Tag Archives: Spring

Momentary Sunlight

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This image was taken minutes after yesterday’s post, and shows the mill from the train tracks side. The sky was totally cloud covered and yet I was fortunate enough to be in the right spot when a few rays broke through to skim across the shot. lasted about a minute, which was all I needed. As a side note, I knew this was an active line, but did not realize the train comes through doing about 60 mph plus. I no sooner had picked up my tripod and walked across the tracks when I heard a whistle up toward the trees to the left and when that train came through it was hauling. I thought to myself how unnerving it must be to drive that thing and see something or someone on the tracks ahead and know you are helpless to stop it in time.

War of 1776

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I shot this infrared image this past weekend at a local chapel and cemetery.The flag was caught on the stone,and I assume it had blown there. Wish I could have seen the mans name, but when it comes to cemeteries, I never touch anything out of respect for those interred there. The marker on which the flag is attached says war of 1776,and the date he died read 1778 on the stone.

Super moon Disappointment.

Posted by reesephoto on

This is a shot of the so-called super moon from this past saturday. Went out with two friends to shoot this thing, and due to haze, we never saw it in the sky till it was too high and slightly smaller looking. It’s an okay shot,but nothing like it might have been at the horizon, and zoomed tighter. This moon was supposedly 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter as it made its closest approach to earth. The key to getting the biggest moon is to find a subject far away,so you can use your strongest telephoto to include the moon and something interesting together. Had the conditions been crystal clear, and the moon had risen between the silos,I could have zoomed much tighter and had a much larger moon.

Family portrait

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These four horses were very inquisitive as I leaned against the fence post to take their photo. At first they showed little interest, but after I stomped my foot a few times and gave my best horse imitation, they suddenly lined up to see what the commotion was all about. I am not up on horse behavior, but I have seen them stomp the ground as some sort of sign in the past, so I tried it out myself.

The Chiropractor is in

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As you can see in this photo,Dr Whitey Hoofmeister was hard at work giving adjustments in the barnyard recently. While he is just a young doctor, the skill he displays with his furry hooves is second to none they say. This particular patient needed an adjustment in the lower back after an intense head butting session with a rival. Notice the zen like concentration on the doctors face as he manipulates his client.

Do You Mind?

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Sometimes being the biggest has its disadvantages,as in this instance when the goat uses you like a  doormat to get a better angle on a free handout. I spotted this totally unrehearsed scene playing out at an Amish produce stand that included coin operated food dispensers for the barnyard animals. The tourists love the opportunity  to experience country life for a brief moment. The donkey did not fuss even one time while the goat rode around on his back, so maybe he was getting a free massage out of the deal.

Snuggle up, it’s nap time

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When it comes to spring, nothing is more adorable than baby ducks. I am not exactly sure what type of duck this is, but blonde mallard is my best guess. Sunny skies provided the perfect opportunity to snuggle around mom for an afternoon siesta. I shot this with a 600 f4 manual telephoto lens at ground level,and had to inch my way close enough to get the shot. No easy feat with a lens that weighs over 14 pounds.

Power and Grace

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Another shot from the pasture the other day. It was interesting to watch the horses interact with one another. There was a good bit of running, some hoof stomping and even a few powerful kicks to set anyone straight who might not know who the leader was. This black horse had an air of power and grace that set him apart from the others.

I Want to Play . . . Now!

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I photographed this horse and its foal recently in a local pasture and could not believe my eyes when I saw the youngster repeatedly smack the mom on the head to get her up and walking around. The bottom photo was taken first, and then momma decided to lay down, which did not sit well with junior. The foal seemed very irritated the entire time her mother stayed laying, which was not very long due to repeated hoof blows to the head. Maybe she wanted to romp in the field for a while, or maybe just didn’t think mom deserved a break, but it was funny either way.

