282 replies to this topic

[Brian Luenser]

Good morning to avoid I-35 North at 121. (There is never a bad morning to avoid this strip.) Sure could be redesigned. WAY too much merging between Spur 280 (287) and 121.

[John T Roberts]

They are working on the redesign right now. When finished, the on ramp from US 287 will enter I-35W north of the exit for TX 121.

[Brian Luenser]

^ Thanks for the good news John! That is exactly what needs to happen.

Here is another accident in the same place this morning...

[Volare]

I live just to the NE of the intersection in question. There are so many bad features to I-35W, and this is merely one of them. When northbound on 287, a sign on that ramp tells you that if you want to go N on 35W, you need to be in the left lane. This is clearly NOT the case. In fact, THREE lanes of traffic go north on 35, but if you aren't from around these parts you will work you way left across four lanes of traffic for no reason. Like I said, I live right near here, but I hardly ever go thru here, as I know all the shortcuts and detours.

[Brian Luenser]

There was a fire after the big swap meet this weekend at the Ballpark. Sunday evening. I could see the flames, and it produced a lot of smoke that lingered over downtown for 10 minutes. But I never actually saw firefighters get out of their truck. Maybe the were burning trash in a dumpster? Got me.

[Brian Luenser]

Walked to Target for groceries today. (Backpack full.) My cardiac rehab people tell me to get exercise on my days off rehab. Felt great. Think I could have run the 1.25 miles. (But not tempted yet.)

On the way, in the 2400 block of West 7th street, I saw this broken glass in this business. Don't know the name of the building but it his historic. Pretty sure I ordered my 1988 Chevy truck from that building. The building does not have an active business in it but it was full of stuff. Like being used by the owner for storage. So I called the Fort Worth Police. Told them that the building was burglarized or it was about to be. Did not stick around for the Cops as I needed to get shopping. But on the way home saw the Police cars there. (They had called me back asking questions.) After I took the photos of the cops cars I got a bit nervous. You here all the time that the same loser that commits a crime likes to come back to see the ramifications. I did not want them to think that my backpack might contain stolen goods from the building. I kept walking and was not pursued. I did give 911 my name so I could quickly prove I had some interest in looking at the building and them. I do hope they were able to get a hold of the owner and get that window covered over. If any of you drive up 7th tonight you might check on the place.

i-phone photos.

[Cowtown Mike]

Have been past that building many times. Glad you kept walking with that backpack. They may have thought you were Ernest T. Bass from Andy Griffith and had a bag full of rocks. LOL Glad to hear your doing better.

Mike

[Brian Luenser]

Some kind of medical emergency in Sundance Square tonight. (I am guessing nothing at all based on the ambulance guys not getting the stretcher out or anything.) Maybe a pedestrian bumped by a car or something. The action was under the Haltoms clock. Plenty of accidents yet to come this rainy Saturday evening in the Christmas party season.

Mostly, this is a "Ain't the green Christmas lights pretty" shot. Along with a reminder about driving safely on these wet streets.

[Brian Luenser]

Sanger Lofts.

I don't see any smoke. Your guess is as good as mine. BTW, I frequently wonder about Sanger Lofts. Occupancy, rent prices, quality of living.

[Ron Payne]

We looked into Sanger Lofts when we were searching for a downtown rental while we lease our house out, and the thing that turned us away was that they all have only one bathroom - we were looking for at least 2. Other than that, and in the words of Hogan's Hero's Schultzy, "I know NOTH-ink!"

[Brian Luenser]

It is not like we haven't seen many accidents at this location before. They are working this one right now. Like a dozen emergency vehicles closing down the Highway. (I-35W Northbound at Hwy 121 merge)




Closer look. I am thinking an H2 plus an auto. Will get a closer shot when the wreckers get there.

[Matt615]

I thought of you Brian when I was caught in traffic trying to get around this one the other night. I guess your new condo still has a view of this area. It was an yellow H2 and another auto, but as I was trying to not be a rubbernecker I didn't get a close enough look to identify.

