This was taken on a recent frosty morning and what caught my eye initially from a mile or so away was the way the smoke was rising to a certain height and then no farther? I thought there must be some sort of temperature deviation that was locking it in at a certain elevation but who knows. As I reached this spot and glanced over to see the subdued sun through the smoke, I pulled over and hit the ground running before the moment disappeared! I kept snapping various angles as things would fade into the mist and then reappear. I hope to post a couple other views coming up, but I can tell you this image is one I love the way everything came together.

This snow shot was jazzed up by using my flash to up light the gazebo to produce beams of light in the humid air.

I think each version has its own merits but I am leaning toward the black and white version?  This was a very foggy morning and I knew there was a horse off in the distance that I hoped would come to the fence. He eventually did but never gave me a full profile and I was sure two more steps forward and I would have nailed it, but of course he turned his head down and to the right as he moved so this was the best I could get. The rays were even more distinct than they appear here and they were going out in all directions.

Sometimes even I question my sanity when it comes to getting a shot I envision. Me and my buddy used to say we just like to hear the shutter click sometimes and this reminds me of an example of that. I was heading home from work and the sky was getting better by the minute so I started down back roads to see what I could find. So I see this wet section on the road ahead and for some reason I felt this is it and I just had to record this. I had to park about a hundred yards away and till I got here and set up, the sky was nothing by a dark mass. I was optimistic it would get better so I settled in for the duration.

Now I come to the reality that I literally need to have my tripod at the edge of the road to get the color and reflection to show and with my tripod as low as it goes, the legs extend almost 2 feet out from the camera position. When I first set up, it was very light out and my genius plan was to stand right beside my tripod at the edge of the road so cars would give me a wide berth because it appeared I was ready to cross the street to the house. Everything is going great and everyone is going wide as they pass, but then I start to notice its getting darker and cars are seemingly getting closer. Right about then I hear this pickup truck thundering down the road in my direction and I stay put and he never so much as blinked an eye as he passed me about 2 feet or less. I was thinking the guy was trying to send a message, but then I looked at my attire and I had on dark blue jeans, a black sweatshirt and brown hat and I realized he never even knew I was there. The red streaks are his tail lights as he blew by me. The sky did in fact get better but I keep asking myself why so risky for this so-so image?

This is another shot I took on Christmas Eve and it includes the Lititz Springs Park Christmas tree and the building on the right is the former Wilbur Chocolate plant that has been transformed into higher end condos and off on the left is a brand new condo under construction. Reflection courtesy of a big puddle.

The sun sinks low on the horizon offering one last touch of warm light amidst the cold blue landscape. I remember this evening well because it was out in farm country and a few farms occupied most of the area. As soon as I pulled to the side of the road near a farm lane, here comes a big tractor out the lane, so I moved my truck to be along the road in a ditch basically and sure enough the tractor turns around. So I think to myself that was bizarre and I begin to set up my tripod. There is a house just to the left of this shot and as I am snapping photos, I hear a gunshot, a slight pause then another, and finally after three shots it stopped. I have no idea if this was an attempt to intimidate me to leave or just another idiot shooting at something that moved? How about that catchy title folks?

This image was taken during the areas only real snowstorm so far this Winter. It was one of those days where you are at work, the storm is already making travel dangerous and it is expected to dump 12-18 inches. You start to notice fewer and fewer cars driving by outside and thoughts of will I make it home begin to creep in. Finally the boss calls it and everyone prays they get home safely. I consider myself fairly well prepared if I get stuck and despite being worried about the ones that have no clue in the snow, I made my way home just fine. Then after sitting at home 5 minutes, I decided this might be one of those nights I might have the whole area to myself to photograph and so I loaded up and off I went.

It is hard to tell from this shot but the road to the right is actually a decently steep hill that can test your skill in weather like this. I parked on the opposite side and no sooner got out when this little tuner type car with tires as smooth as a bowling ball started up the hill. As soon as the incline started he was sitting still and he thought the faster he spins his tires, the better off he was?  He tried numerous times and he was making me nervous how he was fish tailing near my vehicle. To my amazement, he persisted with the pedal to the floor technique and inch by inch he conquered that hill!  Who knows what else he did to that car mechanically speaking that night.

This picture looks nice and calm but it was hard driving sleet straight into the camera while I shot this using an umbrella as a pitiful means of defense . I love nights like this when it seems the whole world is happily hiding inside while I am out taking in all the beauty of the storm!

Since I lead a fairly mundane existence, I decided to head out and do a shot on New Years Eve. Traffic was fairly light but when you are doing exposures ranging from 2 to 8 seconds, that is plenty of time for cars to ruin many shots. This is the emptiest I think I have ever seen the main street and not a single car parked anywhere. I went to bed at 11pm, only to be woken at midnight by a barrage of gunfire that lasted till almost 12:30? It was so ridiculous that I moved my vehicle into the garage because all those projectiles are coming down somewhere!

