I am a West Virginia native who has always loved photography. I have studied it for many years. I recently turned my hobby into a business. I do event photography, senior and family portraits. I also have several home décor prints and items available for purchase. Some of my photos have been used for book covers. I hope to soon have an on line store at this site.
Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Bradford Pear 31520” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.
Almost as if in defiance the overcast skies and gray weather the little Bradford Pears have exploded into bloom. And what’s even better is that it is starting to get green leaves. What the little tree lacks in food production and lumber value it makes up for in its ability to brighten up the bleak landscape of early Spring. After a long dark stretch of looking at empty branches and dried winter grasses the few green leaves tucked in around the clusters of white flowers had me feeling like schoolboy who was let out of class early. I have checked out the edge of my forest and the trout lilies are just breaking through the leaf litter in the shady spots. The grass is also waking up and soon it will be time to trade the snow blade on my little lawn tractor for a mowing deck. That will be a good trade.
As the days move forward I hope to the opportunity to catch more of the native flowers opening up as my mountain returns to life.
Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that graduation will be here before you know it. Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!!
Tobook me simply reach out using theContact Pageand we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.
Hello Friends and thank you for your support of my page. If you have enjoyed the photos or the writings please let me know by commenting and sharing my work on your social media. I also want to invite you to Follow Lloyds Lens Photography on Facebook
If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is
Did you know that I also do portraits by appointment? If you’re interested in a portrait session either message me on Facebook or Use the Contact form. The YouTube link below takes you one of my slideshows.
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! Simplymessage me on Facebookoruse 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.
Lastly, all of the photos and writings are my original work unless otherwise specified and are not to be copied or reproduced without expressed written permission from the photographer.
Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Winter Rain In The Forest 22520″and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.
The rain falls lightly on the dead leaves as I ease the big blue truck up Panther Mountain. This time of year good photo ops are bit of s challenge and so I have to drive a little farther and look a little harder to bring fresh images. The cold rain is almost like a mist and it floats as much as it falls. On the edge of the trail a rabbit disappears silently into the brambles.
Maybe it’s the news and all the scary stories or maybe it was seeing a rabbit on panther mountain but it brought to mind the Pipe Smoking Rabbit story.
I first encountered the legend in the movie “The Edge” as Anthony Hopkins explains why a paddle has a panther painted on one side and a rabbit smoking a pipe on the other. Rather than try to type out the whole story, here’s a link to the scene.
The rabbit character in the Native American stories i s a trickster much like Jack from a myriad of European stories who survives in his wits. The moral of the story is that the secret to overcoming fear and panic is logical thought. The pipe being a symbol of taking time to think and problem solve before acting. I have noticed that in my own life I only made mistakes that got me deeper into trouble when I reacted out of fear and worry verses problem solving before acting.
I looked deep into the brambles to see if I could get a clean image of the rabbit in his little thorny fortress and just as I saw him I could have sworn that he winked into the camera before he vanished behind the canes.
The Rabbit Has No fear
Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that graduation will be here before you know it. Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!!
Tobook me simply reach out using theContact Pageand we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.
Hello Friends and thank you for your support of my page. If you have enjoyed the photos or the writings please let me know by commenting and sharing my work on your social media. I also want to invite you to Follow Lloyds Lens Photography on Facebook
If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is
Did you know that I also do portraits by appointment? If you’re interested in a portrait session either message me on Facebook or Use the Contact form. The YouTube link below takes you one of my slideshows.
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! Simplymessage me on Facebookoruse 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.
Lastly, all of the photos and writings are my original work unless otherwise specified and are not to be copied or reproduced without expressed written permission from the photographer.
Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Kanawha Falls 3920b” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.
