Night Time

This was an early spring image I made in the Bj's parking lot. I saw the moon (everyone thinks a full moon is neat), and thought I'd try to come up with something interesting. My fear was I was either going to get the moon correct (exposure) and everything else dark, or a good everything else and a moon that looked blown out. Here's the problem(s), I didn't have the usual battery of lenses, just the built on one, the moon was setting, so time was important, and the dam trees were getting in the way. Perfect!

Bunz

This isn't anymore than a snapshot of the bunny that lives at my house. He hangs out on the porch and comes in when he hears the cracker box open. No whoop-T-do. I just wanted to get the old boy into my blog in case he figured out Keo was in it earlier. I'll keep working on the "Tony Shot". I wonder if I should fabricate some boxer shorts for him.

Dandelion and Fern

I saw the patch of dandelions and ferns and figured there must be something here. I worked this for a little while and just didn't feel good (frustrated!). I don't remember what provoked me to get over the top. An uncomfortable position, my back hurt, but as soon as I looked through the view finder the "shallow depth look" had me hooked. A bear could have been gnawing at my ankle but nothing mattered except the shot. I may be one of a few that encourages dandelion growth. It's like bad weather in that the possibilities are only limited by your attitude and NOT someone else's.

Cows

I posted an image of "Two Kids" a month ago and this image reminds me of it. With the day being overcast, I had to look for other things to make the image interesting. I noticed the lack of light in the tree line, so I knew this had to be included. I used one of my "gump" lenses to mess with the focus here and there, and then waited for the pose. The shot happened quickly and then they went on to do something else in their busy day.

Say Cheese

I've found making images of people making images is far more interesting than people think. Everyone is waiting for or trying to create the decisive moment. How many times have we done goofy things to get expressions? Was it recorded? I'm sure everyone was waiting for the little girl to smile, and the longer she didn't, the better it got (for me).

142 Truck

There are these three old trucks on the side of the road. Everyone takes pictures of them. I think the owner of the property placed them as ornaments for travelers. I've made images of them for years, never the same (I hope). It's getting harder to come up with something new, it makes me think! Whether I get something or not, it's good to try. The more I try the luckier I get. Weird how it works.

Horse's Ass

This was going to be a totally different shot when I stopped the car. I think the horses saw me and said, "OK, let's do something totally different when he comes up to the fence". So as I approached, they both turned around 180 degrees. I didn't want them to move, figured they would, and when it happened it still aggravated me. First I thought, "they don't get it". I didn't say it out loud, but I'm glad they turned around. Maybe the horses got it before I did? Nice pose.

Flower Tree

We were at a friends house and this place is loaded with cool stuff to make images of. I never know what to shoot. Sometimes you have to be selective if everything looks easy. Flowers are relatively easy. Lets face it, people like them as though they were innocent babies. The normal view would have been just another pretty flower. I think with this up view, we might see what an ant might. Think of the aroma the ant enjoys, and what a view!

Puck Drop

I love ice hockey. It amazes me how fast it moves. It's explosive! I didn't want to do the freeze the "everything" type shot and impress everyone with a fast shutter speed, the motion was important. I've worked on this slow shutter speed thing before but hockey proved to be a challenge. This is where it happens, as when the puck drops, it all begins, the fuse is lit!

Pasture Trees

It strikes me how day to day things change. These trees just sit here, day to day. They were noticed the day before when they were covered in ice, and times like summer when the cows use them for shade. There were crews doing their thing, clearing roads of limbs and trees, homeowners still worrying about power for their Christmas lights, and photographers looking for an opportunity. I wasn't excited about the destruction, and making images of plight. These trees "weathered" the storm, and sat quietly while I exploited them.

Moon

I thought it appropriate to post something to recognize the 40th anniversary of the moon landing. At first this image looks like it may have happened. I didn't go into outer space of course, but I did have a camera (the next best thing!). I use to make images of the full moon until it became obvious it was the same shot practically every time. I had to think and do differently. This is simply two shots, at two different focal lengths, with two different color balances. All this done with a telescope, adapters, an outdated camera, and bug repellent. Piece of cake!

Keo

Keo likes to play ball but doesn't like to have his picture taken. In this case he tolerates me because of the toy. I'm sure he thinks there's a trade off to the misery I'm putting on him. We'll throw the ball later, after his nap.

Winter New England

I had been driving all morning with the dirtiest of windshields. I'd get an image through it or crash before I cleaned it. When I saw this I thought, "this is so New England". In a weeks time, some kid will be running this trike off the picnic table while the mom is putting out laundry! The windshield took the edge off, and helped give this a more the dreamy look.

Late Day

We were out late in the day and I needed an image fix. It was overcast, dreary, wet, and chilly. It was Spring. I wasn't desperate, but odds were working against me as it got later. This shot was over my shoulder from some other attempt at success. This tree was going to explode with leaves if the sun came out later in the week. Any other time of day, I don't know if the tree would look so bold and showy. In sports I'd call this a last second shot (a buzzer beater).

