elegance. Margaret Talkington and her husband J.T. arrived in Lubbock in the 1950s and opened their first store at 26th and Boston in the Green Acres Shopping Center. They moved to 2002 Broadway in August 1954. Shopping at Margaret's was a personalized experience. The shopper was escorted to a dressing room, seated in upholstered chairs and waited while the saleslady brought selected garments to choose from -- no rummaging through the racks like at Filene's Bargain Basement! As I recall, my first dress from Margaret's was a red and green plaid belted shirtwaist with pleated skirt and sailor collar.

September 5, 2010

liberty belle

The B17 Flying Fortress flew over Lubbock today, taking off from the Silent Wings Museum. Seven passengers paid $300+ each to fly 30 minutes in the World War II four-engine heavy bomber. None got to ride in the machine gun turrets located aft, under and in the nose of the aircraft. The Liberty Belle completed 64 missions in Europe, including being crippled in her initial foray over Dusseldorf, Germany. The plane was rescued from the scrap pile to become the star of the Liberty Belle Foundation. Too bad only the pilot got to see the spectacle of Texas Tech football as the Liberty Belle flew over Jones Stadium; passengers had no windows! Wonder how many of the 60,000 Tech fans noted the piece of history flying overhead?

September 4, 2010

therein lies a tale - a ghost story

A tale never to be told. Little is known about young Tommie Horrell - he owned a wagon and team and his murdered body was found in a canyon. Was he a God-fearing man or was the Bible carved on his tombstone there to assist in his eternal journey after such a heathen death?

Only ghosts are left in the Old Emma Cemetery. The transient town of Emma existed less than 30 years after being established in 1890 in Crosby County. The courthouse and other buildings were moved from the town of Estacado after Emma won the county seat election by 6 votes. After the railroad bypassed Emma by five miles going through Ralls, Crosbyton won the 1917 county seat election by 78 votes and buildings were again relocated. At its prime, Emma boasted 800 inhabitants, including two doctors, a courthouse, stores and a newspaper. Only the cemetery with its lone cedar tree marks the former townsite.

September 3, 2010

here's yer sign

vote against what? litter? weeds? ugly signs? -- whatever it is, I'm for it!

spotted in front of WalMart at Glenna Goodacre and Avenue R


September 2, 2010

where are you?

Elevation 3197.553 feet above mean sea level
North 33 degrees 24.633 West 101 degrees 50.500
Street address: 19th and Crickets Avenue, West Wall of interior Courtyard of the Buddy Holly Center (former Lubbock Railway Depot)
The U. S. Coast Guard and Geodetic Survey placed this marker in Lubbock, Texas in 1933. Now known as the National Geodetic Survey, this federal agency places permanent survey marks throughout the United States to mark exact horizontal and vertical position, defined by latitude, longitude and height coordinates in relation to the shape and surface of the earth. The 1945 description for the benchmark pictured above read "1.9 miles southeast along the Ft Worth and Denver City Railway from the station at Lubbock, Lubbock County, about 8 1/2 rails east of a block signal, about 6 1/2 rails west of the crossing of the Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway, about 3 rails east of a corner of the right-of-way fence." Geocaching is a popular hobby with the goal to find NGS benchmarks like these or to locate a cache using GPS coordinates.

September 1, 2010

tornado site

The Lubbock Memorial Civic Center, dedicated in 1976, was built on land in the path of the destructive 1970 tornado. The fountain at the Avenue Q entrance to the Civic Center listed those who lost their lives in the disaster. What tornado bond money built, the wrecking ball destroys. The fountain and the site of the adjacent West Texas Walk of Fame honoring regional musicians and the Buddy Holly pedestral will be demolished in the name of progress. Buddy and the plaques removed from the area will be relocated to the Buddy and Maria Elena Holly Plaza.