Houston Photographer Patrick Bertolino » Rants & Raves

The Death of a Bougainvillea

admin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:36:01 +0000

I don’t have a pretty picture of my Bougainvillea to show you. It’s leafless and bare – a victim of Houston’s winter storm. I never covered up my plants for a hard freeze before, saying something like, “survival of the fittest” to myself. Even if I had learned that yes, a hard freeze will indeed kill your plants, I wouldn’t have covered up the Bougainvillea. I probably bought it outside Kroger’s for 12$ over 10 years ago. It traveled from one porch to another with me to find it’s place here, in the front corner of my front yard, along the wrought iron fence, planted in the ground – a key point of my landscape. It provided beauty with it’s blooms and security with its thorns. I hear bougainvilleas bloom under stress – so I guess I assumed it was indestructible. Despite the negligence I offered in exchange for its protection and brilliance, it was a shock to see it not re-emerge with green this spring. It was one of the few constants in my life – even in death it provides a thorny warning to intruders…..and will be sorely missed.

Take care of what is important to you – but first, decide what is important to you.

The Savoy Hotel : Not the explosion I was hoping for

admin — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:09:54 +0000

I heard two words: “building” and “demolished”

That’s all I needed. I did a horribly lacking amount of research to get the start time. 12 midnight.

“Well, I have to wake up at 6am for an early shoot – but how many times do you get to photograph one of the oldest buildings in downtown Houston go kaput?”

Plus I had an advantage on vantage point – 19th floor balcony of the Houston House Apartments. The ingredients are all there – camera, tripod, building, view, etc.

My lack of research? Well, with more research I may have found that they weren’t going to implode or explode the building with all the magic of C4 – like a glorious end to an old icon. No, they were going to tear it down with a crane – a slow, painful death. One we don’t have time to watch. One that doesn’t do much for the camera.

At the stroke of midnight – they started laying down planks for the crane. That’s about it.

At 2am my interest went in REVERSE. Feeling sleepy and defeated I gave up – but decided to create an explosion of my own:

Here’s an update on the state of the building:

Custom Converse

admin — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:54:34 +0000

My cousin Stephanie informed me that if you go to converse.com you can design your own converse shoes! I think I went a little overboard. But hey – at least I know no one else has these! (why do we fight so hard to be original?) note: the EMBROIDERED initials on the back.

New Life

admin — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:20:50 +0000

On a gorgeous day, with the sky clear, the sun shining and the weather cool – I was in a funk. Couldn’t explain it – just felt over anxious. Maybe it was the coffee on an empty stomach, maybe it was the too many colas over the weekend, or just a low bio rythm. Anyway – during a photo session of a gorgeous home (326 W Alkire Lake – see gallery – HERE)as melancholy was taking hold, I came across a mother mallard duck – quietly warming her eggs – in the flower pot under the porch! I didn’t want to disturb her, but she took off before I could set my camera straight. Looking at these eggs, and the determination of the mother to occupy them in the presence of humans, made me realize that there is so much beauty in this world, you only have to look around you to find it – and by allowing myself to see the beauty……..Everything felt better.

Thanks, Ebay!!

admin — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:12:54 +0000

Although my Nikon Camera equipment has never limited photographic ability – I choose to keep a smaller point and shoot for some weekend trips, backpacking or nights out on the town. I did the research, and since I usually go with Sony for these types of cameras – I found the Sony Cybershot W300 to be exactly what I was looking for. Rather than go with a company I know like B & H – I thought I would try my luck with ebay…….and I got scammed.

It is kinda my fault – the seller had no transactions and was from Thailand. Those are 2 things you want to watch for (no transactions, foreign country) when purchasing. In my 6 transactions, this has never happened. I’m out the money – and still need a new camera.

When will the sky turn blue again?

admin — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:37:42 +0000

I am so ready to photograph a beautiful twilight shot of Discovery Green. Unfortunately, the weather has not been very cooperative! Let’s hope we get some better weather this week – or snow – I’m ok if it’s not sunny and we have snow in it’s place…

Prom Night – 2 thumbs down

admin — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:06:21 +0000

Last night I watched the movieProm Night, and it was horrible. The acting was fine, the story was the worst in a horror movie I had ever seen. Absolutely no twist at the end – every thing was exactly the way it appeared. The killer was the killer, with no undercover help from the boyfriend or lead detective. A perfect waste of time.