Coming in hot means coming in at a reckless speed, which was what this balloon was doing as winds picked up near touchdown. It scraped a tobacco field,took out a rope fence and finally drug to a halt. The horses took off running in every direction as the balloon descended.This very same balloon somehow got caught on a high power line the next day and actually was starting to smoke before the wire snapped and fell to the ground. Amazingly no one got zapped.
Tag Archives: Landscape
Dutch Country Corn Harvest
The Amish farmers have been busy in the last month harvesting thousands of acres of corn. Wet weather has delayed the work slightly,but it doesn’t take them long once they get going. I usually like to find a nice farm in the background,so the viewer can see the whole setting,instead of just the wagons.
Big Red
I was bored the other night,so I grabbed the gear for a light painting attempt. I am still not that good at this,but I have fun trying. This is the result of about 30 different exposures with flash. Looked on the net and the cost is around $350,000 for this machine if anyone wants one.
Amish Childs Car Seat?
Every day you see something new,and for me it was an Amish buggy with a childs car seat in the back.Maybe they have being doing this forever,but its a first for me to witness it. It most likely is just sitting in there loose, but I could be wrong. Next they might have air bags installed.
Chasing the Pig
I rarely post photos that are not on the visually appealing side, but since I have viewers from all over the world,I thought I might share one of the more interesting activities that takes place at the local fair each year. What you see here is known as the pig chase,where contestants compete to catch a greased pig. Some times the pig takes a good hit as he is tackled,but in twenty years I have never seen a pig or person get hurt. Pigs seem to be pretty tough from what I have seen,and the addition of lard on their bodies make them hard to hold. From children to adults,there is a size of pig that matches each division,and believe it or not,I have seen pigs actually run with an adult hanging on their back. For children under five,there is a rooster chase,which really gets interesting,and by the way,the guy in yellow did not catch the pig. Being the fastest at this event often times means you are the one that will be feeling ten other guys landing on your back in short order.
Your Dream Ride Awaits
Fall is the time when the annual street fair comes to town and this carousel was calling to me to do a little light painting. Both myself and my good friend headed out before sunrise to do some shooting at the empty fair and I settled on this particular horse with its cool color scheme as my subject. The first glitch I ran into was the street lights were pretty bright,so my longest exposure was around 8 seconds,which limited my flashlights ability to be the strongest light source. I went to plan b,which utilized flash with a snoot attached and that puts the light beam in a very narrow area across the subject. The flash was attached to an extendable pole to allow positioning it wherever I needed without standing on the carousel and having it move . This shot is the result of maybe 30 flashes throughout the scene,including the ice cream stand on the left. Carousels seems to have a magical quality that captivates the imagination and transports you to another world.
Theodore Burr Arch Truss
This is the interior of a local covered bridge that has been closed for over a year due to damage from tropical storm Lee last year. Not sure exactly what the problem is,but if you look at the exterior,the bridge has a slight bow to it. This bridge sits approximately eighteen feet above the creek,but last years flood was an extreme one that hopefully wont be seen for another hundred years.I used flash to light the interior in an attempt to show the intricate construction that goes into these beautiful structures. This bridge was built in 1867 at a whopping cost of $4,500 dollars. The arch design is credited to inventor Theodore burr,who lived around the early 1800s and was a cousin to Vice President Aaron Burr.
Changing Seasons
As the sun rises on an autumn morning,this leafless tree stands as a reminder that winter is not far away. This is one of my favorite times of the year, when leaves fall all around you and a chill is in the early morning air. A time when frost coats the landscape and the rising sun brings welcome warmth to those seeking out the changing of the seasons.
Beverly Hillbillies
I photographed this old relic at the rough and tumble event a few weeks ago. It reminds me of something the Clampetts drove on the Tv series,the Beverly Hillbillies. It has a strange wooden bed on the back which is something I have never seen before.
Hot Air Express
I was chasing this balloon the other day and when it finally landed I drove up a dirt lane to watch it deflate.This Amish lady and her children pulled right into the field beside me,and initially the kids got out to run over to the balloon but the boy started crying, so they loaded back up on the wagon and I had enough time to get a photo.The girl had a basket of homemade treats that she was holding,and I was in my truck about 15 feet away hungry for a snack.
