Author Archives: reesephoto

The Sun Sets on Summer

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Recently I shared the story of the Mennonite boy I crossed paths with riding home from school. Well this is where he lives and where his parents allowed me to shoot their flower garden. The sun setting on the left was pure luck but I am pleased with my result as it balances nicely composition wise. This was just on the edge of getting hit by frost and a week later they were toast!

Working at the Mill is Hard!

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I got a little lazy last week so I missed posting. Anyway I shot this old mill a week or two ago and it took some work and co-operation from a couple people to pull off. I noticed this place while driving past in the morning and decided I was coming back in the evening. Now for starters the foreground area was littered with those huge ugly brown Sycamore leaves that are the size of your head, so my solution was simply bring my own! So I gathered up leaves from my front yard and brought them along for their moment in the spotlight. After dispersing my leaf collection I noticed the farmer heading my way to see what all the commotion was about? I told him my goal and asked if he wanted to help with the cause, which for his part was simply turning on his house lights because you all know I love illumination!

So part of my lights request was turning on lights in the mill, which I was told was impossible because all the wiring had been removed. Well not to deterred by this little glitch, I asked if we can go inside the mill and I will add light with my flash to bring it to life? He said sure and we moved from window to window as I blasted the interior with light. The big window on the right was not accessible, so he asked the tenant to turn that rooms lights on which he kindly did. This spot is one I am pondering if we get some snow this year. There is also an old covered bridge right behind my camera but its not used anymore and is not that photogenic. Oh and after I was inside the lower level to light the window, he mentions that skunks are fairly regular guests down there, so one flash and out I came!

Remember Common Sense?

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Well I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving and time with your family. I figured I would share this little nugget of brilliance with you as your turkey induced sleep wears off. This is the oldest covered bridge in Lancaster county and it was fixed maybe two years ago after a box truck hit the entrance. So this past week a driver from Georgia was driving an 18 wheeler and seemingly has no clue what height is, decided it would be no problem to drive their rig through this bridge! The huge orange sign reads 10 ft 6 inches and this morons truck was 13 feet 4 inches so there was a slight issue here. So they decided to go ahead and upon hitting the entrance, their brain didn’t say stop, it said keep going, no problem! they ripped every cross brace but one off on one side and screwed up a lot of other structural things. You also see the weight limit sign which is 20 tons or 44,000 lb , and an unloaded rig starts at 35,000 lbs. So since they are not a quitter, they got as far as the other end and got stuck, so they then tried backing out destroying more of the bridge! In the end the fire company was called and they got the rig out of there. One last thing, if the tractor had gotten out the end, the road drops downward and the trailer would have pivoted up and torn the roof off! to see more photos visit the Farmersville fire co Facebook page.

Beautiful Old Property

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This property is one I have always admired and when I saw the trees in full color, I knew it needed to be captured. There are some challenges here but with some effort greatness can be achieved. If I told you there was a busy road between the stone wall and the white picket fence, you might say no way but in fact there is and I think I finally cracked the code with this angle. The other thing I absolutely abhor is obnoxious power lines ruining a shot but I put in the time to remove all of them and trust me there was a multitude.

Spring or Autumn?

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This was captured in my hometown park about a week ago and includes peak fall trees and Azaleas? I have no clue why Azaleas are blooming in the fall but these have been doing this the last several years. I always thought Azaleas were a late spring bloomer but what do I know. I don’t think these colors really work together but it is an interesting sight.

The Proud Parents

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I snapped this in late summer as mom,pop and jr were meandering about the pasture. They should have named him spitfire, because every now and then he would just take off at full speed using every muscle he had available. They remind me they just came from the hair salon with their fancy hair.

Packs a Punch

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Fall trees come in a wide variety of colors but few can match the wow factor that the Gingko brings to the Autumn table. It is a one trick pony but when it comes to grabbing your attention it delivers in grand fashion. The burning bush in the background is no slouch either.

Crossing Paths

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While this image is not that amazing, the backstory is kind of funny. The day before I snapped this photo I had stopped at a Mennonite farm about two miles up the road to ask if I could try a shot of their garden which was on it’s last hoorah. They kindly agreed so I set up my tripod and waited for the sun to get near the horizon for my shot. I usually shoot a series of exposures every couple minutes because there is a point where everything is just right. While I waited a young boy came out to see what I was doing, so I showed him my tablet with my composed image displayed. He took a look and says “hey, thats not bad” which I found sort of humorous. His father came out near dark and I asked if I could go in the barn to light the inside,to which he gladly agreed.

