Maine Barns

There's the side everyone is going to see, and then there's the side I'm going to photograph. I don't know if it's tradition or the lack of paint but you see this a lot if you work your way around some barns. The north side gets the left overs if there is any. It was a nice cool late spring day, and I think I captured it.

Four Horses

The possibilities seemed good as we passed by these guys. It was worth it to find a turn around spot, change lenses, and get set. The horses worked together to make sure I didn't get the one clean image I was looking for. Rears to me, faces in the weeds, one body messing up the other, bad ears, it was funny after a while. This was "Murphy's Law" at it's best. I decided to show the best of the worst. I'm a lot better at not getting the shot, and in this case, seeing the humor. Isn't this funny?!

Quiet Field

This image is parallel by one block and aimed as little to the right of my previous post. Early morning at the ball field all is quiet. I wonder how many cars passed by and didn't notice a thing. I wouldn't expect anyone to be thinking images like me, they probably have thoughts of softball, baseball, and getting to work on time. Sometimes nothingness or the lack of a main subject works. It gives your mind time to play. With ball players, the image will take on a different meaning. I don't think softball or baseball would cross your mind with this (at first). That's good.

Green

Green is my least favorite color to photograph, but I'm glad I tried this image. I knew there was something here, and normally on a day like this there is, but I didn't have a dog walker, fall colors, a complete silhouette, the usual bump up. I almost tried this in B/W but it seemed usual. I had green and a lot of it, "lets give it a try". I didn't see the real beauty here until I looked through lens. I like the clean, quiet, this is summer look to it.

Birds and Barn

This barn/shed has been second fiddle to another subject I photograph from nearly the same spot but a different direction. I've noticed it for years but never thought I had an image I could feel good about. The fog helped me here in that it hides a tree line in the background and adds a bit of mystery. The birds were what inspired me to break a sweat and give it a try. They were in the tree just hanging out. Just before I did my thing, they went airborne (of course). Pan 2: Shoot Now! I see the birds as the part of the image that gives it life. Way more than I envisioned. Sometimes I just get lucky.

Big Tree

A quiet area by an old un-used farm on a closed off road, I wonder how many people have noticed this. It's not like the Grand Canyon where you know what to shoot. I think there's subtle beauty in every direction but it's not obvious. This tree is on a little patch of land in between the farm and road. It's a drive by tree. I had a rough idea of the framing, but still became excited when I looked through the lens. Nothing left to do except timing and exposure. This is a digital capture. I worked the exposure so the grass could never go dark even with computer work. Call it a test or exercise in exposure. This grand tree looks healthy, and strong. I think the small tree to the right, light grass, and background combine to isolate and show it off.

Ice Fishing

I like the thought of ice fishing but not actually doing it. Being cold in the cold all day to "maybe" catch some fish? I've stopped at many fishing places and tried to come up with something in the past. It's never worked out. This angle is from a pull off, and I had a nice (and different) view from above. I had to take advantage of this. The trees seem to separate the quiet day on the ice with the rest of the world. The snow paths show the activity, and the shadow on the side of the shanty seems to add a fifth person, almost more human the the people. These guys are doing what you do on a good day when your not catching anything, hanging out and throwing things when the urge strikes. It's a guy thing. Maybe I am missing out!

Colored Clouds

My home was nearly in view when I stumbled onto this. Two wonderful rolling bands of clouds that stretched north and south. I sat in my car with the camera lens aimed out the window and contemplated how to handle this. My mind kept telling me "horizontal" and the composition was good, but didn't measure up to the level of excitement when I first saw it. I knew I had to try something different. Turning my camera vertical is a basic thought that doesn't always come to mind. You'd think it would, but not always. They say that car accidents typically happen within three miles of home. I wonder if photography does?

Smoke

I heard of this fire as early as I woke one morning. I knew by the sound of it I wasn't going. There are certain things I don't need to see or photograph,... accident scenes, fires, riots, etc. I won't get into the why but, I'm sure this fire was very well covered. It was later in the day when we headed into TF (not for the fire, I thought the event was well over). As we headed over the big bridge you could see it wasn't (lots of smoke and fire fighters). I saw no fire, so it was time to shoot. We headed down the bike path to work this and I was shocked to see the destruction. The steam and smoke were in and out, revealing things like a fire fighter, a car, or water flying out of nowhere. I know there's no comparison to the event but I couldn't help think of 911. To me, the firemen show the scale, destruction and danger (not to mention a long day at work). I'm glad we have dedicated emergency crews. I couldn't do this.

