Lizard lounge

Mark M. Hancock / © The Beaumont Enterprise


A lizard warms in the sun at Shangri La Botanical Gardens & Nature Center in Orange on Tuesday, March 27, 2007. Although the property was severely damaged by Hurricane Rita, the center plans to open to the public in the fall of 2007.

Village Creek vacation

Mark M. Hancock / © The Beaumont Enterprise

Humble residents Travis King (left) and Rose King (right) prepare their tent for camping at Village Creek State Park in Lumberton on Friday, May 16, 2008.

Soggy cattails

Mark M. Hancock / © NewsEagles

Cattails fight against rushing water in a drainage ditch after an afternoon storm in Plano on Tuesday, June 17, 2008.

Blue Elbow Swamp trail

Mark M. Hancock / © The Beaumont Enterprise

Jeff Watson (right) of Cumming, Ga. walks down the observation trail with his daughter Kelsy, 3, at Tony Houseman State Park in the Blue Elbow Swamp behind the TXDOT Travel Center in Orange on Thursday, May 15, 2008.

Blue Elbow Swamp buddies

A snake slithers past a turtle at Tony Houseman State Park in the Blue Elbow Swamp behind the TXDOT Travel Center in Orange on Thursday, May 15, 2008.

Mark M. Hancock / © The Beaumont Enterprise

Blue Elbow Swamp tree frog

Mark M. Hancock / © The Beaumont Enterprise

A tree frog rests at Tony Houseman State Park in the Blue Elbow Swamp behind the TXDOT Travel Center in Orange on Thursday, May 15, 2008.

Blue Elbow Swamp turtles

Two turtles warm in the sun at Tony Houseman State Park in the Blue Elbow Swamp behind the TXDOT Travel Center in Orange on Thursday, May 15, 2008.

Mark M. Hancock / © The Beaumont Enterprise

Blue Elbow Swamp garfish

Mark M. Hancock / © The Beaumont Enterprise

A garfish waits for a meal at Tony Houseman State Park in the Blue Elbow Swamp behind the TXDOT Travel Center in Orange on Thursday, May 15, 2008.

Blue Elbow Swamp flower

Flowers bloom at Tony Houseman State Park in the Blue Elbow Swamp behind the TXDOT Travel Center in Orange on Thursday, May 15, 2008.

Mark M. Hancock / © The Beaumont Enterprise

Normally I'd post the next week's worth of images as one post, but I'm working on other issues this week. So, I'll post one per day from this series. This series and this image are from my final full day at Beaumont.

Botanical Gardens benefactors

Photos by Mark M. Hancock / © The Beaumont Enterprise

Ann Harder (left) and her sister Edra Harder Bogucki (right) chat outside the new reception center at the Tyrrell Park Beaumont Botanical Gardens in Beaumont on Tuesday, May 13, 2008. The sisters donated funds to help restore and improve the gardens.


Ann Harder talks with others as she carries her gardening supplies to a work area in the garden at the Tyrrell Park Beaumont Botanical Gardens.


Roses grow in a garden near the new centerpiece waterfall and restored pond at the Tyrrell Park Beaumont Botanical Gardens.

Shangri La: Nature

photos by Mark M. Hancock / © NewsEagles
for Stark Foundation

Shangri La Ecofestival

Terri Sims (left) and her husband Scot Sims (right) of Orange tour the gardens during the Ecofestival at Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Orange on Saturday, April 26, 2008.

Photos by Mark M. Hancock / © The Beaumont Enterprise



Volunteer Talbert Meadows (center) introduces Maxine, a 5-year-old barred owl, to visitors during the Ecofestival at Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center.

I'm flying to NY

Mark M. Hancock / © The Beaumont Enterprise

A Great Egret is startled by a ferry's horn near the ferry crossing over the waterway between Calcasieu Lake and the Gulf of Mexico in Cameron, La. on Tuesday, July 3, 2007.


I'm flying to Albany, NY today for the New York Press Association Spring Convention. I'll be the old guy with the boonie hat and Texan accent. If you attend the convention, please say howdy to me after my presentations (I'll be freaking out until I'm done).

On Friday, I'll be presenting "What is a Photojournalist" from 2:15 - 3:30 p.m. followed by "Quick Ways to Improve Your Images" from 3:45 - 5 p.m. (this one may run long). These presentations are at The Hampton Inn.

Here are the session descriptions:

What is a photojournalist?

This session is intended for non-photojournalists, who want learn about professional visual journalism. Learn what makes photojournalism different than other photography styles. Learn how photojournalism can be the most powerful form of communication. Learn how to effectively work with photojournalists to maximize reader impact. Put on the boots of a photojournalist for a while and understand why they love this work so much.