Cart before the Horse?
I have heard the saying, don’t put the cart before the horse,but never saw it in the real world till now. The horse and buggy on the right was leading the lone horse somewhere,but who knows.Not sure what the guy on the left was doing either,as he was just there on the backroad.This was a split second shot taken on the back roads.
Glowing Tobacco
Sunlight peeks through some clouds and shines on this farm and tobacco field.
Calm Waters
This is a photo I took after putting on the hip waders and going out to about mid stream. The creek is a little lower than normal right now,so I was not worried about getting knocked over by the current,and it provided a nice vantage point during a slightly foggy day. Depth was anywhere from 8 inches to about 2 feet,which allowed me to navigate anywhere on the stream I needed. I carried only one camera with lens on my tripod and brought a polarizer,which helped with the reflection.
The Rolling Behemoth
Ever feel tiny and insignificant? Well that’s probably how the driver of this compact car felt as he hugged the curb and kept a little distance between himself and this rolling monstrosity. This huge Combine was on the move through several local towns recently as it made it way to the next cornfield for more harvesting, and it raised eyebrows more than once as it dominated the road. I shot this through my car window after I was lucky enough to get directly behind it. The only thing better than this would have been a smart car beside it,which would really look ridiculous.
Up,Up and Away
A hot air balloon takes tourists for a breath-taking ride over the many Amish farms that dot the landscape.
The Rural Landscape
A hilltop vista includes a one room school in the foreground and several farms dotting the landscape. A telephoto compresses the distance between each. Corn crops are ready to be harvested.
One Room School Dawn
Dawn breaks at a one room school,which will be active with Amish children in a few hours.A farm in the background and an outhouse on the right,round out the composition.
Misty Stream
A misty morning along this local stream provides a lovely spot to kick back and relax as fall approaches.
Foggy Morning Travels
A morning dominated by fog and low light created a tough set of circumstances for shooting anything that was moving. I had been searching for something to shoot on this sunday morning and had no luck,so I decided I was just going to compose a shot and hope something would come by to finish off the image. The Amish head to church at each others farms on sunday mornings from about 7am up till just before 9am,when the service seems to start,so after 9am there is no more activity on the roads. I set up on this back road at 815 and decided at exactly 9am I would call it a wrap.For 45 minutes there was not one single car,buggy or anything else on this road,and I was sure it was one of those mornings that nothing was going to pan out. I was watching the laptop clock and 3 minutes before pack up,I heard the sound of horse hooves coming. Buggies never travel this late in the morning,but here came two late ones,which allowed me one chance to get this shot,which thankfully I did. I think there was a little set of eyes peeking out the back as a hand pulls the canvas back a bit.Shot from my truck roof and connected to the laptop.
Colonel Sanders express
This Amish version of the pickup truck makes it way down the road with a load of chickens. It almost appears they were too loaded down by the bowing buggy wheels in the back.
No More Room
There is not even one more spot available for another passenger as these Amish girls enjoy an afternoon ride in a horse-drawn cart. Looking like a rainbow on wheels,these close friends were having a grand time on an early autumn day.
Reflecting on the Past
Another rainy shot of an old classic parked by the caboose.
The Rio Grand Caboose lodge
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.
Harvest Time at the Mill
If you think farmers are busy this time of year,you should try working at the local feed mill where many of the harvested items arrive for processing. This telephoto shot includes two tractor trailers dumping their loads,while two feed trucks head out to service customers.
Mobile Hammer Mill
This is yet another image of the mill as work goes on throughout the day. I was told the truck on the left is called a hammer mill, which as I understand things,mixes the various feed components on site for farmers. The sun came out briefly to illuminate the trucks while the grain silos remain in shade.
Feed Mill Pelletizer
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.
Sunrise Balloon Launch
A hot air balloon festival was held locally this past weekend. This was the dawn liftoff at sunrise sunday,which was an absolutely gorgeous morning.
Till The Cows Come Home
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.
Tractor Drag Races
This is the time of year when the annual tractor drag race finals come to farm country. Actually,this is corn harvesting in progress and the red tractor is ready to move in when the wagon being pulled by the green tractor is full.
Full Steam Ahead
Another old piece of equipment from the past chugs along at rough and tumbles annual event.
Donald Reese Photography 