The Last Airbender

Posted by reesephoto on

airbender-movieprop

Well I found out a tiny bit more about this machine since yesterdays post. It supposedly is built around a real Tucker SnoCat from years ago,actually moves and was a prop in the movie The Last Airbender. I never saw the movie but my wife claims to have seen it,and yet most of what I find on the net shows an animated movie and she claims it was a regular movie. Anyway it is supposedly a part of the fire nation military in that movie, and if you want to buy it, I can hook you up with the owner who is currently asking $13,000. This image was shot in infrared to add a little extra drama. It would make a cool lawn decoration if you had a huge estate. The owner told me he has more neat stuff of a similar nature if I want to check them out sometime,which I hope will happen.

The Book Of Eli

Posted by reesephoto on

eli

I recently spotted this crazy machine as I traversed the countryside and I just had to stop and shoot it. At this point I cannot determine if it was originally a real machine, or more likely the creation of some futuristic artist? My title as crazy as it is,refers to the movie starring Denzel Washington that takes place in a post apocalyptic world,and as soon as I saw this thing, it reminded me that it would have fit in this movie perfectly. I hope to return to it and try some light painting to see what I can do with it and hopefully find out more about it as well. If you get a chance, rent the movie and see if you agree. All it needs is a flame thrower shooting out the front and I could name it scorched earth. Might be a good subject to try my burning steel wool on?

A Little Ingenuity

Posted by reesephoto on

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No matter how many times I travel the back roads in Amish country, I am constantly amazed how many strange things I come across. This teen had jury rigged a wagon and small engine to make his own motorized transportation. He drove this thing several miles across the country while cars passed him left and right. He probably has a plow for it in the winter.

 

 

 

Work,then Play

Posted by reesephoto on

amish-tractor-scooterCaptured this Amish youth heading down the road on a tractor and upon closer examination,you can see he is hauling his transportation with him on the back. The two-wheeled scooter is the transportation of choice for Amish youth,as bikes are frowned upon. Last year I spoke to an Amish guy who I noticed coming up a hill at a rather fast pace,and it puzzled me how he was doing it? Turns out he had an electric motor added and it was all hidden on the frame. It intrigued me enough to think about buying one since he said it ran about $400 for everything. Well in the year since he got his,price went up to near a $1000 so I will stick with the bike for now.

The Barnyard Bully

Posted by reesephoto on

 

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This rooster might think he is the boss of this barnyard but it wont be long till this pint-sized donkey grows up and kicks him to the curb. The rooster looks like he is ready for a fight the way he is strutting. If only he would have hopped on his back for a ride.

 

Lip Service

Posted by reesephoto on

horse-tongue

I did not even know I had captured this image till I was at home on the computer. I fired a sequence off and he did this right in the middle.Not sure if it is a comment on my skills or what but I had to post his funny moment.

Glistening Terrain

Posted by reesephoto on

amish-red-roof5 one-room-stormclouds

These two images were shot on the same evening,so I figured I would share them together. Heavy rains were punctuated by brief times of no rain,which kept the roads glistening and a bit reflective,which I used to my advantage in getting the shots. I actually went out for lightning,but it did not flash once all evening.One trick I use when leaving my tripod and camera set up in rainy weather is to put my trucks rubber floor mat over the gear to keep it from getting wet. That works in all but the rainiest or windiest times.

Looming Large

Posted by reesephoto on

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Did you ever feel like you had a cloud hanging over you?  Well this particular afternoon found me in that situation,after a storm front came through,huge billowing clouds were seen hanging somewhat low in the sky and this one cloud seemed to be looming large over the farm and the resulting image turned out to my liking. Growing sweet corn is making it more difficult to see into the landscape in many places,so climbing on my truck roof will become more commonplace.

