Today’s postcard comes from August 2006. I was in Austin, Texas visiting family and we went over to the University of Texas. It was late August it was hot and compared to California, a bit muggy. We visited the university library (of course I’m a history teacher) and the LBJ Presidential Library (did I mention I teach history?) In ’06 the university was in full swing moving online and we saw old card catalogs sitting on the floor with nothing to do. Every drawer was empty. We also saw a couple of interesting monuments which left little doubt what the university thought about the Civil War and the Lost Cause with statues of Jefferson Davis (President of CSA), Albert Sidney Johnston (Confederate general) and Robert E. Lee on display.  These were in stark contrast to the display of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and The Great Society information in LBJ’s library. But on this hot and muggy afternoon I was interested in other things.

Armed with a new Nikon D50 and two lenses, I was on my own little photo safari and my hunt required prey that was not a typical touristy spot. I found these willing subjects in a pond on campus. The dragonfly seemed to fly over to me and smile so I took his portrait. A science education colleague of mine said I should submit it for a biology textbook cover.

These turtles had more choice about being in the water or out than we did, and their presence seemed to mock us poor humans who were hot, sticky, hungry, and generally a bit miserable. As though laughing at our predicament, they crawled out of the pond, climbed on each other and played a little game (not really right to call it leap-frog is it?) and  then slid back into the water. For our part we went across the street and had a burrito.

In 2006 I had no idea photography would become such an important part of my life. I purchased a DSLR on purpose because I knew I wanted interchangeable lenses and I wanted to look through the lens before pressing the shutter. Both of those wants led me to a digital single lens reflex camera. These two photos were taken with the kit 55-200mm lens. Seeing them fourteen years later reminds me that the stock equipment is frequently very good and my desire to spend much more money on professional glass is not always justified by the outcome.

I hope you enjoyed these two postcards from the University of Texas, Austin. Maybe you’ve been to Austin. Did it make an impression? Don’t forget it’s always better to give than receive postcards.