Dandelions

If there's a flower more scorned than the dandelion I don't know about it. When I came upon this, I knew I had to shoot something. I figured the bees like it. This was a big field so no close shots. The day was as perfect as the fence posts were straight. This shot is more about the color but if there were a magazine about fence posts and dandelions I'd be famous.

Cloud

I did multi exposures of clouds the other day. They blend nicely, its almost cheating. We've had plenty of clouds so why not. I only did a few, and then played a bit in Camera Raw. I used older settings I had applied to another file and ended up with this. Reminded me of the the Holga days!

Rehab

I was at a Rehab/Nursing home and was impressed with everyone (the tenants, family members, and staff). I wanted to get some kind of an "up" picture. No gloom and doom shot, I didn't have that feeling. There's a privacy and dignity thing here so I wouldn't aim at a person and a building shot wouldn't do it. The tenants enjoyed watching me make the image. It may have helped them take their minds off...?

Shoes

For years I've had a strange idea to photograph my shoes. I make images of old barns and vehicles, why not my shoes. Some things are so close to me it's hard to come up with the right shot. As odd as it seems, my shoes are in this category. I wanted to show the wear, work, strength, and comfort they provided. I wonder what our feet would look like if we wore no shoes?

Smithsonian

I like this place. Good food, good locals, great service. Usually they're loaded with people. I saw the chairs in the corner and wondered if this is the waiting area or where bad tippers sat. I like the tones and light here. I enjoy doing my Rest/Pub/Diner series as it allows me to sit, eat, drink, and take pictures. And then there's Keno!

Geese

Another cold morning in Western Mass. The light mixed with the fog was perfect and I hoped the Geese wouldn't leave once they saw me (they usually do). The camera set up was a mess and I had to shoot on the move (they were leaving). The left side vignette was from the lens and I saw this as I was shooting. The surprise was in the color of the image. Didn't plan it but I'll take it. The Geese didn't go far but the shooting was done. Off to work.

Two Kids

Two kids of a friend of a friend. We were having one of those stand around group chats and I thought I'd try something. I liked what the kids were wearing and the background. Couldn't decide if it all worked together (why not?) so I took a few shots. After seeing what I was doing to the camera maybe they knew this wasn't the usual snapshot. I didn't asked them to do much, they made it easy. Bingo!

Dog Walk

I left for work and I figured there might be something going on at this spot. It was COLD! I've photographed for years in this area and thought I could count on the "steam" rising on this below zero morning. My thoughts were, find parking, get the shot, and get to work on time! I saw the Dog Walker coming, framed up, and waited for him to come into my composition. And waited and waited. Turns out he was waiting for me to shoot. I waved him in, took the shot, then ran to the car to get warm again!

FOG

When I heard the Balloon, I raced through the trees to get a good look. The fog wasn't helping this morning. This wasn't what I expected. I wanted color and big, but instead could hardly find my subject. I decided to focus on the fog (let's take what we've got). The Balloon is now secondary, a prop. Eventually the fog lifted and photography went back to normal. I'm glad I worked with what I had.

Eyelash Flowers

Located in a bad spot, they weren’t the prettiest flowers, the wind was blowing, and I had no macro lens, so I knew there was a picture here. I used the two images together because I like both shots. The image has a bright light (squint) through your eyelashes look. Perfect!

Kicked Out

I was at Trader Joe’s (Lisa was doing my shopping), and decided it was time to get an image. I started working the flower arrangements when the manager nervously asked what I was doing. In the end he was afraid I was going to make money on the shot. I took a few more shots while he spoke and (I) kicked myself out of the store. Then went back in and gave them roughly 200 bucks for the food.

Bowling

Seems like we always pass by this place when there's nobody in town. I wanted to play a little and had this "put together" shot in mind when I realized I didn't have the lens or distance to do the shot in one. I wonder what this lot looks like in "Bowling Tourist Season"?

Snowfield

I new there was an image when I saw the contrail in the sky. The contrast between the field and the sky was practically nil. Seemed odd to me. I just kept driving and admiring the light. Finally I thought, "I'll try this"! So there's nothing here except earth, sky, space. That's a lot!

Limbs

Working with depth on a foggy day, this shot says what I was thinking,..confusion. I like the two shots together of the same scene, but with the two slightly different angles. Far away things don't move much and the close things move a lot with a small shift of position. Trees without leaves can be far more interesting than trees with leaves,...I think.

Holy Smokes

I try to get a neat image, showing the ambiance and character of pubs/restaurants/diners that I go to. I don't just walk in and shoot it. Sometimes it's several visits before I see "the shot" or "feel it". Holy Smokes had a big pig attached to their ceiling, I shot this, but so did everyone else. I took this after eating their "Wicked" Spicy Mac and Cheese. Perfect!

Winter

This was one of those days everyone was supposed to stay home. I didn’t have much for a camera that day, so I chose one that would excel in a snowy looking situation. I was thinking B&W, there was no color. My feet were wet and cold, with snow blowing down my neck, I wasn't planning on leaving the car!

Humans

The shot was quite easy to pull off. Camera settings and focus are done in advance and tested for effect. Then I wait for something to happen visually and snipe them when their not looking. It's part of my "Little People" series. The photographic effect I used helped blend the earth and sky (making the "Humans" appear smaller). I wish I had taken a shot of them turning around and walking straight back out.

Cow

I’ve heard people say it’s not what’s in focus, it’s what out of focus that counts. I made an add-on lens that I’m sure bossy was curious about, and took the shot as quick as possible. Cows are easy go lucky like me, and curious. Sometimes they think your going to kill them and leave (she left after the click). I wonder if she thought I was going to kill her?

Barn

This is part of my on going series of Barns. I made this a project because “they don’t make barns the way they used to”, and the older ones have a lot of character. This image was made possible when a friend complained about some out-dated film they had. PERFECT! Without the tree, this shot doesn’t work. I wonder what the age difference is between the tree and the barn. Both seem dead, but they're still standing.

Ice

We came around a corner and I couldn’t figure out what I was looking at. First I thought drought and the lake was low. Turns out, what I thought was mud, was ice! I had to make some kind of image. The hard part was finding the angle without tree limbs and things. The exposure worked out nicely as I only had to worry about the sky (I stopped down one to keep the ice dark). This image makes me think of a surreal moon, and SPRING!

Museum

Shortly after entering the museum I was told absolutely NO PHOTOGRAPHY! I usually keep my camera with me for safety but now I had to get a shot. This worked out pretty good because the only way to get an image that included the show and the music was from outside. I’ve been told no photography many times. No means NO for the “non-creative”. Granted, I didn’t take the shot from the museum, but I did get the shot!

Clouds

I new the clouds were good, I've always thought this grass burm was cool. How do you do a cool pic of a burm? It's half the photo! I had one fixed lens,, and was happy to be limited. I had to make it work, regardless. The burm blocked the usual tree/barn/human horizon. This was good. The lens focal length/focus/and apt are perfect for this shot of extreme depth. This is a good example of seeing better. Old Tony would have crawled up the bank and...

Autumn

I was thinking Autumn, color and with the fog...it made the possibilities better. As a juxtaposition to the life and color of the leaves, I added the dead old trunk of the maple in the background but kept the focus off it to strengthen the already strong leaf red. In the end you can't help but go back to the dead trunk. The shot turns out to be about the trunk.

Diner

Lisa and I had just agreed that the we had never seen as many trucks, but at the same time so few cars. I had some photographic success tonight , wasn't thinking of more images but ...this is a double exposure, shot thru my dirty Geo windshield. After the second shot, I put the camera down and said %$#*ing-A! We laughed and left.