The Fragrant Path to Ivy Manor

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This is just one of several images captured over the course of several hours this past weekend. I saw this scene while I was riding bike the night before and knew I had to get back soon to capture it. The driveway was even more pristine looking when I first arrived, but several vehicles came and went shortly after I got there, and made marks in the lovely pink carpet. Thankfully wind helped bring down more petals to help cover things up. I could not seem to break myself from shooting various angles, in part because the home seemed to go perfectly with the fallen flowers, and the sea of pink under foot was something quite amazing. The owner asked if I had A.D.D, because I was there so long, but I loved every minute of this location. Once again, generous homeowners were very agreeable to let me wander the property, which made all the difference. It is not really called ivy manor, but I named it that because it reminds me of something from Europe. The Cotswolds in england are among one of the places I desperately want to visit sometime in the future and this image sort of has that cottage look.

Working the Fields

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Spring is rapidly advancing and local farmers are beginning to work the fields for the growing season. This farmer was kicking up a good bit of dust as the sun silhouetted him while he diligently went about the evening chores. Thankfully we got a decent amount of rain this weekend,so the dust situation should be better in the coming week.

The Artistry of Nature

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I had no intention of going out to look for photos yesterday, but plans changed and the opportunity arose to go out for a bit. I originally spent a few hours up the street from this location shooting a home that had blossoms covering the ground from a beautiful flowering tree that was dropping its blooms. Before I headed home, I took a stroll down the street and noticed this serene scene that was begging to be photographed. I asked the owner to walk in his yard, and he graciously said yes. The home across the street is a bed and breakfast called the Smithton Inn and it was built in 1763, and thanks to the efforts of its new owners, it is a wonderful place to stay for folks visiting the area. This yard had gorgeous flowering trees in purple,pink and white over the last weeks and I never shot anything, but something about the carpet of pink beckoned me to give it a whirl. The wrought iron furniture in white circling the trees added that touch of detail that brought it all together.

A Peaceful Rest

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Another flowering tree caught my eye as I looked for spring scenes across the region. The old church and the storm clouds rounded out the composition to yield a peaceful spring image at a local cemetery. Fall is still my favorite time of the year, but spring is right up there as well. This is another example of an image where I climbed on my truck roof to shoot, and that allowed a little better framing with the tree. The roof has a luggage rack which keeps the tripod legs from sliding. I get strange looks doing this, but I like the extra height it affords. I often joke about mounting a telescoping pole to my vehicle and controlling aerial views from a laptop inside. Maybe if I ever hit the lottery, I can try that.

Romeo and Juliet

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This image was taken last evening at my mother’s house when I stopped for a quick visit, and thankfully I had my camera gear along. I always try to come up with an appropriate title for my photo each day, and although this particular one may leave you scratching your head, it’s what I decided on. First,let me say this image is exactly how I spotted it, and although it had just begun to rain, I still grabbed the tripod, camera and a huge umbrella and got set up. As I was working on the image at home, I was listening to a song by the same title, and that’s when the title landed in my lap. I knew the subtle colors had a delicate feeling and were almost like male and female colors.  This image is so soft and relaxed, yet it grabs you to look at it and appreciate its beauty. So perhaps these flowers belong together, complimenting one another in muted tones. I found it interesting that the blue flowers held the rain drops,but the pink repelled them.

Meet Croaker

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This is the resident frog at my mother in laws house who has laid claim to her tiny backyard pond. He has been affectionately  named croaker for obvious reasons and my mother in law has almost perfected the mating call that emanates from croaker on a normal night. I used to have a backyard pond as well, and was always amazed how frogs found their way to these small sources of water. For this hand-held shot, I had to all but fall in the pond to get the low angle, but croaker gladly posed as I was about a foot away, and never even flinched.

A Dusting of pink

Posted by reesephoto on

I woke up sunday morning to beautiful spring conditions that beckoned me to get moving and look for some images. I grabbed the camera, a lens and my tripod and walked around our garden in search of anything that said spring. the first thing I noticed was one of our hosta was covered with freshly fallen pink petals from what my wife thinks is a flowering crab apple tree we have.The tree is in full bloom right now,but overnight rains knocked a good number of petals to the ground, and helped adorn the hosta in delicate petals of pink. The soft light of an overcast morning, provided the perfect illumination to capture this graceful scene.