July 2019 – Page 5 – LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

A Couple Of Mornings With Ring-eye

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Hitting The Bullseye ” because the image contains an arrow and a bullseye. Like all of the photos on my blog this one is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.

It’s a peaceful morning in the Salmon Run area of Summersville Lake. The geese seem to paddle about in their tight knit group. It’s like watching a synchronized swimming exhibition. Everyone turns in time with the others. Everyone except for one that is. This goose is different. I first noticed this particular goose because of its eyes. My wife and I have come to call it “Ring-eye” because of the light ring on each eye.

I'm Special — This photo was taken the exact moment that I noticed the eyes of the goose. You can see in the background that all the other geese do not have the same eyes.

As soon as I saw the ring I softly spoke to the goose. “You’re special aren’t you” I whispered. To my surprise the goose reacted to me by coming closer. The goose still kept a comfortable distance outside of my reach but broke away from the flock to stay close none the less. I didn’t feed the goose because the truth is that the DNR would rather not have them in the recreational areas. But I did continue to speak to it softly. A few days later I returned to the lake for another round of photos and as soon as I stepped out of the big blue truck Ring-eye made bee-line to the shore. This goose remembered me!

As soon as Ring-eye reached the shore he/she Stood in the shallow water and waited for the conversation. I obliged.

A conversation with Ring-eye — Ring-eye waits for conversation to start.

We spoke for a few while I finished my coffee before gathering my gear and seeking the next shot.

I have to admit that I’m kinda curious to see if my friend is still there and remembers me on my next trip.

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Evening Drive In Summertime

Color Photography, Summersville Lake

The humid summer air blows through the can of the big blue truck as I cross the top of the dam. Summer is a time for leaving the windows down and the radio up.

As a young man it was important to visit all the parking lots on summer evenings so that you could catch up with your friends. Today the restaurant at the top of the dam is Fat Eddie’s but in those days it was a Dairy Queen. I remember once when the girls convened everyone to tune in the same radio station so that the same music was playing all through the group. I can’t really remember who’s idea it was in the first place but I remember someone saying “Music brings us together.” The lake in summer will be associated with the music of the 80s. Something that seems to be missing from music entertainment is the voice of the DJ. I know that today music artists call themselves “DJ” but I’m talking about the announcers that delivered a monologue between sets. Today we have a playlist on our phone or other device that delivers a continuous stream of song but the friend who rode with you everywhere is missing. On one of my devices I have a few clips from DJs worked into the mix for “old times sake”.

When I approached the dam and the evening sky all the memories seemed come back at once. A lot of things have changed since the responsibly free summer evenings of my youth. But crossing the dam with the windows down and music up isn’t one of them.

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Things Are Just Ducky #7

Color Photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Deep Thoughts” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.

George the mallard crossed the wake of the passing boat and came to rest on his favorite submerged log. “The ripples connect everything.” He observed as he soaked in the sun’s warmth. He watched as the wake spread out from shore to shore. Even the mighty Kanawha River wasn’t too wide for the wake to travel. George began to consider how small the world truly was. He noticed that even the rings made by the water lapping against his brest traveled farther than he’d ever noticed. He considered how his every action in the river touched his whole world. “It’s very important to mind myself. One bad splash could soak my friends!” He thought to himself as watch the wake reflecting off of every object in the river and travel back to his spot on the log. As an expiriment George flapped his wings and made a splash that traveled to the near shore and back again. “What I send out comes back to me. If I send out good things then goodness should be my reward.” He observed. George noticed a potato chip that had been dropped by a boat floating near the shore. George began to flap his wings in time with the ripples. With each returning wave the potato chip bounced closer until it was within reach. As George snapped up the chip he began to appreciate the virtue of working smarter and not harder. “Yes, good things indeed.” He said as he rubbed his belly in satisfaction.

George settled back into his spot on the submerged log and once again soaked in the sunshine with a new perspective on life in the river.

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A Fish Tale

Color Photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Something Fishy” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article. The reflections are 100% natural.

Every lake has it’s legends. Scotland has Nessie, Lake Champlain boasts of Champ and the ancient Greeks told of the Kraken. But deep down beneath the surface of Summersville Lake something glides through the sunken town of Gad. The light doesn’t penetrate down there so the creature must prefer the darkness. I’ll never forget trolling up to one of the larger houseboats on the lake one summer morning and being shown the large ocean rig snapped off at base and a large hook that was pulled out straight. I may have even caught a glimpse of the scaly beast a few days later when a sudden swirl of water swallowed up an eighteen inch long copperhead. We motored over for a better look but only found the serpent’s head as it slowly disappeared into the murky depths. A local diver is said to be the only person who came face to face with the monster fish and lived to tell the tale of the giant catfish in Summerville Lake.

