The Rio Grand Caboose lodge

Posted by reesephoto on

These old cars were part of a car club that was out touring the farm country,and I happened to spot them parked at a motel that is totally comprised of train cabooses. Each guest spends the night in his very own caboose, which come in every color under the sun. The evening was basically pouring rain,but after shooting under an umbrella for 30 minutes,the rain stopped and I began lighting the scene with flash. I thought the two modes of transportation complemented each other and harkened back to a simpler time.The yellow caboose is the Rio Grand.

Feed Mill Pelletizer

Posted by reesephoto on

Once again I was trying my light painting technique in the old feed mill. This time I was photographing what I think is called a pelletizer, which makes feed pellets and the two images show the machine in a closed, and then open position.The bottom photo shows the machines main part,which has a series of holes that form the hardened pellets. The room was very warm so I assume some heat process is involved as well. To do the two images,I first completed the scene with it closed and then simply opened the door for the next part of the shoot. Then I brought that image on top of the first and blended them.

Till The Cows Come Home

Posted by reesephoto on

This is a little different from the type of image I usually post,but something about all these cows spread all over the hillside caught my attention. My wife knows when I go out shooting,I might be out till the cows come home, which if you have never heard that phrase before,it basically means, for a long but indefinite time.

Morning Chores Begin

Posted by reesephoto on

 

A new day begins on an Amish farm as the sky overhead begins to light up from the rising sun. A light in the barn signals the beginning of the first cow milking session,which must be done more than once a day.The field in the foreground was filled with corn last week,but as fall approaches,the harvesting becomes more frequent across the landscape.

 

Fun with Friends

Posted by reesephoto on

 

 

When the temperatures turn cooler and you have your best friends around, can you think of anything better than a ride in your custom horse-drawn wagon? Complete with springs on the seats,a flag and four hoof drive, this is a sure-fire good time, and can you believe it,they are having fun without a cell phone or the need for text messaging.

 

The Blue Moon

Posted by reesephoto on

 

This is last evenings blue moon as it began to rise behind this local farm. From what I understand the term refers to the second full moon in the same month. I decided on this location after conferring with the photographers ephemeris, which shows sun/moon rise and set for photographers planning shoot locations. By moving to camera right about 40 feet,the moon was coming up right between the house and barn,but the tree on the right was blocking the barn,so I had to go with this instead.Shot from my truck roof,which had the Amish wondering who this nut was on top of his truck.

 

The Food Chain

Posted by reesephoto on

Have you ever seen so many cobwebs,you thought you were on the set of some science fiction thriller? Well this was the case as both myself and a fellow photographer spent an evening shooting in a local feed mill. I walked around looking for a shot and came across this corner of the mill that seemed lost in time. It’s no wonder spiders have laid claim to this place as flies were a real nuisance while we shot. I light painted this with an off camera flash trying to bring out the webs and dust and dirt as best I could. At least no mice ran by me on this visit. I have no idea what the machine does but it must not get used very often.

Where is the tree?

Posted by reesephoto on

 

This is the third cicada shell that I found this year in a strange location. These insects usually climb trees and hatch from there as they hang on the bark, but this one seemed to prefer greenery instead. The hibiscus was 10 feet from the tree,so maybe he was too tired to keep going.  Not sure how the pollen got on him, but it was windy the day before. Their jagged legs are perfect for clinging. I only wish I had seen him hatch from here.they usually can be seen on the move around dusk as they seek out their spot to open.

 

Tobacco Rows

Posted by reesephoto on

Went out sunday morning because the weather was unsettled and I was hoping to find something interesting. After a bit of driving,I came upon this partially harvested tobacco field which had nice curved lines leading your eye to the farm. Started out at ground level but decided the higher perspective from my truck roof might be beneficial,and in fact it was.The sun popped out briefly,adding a touch of sidelight to the scene as an added bonus.The green area on the left is uncut tobacco

Beyond Thunderdome

Posted by reesephoto on

Call me crazy, but this reminds me of some wild set of wheels from the movie Thunderdome. If you look closely in the middle underneath you can see a machine gun mounted,or maybe its just a muffler? Put some muscle-bound maniac on top going down the road at 100 mph and you have your own futuristic movie in the making. Shot this at the rough and tumble event, which showcased old farm equipment.

Tobacco Harvest

Posted by reesephoto on

The end of summer is rapidly approaching and farmers are busy beginning to harvest everything from corn to tobacco. This Amish family was busy putting freshly cut tobacco onto lathe, which then gets hung on the wagon and then it will move to the barn for drying. This scene includes at least three generations carrying on the tradition.

Rough and Tumble

Posted by reesephoto on

Here is another image from the thresher reunion at rough and tumble.For this image I mounted the camera on my tripod and shot several exposures utilizing a hand-held flash off camera. There is no way to get a result like this on one shot,unless you set up a bank of flashes  to fire simultaneously. The exposure for the setting sun put everything in silhouette,so after capturing that piece of the puzzle, I moved to illuminating the tractor. As you can see from the smaller images, The starting shot with the sun was where I started and then lit each area as the example of lighting the front shows. A small detail worth mentioning is the use of a wireless remote to fire the camera from anywhere I need,so I can position the flash at the proper angle and then fire when ready.

Steam Powered Past

Posted by reesephoto on

 

Machines from the past fascinate me, and these old steam-powered contraptions are no exception. Rough and Tumble located in scenic Lancaster county held their 64th annual threshermans reunion last week, and the event included all kinds of steam,gas and kerosene powered machines. This old steam roller with its massive iron wheels was one of many unique pieces I saw at this event.

 

The Promise

Posted by reesephoto on

This image features a rainbow that happened during a recent storm. I parked at this spot to shoot the farm as the storm was ending because I knew the sun was going to come out and light up the barn.I shot for about twenty minutes,packed up and headed down the road,and of course the rainbow then makes an appearance. I turn around, fly up the road as the rainbow starts to lose its color and set up again to capture this fading spectacle. I guess it appears to be almost a double rainbow,but folks a few miles away tell me they saw it as the most amazing rainbow they had seen in quite some time. I guess it all depends on your location. Below is an excerpt from the Bible about rainbows.

2 And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15 and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.