Quick ways to improve your images

This session is intended for working news photographers and photojournalists. However, it's helpful for anyone who makes images. This session includes fast, effective, proven techniques to improve everyone's images and make images pack more punch when they hit the newsstand. This session reveals pro techniques in story telling, composition, exposures, focus, access, cutline accuracy and more. Some working knowledge of photography is suggested to keep up with this fast-paced session.

While the first session states it's for non-PJs, some PJs may want to attend and think of it as a "Defense Against the Dark Arts" class. I'll explain what PJs do in journalism terms.

I'll be around the whole weekend if anyone wants to shoot the breeze or show me their work. I'll be staying at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Expect to see a shot or two from the trip. :-)

For the record, think twice before you accept a speaking gig. The semester of speech I took in college never prepared me to give two separate back-to-back speeches this long. Whew!

Since I've spent weeks getting these ready, I may turn them into a images-and-words training video later this year (minus the "where was I?" moments of the live version).

For all three of this blog's regular readers, I'll post the Quick Tips cheat sheet on Friday. It won't be linked immediately and some of it may not make sense yet, but it may be helpful to y'all anyway.

Next week I'll be finishing a multi-media sports project I've been working on since last year. It should post sometime the following week.

I plan to be back on blogging target (daily PJ questions will return) around April 15th, which happens to be the first day I'll deliver a post for the Black Star blog. It'll be cross-posted here as well, but it may go over the heads of casual shooters. I may have some other interesting news about then as well.

Enough for now,

Wetland Walkway re-opens

Photos by Mark M. Hancock / © The Beaumont Enterprise

The Wetland Walkway on the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge near Hackberry, Louisiana had its official reopening on Wednesday, March 19, 2008. The refuge was destroyed by Hurricane Rita and required major reconstruction.

See a larger version of this slidshow.

Please read, "Reopened trail reveals nature's resilience..." by Christine Rappleye.

Lamar paleontology lab

Photos by Mark M. Hancock / © The Beaumont Enterprise

Lamar University professor Jim Westgate (left) leads a paleontology field project on a beach near Sabine Pass on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008. Westgate opposes accreditation of an online educator's degree program through the Institute for Creation Research because of the institute's emphasis on inserting theological information into what he said should be scientific studies.


Lamar University junior James Burnes searches for diverse animal shells and bones during a field project on a beach near Sabine Pass.


Shells on a beach near Sabine Pass are studied as a modern analogy to fossil deposits.


Video © Mark M. Hancock

Please read, "Science war brews" by Emily Guevara.

Texas trailing phlox slideshow

Photos & music by Mark M. Hancock / photos © The Beaumont Enterprise

Conservation organizations are working with forest management companies and the government to reintroduce the endangered Texas trailing phlox plant in Tyler County on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007. The plant is only known to grow in four Texas counties.

Dewey spider

Mark M. Hancock / © The Beaumont Enterprise

A spider waits in a dewey web in Tyler County on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007. Wednesday morning's thick fog made driving difficult throughout Southeast Texas.

Award Winner:
2nd Place, Feature Photo, Texas Press Association

This image is also the final image in this slideshow. You're not seeing double.

River rainbow

Mark M. Hancock / © The Beaumont Enterprise

A rainbow leads to the Port of Beaumont following rain showers in Beaumont on Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007.

Adopt-A-Beach cleanup

Photos by Mark M. Hancock / © The Beaumont Enterprise

Shilpa Chandra (left) and Jelani Oville (right) with the American Medical Students Association at Lamar University collect trash during an Adopt-A-Beach cleanup event at McFaddin Beach near Sabine Pass on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007.


Tyler Montero, 15 (from left to right), Zechariah Turk, 16, Hunter Hanratty, 11, and Taylor Williams pull a truck inner tube ashore during an Adopt-A-Beach cleanup event at McFaddin Beach. The annual fall cleanup is sponsored by the Texas General Land Office and held at different locations along the Texas coast.


Volunteers dig in the sand for buried trash during an Adopt-A-Beach cleanup event at McFaddin Beach.


Daniel Curl, 16 (from left to right), Tyler Montero, 15, Zechariah Turk, 16, Hunter Hanratty, 11 and Taylor Williams look for debris during an Adopt-A-Beach cleanup event at McFaddin Beach.

Hurricane Humberto slideshow

Photos by Mark M. Hancock / © The Beaumont Enterprise

To make the show play better, CLICK HERE to view only this post.

Hurricane Humberto developed from a tropical depression into a strong Category 1 hurricane in 18 hours. Most Southeast Texas residents went to bed expecting a bad storm and some morning flooding. Instead, Hurricane Humberto hit hard and fast. For residents of High Island and surrounding communities it hit with unpresidented fury.

Luckily, there was only one hurricane-related fatality.