This tastefully decorated farmstead is something I have been trying to shoot for 3 years now and this year we finally got snow for a few days to add some appeal. I have two images from two different days here and I will elaborate why. I spoke to the owner the night it snowed and she was very welcoming in letting me roam around. I had surveyed the options and made note that the icy pond was frozen and non reflective and the owner told me it was so beautiful a week ago without the ice.

Well I made the best of my first visit and got a couple snow shots but the weather forecast the next day was to turn warmer, include heavy rain and strong winds so I knew I was coming back in the hope the rain would bring back some reflection. This evening tested my resolve as it was pouring the entire time, yet I was holding the umbrella at almost a 45 degree angle because the rain was blowing sideways. As my escapade progressed I was walking around the pond with my tripod and camera over my shoulder when I started walking by a pine tree that put me on the ground thanks to a wire support I never saw!  Camera never hit the ground but it was close. So it gets dark now and I head to my truck to pack up, I see another shot reflecting in the driveway and off I go to set up. By now the wind was really starting to blow so I decided to set my heavy tripod as low as possible with the legs spread almost straight out.

So I mount the camera, simply lean an umbrella against the tripod with nothing locking it fast. I take my tablet and walk 40 feet to use it to fire the camera while I light the house!  So it goes like this, hit the button, flash fires,image loads to tablet and you see what you just took, all while far from the camera. At about 10 frames in I look at the tablet and instead of seeing the farmhouse image, I see nothing but a set of squiggly lines?  After my initial bewilderment, I looked over at my camera and see my tripod and camera had completely blown upside down thanks to the umbrella! Never in a million years did I imagine that was possible but the good news is,when it flipped it landed on the strong bracket my camera is attached too and nothing was damaged. So as you can see the rain did bring back a reflection even though the snow had all melted.

Each year I gravitate to Lititz, Pa to shoot some of the quaint shop windows. This year decorating was not as good as some years thanks to Covid and its effects on store owners. Here is one shop that always does a nice job.

I have been out shooting Christmas scenes this month but unfortunately I have been experiencing episodes of being depressed, which rears its ugly head this time of year in particular and due to that, I have not bothered to share anything. So before we are into spring, I felt I would get them on here.

This store window is in a nearby town and the gnomes caught my eye. The store is owned by Laura the Cookie Lady who won food networks Christmas Cookie Challenge last year along with the ten thousand dollar prize. She does amazing things and her tasty decorative creations sell out quickly. Check out her work at http://www.lauracookielady.com

I was out driving in the country recently and took notice of some different looking cloud formations. I found the old tree on the left and the clouds looked great with it. I go up the road to turn around and till I parked and walked out to the tree, the whole dynamic had changed just like that. So as I walk back to my car I see a buggy coming and I thought go for a silhouette shot because it is all sky behind the buggy. Well it turned  out not to be quite all sky, so the silhouette isn’t perfect but I did get lucky with the sun being partly blocked by clouds allowing it to be seen instead of some blown out white blob.

Actually the other tree is king of this hill but I shot this because its not always easy to find trees that almost the entire tree is silhouetted against the sky.

A gorgeous Ginkgo tree dropped most of its leaves this particular day so I decided to try a shot incorporating my luminary Candles glowing among the golden leaves.

The other night I elaborated on my interaction with the gentleman who overreacted to me ringing his doorbell, and tonight we bring it full circle with yet another installment of “The Photography Chronicles”.  I was headed to work the very next day after the Church debacle when I spotted this pretty Ginkgo tree beside this home that reminded me of homes in New England. I skipped lunch this day and hopped in my truck for a quick attempt to get something before storms took everything down. As you may have already guessed, yes I once again walked up to the door and rang the bell!  As I approached the door I could hear several people talking just inside but as soon as I pushed the doorbell, nothing but crickets?  So I thought well I at least tried and despite not being able to walk on their driveway, I was still shooting this pretty scene from the street! I shot one or two angles and glancing down the street I notice a cop car coming up the road?  I think routine patrol most certainly and as he passes I wave and he continues on, until he gets to the end of the street and turns around! He pulls up and asks what I am doing, I explain shooting fall foliage and he says someone with a security camera called in. As we were talking I looked at the name on his badge and a little light bulb went off from the Church photo fiasco the night prior. I said were you on duty last night, and no kidding, he says are you Donald Reese?  I said yes you called my house last night and now you show up again?  We both found it slightly amusing that two homes with cameras felt the need to bother police for something so innocent but I understand stuff does go on that needs checked out. All I can say is thank goodness the leaves are down so I wont be tempted to shoot more fall foliage.

I try to be respectful when situations like this arise and I know police work is a balancing act, but I have seen a photographer friend of mine on a couple occasions tell a cop its basically none of his business what he is photographing in a public area. One time we were on a back road snapping sheep/lambs in a small shelter just beside the road and a cop pulls up and asks what we were doing. My buddy gave a response that I don’t know word for word but it was basically to the affect that its none of his business what we are doing taking photos of sheep, to which he shrugged his shoulders and drove off.