Category: Winter

Spring Training

· 35 Comments ·
Old 89
Old 89

It seemed like a perfect day to go back to bed and fantasize about winning the Powerball. An hour after that thought I was standing on the tracks in thirty degree weather waiting for the steam engine in Strasburg.

I saw it in the distance and got out of my car to find that the wind was twenty miles an hour blowing directly into my face. But since I like a challenge I set my camera to speed priority and gave it a shot (26).

Tears were streaming down my face, I was almost shooting blind, and the only other photographer probably figured they were tears of joy. Maybe some of them were, but at that point I was once again thinking about taking up golf.

While the composition could be better I was surprised that the image was sharp and was glad that I forced myself to go out. To be honest my obsessive compulsive photography disorder got me out but it didn’t matter.

I probably won’t win the lottery tonight and if I do I have a feeling I’ll be doing the same things in the same way. Maybe I’ll pull up to this spot on a brand new motorcycle, but I’ll still be standing there with a camera, waiting.

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Clouds

Tunnel Vision

· 25 Comments ·
The Old Mill Stream
The Old Mill Stream

“Learn to see the big picture. Often times we get tunnel vision and lose sight of the big picture and what we’re really trying to accomplish.” Robert Cheeke

Emotional Rescue

· 39 Comments ·
Scaredy Cats
Scaredy Cats

So I’m driving down a backroad in the middle of nowhere when I see a van pull over and out of the corner of my eye I spot what looks like an animal up a tree. I quickly turned around thinking it might make an interesting photo.

It seemed that two large cats were stuck in a tangle of branches attached to a telephone pole. The woman with the van was noticeably upset and borrowed a ladder from a farmhouse nearby.

Now I’m basically a nice guy, I help old ladies cross the street and give money to the homeless though I’ve never rescued a cat and wasn’t sure if they really needed rescuing, but I got out with camera in hand.

Being a former house painter I’m very familiar with ladders and know that if you set them in the mud and climb to the top you end up on your ass. But after five or six tries I managed to reach the first cat and grab him.

The second one either liked the view up there or was panicking and refused to let go. Out of frustration I got off the ladder and pulled at the branches until the cat was within reach and pried his claws free.

The woman wrapped them both in a blanket to put in her van with two dogs who were watching the whole thing. I wondered what she was going to do with them and figured the dogs would probably have them for breakfast.

After it was all over she thanked me and my emotions were running high. I was annoyed that I didn’t take a few more shots, my mind was racing with thoughts of post processing and I had to pee.

There are a million stories in the naked county; this has been one of them.

Ride Along

· 22 Comments ·
Wise Guys
Wise Guys

I was on my way home the other day and stopped by these horses that were very busy frolicking in the mud. I tried to get them to come close enough for a photo but they ignored me.

Then I remembered how I used to get my dog’s attention by asking her if she wanted to go for a ride in the car. So I stood by the fence and said: Wanna go for a ride? Nothing. Then I said: Wanna go for a ride in the car?

The white horse slowly walked over and looked at me like I was crazy. Then he turned to his friend and said: This guy ain’t from around here is he Bo? And Bo said: No Jack, he’s probably a New Yorker.

I figured it must have been my accent. Fuhgeddaboudit.

The Master Appears

· 26 Comments ·
Master Al
Master Al

My good friend Alena Shminke who is also a therapist was trying to cheer me up this morning and wrote: “I think animals are basically happy because they just live in their bodies and that’s all. And btw, they don’t read Nietzsche.”

Since she lives in Estonia I thought it might be easier to talk to an animal face to face and see what he had to say. I met a woman who was feeding chickens and goats cookies and lasagna, which I thought was completely normal.

Al wasn’t interested, possibly because he was on a Keto diet so he came up to chat. Not knowing exactly what to say I asked: what is enlightenment? And he replied, when hungry, eat. When tired, sleep.

Knowing that this was the truth, I thanked him and asked, then what? He told me to come back at the golden hour, use a wider aperture, low ISO and get the color right which pissed me off. So I shot him.