 

The Waiting Game

Posted by reesephoto on

amish-farm-fenceThis farm and fence shot proves that a mediocre scene can become a winner with the right light. I have driven past this spot dozens of times and never gave it a thought before,but late evening sidelight and a dark sky behind the barn made me pull over on this occasion. I liked the leading line of the fence but hated the empty road,so I decided to sit till dark if necessary to get a buggy or something interesting passing by. Well I sat and sat,and thought you got to be kidding me that no buggies are out tonight,and an hour in this lone buggy came trotting by just as the youngster was coming to feed the horses. He looked so serious,I thought he was going to say get lost,but he merely fed the mother and colt.

One thing I remember about this evening was the group of Amish kids at the farm behind me who were watching me from behind the raspberry bushes and when I would turn they would duck,as if I had no clue they were there.Finally one got brave enough to move closer and smile and wave.They are always intrigued by the camera on the tripod and must have wondered what this idiot saw that was worth waiting so long for.It was the only shot I got that night but was well worth the drive in my opinion.

Schools Out

Posted by reesephoto on

one-room-thunderheads

This is a typical one room school in Lancaster County ,with the one exception that it still has a nice white fence around it. Many schools have been encircled with chain link fence or something similar after the tragedy at nickel mines a few years ago. As a photographer trying to capture the uniqueness of the landscape,it is much harder to get a shot like this anymore. Storm clouds in the background are what I had been following  and when I spotted this foreground,I had to stop. A lovely farm is located a short distance away.

Full Moon setting

Posted by reesephoto on

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This full moon was shot last month on the morning following the rise of the super moon the night before. I headed out before sunrise and tracked this moon as I looked for a suitable foreground and I found this farm. As I was getting myself all primed up to capture it as it got lower on the horizon,wouldn’t you know it,what appeared to me to be a crystal clear sky,was actually hiding a bank of dark blue clouds and about the 4th frame of shooting,the moon started to be gobbled up into oblivion,which is seconds after I shot the top image. It was a surprise to me,but that’s how it goes with full moon shooting it seems.

Lincoln Slept Here

Posted by reesephoto on

 

_mountian-springs-flowers2-copyThis is the only remaining structure left from the mountain springs resort built in 1848 and the rest was torn down several years ago ,with this part being restored. It sits on a steep hill and the large expanse of coneflowers made an impressive foreground so I made an attempt to capture the scene.The hill falls away fast,which necessitated me placing my tripod at maximum height and using my laptop to gets things lined up correctly. I started shooting about an hour before sunset and held in there till the sky started to light up with an amazing sunset. I almost wished I had gone with a wider shot because the sky was even more dazzling to the left of my composition but I was too locked in at this point. The shadows on the back wall of the porch are from my big flash,which I used to add detail under the roof line and I experimented with different angles till I got the shadow to fall on the wall between the windows,which shows the woodwork detail. Several presidents including Abraham Lincoln stayed in this building,so its kind of neat to capture it today.

 

The Shindig

Posted by reesephoto on

amish-shindig-lane

Hopefully anyone that reads this will know what a shindig is, but if you don’t, it is another word for a get together or party. Not that the Amish are party people but they do know how to have fun too. In this image I could see volleyball nets,guys talking around the back of the barn and a group of girls laying in a circle on the grass chit chatting. I was driving around looking for scenery and saw this lane leading in,and as I debated whether to shoot it or not,I saw a group of 4 girls heading toward me with walking sticks. I waited till they headed down the lane to snap any photos and although they are a small part of the shot,I think it turned out nicely. Sweet corn is growing on each side of the lane and should be in abundant supply this year.

Colorful Hydrangea

Posted by reesephoto on

main-street-hydrangea

Hydrangea is one of my favorite summer flowers because of its pastel hues and the way it can enhance any garden setting.Shades range from deep purple to blue to pink and lavender and the plant never fails to be visually stimulating. This scene is in my hometown and was shot at dusk using several pops of flash on  both the foreground home and the next door neighbors home as well. Thankfully both home owners were more than happy to let me fire the flash a few times to get the shot.