The evening light lingers just a while longer as I step out of the big blue truck with my camera. The constant hum of the hydroelectric plant can be heard over the roar of the falls as I extend the legs of my tripod. I have become obsessed with capturing the silky essence of overflowing water as it pours out over the dam and across the rocks. The secret of pulling peace from the chaos of the crashing water is time. In today’s world of instant gratification and high speed communication it’s easy to feel like you’re being overwhelmed and pulled under. That’s when it’s important to take control of the time and slow things down a bit. We all have a time machine in our heads. If you have ever been in an accident or had an event that happened quickly when you play it back in your head you see the effect of the time machine working. Think about that cup of coffee that was knocked off of the edge of counter. Does it play back in slow motion? As a teenager playing football I was a tackle. Tackles aren’t really known for handling the ball. My hands were like bricks but the one time that I caught the ball it seemed to just hang in mid air waiting for my brick-like hands to find their grasp. I learned that night that most challenges are simply a matter of perception. My perception of time had slowed down and given my body a chance to react. I have had the same experience with a vehicle accident giving me the chance to adjust the speed and angle of impact that allowed me to walk away from the wreckage by minimizing the force of the collision.
In both of these incidents the time perception phenomenon was reflex and instinct. It’s not really something that most people can do on purpose. But when I think about it, most of life’s problems are not so urgent as to trigger the reflex. But that also means that a person can take a deep breath and observe the patterns correctly. In the vast majority of life there’s more time than perceived and knowing the patterns means predictably. Predictably means that a plan can be made and a plan keeps things silky smooth.
Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that graduation will be here before you know it. Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!!
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Tobook me simply reach out using theContact Pageand we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.
Hello Friends and thank you for your support of my page. If you have enjoyed the photos or the writings please let me know by commenting and sharing my work on your social media. I also want to invite you to Follow Lloyds Lens Photography on Facebook
If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is
Did you know that I also do portraits by appointment? If you’re interested in a portrait session either message me on Facebook or Use the Contact form. The YouTube link below takes you one of my slideshows.
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! Simplymessage me on Facebookoruse 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.
Lastly, all of the photos and writings are my original work unless otherwise specified and are not to be copied or reproduced without expressed written permission from the photographer.
Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image was taken specifically for this article. All of the photos found on my blog are my original work and are available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.
I have to admit that I was surprised to be able to keep Forage Friday going as steady as I have for this long. I knew that in the warm months that I could find plenty of plants to feature and that even the ones that I haven’t really paid attention to in the past that I could do a little bit of research and come up with something interesting to write about. I suppose that it just goes to show that God has provided all of our basic needs in abundance. But today was one of those days when I was down to wire for a forage plant when I spotted this one growing wild on the roadside bear my home. And what’s even better is that it came up in conversation organically a couple of days ago. Tonight’s plant is Adam’s Needle or Yucca as it’s known in other parts of North America.
Yucca isn’t really a native of the Appalachian Mountains. It was brought here by a previous generation as an ornamental plant. It’s bushy appearance and cold hardiness made it desirable for those who wanted something exotic in their garden. And it It’s still used in landscapes today. It’s actually a native of the Southwest if I’m not mistaken.
If cattails are the supermarket of the wetlands then Adam’s Needle is the supermarket of abandoned homesteads and sub desert areas.
The name comes from the single tall flower spike that shoots up from the center in the summer. This is the part that I’ve actually eaten myself. The pedals of the flowers can be eaten raw but you need to get them when they’re freshly opened or they turn bitter.
The root is also edible and high in carbohydrates which is one reason that I’ve never tried it myself. (As a type 2 diabetic I really try limit the carbs so that I can avoid meds. ) Sometimes you can even find the roots in the produce section of your local grocery store depending on the region.
One of the survival tricks that I learned was to make soap from the root by cutting it into small chunks and dropping them into a bottle with little water. It’s not really soap but a compound called saponin which acts like soap and is even antimicrobial.
The leave can also be used to make soap but where they really come in handy is making cordage. A single leaf blade can be used to make fairly strong string without much work but it’s much better with son e processing.
