Among the various things we do here at ReflectionsTexas is publish some of our writing and nature photography. The titles below are available at Amazon.com.
Visit the galleries (second menu below the header) for some of Robert’s nature photography. All images are available in many sizes, formats, and mountings. Contact Robert if you want to hang one of his images in your home or office or if you need an image for another purpose. If you don’t see an image that fits your needs, contact Robert with a request. Only a fraction of his extensive portfolio is presented in these galleries, and he may have just what you need.
Available at Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGF547ZY
A tale of twin boys who grow up during the severe 1950s south Texas drought.
You may think identical twins are identical, but that’s not always true. This story is about twin boys, Austin and Bryan Gustafson, who came of age in South Texas during the 1950s and 1960s. Their world spins and fragments when a strikingly-beautiful teenage girl moves in next door, and they both fall in love with her. Twin rivalry and mental illness fracture the boys’ lives, families, and community. This tragically poignant account of competing twins and young love will keep you awake and turning pages.
Available at Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/1tbWN0F
Available at Audible (Audio Book): https://tinyurl.com/hxpdhunw
Nothing could excite Dr. Beach O’Neill more than the dream of discovering an unknown species in some exotic rainforest. His and his girlfriend’s world is flipped out of control when a ranch hand reports seeing a strange red bird on the banks of an isolated Texas river. Things turn ugly when Beach discovers a mutilated body and the sheriff thinks he’s the killer. Thus begins a reckless contest between O’Neill and an array of despotic villains who wish to be the first persons on Earth to possess a “Scarlet Kingfisher.” Unsavory characters want Beach and Becky out of the way and off the trail of this unique avian rarity. O’Neill is torn between his obsessive desire to capture the bird and present it to science and Becky’s wish to let it remain in its river home as nature intended. Will this red kingfisher and two different world views mean the end? Will disparate forces have their way?
What reader are saying about this book
Kay Past FIVE STARS – Birders and murders–don’t miss this suspenseful novel!
In The Scarlet Kingfisher Robert Benson gives the reader an unusual glimpse into the world of academia and birding, the only novel I’ve read dealing with those topics. This first novel is a fun read, a real page-turner, and I especially enjoyed the South Texas brush country setting I know so well.
I’m a novice birder, but I now know enough to recognize that every minute birding detail in The Scarlet Kingfisher is accurate and the issues raised in the book are very important to ornithologists.
The story begins when young Texas A&M professor Beach O’Neal arrives at the gate to the Lazy Z Ranch, where his research on Painted Buntings is almost complete, but finds that his combination won’t work on the lock. Furthermore, when the ranch foreman drives up, Beach learns that his access to the ranch–and the data collecting needed for his promotion to associate professor–has been abruptly canceled. The quality of his research is in jeopardy, as are his chances of getting it published in a scientific journal, a requirement for earning tenure.
We meet Leon Butts, an aging n’er-do-well hippie, illegally capturing a couple of endangered Aplomado Falcons on Padre Island Seashore to sell to a shady character named Tsang–accompanied, for some reason, by Beach’s unpleasant department chair, Philip Boyle– for a lot of desperately needed cash.
Enter a rare bird–a Scarlet Kingfisher–sighted on the Lazy Z Ranch, whose owner, a big contributor to A&M, doesn’t want the federal laws protecting such species to affect his control of the property. He demands that Beach sign a non-disclosure statement, promising not to write anything about the new species, in exchange for permission to return to the ranch.
And there’s Beach’s pretty blonde colleague and girlfriend Dr. Rebecca Schroeder, who occasionally accompanies him on birding expeditions.
The plot thickens with a brutal murder–and an unfair accusation. It’s a tangled web, and when you get that far in the story, you’d better have time to keep reading!
I highly recommend this book to all birders, but also to everyone who likes a good suspenseful murder mystery. Just don’t expect your fingernails to survive!
FOLLOW THIS LINK TO SEE OTHER REVIEWS AT AMAZON.COM
Available at Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MVB2C51
This short read is a 4115-word story about an old Texas man who struggles to escape a tribal curse during the 1986 return of Halley’s Comet.
Samuel’s Curse was entered in the first annual Texas Short Story Writing Contest organized and managed by Bethune and Son. The story won first place.
Available at Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MWQT875
A tale of a brave black man who brought fame to a small Texas town.
A short story of 3741 words.
Available at Amazom.com: https://tinyurl.com/y2rwavvb
Cross Search puzzles combine elements of Crossword puzzles and Word Search puzzles. A classic word search puzzle provides a list of words. Sometimes the terms are associated with a theme like “airports in the United States” or “famous sports personalities.” The solver must search for those words hidden in a grid of seemingly random letters. A Cross Search puzzle works similarly but adds another layer to the challenge! The solver is not given the words directly but must deduce the needed terms from clues or definitions. This procedure may sound complicated, but don’t panic! Below each puzzle, you’ll find the first letter of each word. The number of letters in each word is given (in parentheses) along with a valuable clue to the word’s meaning.
The beauty of Cross Search puzzles is that they offer the same brain-stimulating challenge as regular crossword puzzles but without the annoyance of those arcane nonsense fillers found in standard crosswords. This first book in the “Cross Search” series contains 100 puzzles generated from college-level word lists. If you aim to validate or improve your vocabulary or have some fun with learning new words, this book of puzzles is for you.
