Author: Steve Shelton

Amateur photographer with some photos that want to breath and have their stories told.

Novembruary – Winter Storm…….Mid-Autumn?

So the weather has been a bit interesting lately in my corner of the world. The mushrooms were photographed on October 17, a nice comfortable autumn day, warm enough yet for growing wild fungi.

Then things went downhill, we had a minor accumulation of snow on November 8, it was cold enough for it to stick around for a few hours. Then on the 9th some more snow and colder.

On the night of the 13th the ground started to freeze in shaded areas.

November 14 and Winter Storm Avery drops by for a visit and leaves 5.2 inches of snow.

Tomorrow, the 21st, it is back to mid 50s and sunny once again.

My dad used to say ” If you don’t like the weather stick around, something you do like will come through shortly. ”

Good times!

Holey Blowout, Batman!

So, I have this personality quirk that causes me to photograph stray or lost shoes in the wild. This was one half of a pair of shoes that had stopped to rest for a while on a light post base at Walmart. Unfortunately, this one seems to have seen better days, its traveling companion was little better.

I secretly think they were abandoned to their fate by the proud owner of a shiny new pair of shoes.

Probably had some folks wondering what I was doing, as my wife (who brought the shoes to my attention to begin with) told me they were looking as they drove by. Hmmm?

A Learning Curve, and That’s No Bull…….

Hi, it seems I have been occupied with other things too much lately and have neglected to post anything for a while.

One of those things has been learning to shoot and edit video, which I have found is much more involved than merely pointing a camera at something and pressing the appropriate button. Recording the video is just about stupid easy. Getting good video, not so much. Editing video takes determination and a strong stomach at times.

Anyway, I was out for a walk one morning a couple weeks ago and looking for things I could use to make a video. A bit challenging due to the “nothing much ever happens around here” nature of the county road I live on. In addition, I had decided to determine if it is possible to shoot, edit and produce video using nothing more than a smartphone.

It is certainly possible and the result was going to be included in this post. However, after the video was loaded and added to the post the playback was very sluggish and not so pretty. I have included a link to the video file on YouTube if you wish to see it. This link does work quite well.

I hope you enjoy the video of my walk.

The Beauty is in the Details

Sometimes the beauty of, or the interesting look at something is up close in the details that would otherwise get lost in a larger view.

Eastern Red Cedar is a fairly common tree locally, usually getting a good start in fence rows and abandoned fields. Many consider it to be a weed to be eradicated, yet they provide rot proof wood for outdoor use along with the fragrant lining of cedar chests or closets. This is a view of some of the seeds just as they begin to mature and turn the darker shade of blue.

This is a wild grass called Wide Leaf Uniola that grows well here. The seed heads are it’s most notable feature, mostly because of the shape of the seed clusters and the droopy look of them. They also move in the least bit of breeze and make me think of schools of little fish for some reason.

I don’t have a name for this little flower yet, don’t recall ever seeing one of these before. This was a single plant I spotted while out for a walk a few days ago, it was really wanting to be photographed so I obliged. Surprisingly, this one didn’t seem to be suffering any from the hot dry weather we had through most of June and the first couple weeks of July.

Finally, a very orange fungus, tentatively identified as a Cinnabar Polypore, all dressed up for autumn in pumpkin camouflage. Pretty tough to miss this one. A few years ago there was a large dead tree at this location, the trunk of which was almost covered with this same fungus. That was quite a sight with hundreds of these popping out all over the tree. All I know for certain is that I won’t be having any of these on the menu at my house!

Thank you for reading, until next time.

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.

Shades of Reflection

While out for errands this morning a car pulled into the parking spot in front of me. Almost immediately, the reflections on the windshield and hood of the newcomer caught my interest……..I know it’s pretty lame but what else is there to do while waiting in a five acre parking lot? Make a photograph or two to pass the time.

If nothing else, it helped to take my mind off the sunny, humid and warm day. One can almost pretend the reflections are on cool water.

Just Because……..

Sometimes I just want to see what something looks like as a photograph, usually as a matter of curiosity. Some of them go into the “what was I thinking?” category. Others speak to me on some level.

This photo was made last Sunday, a rather hot day by most accounts. When I first stepped into the shade of this tree I just stopped and looked up. Noting the play of light and shadow in the leaves I pulled out the trusty phone and took several photos trying to capture how things looked and hopefully the way it felt.

The following photo was made this morning, again in the spirit of curiosity. Some rain last night had brought the lichen and moss back to life after the dry hot weather of recent weeks. The change was quite dramatic.

Thanks for reading.

On Trees, Unusual

One fine morning last summer my wife and I were taking the scenic route on the way to the grocery store, meaning we were wandering about on backroads following the front bumper of my truck. Then I spotted this tree alongside the road.

The shape, the bends in the branches made this tree stand out from the others. I don’t know if the straight trunk is a part of this tree or a separate one growing very close by. While curiosity was wanting answers, caution was observing the thick hedge of poison ivy and shouting NO! Prudence recalled the emergency room visit for the last poison ivy episode and enlisted the help of thrift and tightwad then proceeded to wrestle curiosity to the ground. It was a struggle but all ended well.

Cove Church and Cemetery

This post contains the other photos of Cove Church. They were made on an early morning last autumn when my fancy DSLR decided to take the day off so I used my lowly smartphone on general principles…..and because I had no other choice.

A couple shots of the front of the church, never could decide which one I liked better so kept both of them. Feel free to like either of them, both or none. As is often the case with the tiny country churches in the area, it shows a bit of age and the efforts of members to add on or repair over the years.

A couple more views of the church, these were taken with a little more of the setting.

Finally, two shots of the cemetery.

Strange as it may sound, I find the cemetery intriguing in its almost organic appearance. I have the impression the trees grew where they are in order to stand guard over the church and those who are buried here. An impression needing a deeper exploration, there may yet be more to this story

Looking back on this group of photos after several months I notice the sky most, the way clouds, light, shadow and color all come together. At the time they were made I had been mostly focusing on what was on the ground. Yet as I recall the day, the sky was looking very much like this.

Thank you for reading, until next time.