Almost A Blog Post……

The plan was to share some photos today, so appropriate ones were selected to load up to WordPress and the process was started. After a while, realization dawned the upload was taking a very long time, so an investigation was commenced. The score: 7 photos uploaded 5 times, 7 photos failed to up 2 times, 7 photos in the upload queue 3 times……….YIKES! Delete!

It appears some cleanup and housekeeping is in order here.

Be back soon.

The following photos are of ice formations left behind when the river level dropped back to normal.?

Foggy Morning

Yet another episode of morning fog. Sometimes I miss driving past this peaceful field on my way to work.

This was an unusual occurrence with the layered look, the normal thing would have been the fog in the foreground and clear air along the treeline

Take heart, my friends, eventually the supply of photos from this spot will run dry…….unless I go make new ones.

Weekend Adventures Part Two

Returning home Sunday evening, I decided to drive to the end of the road to see what was happening and make a photo of any interesting things I chanced upon. The sun had set already so it was going to be a bit tricky, since all I had was my phone. Still, it is a camera, and Ansel Adams said something to the effect of the most important part of any camera being found in the twelve inches behind the viewfinder.

This is a corner of the old barn I keep returning to with some attempt by sun and clouds to add interest to the scene.

I had passed these deer earlier but they were too far away for a good photo, and I was thinking they would be gone by the time I came back . In reality they were much closer to the road! There was none of the usual whitetail deer nervousness, just a calm look to see if I was a danger, then back to grazing. Gourmet soybeans, anyone?

The Butterfly Weed is a bonus shot as it was actually getting fairly dark by this time. Still, I had to try. Photos like this are good since they can be worked out several ways with good result. This one still has possibilities for some other versions. I chose to bring out the foreground and flowers for now.

Weekend Adventures Part One

I see it has been 5 days since my last post, all I can say is too much needs to be done and it can be tough to keep up.

Black-eyed Susan from Saturday morning. I like the bright petals contrasted with the dark center and the profuse blooming habit in ideal conditions. I chose this cluster growing in the shade, mostly because it was brutally hot in the sun all weekend. Temperature was closing in on 90° by 10:00AM. To me these flowers represent early summer like no other.

I also photographed these flowers with a Canon AE-1 that was marked As-is for $10 at a local thrift shop. It is in excellent condition and came with a partially used roll of film, good battery and seems to be fully functional in spite of being over 30 years old. Looking forward to the results with this one.

Into the Storm

Yesterday evening on the drive home a storm came up rather quickly. The kind with hail, downpours, wind and lightning…..bad stuff to be certain. The kind of storm that is sure enough out to get you.

Pulling off the interstate, have to pick up a couple things needed for dinner, and hoping to get back on the road before this thing unleashes the fury.

Looking back to the West just before I turn into the big W parking lot.

Amazingly, I actually got back to the truck with seconds to spare. Shut the door, turned the ignition on and truck and downpour both started. Drove about 10 miles in heavy rain, yet by the time I got home the sun was breaking through behind the storm.

PSA, all photos in this post were taken while my phone was in a dash mounted carrier. The camera features a huge yellow button to “trip the shutter”, which I usually hit without looking. Part of the carrier is visible in the photos. I call this rig the dashcam. Thanks for reading this far.

Cove Church and Cemetery

This is Cove Church and cemetery, named after the road running through this scene, although both may have been named after a local geographic feature. This is quite a contrast to St Mary Magdalen Catholic Church I shared earlier. Personally, I like this one better.

This photo was made mostly as a study shot planning to return for more photos at another time. It was shot handheld with a new to me, vintage telephoto lens and is a bit blurry as a result. Regardless of that, the setting and sunset color washed across the sky stopped me for a moment in my journey. So far, I have returned once for a photo session. More to follow on this subject, gotta go to work.

Right Place, Right Time

A couple years back we were sitting and watching the Missouri River. I noticed a small rain shower coming toward us and started photographing the changing scene.

As the shower arrived I noticed something from the corner of my eye. Turning to look, there is a double rainbow down to the surface of the water.

Heedless of the rain still falling, I got out of the car for a better view of everything, capturing several more photos of this surprise rainbow.

An interesting thing about this, while we could see the rainbow all the way to the water surface, the camera didn’t see it quite the same. Regardless, it was a very special gift.

Mobile Advertising

About a year and a half ago, I pulled into a strip mall parking lot one day and noticed a bright yellow object at the far end of the lot. Took several photos and kept one of them.

However, I was never quite satisfied with the image, bright and colorful as it is. Thought it lacked something.

Then one day I tried some edits that I normally don’t use. I think the end result is the better version.

BEARING WITNESS

An excellent statement and a challenge for all photographers — we have the memory machines.

thenormaleye

OrpheumLofts, Phoenix, Arizona.

By MICHAELPERKINS

ATTHIS WRITING (June 2018), reviews are rolling in for Julia Van Haaften’s new biography, BereniceAbbott: ALife InPhotography, acelebration of the greatest visual chronicler of New York City’s perpetually parade of architectural extinctions. Abbott’s essential album of vanishing neighborhoods in the five boroughs, ChangingNewYork, shot in stunning crispness with an 8×10 Century Universal view camera, has stood, since the 1930’s, as more than a stunning technical achievement: it has also been hailed, rightfully, as a priceless sociological record.

TheLofts‘ tenantentrance.

Abbott was an objectivist, the Joe Friday of photographers, believing that images could only be honest by providing just the facts, ma’am. As 20th century shooters sought to insert more of themselves….their feelings, their beliefs, their biases.. into increasingly personal work, Berenice and her camera became two…

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City Church

St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church, located in Brentwood, Missouri.

I have occasion to drive past this church a couple of times a year. I have always appreciated the architecture of the building, usually while driving by and glancing out the side window. During the past winter the light turned red at the opportune moment…….well, almost…….so I grabbed my camera from the back seat and got one good photo before the light changed. Given the gloomy day, the color of the stone building and cloudy sky didn’t work out very well together. Finally decided to present the photo as a monochrome which seems to work better.

It would be phenomenal to catch this on an early morning with clear October sky. Someday.