Just like in any good tale of a legendary beast there’s a bit of controversy. Some people say that it’s all wild imagination. The ocean rod and hook could have snagged a log or large rock under the water. The diver could have been closer to a large but normal sized fish than he thought. The pictures in the local dive shop could be a forced perspective. ( objects closer than they appear. ) But then again. The lake is 300 feet deep in the summer. The lake covers over 2,700 acres and has over 60 miles of shoreline. If that’s not enough space to hide a monster then there’s also submerged caves.

Submerged cave visible in the winter. — This is one of caves in Summerville Lake that is said to shelter a giant catfish. During the summer it’s well below the water line.

The cave pictured here has an opening about the size of a small garage door. The picture was taken during winter when the lake had been drained. There’s plenty of room in there for an abnormal sized fish to hide.

I know what some of you are thinking. “If they drain the lake every year then why isn’t there a giant catfish laying in the mud?” The answer is that they don’t fully drain the lake. I don’t exactly know what the depth is at winter pool but it’s still pretty deep.

In the next photo we see Summersville Lake at winter pool. In the frame you can see the old road that once lead to the town of Gad.

I have written before that the Corps Of Engineers nearly named the lake after the town of Gad. Which would have made it Gad Dam Lake and any giant catfish living in the lake a Gad Dam monster. ( since I only post pictures that I’ve taken myself here is a link to story of Gad including photos from the past. Underwater Ghost Town )

Until someone actually manages to haul a 300 pound catfish up from the sunken town of Gad it will remain in realm of legend. In the meantime, I have the natural illusion of a giant fish made by a cluster of fallen trees in the Salmon Run area of Summersville Lake.

So now I have to ask. Do you have a legend of giant fish where you live?

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Daily Duties

Color Photography, wildlife

The soft morning rain slowed to a gentle mist as the big blue truck eased to side of the road. The green landscape is peppered with little blue pops of chicory bloom. The marshland bustles with hidden life. The ducks are navigating the current just beyond that sea of cattails. Within the cattail red-winged blackbirds continue to call as they gather twigs to refresh their nests. The next sounds that I hear is the deep droning of bumblebees playing in the Swamp Rose. We’re getting close to then of their season and the bees are frantically trying to collect the last of the rose pollen. Then I noticed movement in the nearby chicory blossoms. Sometimes very small. Something that looks like a flying gemstone. The metallic green colors and pollen packs on its legs told me it’s a mason bee. Sadly, the pollen it collects does not become honey. Instead of honey the mason bee makes little pollen cakes.

I’m pretty new to mason bees. I knew that they existed and that in some parts of the world they are the main pollinators. I also knew that they are among the most gentle bees in the world. Only the female mason bee has a stinger and even then you pretty much have to force them to sting.

Unlike honey bees the mason bees do not live in a hive. They will form colonies but they don’t have a collective. Instead they are solitary.

Mason bees nest in tubes and cap each cell of the tube with a mud brick. This of course is how they got their name. Similar to the mud dauber wasps nests each cell in the tube will contain a single egg and a pollen cake. The young will have to break out of the cell in order to survive. But unlike the mud dauber wasps the mason bee does not construct it’s own tube. Instead it’s opportunistic. It will take advantage of the holes left behind by wood boring beetles or a crevice in the rocks and so forth. In cultures that traditionally rely on the mason bee for crop production blocks of wood are drilled with several holes to give them a place to nest. A quick search on Pinterest show just how artistic and diverse the mason bee habits are created. They are also a wide variety of mason bee subspecies and I am honestly unsure of which kind is in the feature image. I do know that prior to European honeybees being brought into North America that major amount Native American horticulture would have relied on bumblebees and Mason bees. ( contrary to the movies Native Americans in pre-columbian times were not strictly hunter gatherers. )

During the colony collapse disorder a few years ago I noticed a sharp rise in native bees pollinating the wildflowers near my home.

I followed the little green bee from flower to flower snapping photos and trying to catch her in just the right spot. When she finally allowed herself to be caught in the lens I moved off and gave her space to complete her daily duty of making pollen cakes for her babies.

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https://youtu.be/FDcrY6w8oY8

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I’m now using Zazzle to fulfil orders. What this means for you is a secure way to place an order, discount codes & a broader product selection! Simply message me on Facebook oruse the contact form on my websiteand tell me which image you want and I’ll reply with a direct link to where you can place the order.

Thank you again for your support of my page!❤