Christmas In Lubbock!

This is the first of what I hope will be a big batch of special Lubbock Christmas pics! I decided to start with SANTALAND! This has been a Lubbock tradition for years. It's been set up in several locations over the years, but for the last few years it's been located in McKenzie Park.

 First I exercised the telephoto on the gloomy and cold day I decided to make my visit.

After dark this is all lit up but it is also very crowded, so I decided to visit when there was hardly anyone there.

As you will see, it is all over the map. It's got a little nativity scene, and it's got Disney characters, like the seven dwarfs and Peter Pan. It even has Gotham City and Bat Man. There's a little something for everyone. I'm not quite sure what the Caped Crusader has to do with Christmas, but who cares anyway.

 Hey, I don't see Captain America! I don't see Superman! I don't see Spiderman! Where is Douglas McArthur? Where is the Enola Gay? There's a lot missing here. How about the Mayflower? How about Christopher Columbus? And so on.

I was not able to enter, so I walked around the edges and used telephoto when necessary. The Nikon I use has an awesome lens on it. I got the lens on eBay for a fraction of what it would have cost new. The image stabilization is remarkable. Performance in low light conditions is amazing. 

On the other hand the camera and lens combo is rather bulky, so I can't use the set up in stealth mode, or shooting out the car window, or in places where the crowds are heavy, or when I have to have both hands free most of the time.

More from this location next time. I have some other locations in mind for Christmas pics.

Finishing The Auto Graveyard

Maybe today I will get out and get some of those special Lubbock Christmas pics. Or, maybe not. Meanwhile, I will finish the current series.

This stuff could be like ghosts of Christmas past, I guess.

Remember, these things brought joy to their owner's hearts-- all bright and shiny! "Yep, got me a new crew cab PU! It's got a hemi in it, just like my rear end-- in fact my rear end has several hemis and I gotta sit on a donut in that there crew cab so my personal hemis don't hurt. But look how bright and shiny my new trick is". Yeah, and look at it now.  What a waste of resources it was, even from the beginning. And what became of those proud owners?

These PUs will never haul ass again.

They're stacked like cordwood! Reminds me of something...

Next time, it'll be Christmas pictures, and I might actually get them posted BEFORE Christmas! That means I'd better get out and get busy today! I believe I will use the Nikon this time.

Just Like Old Times

I found a place I photographed a long time ago and this time I really spent a lot of time there. 
I got this on the way back from the airport. First I had to cross some rail road tracks.
I was in an industrial zone, of sorts.

I remembered this place. I'd been trying to find it again.

I think when we first found this collection of derelict cars and trucks, all I had was a primitive cell phone camera. I wanted to do it up right this time.

There was a fence. I could have gone a lot further behind the fence but I would probably have shown up on security cameras. So I lifted my camera over the fence and found holes in the fence.

I'll finish this next time and maybe then I'll have some of those Christmas pictures! I want to get a lot of Christmas pictures! That is, if the weather cooperates.