[Brian Luenser]

Accident working at Henderson and Weatherford Streets.

Seems like it is under control. This is more about reminding people to drive safely and playing with my new lens then hard core reporting.

In the rain, I did not want to be on my balcony with my tripod so this is a shot with my 800mm lens, IS on, hand held at 1/25th of a second. A crappy photo but all considered pretty good. (rain, hand held, 800mm)

My new tripod and head (Gimbal Mount) is supposed to be in on Monday. (Gitzo's best Carbon Fiber legs and Wimberley's best head.) Made in Virginia.

[Cowtown Mike]

Brian, with the rain all day, I expect there were many accidents today.

[Brian Luenser]

Roger that Mike. Saw the Police working a pickup truck in the creek on I-30 near Oakland. Saw that on a trip to Home Depot today on Bridgewood. Besides wet roads, when it rains as hard as it did today, dirt washes into the streets and makes a nice little mud slick.

[Brian Luenser]

4:30 this morning. A Dodge Dakota, traveling North on Throckmorton Street, appears to have run into the Criminal Courts building at high speed. I would say a fatality or two. (Street shut down for hours, markings painted on the street etc...)

First shot from my balcony. My new 800. One shot from balcony. Hand held. Very good. (Amazing, really)


Grabbed my jeans, camera and 38, headed out at 4:30am to see what was up...
All with my 50mm 1.2, no flash of course.

[jefffwd]

Your photo on WFAA.com... Impressive!

http://www.wfaa.com/...-139632383.html

[David Love]

Looks like it was straight on, seems odd with two people in the vehicle...

[renamerusk]

Your photo on WFAA.com... Impressive!

http://www.wfaa.com/...-139632383.html

Add my name to you being a johnny on the spot - "take a bow!"

Keep Fort Worth folksy

[Brian Luenser]

I think there might be a bit of irony in that if this guy is being charged with intoxication assault (or manslaughter if the passenger dies) he would be tried in the building he hit.

http://blogs.star-te...fort-worth.html

[Cowtown Mike]

He must have been moving at a high rate of speed downtown to do that. Right into the what used to be the old Tarrant County Jail building.

[Cowtown Mike]

I see your pictures online at the S/T Telegram.

[David Love]

He must have been moving at a high rate of speed downtown to do that. Right into the what used to be the old Tarrant County Jail building.

From the look of the truck, looks to be straight on and that's after going over a curb and a sidewalk. It happened right after 2 AM so just as bars were closing, both were from or close to Bridgeport. ...and what's with the dear antler sticker, was there some kind of RedNeck convention in town? How can two people NOT see a building, were they blinded by something other than alcohol?

[Brian Luenser]

This new article here on Channel 11 states the woman passenger has extensive brain damage.
Pretty sure I see the evidence in the windshield. (Cropped my 4am shot) Not to disrespect this poor woman, but if you ever ride with a drunk guy, buckle up.

http://dfw.cbslocal....ures-passenger/

[David Love]

That's really sad... very tragic and I feel for that woman's family.

...wish the news would get the streets right.

[Ron Payne]

Must be the 'car guy' in me - I look at all these shots and come away thinking, "Wow! Check out how well the crumple zones worked on that pickup!" The passenger compartment is virtually untouched, although that engine had to go somewhere...

[Brian Luenser]

The passenger compartment looked perfect. I was amazed. They hit that granite wall hard enough to knock off the tailgate and the spare tire and flatten the tires. Of course I don't have a clue, but if I had to guess, the passenger would have been OK if she was buckled in.

I really think the drive must have fallen asleep between the bar and Belknap street. (few blocks) He just must have been going 70.

[renamerusk]

I really think the drive must have fallen asleep between the bar and Belknap street. (few blocks) He just must have been going 70.

Wishing both the driver and his passenger the best.