No Blade Windmill

As soon as this came into view I new there was something to be made. I aimed up, down, lowered myself, etc. I didn't want to take to much time and lose the clouds. The swirl pattern takes the place of the the missing blades. A psychological illusion. The windmill is neat, but without the clouds the shot is nothing. I find it odd, even now with all the clouds I've shot, that today, with this subject, I get swirly clouds. Perfect!

Livestock

If you know Northampton Massachusetts, this isn't what comes to mind. This is as much NoHo as main street is. It just happens to be in a different place than all the shops, eateries, and parking lots. Oddly enough, the problem I encountered was parking. Some of the shooting I do is relatively quick (I'm in the Zone), and I don't want parking in my thoughts, it has to be safe and "not attention drawing" for the area. I don't think there was a crack between the Road-Curb-Sidewalk and Fence. No place to park except up the road a bit. Then you have the residents that think your a tourist and never saw beef animals before. Whatever! It bothered me as it started to rain (weird) but I loved these guys. They were headed my way, but SoHo slow! I like the few simple colors, soft light, and the big boy loking at me.

Cloud Rising

When your airborne what is there to do? I do the sleeping, eating, movie, and magazine stuff, but if I get a window I never seem to have enough card space. This is that "other point of view" thing. The later day light (as it is here) is fantastic. The image makes me think of something leaving it's nest. I love the warm dirty back lighting, the subtle hint of blue sky, and the shadow push on the lower 3rd. I wonder how many people on a "big Heavy" notice the amazing show of nature from above.

Gabby

It's always been frustrating for me when I try to make images of my pets. I'm happy with this one, it's almost like Gabby wanted to help me out. This was a pit stop we took, to give the three boys a moment to stretch and do their business. I like the small patch of grass they found and figured once I approached they'd go into "we want to be anywhere but here" mode. Both Keo and Gabb hung out long enough for me to nail a few. I stayed up high shooting down a because of the grass. This reminds me of how soft Gabby was. 1993-2008 RIP

Shadow with Hat

I get to see this wall often. It's a study just to see what kind of light is falling on it day to day and month to month. Normally the "good" shot is when light is sweeping across it in the fall or spring. It was December. After I saw the patch of light, I went into action. First I had to see if I could use myself in the shadow and second find a camera before this little bit of light disappeared. I couldn't take the time to see where the light was coming from or how much time I had (it could end fast). I hate that. When I see this image, I think of one of my brothers, and how much we look alike. That's OK as long as it's a shadow.

Snowy Hill

The steep field of snow is what first caught my eye. I wasn't overly excited but had this idea for composition. My surprise was when I noticed a reflection through my car side window. Now I had an illusion. I played with my distance, angle, and even rolled the window down partially and finally had it. The image only makes sense when you know about the window. Now I was excited!

Tractors

We were on a quick hilly road shooting down a hill with a slight left bend. I glanced, saw the tractors and started wondering. I hadn't gone far before I turned around. On the uphill turn-around trip I figured out the camera set-up and lens. I wondered what the history was with these? It's tree to tree trees. The owner couldn't have parked them better. One has the others back, they're clean with good tread. No junk around. The light was pefect. I parked and decided not to use the lens I'd decided on but to give my "favorite" lens a try (it was already on). Mistake. I didn't even shoot, but ran back to the car, changed it, went back to my spot, shot it, turned around and off again.

Out-Cast

Here's one where I wonder what everyone was thinking. This was a very dreary wet/rainy day. I almost felt bad for the fisher-people. Seemed like a town event. Did the lone guy know something the others didn't? Did they know better? I didn't see any luck while I was there. To keep the attention on the boy I had to drop the color out (the colorful umbrellas were stealing the show). I hoped in a way the boy would pull in a fish and hold it up for everyone to see. He didn't, but I was still happy knowing, "I got mine!"

Rain

There are Fireworks and I guess "Rainworks" (?). What could be more opposite. This I stumbled onto. We stood with a few other people under an awning looking at the parking lot. It was pouring rain. I kinda wanted to see the other couple make a run for it, at the same time someone hit a remote car starter the headlights were aimed right at us. It was bright (compared to the night), nobody moved. Sometimes I think I'm sick with "photograpingitus". My camera was off my shoulder before I realized it was time to find a picture. Was I now the only one hoping for this downpour to continue? I had no guilt but for the first time in a while, I sorta felt like a "photo geek". This I don't like. My tripod was in the car, and I didn't think I could convince Lisa to go get it, so I jazzed up the camera as much as I could. Only a few frames were shot (felt like a geek), I knew I'd continue to explore this world with better prepared, and thought out methods. It's a new "study" for me, that's cool.

