Mirror image

Elk Creek, Girard PA

When there was color in the forest

Color in the forest

We are fortunate enough to have a small forested area behind our home that provides me with ample opportunity for short hikes when we are not journeying on the Appalachian Trail.  The photo above is a scene I commonly shoot, almost always in the exact same spot of the woods.  I am entranced by the light shining down upon the forest beneath and the contrast it provides to the otherwise darker feel of a wooded area.  I am particularly attracted to the rays illuminating the forested floor, as if a beacon was lighting a very special path, inviting me to follow it and no other.

Squirreling away for winter

I can't get it in the barn!

Every once in awhile, I get the urge to play around a little bit with my Photoshop.  When I do process photos, most of them are done with LR2.  Its quick, easy, and intuitive.  Lately, though, I’ve been marveling at what folks can do with certain effects, especially paint effects.  They aren’t for everyone, but this photo seemed suited for it.  I love how the effect softens the grain of the barn’s wood.

There is a black walnut tree behind our barn.  This little fellow was intent on pulling thru the unhusked walnut (the large green object) through the small hole for winter’s storage.  We watched through our kitchen window as he’d run up the barn with the nut, attempt to pull it through and then drop it–only to start the process over again.  A lesson in perseverance (and survival):  an inspection of the barn’s loft reveals a hefty line up of walnuts for winter’s feasting.

Aw, if only he had a fireplace up there…

Always look up

 

 

Eagle eye

Mondays are never my best days.  It always takes me a little longer in reacclimating myself to start the work week.  Such was my morning this morning, as I rushed about, wanting to get to my office a bit earlier than usual.  I had a meeting to start immediately upon my arrival.  I was doing well, about 15 minutes ahead of schedule and well on my way to a few moments of peace before the others would be arriving in my office with the expectation of coffee and a two hour meeting.

I headed out to my car to start and warm it on this chilly, frost-ridden Monday before pulling out.  One of our resident crows was cawing loudly above me—not abnormal, for I intermittently leave them peanuts for their breakfast, and had not done so this morning.  I looked up (as any good photographer should) and beheld what you see in today’s photograph.  (The crow had long since fled).  Bestill my heart.  What a beautiful feathered beast. 

I hadn’t had my camera in hand, but rushed back into the house to grab it.  I fired off four quick shots and then returned to awaken my husband, who was relaxing in bed, having taken the day off.  We stared in wonderment until such a time that I knew I needed to leave.  He stayed until I backed my car out of the barn and then finally flew off toward Elk Creek.

It was well worth being late for.

The peaceful passing

The peaceful passing

In memory of Cindy, who passed yesterday at the young age of 54.  I am not sure how peaceful her passing actually was, but her death occurred on the last day of Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Tragically fitting.  Rest in peace, Cindy.

And now showing, in color

Down the road

The color version of my black and white cornbin.  Leaves here in NW Pa are now far and few between.  It is amazing how quickly a season can visually pass with the aid of high winds and heavy showers.  Were it not for the help of our cameras, the seasons would but a flicker of memory. 

As for now, it seems fitting to begin looking down the road to the next season, with its holiday cheer, fireplace evenings, and family gatherings. 

We’ll see you all down the road apiece…and Happy Halloween!

But why?

A corn bin

It’s me.  I’m the one.  From a very young age, I was often the first kid to say…”But, why?”

As a child, this short but oft-repeated question wasn’t always a hit with the grown ups.  It didn’t stop me from asking, sometimes even when I knew the answer would be met with resistance and threats of an early bedtime.  As an adult, I more or less built a large part of my career with this question, urging emotionally troubled patients to ask this of themselves as often as possible.

Why?  Why do I do this…or that?  What motivates me?  What fuels my desires and behaviors? 

Reflecting on this further, having read some other photographers thoughts on photographing repeated themes, I once again find myself in the middle of that same question.  But why?  Why am I drawn, especially of late, to photographing as many barns and rural landscapes as I can possibly fit on a 4 gig card?  What is the blessed attraction?

Corn bins are a favorite.  Barns, large equipment, and (most especially), cows.  Cows have been a favorite for years.  I have stuffed cows that moo and walk, photos of cows, and a cow that jumps over the moon, which I used to hang in my play therapy office (for me, not the children—it flapped a set of wings when you pulled on the moon.  Way cool.)

I have some suspicions, some self-analytical revelations of sorts.  Photography, writing, art–all good modes of reflecting the self and what lies underneath. 

Peeking is a good thing…underneath, that is.  Sometimes, it will feel like scraping a sliver out from beneath a fingernail.

Once in a while, you’ll strike a vein of gold.  But only if you’re willing to scrape just a little further underneath.

 

 

No paparazzi. Pleez.

i kneedz mi boooty sweep!!!

I am away from home today, on business.  Such are the times that I really miss my husband and our other house inhabitants.

This is Sam.  He is our retired greyhound and, as you can see, he takes his retirement quite seriously.  Sam was returned to a no-kill shelter after his first owner was deployed overseas in what seems like so many years ago now.  Neither of us can remember a time when our furkids were not part of our family.  They play an intrinsic role in our lives.  When you can be intrinsic and still spend most of your time sleeping on the couch…well, thats a mighty powerful soul.

Thanks for looking.

A few more glimpses

In the distance

After the harvest

As rain beats against my office window, I recognize how close the colder weather was lurking, cloaked in a few, glorious, mid-fall days.  And now it cools, and the brilliant colors painting the nearby landscapes begin to fade.  Slowly at first, but more rapidly as the rain sweeps the colorful clingers from the branches they have grasped so valiantly.

It is a wonderful thing, photography.  I am not quite ready to embrace the barren forests behind our home and, so, I treat myself to a few more glimpses of fall in these posts.  My favorite season.  Apples.  Sweaters.  Pumpkins and ciders.  The beautiful, beautiful leaves.  A season holding a vast array of sensations to feast your eyes upon, taste and smell.  I sat yesterday and listened to the birds chirping loudly at one another and heard the sound of leaves coming to the ground, one after another.  Crashing, it seemed, among those who had fallen minutes and days before them.

I am grateful to be witness to yet another year of this season’s handiworks. 

Waiting for you

Come sit a spell

For all you empty-bench-loving photographers out there.

You know who you are.