However, if someone is not familiar with that intersection (an out-of-towner), perhaps the dark base of the building could appear in the night as an entrance to a tunnel or to an underpass, especially by a driver who may have been drinking earlier. I do agree that the driver was likely going at too high of a rate of speed for a downtown street. Probably some reflective instruments will need to be installed at this location after this accident.

Somewhat off the subject, I have always thought that the highly visible south elevation of the building would make an excellent spot for outdoor advertising or a digital display board making some extra revenue for the county.

http://www.fortworth...iminalcourt.htm

[Brian Luenser]

^ Don't disagree Renamerusk. A few reflectors would help.

I didn't think this big truck damaged the Courthouse building. But it did. I walked over there this morning and took these 3 shots. BTW, all my photos were on Channel 8 news last night. (All 6) It was the last station to show them. Also, an attorney at Tarrant County asked me for all the photos I took. (25?) I disked up the orginals for them.

[David Love]

The guy ran a stop light and narrowly missed a patrol car, that part of Throckmorton isn't the brightest part of downtown but it's still pretty bright for 2 AM.

I'm thinking he could have been doing 40 to 50 to cause that kind of damage, I'm thinking the low end of 40, I'd think at 70 an unseatbelted passenger would have left the vehicle.

[Brian Luenser]

Something going on at Target just now. May have been somebody's reaction to the price of Blueberries this week.

[Brian Luenser]

Heard this accident happen this morning at 6:15am. Was really loud with a lot of screeching. I am guessing somebody was driving to fast. Still have not figured out what happened really. 2 One way streets (Houston Southbound and 4th Street Westbound.) Was very surprised that it took 16 minutes to get the first emergency vehicle there. Right in the middle of all the police and fire stations. Pretty long time in my book. Considering there were vehicles not drivable blocking traffic. I saw no injuries. (Of course that means there were none.) I took my first pick around 15 seconds after the impact. It will be my second photo. First I will show the streets...

[Ron Payne]

That is a strange result - my expert eye (*cough cough*) says that the truck was travelling south on Houston and got hit broadside by the black car travelling west on 4th. The truck appears to have slid to its resting spot, based on the fact that the left rear tire is lying horizontal in the close-up shot. The white car then came barreling through, seeing the black car too late, and swerved into the truck at rest. Well, it's a theory anyways...

Great shots and great lense Mr. Luenser!

[Brian Luenser]

While I was at work, working hard, my dear wife (Oprah must have been boring) saw this action out our windows. She took several pictures with my camera. Like 20, but only one turned out. After she was able to get my camera on fully automatic. The last time I used my camera, a few hours earlier, see photos above, I had my ISO set to 2000 and my aperture set on 2.8. She took some shots at that setting that looked like a nuclear explosion. But got this shot as her last shot. One more thing. She is afraid of heights so she shot this through our thick tinted windows.

This is that guy on the news. (Naked guy hands out cash than crashes Mercedes and then gets out and runs naked.) Here is the story from the Star Telegram.

http://www.star-tele...n-downtown.html

Here is the lone shot worth showing.


And a bit of a crop of that

[Brian Luenser]

Everybody remembers the pickup truck that crashed into the Tarrant Co. Criminal Courts building on Feb 19. I was guessing by the windshield in front of the passenger that that girl would not make it. I checked on her for 3 days and then moved on. She died on the forth. For those that have not followed this, scroll up to February to see my pictures. I think I had the only pictures of the accident. (All news media used my photos and none others that I saw. (Just happened to be downtown at 4am with my camera gear. (Saw it out my windows when I got up that night.)

I frequently think the news media drops the ball on follow up stories that would likely interest people. Pretty sure they missed this one altogether. I read someplace that she was not buckled in. (About the only way to break a windshield with your head.

A waitress with 2 kids. Don't ride with drunks, and if you do... at least buckle up.

http://www.wcmesseng...ne-lightfoot-3/

[Ron Payne]

Terrible news about the passenger, although I have to ask what a woman with 2 kids is doing out partying at 4 in the morning...