House and Tractor

I saw the tractor and knew I had to get a shot. I didn't know what to do until I noticed the house in the background. I didn't think anyone lived here but still parked up the road from the driveway (just in case). I walked around a little, found a few things but wasn't happy until I started playing with the angle of the house. The tractor could be leaning in any direction. We started to hear voices to the left side of the house (behind the bush), so it was time to sneak away.

Fish'n

This image was made from the bridge of my previous post. I just saw one of the "fisherpeople" over the guard rail, and it was worth the energy to find a place to park and hustle back out on the bridge. Finding the second guy in the lower left, I knew I had one of those "Vermont Life" images made in Mass. It took a few moments, to find the angle, and a few more for the cast. I thought ironic that they were fishing for fish, while I was fishing for pix. Got one!

Contemplation

We drove over the bridge and saw these guys walking out. It didn't take long to find a place to park and get set up in case someone actually jumped. The shot has an odd depth of field because I wanted to isolate these guys and make the jump area look bigger. They did start jumping and didn't hold back. Running jumps, throwing their bodies around before they made the big splash. This is what I'd hoped for and I did a pretty good job capturing this. After they've jumped the story is written. Surprisingly I chose the "non jump" image. There may be no story here, just the wonder of what everyone is thinking.

Sea Wall

This image happened very soon after I left the car. My thoughts were more like I wonder how high the tide is and how much beach do we have. I saw this before the road was crossed. The Sea Wall looked like the beach on this overcast wet day. I love stuff like this.

Tree Clouds

I saw the clouds and thought they were interesting. I grabbed my camera and started shooting. I've done fluffy odd clouds many times, this time it wasn't working. Unless a large airborne subject came through I had to use a tree top. Luckily, it was still early spring, so no leaves. I like the ragged branches against the soft puffy clouds. It's part of nature I guess.

Broad Side Barn

Normally I would look for an angle to show the depth of the barn, maybe include another side, or just wait for another day with cross lighting. The lighting was flat, I wasn't excited about including more of the barn, and I was here. Had to try something. The light was diffused but it did have a little direction (the sun was more in front of me). Using the shallow depth of field took the edges off the grass and kept the image smooth in texture. This is a very dignified image of the broad side of the barn. I wonder if this is the one everyone's talking about hitting?

Balloons

I knew we'd never get the angle on these balloons where they were high in the sky. I thought to try something right where I was. It was another one of those days were I'd purposefully left the house with one lens. That could be dumb, I don't know. This image wasn't working until I decided the power pole had to be in it. Maybe it makes you think of height or helps show the distance and perspective. I like the hint of clouds in the top of the frame. It helps tie it all together.

Ducks

The day was foggy, wet, and quiet, it was a Ducks world. I couldn't believe they were co-operating by sticking around. They saw me and were cautious, but I still moved quickly. To show their size I thought it was important to show as much water as possible. They little guy on the right made the shot. I couldn't figure out if they just didn't want him in the group or he was just a slow duck. Works for me.

The Team

At a little league game there are many things to shoot. From the kids swinging and throwing, playing the field, there's plenty to do. Parents and friends make good subjects doing their thing. How about the bench? There's no action, but what 's going through their minds. I saw the first boy (in focus) and hoped he'd stay in thought. The other boys were the icing. What would have been a decent shot went up a notch when I saw the different gestures with the others. It's solid from left to right. This image says allot about the team. I'm happy with that.

Snow Storm

This was a great day if you didn't have to get anywhere. There was only the worry of driving in winter (and the other guy driving in winter). I've always thought these pines were a picture. But what to do? You could hear the icy snow falling, it was winter at it's best. My shoes were loaded with snow and it was falling down my neck. Boots and a scarf would have ruined the moment. It was time to shoot, I was "one" with nature!

Green Ocean

I was playing with a new camera to see if it would allow me to do certain things. It did. My hands started to cramp, the light wasn't what I'd hoped, so I kept moving in and over and around. I'm glad I kept working this. Couldn't avoid the green glare of haze and this is when I thought green ocean. The flowers being the little fish.

T.B.A. 001

An image people seem to like. There's a different type of interest people have with it. This may not be what it seems. I shot it and on initial review, wondered what it was. I'll post what and where at a later date. No "key words" today!

Barn in Snowfield

I watched and wondered what the rest of the barn was going to look when we saw all of it. I was already intrigued. Luckily I stopped to "try" something. It's a simple photograph. A lot of sky, a little bit of a big field covered in snow. I like the connection of the roof and field. You'd never see or do this image close to the barn. This is the view that makes this barn special.