(Volume One) Available at Amazon.com: https://amzn.to/2NSARYs
(Volume Two) Available at Amazon.com: https://amzn.to/2KsKHOj
Nature photography can change the world. Images from the wild can educate, inspire, and enhance the overall appreciation of our precious natural environments. Developing the skills and learning the specialized practices necessary to get those “Coffee-table-book” images can take years. In this two-volume how-to book, accomplished nature photographer Robert Benson shares insider’s secrets that will add dramatically to your toolbox of valuable techniques.
This book will teach you how to build “studios in the wild” and then get your models (bird, mammals, amphibians, etc.) to drop in and have their images captured. You will discover that great wildlife images won’t require traveling to distant locations or hiring a professional guide to help you learn the art. You may never have to venture beyond your backyard.
What Photographers are Saying about this Book.
I first met Robert Benson at the 2018 Brush Country Safari in Beeville, Texas. I attended all of his workshops and then went to his 30-acre ranch on Pauraque Ridge just north of Beeville for some more instructional time with him. I was intrigued by the material he presented. He was and still is, a terrific teacher. So, when his book, “NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER’S FIELD GUIDE TO SETUPS & TRICKS (Volume One): Setups and Techniques for Capturing Stunning Nature Images” was published, I had to have it. I was not disappointed. To loosely paraphrase one of Emeril Lagassé’s famous catchphrases, if you want to kick your photography skills up a notch, you must read this book. You will learn so much from Robert, a truly gifted teacher. His book is absolutely amazing — the best I’ve read on the subject of nature photography.
Marlo Casabar (16 November 2019) FIVE STARS – Wonderful Book!
Robert Benson’s book, “Nature Photographer’s Field Guide to Setup and Tricks” is a fascinating read. I have to preface my review with the fact that I personally attended the 2018 Brush Country Safari and spent a wonderful morning in one of Mr. Benson’s blinds on Pauraque Ridge. The book is well written and dotted with his personal experiences.
Having immersed myself in bird photography, I love how Robert shares all of the knowledge that he has gained through the years. This book truly reminds me of one of my favorite stories about National Geographic photographers.
Dewitt Jones had been hired by National Geographic as his first photographic gig. In his initial meeting with Bob Gilka, head of photography NGS, Bob told him, “Look, if you work here, you’re part of a team of photographers that are the best in the world. I believe that, and you’d better believe it, too. You don’t have to prove yourself, not to me, or to the other photographers. What I do demand that you do is improve yourself. Every day, strive to be a better photographer, a better visual storyteller. And everything you learn, share it openly with the other photographers here at the NGS. Improve and share; if you do that, you’ll do fine.” National Geographic’s photographer mantra was “Don’t prove yourself. Improve yourself”
Robert Benson’s book is a perfect example of sharing his knowledge and techniques to help YOU improve yourself.
Cheryl L. Johnson (11 November 2019) FIVE STARS – A must-read for anyone wanting to take their nature photography to the next level.
So you’ve decided you want to do bird and nature photography. You invest in the right gear and get to know it. Practice. Practice. Practice. And after a while, your images improve but as you look at other people’s “award-winning” photographs, you begin to wonder how they got those amazing poses and action shots. If you’re looking for a How-To Guide to take your photography and photos to the next level, this is the book for you. Robert Benson has put together a fun and easy to read guide that, much like Dorothy looking behind the curtain to discover the wizard, will take you behind the scenes and show you how the pros get those amazing shots. He goes over equipment, setups, backdrops, and lighting; breaking it down every step of the way with examples and diagrams. The writing style is casual and engaging making it a fun read. Probably the best thing about this book is that the techniques range from how to get better photos from your vehicle just driving down the road, to backyard feeder sets up, to much more involved techniques like camera traps and lighting for shooting hummingbirds. Really, just a great guide and good handbook. Perfect for the backyard photographer or those wishing to enter the professional realm of nature photography.
Foxrose (1 November 2019) FIVE STARS – Excellent information on how to do Nature Photography
The Author has an unusually keen knowledge of the Natural World and the mechanics of professional photography. I think it would take a lifetime of trial and error, hard work and careful observation to gain the knowledge that is in this publication.
Available at Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/1C9naXF
Available on Nook: http://bit.ly/1tJKlEd
A visitor’s first impression of south Texas brush country is a land of dry desolation where every scraggly shrub is armed with vicious thorns. It is the land where wild longhorn cattle roamed free for two hundred years before leather-skinned cowboys learned to herd them to the railheads in Kansas. A more rugged country is hard to imagine. How could anything live here?
But closer looks reveal a complex and diverse environment filled with animal and plant richness found nowhere else north of Mexico. Known as the South Texas Plains, the brush country has the highest recorded number of bird species in Texas, and by extension, the highest avian richness in the United States. Complementing the birds is some of the strangest and most interesting plants, reptiles, and insects found in North America.
Available at Amazon.com: https://amzn.to/2krhVnA
“YARNSWOGGLE” is a playful crossbred word combining “YARN” (to tell an implausible story) and a good old Texas word “HORNSWOGGLE” (to get the better of someone by deception). Many of the best short stories follow this model. A master of this style was the prolific O. Henry, who often led his readers down the golden path, then fooled them at the end. This volume of short stories introduces the works of 20 emerging authors. They transport you to delightful worlds where you will stand beside remarkable characters and encounter diverse ways of living. Some of these tales are polished and professional. Others are rough and gritty. You will identify with several, be appalled by a few, and appreciate them all if you are like our editors. Think of these literary morsels as hidden jewels that may foreshadow the careers of future celebrated authors. We hope you enjoy them. Edited by Robert Henry Benson