Week Forty-seven - "Old Orchard Last Run"

In early December, I joined a handful of fellow photographers from Stony Brook for a couple of days in Maine. One of our intended stops was the Trolley Museum - which would be my seventeenth shoot of 2013!

Once a year the yard is opened up after hours for some creative lighting up of the selected trolleys. For some reason this year turned out to be over-subscribed as some thirty photographers with tripods lined up along the tracks (past years, it was closer to six or eight). The organizers had some scrambling to do to make sure everyone got their chances to capture the mood and the scene.

"Old Orchard Last Run"

For the above shot, we lined up on one of the inactive tracks while the organizer and his assistants walked around with spotlights. We were instructed to open up our shutters for about thirty seconds. during this time period, various parts of the trolley were hit with a beam of light.

I took this image into PhotoShop and eventually to NIK's Silver Efex Pro 2 to do some selective coloring. I left the majority of the scene as a monochromatic and brought back the color only on the trolley.

FYI - that was a real person as the conductor!

Weekly Photo Suggestion:

Fresh out of them - so . . .

Just enjoy shooting!

 A Pearl of Wisdom. . .

Glyme's Formula for Success

The secret of success is sincerity. 

Once you can fake that, you've got it made!

Steven Wright's Witticisms

A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

Week Forty-six - "Look What I Found!"

Who would have guessed that when I was traipsing (another word I love getting into a conversation or writing) around the Southwest that I would have come across not one but two. . .

Weather Vanes! 

And, of all places Death Valley!!

"The Panhandler"

"The Prospector"

And, the beauty of these two finds is that they fit right in to their rooftop settings. Both vanes sit atop "Scotty's Castle" - a national park on the outskirts of Death Valley. The story behind "Scotty's Castle" is a fascinating one that you need to read for yourself to believe. Here is Wikipedia's review of this unique national park:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotty%27s_Castle

Weekly Photo Suggestion:

Fresh out of them - so . . .

Just enjoy shooting!

 A Pearl of Wisdom. . .

Dean Martin's Definition of Drunkenness

You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on.

Steven Wright's Witticisms

Borrow money from pessimists - 

they don't expect it back.

Week Forty-five - "Pratt Farm, Middleborough"

"Frozen in Time"

                

                                           

                                  

                 

                 

                                       

            

Thank you for allowing me to finish my Southwest Trek. Great news, I am working on the images from SW Trek II. Sorry, you'll have to tune in next year for the results and some interesting anecdotes.

I am a member of a couple of meet-ups in the area and continually check their calendars to see if there is an interesting shoot planned.

The Pratt Farm is a hidden gem in Middleborough, MA. There are trails and photo ops throughout its acreage. This catch was within a few hundred feet of the parking lot and for me was the shot of the day. Over time this metal wheel managed to get itself absorbed by the tree! I was amazed no one had tried to pull it out at the onset. Pratt Farm was my seventeenth shoot of 2013!

Weekly Photo Suggestion:

Fresh out of them - so . . .

Just enjoy shooting!

 A Pearl of Wisdom. . .

Law of Airports

The distance to the gate is inversely proportional to the time you have to catch the flight!

Steven Wright's Witticisms

What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

Week Forty-four - "Sneak Peekl"

"North Rim Sunset at Overlook"

                

                               

               

              

                    

           

             

                

                       

            

Because you have been so patient with me this year, I decided to give you a sneak peek at what next year holds.
To date, I have processed mostly what I shot at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and, I hope you like sunrises and sunsets because i have lots of them. Breathtaking, if I might say so.

That drop in the middle of the cloud is NOT a funnel cloud, it was rain. Rain that, fortunately, never reached my location but provided an interesting addition to an already amazing sunset!

Weekly Photo Suggestion:

Never lose an opportunity to capture a likeness of anything beautiful. . .

        for beauty is God’s handwriting.    

                                               Emerson (sort of)

 A Pearl of Wisdom. . .

Agnes Allen's Law

Almost anything is easier to get into than out of.

Steven Wright's Witticisms

If Barbie is so popular, 

why do you have to buy her friends?