Same tree as yesterday but from the opposite side.Now if I could just get someone silhouetted in the window?

An Amish buggy heads down a country road as it passes under the outstretched limbs of a giant old tree. They do not come much larger around here and this one dominates the landscape along this stretch of road.

This is the third image from the mansion Christmas tree event.It features the local doll club display which is always a favorite of mine. A friend always said they creep him out,but I always get a feeling of nostalgia when I see the scene the club creates.You have to see this in person to see the level of detail they put into the layout.I lit this scene entirely with my deer spotlight with a diffuser on it.

One interesting note on this image is I am given a key to get in this place to shoot and I always come around 5 am when it is dark so I can set up my gear and start shooting before the window light overpowers the shot. I arrived this saturday and decided to use the restroom first,which is located down the hall from the doll display. As I rounded the corner here, I saw the huge live tree with all its decorations laying on its side on the floor and all the decorations were scattered everywhere. There is a running joke here about ghosts in the mansion and I have heard a few strange sounds over the years but nothing to make me high tail it,and yet that’s the first thing that crossed my mind. I knew they turn off all the trees before closing up so everything was in order the night before.

I thought to myself there is no way on this earth they are going to believe this tree just fell over on its own and I thought they will think I did it and they will never let me in again. I called the lady who runs everything and she was extremely nice about it and asked if I would stay and help her right the thing. Well as it turns out, we stood the tree up in the stand and I started turning the bolts in the base and the bolt in the front kept turning forever until I realized it was totally stripped. All I can say is thank goodness I could show her that,and more amazing was the fact that the tree fell in the very best possible direction,missing the entire gingerbread area and only lightly hitting the two dolls on the left. I returned the following morning to shoot the now fixed doll display and would you believe the bathroom light and fan were running as I got to the back of the mansion. It was a little weird but it’s just one of those stories from the mansion.

This was a spur of the moment shot I decided to do on a miserable rainy night this week. It features a beautiful mural done by a local artist on the local VFW building. I lit the house on the corner with flash to get the cool reflection in the wet road.This is another road that is hard to capture without traffic getting in the shot.

I got a call from someone I know who always has something nice to say about my work and she had a request to capture a shot of her hometown main street Christmas decorations. I knew the street was super busy most of the time and the street lights are very bright,so they tend to become way too bright before the rest of the scene settles in. I told her I would think about it, and then because I tend to be the type of person that likes to get things done, I went the same night and tried to find an angle. I picked an angle up the hill behind me and twenty minutes into the shot,I noticed this better angle and so I started over here. This image is comprised of maybe 8 to 12 individual shots to get everything right. One shot was just of the sky and the bright lights at the right exposure and then I shot a series of images capturing most of the street without cars and their headlights in each area of the street. The hardest piece was the area on the near left that is a post office and it had two cars parked there for nearly 45 minutes. They finally left and I could capture that area without ugly vehicles there. I had an umbrella on a pole over the tripod the whole time but it was a very raw and wet night,but in reality I was glad I made the effort and it turned out to be a great photo thanks to the shimmering road and the festive lights.

Take a real foggy night,add a very bright flashlight and you can have loads of fun light painting.It is quite amazing how you can create rays of light if you have enough fog and the right angle with your light.Wish I had more nights to play in the fog. The three lit trees are the proud trio.

Downtown Lititz is all ready to greet Christmas shoppers.The trees are set,lights added and music fills the air.

A Lancaster county B&B is framed by lovely autumn color.

Days like this are perfect for taking a walk or cozying up by the fireplace with a mug of warm mulled apple cider. The warm interior lights beckon you to come inside and relax. A light fog adds to the atmosphere and fallen leaves signal the changing of seasons.

Never understood why there are two one room schools side by side here,but it makes a nice image and the fall tree adds a touch of color to round out the shot.

This dilapidated gazebo sits beside a creek and looks like the perfect place to sip hot chocolate on a cool fall evening. Reality is no one ever uses it or appreciates what they have here.One day it will collapse into the creek and wash away. I think about the hundreds of people who drive by here every day and never see the beauty thats right in front of them.

This image was a quick grab shot while I was shooting fall foliage. I noticed this boy and his grandfather looking around the fallen leaves and I was not sure what they were doing but I mostly ignored them as I was photographing the Ginko leaves here. I turned around and saw they were near the water, so I got my camera ready and captured this intimate scene. To be honest I never even knew they made a small leaf boat to set sail till I was reviewing my images at home. I wish I had asked for their contact info to share this with them.

This is my latest creation for our gnome village that sits along the rail trail behind our place. I spent the last two months whenever I had free time building this chapel. My wife painted the glass windows and the sign and I built the rest. It has speakers underneath to play music and has been very well received by those walking the trail.The little gnome couple by the door got married this week inside the chapel.

A great blue heron takes in the fall color while hunting for lunch.

This small building is in a county park and it might just be some sort of utility building but it has a lovely style that is most certainly more than was needed but it is pleasing to the eye and hats off to whoever went the extra mile.

This curving stream is starting to fill with fallen leaves as autumn marches on.

When it comes to fall color,the Ginko tree is hard to beat. One thing I have come to realize about the Ginko is that if you see it in full color, shoot it immediately or you might miss it. Case in point was one of these trees I saw almost at peak color on a friday evening and by monday morning every leaf was down on the ground.It has some sort of crazy mechanism that signals every leaf to drop at the same time, unlike every other tree I know of.This shot shows the freshly fallen Ginko leaves at a park.The leaves are a fan-like shape and vary from leaf to leaf.

A steady supply of fallen leaves flows through this stream marking another season of life.

Fall has come to the rail trail behind our house,and a lone bike rider takes it all in.

This local yard was bursting with fall color recently. Better get the rake ready.

It seems every year I drive by this place at just the right time.This year was no exception.