I finished these four in early January. The Blue Moose went to Georgia where he has enjoyed both rainy nights and a great family who lets him listen to jazz and feeds him excellent cookies. The Formal Dress Penguin is in central Florida living well in a freezer and being taken care of expertly by ex-Sea World folks. The Swim Suit Moose is now living in rural Washington state and loving his young keeper. The NCSU Snowman is yet to be delivered. Then with arthritis flaring up a bit no carving took place for about three weeks but that has eased and I just finished the Leprechaun. He will stay here as I keep the mistakes of the first one at home! Started on a second just before we left. More projects on the way as I try to do a few people-based characters. All of these carvings start with a 1” x 1” X 3” block of wood.
May 8, 1971 /
We left the Comus Inn just a bit south of Frederick, MD in our 1971 orange Super Beetle for a honeymoon that began in Williamsburg, Virginia. On Wednesday we left in our Toyota pulling the travel trailer for Florida to celebrate our 50th anniversary. But you say it is still February. Right but this event could not be scheduled at another time, so we will have more than one celebration and that is ok with me.
Cactus Wren /
Another processing of an older photograph this one for the first time. I shot this Cactus Wren along the California coast, about 300 yards from the ocean atop a slight cliff. I was looking for the path down to the beach when this bird hopped up out of the scrub less than 10 feet away and began to sing. It was a neat moment.
Yes it is. /
So I shot this image at Disney Animal Kingdom. It was underwater and the glass was thick with a green tint. The animal was 50 feet away. For the longest time I couldn’t get this to look anything close to a natural color but recently with newer software I was able to coax this out of the RAW file and it is not too bad. Anyway, it was a great memory from a day in that park.
Graffiti /
I came across this work about two blocks from the old Federal Building in lower Manhattan.
Flat Plane Photography .7 /
At the end of this week long series is the photo that started it all. I found myself on a path that was simply covered in these bright red maybe maple leaves and they were just beautiful. It was a cool moment when everything appeared to be red above, under and beside me.
“Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before him. Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns! The world stands firm and cannot be shaken. He will judge all peoples fairly.” Psalm 96: 9,10 NLT
Flat Plane Photography .6 /
This shot is from a hike in Acadia National Park. CJH and I did one of if not the last peak that we had not done. It was Pemetic Mountain a 1250 foot peak and the hike was along the eastern side of Jordan Pond. In Acadia the south slopes of the mountains are more gradual and easier to climb than the northern approaches. I knew this. But after we ascended to the top from the south, a longer climb, I suggested that we go back off the northern side toward Bubble Pond. In a short while, we were on a very steep climb with lots of loose rock and scrubby trees and branches. It was a chore. About 3/4 down there was a large flat rocky spot that was covered with low grasses and the bright red leaves of wild blueberry bushes poking out. I made a great show of taking this photo. What I really was doing was getting a rest. We - obviously - made it down and took the long way back to the car. Lesson: South slope to ascend, South slope to descend. Got it.
Flat Plane Photography .5 /
Since I seem to be on a wine theme as well it appears like a good time to use this shot of a wine wall in a shop on Main Street in Chincoteague, Virginia. I went in looking, as the sign said on the front, for a cup of coffee. That seemed more than sketchy once I saw the actual choice. But you walked in past a whole walk of wine and the lady was much more enthused by them than the coffee she was supposed to be featuring. Turns out she was a wine buyer at one time for Whole Foods. She was one of the leaders in the pony auction each July and had all the names and photos of all the wild ponies. So, while no coffee I did find out the names of the six ponies I had photographed earlier.
Flat Plane Photography .4 /
This is the one photo in this series I did not just stumble across. I planned this one. First step was using our 130 year old Tarentum Glass, Thousand-eye goblet. Then I filled it with a red wine and took a close up of the side reflecting the light of our Christmas tree through the whole piece. Tarentum Glass came from the area of Pittsburgh near where we lived and was collected by my Aunt Carrie who was an authority on that type of glass. The construction is such that looking into the glass produces scores of reflections and those reflections have smaller ones and so forth, thus the name, Thousand Eye. Each of the glass circles are about 3/16 in diameter and concave on the inside. After the photo was taken I edited it, straightened the sides and adjusted the brightness.
Flat Plane Photography .3 /
It was a busy morning, not that I remember it. Actually we stopped in a winery in the Shenandoah Valley and this bin of discards from the sampling tent caught my eye. More depth to this than most of the others in this series but I still think it qualifies. Especially since I made this all up anyway.
