A River and a Smartphone

Out with my wife this evening for a bit of a date, or, at least as much as a milkshake from the clown food restaurant and a spur of the moment drive to the river qualifies as a date. When we got to the river she opted to stay in the truck rather than fight mosquito hordes both ways across the parking lot and boat ramp, (one smart lady she is).

Since we both grew up in the area I wanted to show her what the river looks like today, so I used my phone to capture a panoramic photo of the area. As is typical of such photos it came out looking a bit wonky. Then I noticed an option to view it as a motion file, and now I’m hooked.

I hope the motion part comes through for you, I’ve never tried to use one of these photos before. If it doesn’t work as planned then the wonky looking version may have to be used instead.

Now for some of the personal stuff. This river holds a special place in my heart. As I said we grew up in the area, and that included swimming, fishing and canoeing as part of the experience.

At one time the Army Corps of Engineers had started initial work on a series of dams for flood control on the three rivers in the system. Somehow the entire project got placed on the ballot back in the 1970’s and on August 8 1978, 64% of the people voted for free flowing rivers rather than flat water recreational pools.

Looking back I will say that had it been possible then to see the future, the outcome may have been different. We have experienced the two highest flood crests on record since voting down the flood control project and some people are wanting to revive the idea.

Still, in my private thoughts we made the right choice. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy it.

Author: Steve Shelton

Amateur photographer with some photos that want to breath and have their stories told. View all posts by Steve Shelton