So the very next day I am going down the road and I notice these 4 kids had just left the one room school and headed up this farm lane which connected to another road. I knew they were eventually going to come up this hill so I sat in my car and waited with a long lens. I took a few as they approached and when they were about 30 yards away I heard the one in the front yell “hey Don”? I thought did I really just hear my name called out? Well it turns out this was the boy from the night before who gave me his analysis of my shot and he had the biggest smile on his face as he got closer. So to get even crazier, the oldest boy in the yellow shirt asks “are you Donald Reese” which was mind blowing. We have a little running joke at work because in the last month I have had at least 5 different Mennonite people meet me and When I say hi my name is Don, they say are you Donald Reese? The most recent one happened when I saw a nice barn and fall trees and pulled off the road to take a shot. As I snapped away I noticed the farmer walking out towards me so I prepared for trouble. I said hi can I help you? and he said “well there are some questions”. I told him I was local and was getting some fall photos and guess what he asked me, “Are you Donald Reese”? I said as a matter of fact I am, and this 40 or so year old man puts his hand by his knee and said I have been admiring your photos since I was this tall! I guess people have been taking note of my images over the years and I am honored by that!

Veterans Salute

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This image was taken at the Lebanon V.A hospital and it is the second year in a row that I was blown away by the color in this grove of trees meant as a place to rest and just enjoy the quieter things in life. It’s as if every leaf is shouting “thank you” for all you have given for us!

Simpler Times

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The inside of one of Lancaster Counties numerous covered bridges and on the outside some colorful fall foliage around a small old building awaits anyone strolling through! This was shot on a tripod with one exposure capturing the dark interior and a second exposure capturing the bright exterior. An overcast day would possibly allow a single shot to capture the dynamic range of both inside and out but there usually is some part that just falls apart in deep shadows or bright highlights. As a side note, I actually got permission like 10 or 15 years ago to string Christmas lights up on the exterior roof edge, but that was when I was young and nimble. It drew a lot of people to see the lit bridge. I still have huge totes full of icicle lights I purchased to do that. Just another fond memory of my many endeavors to do something special with my photography. I should write a book detailing my adventures including a few times I almost paid the price for what I will call my momentary loss of common sense..

Finally Captured it!

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Believe it or not this is a shot I have been hoping to capture for the last four years! Fall is a favorite time of year for me and I enjoy everything from the crisp cool nights and frosty mornings to the dazzling array of autumn colors! This location in particular is one I happened to drive past each of the last 3 years and every time it was when the inventory was anywhere from half gone to three quarters gone. Well fast forward to this year and for once I caught the field full of rich color. I stopped and snapped a quick shot and asked if I could stop by in the evening to do a tripod mounted shot under softer lighting? The young lady said sure and all day all I could think about was how awesome this opportunity was going to be to capture such beauty! Well evening finally rolled around and I arrived to notice that during the day hundreds of the most vibrant plants had been taken to the auction? This minor setback was never even considered as a possibility but as the owner told me once they get to full color it is time to move them out. Well I ended up shooting a little lower angle to hide empty areas and the owners thankfully allowed me to move some plants to fill in random holes. I was just settling in with my final composition and the light was getting more appealing by the minute and low and behold here comes a tractor with a wagon down the lane to remove even more? Not knowing what they were going to grab sent me into hustle mode capturing as many exposures from light to dark before my subject potentially might disappear in front of me. They did grab a couple dozen but mostly from the area out of my shot so in the end I finally was blessed to get the shot!

As a side note I wanted to mention that the owner and his family were very appreciative of the framed print I gave them and were extremely pleased with the final image. I must say it is very gratifying when someone acknowledges your abilities and the effort put forth to rise above mediocrity. I think both shots are great but I always lean toward the images that have that “alive” with light look that is one look I love because it imparts more than beauty as you can imagine yourself getting up for morning chores or maybe getting ready to turn in after a day of hard work. Most people are more than happy to hit a few lights on so I can go the extra mile.

Pumpkin Artistry

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I happened to drive by this porch of carved pumpkins during the day and decided to come back that evening. I had no idea if they would be lit or not but as I came up the road I could see the glow so I knew we were in business. This scene is about 10 feet off the road so getting a shot was very easy. What would a Halloween photo be without a little scare in the story? I parked in a field, grabbed my gear and headed across the road and that’s when I noticed a few were not lit? Other than the glowing pumpkins, it was very dark around them and as I set my tripod up a voice suddenly came from the dark porch saying I will have them all lit in a minute! Well after that unexpected surprise, they went inside and I commenced to adding a touch of light for that cool moonlit shot I had envisioned! It seems that creative endeavors done for the enjoyment of others are becoming increasingly scarce in a world of self absorbed people who have very little desire to do anything positive requiring the slightest effort! I know I am getting old when I feel the need to share what I see happening in society and maybe it runs in my genes because I did have some ancestors who were Preachers!

Criss Cross Applesauce

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Growing up eons ago we were always told to sit indian style in school. Fast forward to our more enlightened existence, we now ask kids to sit criss cross applesauce. I will never forget taking a photo in elementary school and I told the front row to sit indian style! Well the teachers head almost exploded at the damage that could have been done using this antiquated term! What a caption for a fence photo.