Austin has some pretty great spots, if you know where to look!

Hey Cupcake started as a food trailer, but now has a store on Burnet Road.  And yes the cupcakes are delicious! — Hey Cupcake started as a food trailer, but now has a store on Burnet Road. And yes the cupcakes are delicious!

I have always been intrigued by this sign, and just happened to arrive during a wonderful sunset!

A few weeks back, I had a couple of nights at home by myself (well, me and the dog, that is) and so I did what anyone would do in that situation: I went out to shoot a bunch! (What, that's not what you would do?) ;-)

I have a long list of spots here in Austin that I want to shoot (and a very popular list here on the blog of spots that I have already shot), and so I took advantage of that free time to get out and check a few things off my list. You see, when I am driving somewhere in Austin, inevitably I pass something that I think would make a cool photo, and I make a mental note to tell myself to make an actual note of it, so I can remember to go back and shoot it.

I have to write it down, or I will never remember it. Signs of age, I guess.

The Little Longhorn Saloon has been on Burnet Road for as long as I can remember. I've never been inside.

Tiny Pies - never eaten there, but sure sounds good!

So when I am at a stoplight or parked, I grab the iPhone, open up my "Things to shoot in Austin" note, and type it in. I've been doing this for years, and it works great. The note is always with me, and when I shoot it I get the pleasure of erasing it from my list. Well, it's a pleasure to me, but then again I love scratching things off lists. Makes me feel like I accomplished something.

So this list mostly just grows, but every now and then I get out while I am home and fire away at some of these things. It's pretty awesome to shoot in your hometown. It may sound stupid to say that, but I travel frequently and while that can be fun too, it's nice to just be in a reasonably familiar spot, yet still shooting at stuff that you find interesting.

I've never been in Top Drawer Thrift, but it's a cool storefront right?  maybe I should go there and look for antique cameras. — I've never been in Top Drawer Thrift, but it's a cool storefront right? maybe I should go there and look for antique cameras.

Top Notch Burgers is famous for being in the movie Dazed and Confused, which included local celeb Matthew McConaughey.  I have never seen him here. — Top Notch Burgers is famous for being in the movie Dazed and Confused, which included local celeb Matthew McConaughey. I have never seen him here.

Top Notch runs their own movie nights now, shown on a wall via a projector.  They set up plastic chairs in the parking lot. — Top Notch runs their own movie nights now, shown on a wall via a projector. They set up plastic chairs in the parking lot.

And by the way, I also make notes in my phone of spots I want to shoot in other cities that I have plans to visit. I do a lot of research before I go on a trip, so when I get there I already have a plan. There's nothing worse than being somewhere new and exciting, and not having any idea what to go shoot. Figure it out before you go, so you don't waste your time when you are there.

Anyways, back to the Austin stuff.

One area of town that is quite fun is along Burnet Road. It used to be mostly older and almost run-down retail stores, but it's a pretty decent part of town, it's somewhat close to the city center, and it's becoming more and more popular. Over the last few years it's really started to get popular. Cool new stuff is getting built (but not big name chains - mostly local cool stuff, as far as I can tell, which is great because we want to Keep Austin Weird) and it has the added benefit of being a short drive from my house. So I popped over there a couple of times and fired away at neon signs and some of the stores that I thought just looked cool, which I love to do. Something about signs and interesting storefronts just gets to me.

And a stunning sunset and blue hour never hurts. :-)

Upper Crust Bakery - love that sign!!  Ain't it cool??! — Upper Crust Bakery - love that sign!! Ain't it cool??!

just stepped a little to the left after that last shot

Then of course I drove around to a few more spots and fired away at some store murals and graffiti, which are basically the same thing except that one is intended for the spot and the other one isn't. :-)

Anyways, it was a very productive week in terms of taking photos and checking things off my list - two things that get me pretty excited! Thanks for having a look!

Oh and by the way, I just converted over to Lightroom CC and it's amazing. I will have more to say about that transition soon. If you weren't aware, I have used Aperture for the last several years, and since Apple killed that product I had to move. About a year ago, I wrote this post right after Apple announced they were ceasing development of Aperture. A year later, I finally got something done - and got to check another thing off my list LOL!