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Date night out on the town

Curtis and I had a rare Saturday date night out on the town here in Austin. We celebrated his achievement of a career-high bonus. WTG, baby! (And thanks, Mom, for babysitting!) We started off at Sullivan’s in the Warehouse District, our most favorite restaurant in town, then walked over to 6th Street, went down one side and up the other, and then ended up at the Driskill Hotel.

I shot this entire set of photos with my D300, 35mm f/1.8 lens at 3200 ISO wide open with varying shutter speeds between 1/30 to 1/125 handheld.

This is one of the first bars we passed after having dinner in the Warehouse District at Sullivan’s. This place had its windows open to the sidewalk and this was the view inside. Wow! I’ve never seen a waterfall from a ceiling before.

A pedi-cab driver and his friend stopped at a red light in an intersection in the Warehouse District. I stopped in the middle of the intersection and asked if I could get a shot of them. I was nervous, but they said yes.

 

This is the Cedar Street Bar in the Warehouse District. It’s sandwiched between two buildings and is open to the sky… no roof or walls!

View of the Driskill Hotel from the corner of 6th Street and Congress Avenue. I love the architecture of this hotel.

A view of the Driskill Hotel from right in front of it looking up. The way it’s lit at night is so elegant.

A gorgeous window display on 6th Street. I love the eclectic blend of items and colors. It made me feel old though. LOL.

Waiting on the light to change… a random corner on 6th Street. It was bustling and barely 10:00 p.m.

A horse-drawn carriage waiting for fares on 6th Street. At the front of the horse is a street jewelry vendor.

I was still nervous asking people if I could take their photo, but I asked the cops if I could get a shot of them. They said sure, so I told them to pretend I wasn’t there. 🙂

Museum of the Weird. Haven’t been in there… yet.

I started realizing that I was shooting more places than people and started getting more bold. I saw this bride coming, so I got behind her and followed her bridal party to this bar. I slipped behind a column and snuck a few shots. One of the bridesmaids caught me and nudged the bride… “We’ve got paparazzi!” I laughed and asked if I could get a shot and they posed. So here is an anonymous bridal party. I was surprised that every single person I asked agreed to have their photo taken during our walk. So cool.

This is Pure Ultra Lounge, all icy blue and empty. It was open to the sidewalk and I got this great shot. Another place I’ve never been in… yet.

The famous “Austin Live Music Capital of the World” mural.

This is hands-down my favorite shot of the night. I’m thinking of getting this made into a canvas, I love it that much. This was a bar that had floor to ceiling windows open to the sidewalk and the window frames were lined with bottle caps. I slipped inside one of the windows to get this perspective and caught a building and a woman with her friend in the background. I just love the composition and colors.

The corner of 6th Street and San Jacinto. Don’t forget to look up when out and about.

One of the many, many bars along 6th Street. I love the carving on this one.

I walked through a big crowd gathered outside of one particular bar and wondered why everyone was standing around. Then I saw the big TVs… there was a pay-per-view fight on. Ohhh. I crouched down in the street to get the motorcyles and the crowd in the scene.

A horse-drawn carriage ride down 6th Street. There were at least four of these in operation that I could see.

After all of our walking, we wanted something cool and sweet, so we headed to the 1886 Room located in the Driskill Hotel which is known for its fabulous desserts. We had to wait for a table, so I got some photos of the lobby of the hotel. This is the ceiling, isn’t it gorgeous?

Waiting for our table at the 1886 Room, this is the lobby of the Driskill Hotel. See the lady in the background with the blue hair?

Our last stop of the night was the lounge in the Driskill Hotel. They had a piano player and singer and the place was packed. At one point, a table beside us pulled up a saddle to sit on… yes, a saddle (which, by the way, had a “do not sit” sign on it!) and the fellow wore a cowboy hat too. Only in Austin! Love the ceiling here… all hammered copper. Don’t you love the longhorn on the wall too?

Thanks for sharing our date night with me! Curtis and I had a GREAT time. We took a taxi downtown, then had the same driver pick us back up… how decadent! Curtis even wore his backpack so I wouldn’t have to lug my camera bag with me… isn’t he sweet? He took some photos too… once he gets them uploaded, I’ll link you to his Facebook album. Night shooting is more challenging for sure; there isn’t as much light, but you can get some great shots if you plan for them.

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