Here’s a closeup of the fibers in Adam’s Needle
The process to get to the fibers is pretty simple. Cut a leaf near the base of the plant but watch out for the single thorn on the very tip of the leaf. Depending on your purpose for the cord you might have a use for the thorn because with a little care it can be function as a pre-threaded needle for sewing. An emergency repair for a torn jacket or pants can make a difference in the quality of life for someone who is without any other system of support. The best way to process it to lay the leaf on a flat surface and gently pound it with a heavy branch. You could use a smooth rock if you have one but a rock with sharp edges could cut the long fibers and create more work. The goal here isn’t to make mince meat out of the leaf but to separate the fibers from the pulp. The byproduct of the pulp can still be used for soap when fresh and because it kills microbes it might be good idea to put it on any minor wounds you might have. When you’re done with the pounding simply use the back of a single edge knife or a stick with a flat side and gently scrape the pulp away from the fibers. The fibers should remind you of a lock of hair at this point. They’ll be strong enough for sewing but if you are using them for rope then you’ll need to twist them. The way I do it is to roll the fibers on my thigh until they’re so tight that they twist back on themselves. Then double the rope and help that action by rolling in the opposite direction on your thigh again. There’s plenty of video on YouTube that shows how this is done and as it happens you add length by twisting in more fibers. Once you gave your cordage it can be turned into nets, baskets and even sandals by weaving.
So here’s one plant that you might find wild or you could even get one from the lawn and garden store and plant as both landscape and emergency use in tough times.
Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that graduation will be here before you know it. Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Tobook me simply reach out using theContact Pageand we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.
Hello Friends and thank you for your support of my page. If you have enjoyed the photos or the writings please let me know by commenting and sharing my work on your social media. I also want to invite you to Follow Lloyds Lens Photography on Facebook
If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is
Did you know that I also do portraits by appointment? If you’re interested in a portrait session either message me on Facebook or Use the Contact form. The YouTube link below takes you one of my slideshows.
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! Simplymessage me on Facebookoruse 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.
Lastly, all of the photos and writings are my original work unless otherwise specified and are not to be copied or reproduced without expressed written permission from the photographer.
Hello friends Tonight’s feature image is titled “Summersville Lake 31020” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.
Standing out over the water on a silent morning I look out over the lake that has been such large part of my life. The water always seems to carry it’s own mood. I have seen the lake display it’s anger when choppy waters are a greenish gray and seem to want to toss small boats onto the rocky shore. But thankfully today is different. Today a profound peace fills the canyon as the surrounding beauty soaks into the water. The glassy reflection gives the illusion of another world laying just below the surface.
The Grand Tour Of Salmon Run At Winter Pool
Pulling back from the water in panoramic mode makes the other side look like an island floating in a sea of clouds. I have never been on a kayak but days like today do make me long for the ability to toss in and just paddle until I’ve explored all 50 miles of shoreline. If not for Hughes’s Bridge it would be easy to picture one’s self as an explorer surveying some ancient world long forgotten. The caves and overhangs along the canyon walls may have been shelter for people who once thrived here. I have often wondered if you looked around would you find stone tools deep inside them? As ponder the possibility of the past a huge swirl breaks the surface and dissipates without revealing its source. I’m reminded of the legendary giant catfish that are said to hole up in those same caves in summer. But this one gets to remain as the one that got away. I just wasn’t fast enough to get a clear image of even the ripples and the legend continues as myth.
The ripples were gone before I could zoom in and focus.
Perhaps the next trip I’ll run into the fishermen who finally landed a monster.
Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that graduation will be here before you know it. Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Tobook me simply reach out using theContact Pageand we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.
Hello Friends and thank you for your support of my page. If you have enjoyed the photos or the writings please let me know by commenting and sharing my work on your social media. I also want to invite you to Follow Lloyds Lens Photography on Facebook
If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is
Did you know that I also do portraits by appointment? If you’re interested in a portrait session either message me on Facebook or Use the Contact form. The YouTube link below takes you one of my slideshows.
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! Simplymessage me on Facebookoruse 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.
Lastly, all of the photos and writings are my original work unless otherwise specified and are not to be copied or reproduced without expressed written permission from the photographer.
LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC 