Sitting side-by-side in a rack outside a general store in Floyd Virginia were a few colorfully painted leaf rakes. Why these were on display outside in the middle of January, on a blustery cold day, I have no idea…other than to provide me with a nice photo.
In my prior post I wrote about a recent lunch in Natasha’s Cafe above the Harvest Moon Food Store in Floyd, Virginia. I also mentioned that this area has a large artisan community. Here’s an example of some of their work…ceramic sculptures sitting on a piano top, in front of an oil painting with birds flying off a high mountain meadow…a photo scene I composed so as to make it look a bit more realistic…if these little guys could be considered as “real”…whatever they are supposed to be. Everything you see here was for sale by the way.
My 2011 photo project was to make hundreds of images season-by-season…about “things” around me. I selected over 150 images and made a hard-back book of my collection (using Apple’s photo book making service) and it’s to be delivered soon. I can’t wait to see it.
I have yet to decide on my 2012 project, but I am thinking about having bright “colors” as the main subject. Any object or scene…but it must contain vibrant colors such as you see here. Since I made this photo in 2011 it can’t be included, but I suspect there are lots more like it out there waiting for me. Whether I use this subject as the basis for my project is not as important as the project itself…I need that to force me to get out and use my cameras as much as I can. Being busy can be a blessing…or a curse if you let things overload you. In my case, it’s not possible to overload me when photography is concerned.
What can I say about this image except it’s a simple hinge and latch…on an 1800′s vintage farm building. Had I not placed myself up close to it, however, it might not have been as interesting. “Getting close” is at times a good thing to do…whether it’s with photography or with personal relationships. To understand another person’s point of view, for example, one often has to get “up close” and be sincere, interested and understanding. Listening to the other person, rather than talking too much yourself, is also important.
Be thankful for what you have and remember what we are really celebrating during this time of year…our religious faith, our family and our friends…in that order. Cheers!
This guy is making something special for good little girls and boys somewhere, to be delivered by Santa on Christmas eve. I wonder if he’s a member of a machine workers union?
These two sidewalk, mosaic tile artwork items were discovered during a walk-about in the City of Roanoke recently. Nice work by the artist, and they made for an interesting photo opportunity.
What would we do without “light” in our lives? My belief is that light comes in many forms…some from lamp posts like you see here, some from similar electric light fixtures inside and out, and some from the sun. Many people today believe we use far too much power generation capability creating light, for no apparent purpose other than to look good. But perhaps the best light comes from within ourselves, when we discover things we had not seen or understood previously. When that old light bulb clicks on within our brains, wonders often result. Think about it.
I set my camera to macro mode to focus up close and it was not until I opened the result in my digital darkroom (Adobe Lightroom) that I noticed a “colony” of fungi growing on this bird feeder in our back yard. I wonder what these little guys will do when it gets cold this winter?
I spend a lot of time wandering around with a camera looking for something interesting to make a photo of. Sometimes that’s not easy, but I have discovered it’s much less difficult than it used to be, because I have started “seeing a photo” in many things I pass by. In this case it was this old metal garden bench I saw in Martinsville recently. I liked the intricate scroll-work and design, so I got up close to capture a picture. Even though I took the photo in color, I knew it would become black and white when finished in my digital darkroom.
