Angels and Demons

I went to see Angels and Demons last night. It was a movie of course; however, it does bring up many interesting points about religion and science. The amount of political, social and religious power, not to mention wealth that religions have obtained while operating behind the symbol of the cross is mind-blowing to me. My photo for the day is inspired by the great debate between science and religion as well as the power of the cross.

On The Farm

An old tractor, next to an old barn, caught my eye.

Below are geese crossing a major road in Johnstown. I couldn't grab my camera fast enough to catch them in the middle of the road but it was a fun sight to see. I like the swagger of the goose which is in the last spot, protecting its family.

Friends

It was nice to spend time with fellow photographers yesterday; people that understand the passion. Photography is a terrific way to learn from one another. Technical information and creative styles are traded from photographer to photographer. Along the way one forms long lasting friendships! Thank you to all my teachers, my friends.

A Cloudy, Rainy Day

Large puddles everywhere! Luckily Upstate New York needs the rain! Below is a quick photo taken while on a walking tour of the Erie Canal. What a terrific history lesson I received about this amazingly successful and technologically wondrous canal. Thank you to the tour guide and to Phil for setting up the field trip. A great way to end a working day!

Tears From Heaven

In a book that I am reading, the main character is told that rain is caused by falling tears from Angels.
Tears fall, not because Angels are sad, but because they want to touch us with a piece of heaven with each teardrop.

Early Morning Sunshine, Early Flowers

Sneaking into my mother's garden/yard this morning, I found exactly what I had seen on Memorial Day when I watched the parade from her house. She has beautiful flowers growing in each corner of the yard. Above, I used a "Lensbaby" to get the blurred effect.

Above, I liked how the purple lilac and white flowers (unknown to me) overlapped. I like the softness of the colors too. Below, the white flowers are shown without a filter.

The next few days will be cloudy and wet so I was happy to use the light this morning.

Fast Cars!

At this morning's Memorial Day Parade, I was once again drawn to photographing parts of these old cars. Not a bad job considering the cars were moving!

In Memory

Above is the statue in its complete beauty.

I found this statue exactly at the right time; the weekend we celebrate fallen soldiers.

Antique Road Show?

They don't make them like they used to! This auto is for sale which partially explains the tight cropping. For sale signs, modern tires and other distractions littered the windows and doors of this automobile. With close cropping I was able to eliminate the distractions and yet make interesting images....I hope you agree!

The Beautiful Outdoors!

Having today off was such a treat! An early morning walk on a nature trail, followed by 6 hours of building a deck. Great exercise, warm air and a feeling of accomplishment. In my next life I am going to be a nature guide (in the South- no snow). I'm finding more and more of a desire to be outside the older I get.

I don't want to over use my fish-eye lens but what the heck? Isn't this blog suppose to offer the opportunity to keep practicing? Sure is fun to use!

Have a great weekend!

"A Pane in the Glass!"

The photo above was taken through a window which is my interpretation of my Thursday assignment. My goal was to use the glass of the window for a watercolor affect and the screen as the texture. The glass at school is very thin and very pure so I put a strip of clear wrap over the window. I pulled the clear wrap tight so there was almost no bubbles or waves. And then I shot image after image after image. The naked eye wouldn't detect the wrap; however, the lens did struggle a bit, finding focus. The final image has the look I wanted. I read about this technique and saw examples. The samples showed more texture and I could have easily added texture with editing software; however, I liked what I captured.

Bad-Ass

I'd be a "bad-ass" driving this Harley.

Early Morning Fog

A few minutes separates the images above from those below.
It is always exhilarating to have taken my daily photo in the morning. For those new to my blog, I'm taking at least one photo a day and posting it the same day. I'm not sure how many more I have to go but it is under 100... I hope?

The blue sky took only minutes to appear once the sun peaked out over the horizon. Within two minutes all the fog remaining was seen close to the bridge below.

An Angel's Gift

"Fly, fly, little wing
Fly beyond imagining
The softest cloud, the whitest dove
Upon the wind of heaven's love...

Fly, fly precious one
Your endless journey has begun
Take your gentle happiness
Far too beautiful for this

Fly, fly do not fear
Don't waste a breath, don't shed a tear
Your heart is pure, your soul is free
Be on your way, don't wait for me

Fly, fly little wing
Fly where only angels sing
Fly away, the time is right
Go now, find the light"
Celine Dion

Everywhere You Look!