[David Love]

Not sure if I missed a scheduled demolition of the grain silos or this is the result of the high winds?

[1badgmc]

Terrible news about the passenger, although I have to ask what a woman with 2 kids is doing out partying at 4 in the morning...

I asked that question frequently when my (now ex-) wife was out closing down the bars every weekend while I stayed home with our 2 boys.

[JBB]

Not sure if I missed a scheduled demolition of the grain silos or this is the result of the high winds?

Wow. I hadn't noticed that work happening. I would say that's most definitely demolition. Explosives have a hard time bringing down grain silos. We certainly haven't had strong enough winds lately (at least in that area) to bring that down.

[Brian Luenser]

David you scooped me. I had my photos about 8pm. I was at my precinct convention tonight that started at 7.

Not wind for sure. Not even dynamite would do this. I was shocked to see it. Sure wonder what is up and if it is all coming down? And if something is going in its place?

200 mm



800mm



From my Hillbilly lens test a month ago, just to refresh our memory.

[Ron Payne]

Man, that 800mm is something else! I declare it to be well worth the money you spent on it!

[Volare]

Boy I sure hope the take down that entire eyesore and replace it with a condo tower. But it seems unlikely...

[Brian Luenser]

It is a bit of an eyesore. A bit nostalgic is all. I always thought it was a few thousand dollars worth of colored lights from being a visual positive contributer. (Shine red lights on it at night or something.)

I sure wonder what their plans are.

[bburton]

Man, that 800mm is something else! I declare it to be well worth the money you spent on it!

I concur wholeheartedly. The most beautiful aspect is that Brian spends the money and the time, and we get to sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor.

[Matt615]

I too like Brian's new lens. If you look at Brian's before picture form a month ago it appears that the silos being demolished are a different shade of grey than the ones still standing?

[Brian Luenser]

I also noticed the color difference and wondered if that was a clue. If they are blowing this thing up you would sure think it would make some noise? Of course it is a ways away. I took a video of them blowing up the TCU stadium last year from the parking garage in the arts district. Could see it well. I could hear nothing but birds tweeting in the distance. Pretty amazing how distance attenuates even the loudest noises.

My 800mm lens. Do love it. Looking forward to time off and clear skies to go out and play with it. The shot I took here was handheld in low light. Still pretty good. (Could not use my good tripod because I had my smaller tripod on my balcony taking time series photos and could not disturb it.) Dangit. I almost gave away my next project surprise...

[David Love]

Right after the storms blew by I dashed home and took a shot with my phone around 4 or 5 then posted it on FB, didn't pay much attention to it then came back and noticed something didn't look right.

[Brian Luenser]

No mystery that they are getting rid of some grain elevators. Also no mystery how they are doing it...

[Brian Luenser]

Not sure what was going on down at the river at 8pm tonight. (Old Tandy parking lot just West of Henderson)

I saw them load somebody in this ambulance.



And pretty sure it related to this dirt bike seen here. For one reason, we should not see that dirt bike and cop car in the same frame. No place around the river in Fort Worth is it legal to operate a dirt bike. (Also see, erosion control, liability, noise, litter and drowning)

[cberen1]

It is a bit of an eyesore. A bit nostalgic is all. I always thought it was a few thousand dollars worth of colored lights from being a visual positive contributer. (Shine red lights on it at night or something.)

I sure wonder what their plans are.

I worked in that facility about 12 years ago. Most of the Rock Island elevator had been inoperable for decades. They had explored demolition several times over the years, but cost was always an issues. Apparently 80 years of lead based paint makes implosion unworkable.

They would prefer to not be there. If they could get $6 - $8 Million out of that property they would move. Truck traffic in and out of there is a huge pain. It's also over 100 years old so age is an issue. Unfortunately it's one of the largest feed ills anywhere in the U.S. and LOL needs the production capacity.