Bruce Hartsell
Jeff—“Dick and Charlie’s Tearoom”
This photo was taken during a four-day trip to the Cypress Swamp area in Caddo Lake, Texas. We went past this old abandoned shack on the waterway and with the background, I thought it looked kind of spooky. The sign said it all-–”Teahouse.” The story is that it was a party location during prohibition. I shot this from the boat as we were traveling back from the morning shoot. I was using a Canon R5 MkII with a 24-105mm lens. The exposure settings were 1/60th sec at f/9, ISO 200.
Canon EOS R5m2, 40 mm, f/9, 1/60 sec, ISO 200.
Jim—“Saguaro Lightning Strike”
The photo of this Saguaro was taken on our Quail Creek golf course, Road Runner #3, near the tee box on Sept. 20, 2025. A significant thunderstorm with lightning occurred on Sept. 18, two days before. This poor cactus was hit by a bolt. I jumped out of the golf cart and shot it with my Google Pixel 9 smart phone— the only camera I had with me. The only post processing was to crop the shot, showing the “weathered cactus” a bit better. The uncropped shot shows cactus debris on the ground beneath the photo.
Pixel 9 Pro XL, 6.9 mm, f/1.7, 1/1000 sec, ISO 22.
Monte—“Weathered Saguaro”
My photo was taken on an IPhone in my own back yard. I knew I wanted to use the saguaro skeleton for a weathered object but I waited until an evening where the sunset would enhance the photo.