Flat Plane Photography .2 /
This is likely a more traditional idea when discussing a photo with less dimension or depth than usually found. But this is very small. It is of moss and lichen found on a granite rock wall in Tennessee and most of the foliage is under an inch high. Of course, because of today’s date I can show this every day for years:)
Special Extra Post /
It is time. Sadly. No other possession has provided so much joy. The 2002 MINI is now for sale. I ordered it on the first day they were available for sale in the US. To be able to do that you had to have put down a $500 refundable deposit months before they went on sale. So when the post card arrived (included with the car among many other promotional gifts from MINI) it was off for a test drive. One quick drive was sufficient and the order was made. It would be several weeks before it arrived from Oxford but it turned out to be one of the first 100 SO MINIs in the US.
I drove this car across Virginia countless times working for the VEF and visiting churches. It was in NC, Tennessee, Maryland, Pennsylvania and more. I loved picking an interesting road, like Rt 40 or 42, 231 out of Madison, the Blue Ridge Parkway, 58 across the bottom of Virginia or 13 up the Eastern Shore. One of my best memories is taking my grandson, Kellen, six years ago, to the Vintage Gran Prix in Pittsburgh where MINI was the marque of the year and we got to do drive the course and a lot of events plus charting a course from Williamsburg to Pittsburgh on secondary roads and byways. Route 30 from Breezewood has always been a special drive.
I took it for a last weekend adventure to Chincoteague in early December, it is still great fun and a great car.
Flat Plane Photography .1 /
I have no idea if that is a real name or an accurate name or just weird but this is my attempt to shoot something different. I have been looking for these opportunities for a bit and just collecting them in a folder. So welcome to the first week of something very different for me. I find these pleasing and would be quite interested in your perspective. The subjects vary but they are not flat like a painting on a canvas but are confined to a small space generally of an inch or maybe three in depth. One is a bit more and some less. They also fill the frame so that is all you get.
Today’s is dinner or a part of dinner cooking on our flat, Forge cast iron griddle.
Safety /
We were on a hike in the Great Smoky Mountains on a trail we had not tried before. It skirted a river at several places and then we came to a crossing where instead of the ordinary bridge there was a very thick steel I-beam that spanned the gap. It was clearly over what used to be a wider bridge. We learned that the bridge often washed away because it needed support underneath and the spring floods would batter it and finally it would weaken and fall. This one has no understructure and it sits above the rushing water. Safety in a strong narrow path.
“The Lord supported me. He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me. The Lord rewarded me for doing right; he restored me because of my innocence.” 2 Samuel 2:19b-23 NLT
Custis-Lee Mansion /
Or so it was known for years, now it is the more bland Arlington House, a striking home that commands an amazing view of Washington, DC. Owned by Lee through his marriage to a descendant of Martha Custis Washington, the Lees lived here from 1831 to the start of the Civil War and Lee never returned. The government turned the grounds into what is now Arlington National Cemetery. In this photo you see both the front of the house and the Kennedy Graves with the eternal flame.
Cutie /
Not all of the bird photos need to be of the rare Red-morphed, Great-crested, Flavo-billed Crane. Of course if you actually find that mythological bird you ought to photograph it. Today’s bird is seen in most backyards, street sides, fields and empty lots across America. This Song Sparrow was photographed in Alaska. It is aptly named for its sweet and soaring song. It begins often with two or three notes, then an ascending trill and ends with a couple of buzzes.
Another Perspective /
This is a different angle of the fishing shack on a pier in Harborton, VA on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and just a few yards from the Chesapeake Bay. Pretty little village - the kind you might write a story about.
Guard /
This is one of my favorite images from a DC trip about four years ago in the Fall. The guards of the Tomb of the Unknowns are here 24 hours a day every day regardless of weather or circumstances. Remarkable dedication. Plus you don’t really want to mess with this fellow and you really don’t want to disrespect the place.
Creek Wars /
Andrew Jackson attacked the Red Stick Creeks here with 3300 men and cannon in late March of 1814. The Creeks fielded 1000 warriors but to no avail. About 800 of the defenders died here. This is where the Creek wars ended. The cannon is unusual for the color of its carriage, a light blue. After the Revolution the Americans adopted the French color for the artillery but it ended soon after this battle.
Favorite Farmer /
This is another image from Lancaster, Pennsylvania last June or July. This farm is across the street from our campground and watching he and his son work was fascinating. They used a variety of mules and horses and lots of different equipment. Here he is mowing a row of some sort of hay (highly detailed plant information is not on the way) between his corn and tobacco rows. This part of the field was laid out in long strips with different crops alternating.
