Pole

For a few days now I've been around these buildings with no windows, a scattered layout, and a manicured military neatness. I wanted to make an image and knew there was something here but couldn't see it, or figure it out. It was going to be forced, so I never pulled the trigger. I saw the pole, liked the pegs, the orange, and finally, photographically, the chipped paint. I didn't think masterpiece by any means and forgot the image as quick as I shot it. It wasn't until I brought it up on the computer that the image struck me. I'm glad I didn't trash it from my camera in an edit! Lesson learned again, photograph what you like. Viewers I think, will use more time trying to figure out what they're missing than what their actually looking at.

Black Maple

I kept thinking there was an image here but it wasn't happening. If I widened out, I had distracting things to the left and right. The top had issues also. What made me zoom in and give this a try I don't know. Possibly because zooming and moving are easy? I'm not sure if the shot is about the tree or the leaves anymore but I like it. I wish postcards were vertical.

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?

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!

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.

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!