My favorite local cemetery.

'Yesteryear Must Have Been Prettier'

Driving around Amsterdam I can only hope that the streets used to be beautiful and the people more refined. A trip around town today did not expose me to the nices places nor the most respectful people. I know goodness is out there; however, sometimes the 'ugly' is overwhelming.

The Power Of Sky

Man is too short to reach the sky so buildings are constructed to do so instead. Sadly, buildings also fall short. Some buildings sure look pretty trying though!

A Mid-Life Crisis??

When you go to a showroom with this caliber of automobile in it, it is as if the red carpet has been rolled out for you. With my camera in hand, I discovered that the salesmen thought I was truly interested in purchasing a car and that I would share my images with friends, co-workers, spouse etc. before agreeing to pay the sticker price.

This car is beautiful as was the showroom. With the lighting available, the glossy-white walls and floors, each car looks stunning. Since the color red photographs so well, I headed immediately for this model.

Below I had some fun with the tires. It would be a dream to buy a car like this and probably a dream of the salesman for me to buy this vehicle! Imagine his commission payment?

I learned a few things doing this "shoot". Number one, Target doesn't call the toy aisle a "showroom". Secondly, the salesmen at Target don't get a commission for selling cars like the one above. That is a shame really.

A Park At School

In the school's courtyard one will find a beautiful park. First you need a little sunshine. Secondly, every park has a quiet spot; a place where birds can gather to feed and take a bath.

With all that sunshine and tender loving care from the young hands of gardeners, delicate and vibrant flowers in all shapes and colors will grow.

The most inviting "park" is complete.

Sun Setting In The Country

Another wonderful Spring day! No matter how rough a day is I always find peace in nature. Nature doesn't care about my morning headache, my busy schedule, my after-school meetings, my papers needing to be graded, etc. No, nature reminds all of us, with the variety of 'issues' that we all carry, that there is something more important to focus on, the beauty of life.

Look Up!

I forget to 'look up' when I set out to photograph. I'm glad I did today because I think this image is interesting. I pass this building many, many times a week. Today I was struck by the blue sky first, and then the chimneys. A quick turn around, a quick shot and a quick trip home. All in a day's work!

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the mothers in my life, I send you flowers. They aren't roses or carnations but I think they are pretty. Below, I practice my 'shadow' assignment from this past Thursday. I saw this field yesterday when I watched my niece play soccer. I was happy today turned sunny because I knew what I wanted to do with this field.

Breakfast On The Mohawk

As always, my coffee and my Jeep....breakfast at the Locks

The boat passing by was from Canada. Boaters are always friendly, waving as they pass.

Answers

A giant thank you to everyone who has commented in the last set of posts. The picture that shows movement, a few days ago, didn't fool many people. It is indeed a moving train, at night. The image was quite a mistake as I was fumbling with my Jeep, the camera and a fast approaching train. I was very close to the train as well and so its lights, the lights of the train station and my lights inside the Jeep all combined to make the picture.

Jayme commented on the amount of sun when I took the "tree-faces" photo. I can not tell you how many times Fonda has looked gloomy when I left work only to arrive in Amsterdam with brighter skies. In fact, on that day, people were mowing lawns here and enjoying a warmer day! It wasn't a great day but much nicer than the valley where clouds tend to linger.

For those in the "show" at the library.... I keep getting nice comments from people who have gone to check out our work. It is interesting as to which photo they remember the most. Out of my set, people seem to like that flower where I showcased the bud of the flower, from behind. Even on the blog, isn't it fun to see which photo attracts the most comments? Many times it isn't the photo I expect.

Sunrise

On my way to work. What a nice way to start a day.

Shadows

My suggestion of 'shooting' shadows became a greater struggle for me than I expected. I had everything going against me (got out of work late, didn't get home until 7pm); however, I did the assignment with the best of intentions. Above are artificial flowers that I took outside. Through the camera I saw heavy shadows throughout the image. On the computer, those shadows did not show up as obviously as I had hoped. Using a filter caused the dark areas to deepen and so that is why I chose to use it. Below, a more traditional interpretation of the shadow assignment. A fan, casting a shadow on white board that I had leaning against the wall caught my attention. Again, it looked "cooler" through the camera than it turned out in reality. Oh well. Though these photos won't make me famous, I stretched my thinking and technique today.