Autumn Rock

I was looking for water shots and color. Water moving and not moving. Here we see a combination of both (I rarely do this). I liked both images but not by themselves. Almost put them side by side but decided to flip one and combine the two. After combining, forget the water, speed, and color, it's the rock that grabs the attention. Sweet!

Lamp Shadow

I've been doing my shadow shots for years. Rather than looking for the typical good light, this has forced me to see shadows and shape. I don't have to worry about what I look like, just some composition and a good shape. The hard part has been triggering the camera. Sometimes my arms seem so short!

Wrinkled Sky

What was going on in the sky? I hadn't seen cloud cover like this before. I had to think and shoot fast, it was the end of the day and the luminance was fading. If I had just aimed up, one might think it was an image of wrinkled up paper someone tried to flatten out. So I added the tree tops to help convey this message.

112 Barn

This is one of those images that has a combination of things you normally wouldn't do. I used out dated film and showed part of the camera. The camera broke up the foreground and the film just seemed to yuck it up enough in the top of the frame. I chose the low angle for a few reasons. To show the dominance of the barn and to block out as much of the sky as I could.

Wild Flowers

I was trying to make an image of a lightning storm as it approached. I kept hearing the thunder, but didn't see any flashes. It was windy and starting to rain. I started thinking how small insignificant things don't get any worry during the typical storm. That was when I decided to make something of the slope of grass and flowers. It was pouring as this image was shot, and I was done, the battery was dead.

Red Roof

Although this falls into my "Barn" series, the image was made with the roof in mind. When we came upon this sight, I kept trying to shoot barn when my head kept saying roof. We know and have seen red barns, but red roofs? And how often are you happy with a bright white sky! Luckily I smartened up and aimed up.

Winter Horse

I think this image works. It's part of my winter series. Winter is a season of bad weather. I have to remind myself that just like a rainy drizzly day presents opportunity for photographers, rotten winter does. I could have shot the horse many different ways. I feel, without the edge of the tree (for the beginning of depth), without the branch laying in the snow (breaks up all the foreground white), the fence (more depth and color!), the horse, wind blown snow, and background would be just another image. My eyes move all around in this image. Do you think the horse is enjoying winter?

Carpet

There seemed to be a carpet of these little things right beside the road. I found a spot where there were no nip bottles or cigarette butts and studied this before beginning. I wanted to convey what I saw happening. I didn't have good light, so my depth of field was important, and then I "hoped" for enough of a breeze to get things stirred up. I think I got it.

Wind

I've been doing time images for the past several years. An image can show as much time as you'd like in an instant. This changes everything. There was a slight wind, so I figured, over time, I might see different speeds of color moving. The lower part of the trees move less than the top. Some bushes move more than others. To help show motion, it doesn't hurt to have something not moving (my house). I can control time!

Cow Tree

So I have fog and a tree and a cow and a camera. I kept hoping the day would stay wet at least until I found an image. The fog helped block out the background and softened the horizon line. The tree is dominating and ragged but the cows don't mind. I waited and hoped the white cow would separate from the others which she finally did, checked the histogram and I was done.

Refrigertor

I was siting at the house thinking I ought to go find an image. The light was pushing strong shadows outside, it was the end of the day. I was getting ready to go out and noticed the bottle shadows on my refrigerator. I liked the depth in this, the from the outside, the glass, and then the refrigerator itself. I had to move fast as the light was going. I shot this, then grabbed another cold one. Mission accomplished!

Fog

On a good day this shot doesn't happen. This is normally a "nothing" view but the fog changes everything. Many photographers wouldn't shoot on a day like this, "it's too foggy" or "too wet". Fog hides things, add mystery, allows you to do things with the camera you couldn't on a bright lit day. Makes you slow down as well!

Maple

For years I've been trying to get nice images of my Japanese Maple. Something I felt showed the beauty (and the red). I used my flower/waterfall technique on this. Rather than the straight on shot, I went in to the base and shot out. The entire image is soft with only two tiny leaves in focus. This, with the color, makes it work.

Tsunami

It looked like a giant wave coming ashore. The two trees looked so vulnerable. It was a good day, right after a snowstorm. Not many people out. There seemed to be images everywhere. This was shot right by the spot my previous post was made. Aimed ninety degrees to the left, and obviously at a different time of the year. No bugs this time!

Trees

This is a quite spot on a country road in western mass. Although the limbs are only slightly moving in the wind, they looked like arms splayed in tandem as a pose. What to do? The ferns were a different shade of green (perfect), seemed like a shag carpet. By the rules the shot should have been a vertical. This would have reduced the trees in size. I like the uniformity and simpleness of the image.

Fence

I like making color images that are black and white. This is easy in the winter. The yellow tension wire on the left holds the color and helps add depth to the shot. The fence has nothing to do with a boundary or confinement, it's purpose is all about winter and snow. I felt pretty lucky when we came upon this field. On this gray cold day, the fence seemed to pose.

Lone Cow

This was one of those bland white sky days and it set the tone for photography. We were driving through the western mass country side and came upon the cow pasture. I wanted to try something with the cows but they turned and started to leave. What is it about cow's? Did they have something else to do? This was the last one over the hill. When bossy turned around... perfect!