I walked behind a church the other day and found this secluded bench in a small garden area. Makes for a nice place to rest and meditate a bit, plus is also a great subject to record with my camera.
Monthly Archives: February 2012
One Nice House
This old Victorian-style “Gingerbread” house is now home to a real estate firm in Martinsville, Virginia where I live. I wanted to make a photo of it while there was still some snow on the bushes out front. I’m glad I did that when I did, because by the time I got home, most of the snow had melted. If you have never used a wide angle focal length such as here, you will not understand why the house “leans” a bit. It’s all about the lens design, such that you get as much in the frame as possible. So much for my photo technology teachings.
Jams and Jellies
Inside the Poor Farmers Market in Meadows of Dan, Virginia one can find a large assortment of homemade jam, jellies, cheeses and cured bacon. And…lots of memories about how it used to be when times seemed much slower and simpler.
Two Views
Two views of the same thing … one far away, the other close up. What caught my eye was the golden color of the wide mountain grass field, with the bright green bush in the center of it all.
A Favorite Blue Ridge View
I have, over the years, made numerous photos of this view near Rocky Knob above 3000 feet elevation along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. To me, it depicts what living and farming (hard as it may be) is like at this elevation … in such a historic and beautiful region. I love it!
Mabry’s Mill along the Blue Ridge Parkway
This is probably one of the most “photographed” attractions along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and NOrth Carolina. Whenever I go past, I MUST stop to capture an image…at least one, usually more. There is a restaurant adjacent to the old mill and it’s adjacent structures and attractions, and during summer weekends there are exhibitions given by artisans who demonstrate how milling and farming tasks were done in times past. Hard to find a place to park then. But in the winter months, the place is essentially deserted, as it was the day I was there for this photo opportunity.
Lover’s Leap View
I was stopped just below 3000 feet elevation along Highway 58 headed “up the mountain” (as it’s called around here when one goes into the Blue Ridge Mountains) at a popular location called Lover’s Leap. An old indian legend gave the spot its name. Anyway…I spotted the red-roofed farm way below, and I positioned myself so it could be seen, framed by a couple of trees. The best time to make photos in the Blue Ridge is (in my opinion) when there are no leaves on the trees. You can just see so much more, and besides the air is much clearer in the winter months at this elevation. Click the image to enlarge so you can see the farm better.
Caddy Hub Cap
Per my last post, I made lots of photos at the “old house” in Sandy Ridge, NC. I wanted to save this one for a single post…cause I like it. Click to enlarge to see some of the details that caught my eye…especially the logo in the center.
Our First Snow Day in 2012
Well…it finally came…snow that is. Best part is being able to make photos at sunrise, next best part is that it’s going to warm up today. As my Dad used to say when I was a young boy, “God brought it son and He will take it away.” For me now, that will happen quickly…thus making it unnecessary for me to have to shovel it off the driveway. Thankfully! Here’s some outside and one inside photo to record the event. I suspect this will be “it” for snow this winter. That’s fine by me, ’cause the next time it might be a “shovel” event.
This Old House
Like a moth drawn to a warm summer’s evening porch light, it’s impossible for me to pass up photo opportunities which usually exist on, in and around old, abandoned houses. I’m fortunate to be living near many such photo attractions, as I drive around rural southern Virginia and northern North Carolina, on one of my many totally unplanned but always rewarding photo road trips. A recent late afternoon journey brought me to Sandy Ridge, North Carolina…just a road junction mostly, but with an old house and its surrounding attractions you see below sitting right at that intersection. An hours driving, using $3.49 gas, brought me here, but it was definitely worth the time and cost. I hope you enjoy seeing a part of what I saw.
As an aside, for any “photo guys” who might be interested, I used a new camera to make these photos. It’s a much smaller and lighter interchangeable lens camera system, Panasonic GX1, which is taking the place of my MUCH larger and heavier Nikon DSLR I’ve been lugging around for years. So far, the camera is performing as I hoped it would. As a second aside, there is a growing trend world wide toward these lighter but still excellent performing camera systems, leaving larger more traditional DSLRs to those who make their living totally with photography.
