Color Photography – Page 114 – LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

Late Winter Solitude

The February sky turns to the soft pastel colors of the days end as the big blue truck delivers me to the open field near my day job. The site is actually an abandoned strip mine that’s transformed into anindustrial park. Rabbits and deer now run where the heavy equipment once shook the earth. On occasion we even see coyotes prowling the broom sedge and lespedeza. Countless songbirds hide in the scrubby bushes that dot the old mine. Rising from the sea of dry grasses this little Virginia Pine stands out as a lone sentinel observing the rebirth of the forest. When I first spotted it it was just tall enough to stand out from the rest of the vegetation and year after year it grows stronger. Last year it even survived a tornado! And I’m glad it’s still there because it gives me sense of peace and solitude to see it silhouetted against the sky immune from the sirens and chaos of the city below. Just beyond the horizon and below the mountains in the background major interstate highways buzz with the sounds of the passing engines but here beneath the twisted branches of a lone pine all you can hear is the birds singing and the wind blowing along with your innermost thoughts and dreams of what might be.

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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To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.

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Forage Friday #47 Horse Hoof Fungus (Amadou)

Color Photography, Forage Friday

Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Amadou 81019” and was taken specifically for this article. All of the photos are my original work and are available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

The predawn sky was overcast and the mists had drenched the landscape for days. The young hunter knew to stay hidden in the thickest part of the Spruce seedlings growing on the edge of the cliff. Even in the dark he knew to keep still. His prey could detect the slightest sound. As the dark sky began to turn red he calmly notched his dart into the hook of his Atlatl and prepared to cast it into the valley below. Peering through the evergreen boughs revealed a huge Mastodon on the edge of water. Then he heard the signal to attack from the hunt-chief and a swarm of stone tipped darts flew to their mark bringing the behemoth to the ground. The whole tribe gathered at the kill to gather their share of the meat and to prepare a feast right there on the spot. The young hunter watched as his grandfather used a stone axe to chop a growth from one of the nearby trees and split it open. A chip of flint was then used to scrape our some of spongy flesh from the inside of the mushroom. The old man buffed the material and placed it on a slab of bark and struck out few sparks into the small pile which soon began to smolder. The spongy material was Amadou and it held the magic of fire.

Tonight’s Forage Friday post is not an edible plant but it is one that has a multitude of uses that makes it worth exploring. The mushrooms in the Fomes family produce a substance called Amadou. From the dawn of history it’s been used as a fire starter and was even found in the possibles kit of Otzi the ice man recovered from the Italian Alps. The mushrooms are said to have a horrid flavor so they’re not considered to be edible but if you like to eat a warm meal they are great for getting a fire going.

That may be how mankind’s relationship started with Amadou but that’s not where it ended. As it turns out Amadou is also a wonderful textile. At some point in history people from the region of Transylvania figured out that if you soak Amadou in the ashes of birch wood it can be pounded and stretched into sheets that have the soft qualities of felt but the look of leather. The sheets are then made into purses, pouches belts and especially hats. All of these items are decorated with ornaments that are made by pressing the Amadou into carved wooden molds and steaming them. One of demonstration videos on YouTube says that an old-fashioned steam iron is the best tool for that job.

Amadou is highly absorbent and was once used like gauze in dental work and as bandages. The absorbent quality also made it popular with fly fishing for drying flies.

For next part of the article I need to be clear about some common confusion. The most abundant source of Amadou is the horse hoof fungus which is also known as false tinder fungus and should not be confused with Chaga/true tinder fungus. Chaga is a wonderful medicinal fungus that grows on dying birch trees that I’ve been told is a beautifully tasting tea. Horse Hoof Fungus may hold a medical use but not for humans. Expiriments have shown that honeybees that feed on the sugary resin that collects on the underside of the mushroom have fewer incidents of a wing deformation that is caused by a virus. To the best of my knowledge no testing gas been done to see if any of the extracts are effective for humans in any way so until that’s confirmed this one is only for the bees.

Here in Appalachia the horse hoof fungus is part of a traditional art. If you can locate one that’s young and still growing you can make an engraving on the underside and the mushroom will grow into the carving and it also holds paint very well making it a great canvas.

Finally, you can sharpen your knife with the underside of mushroom by using it like a strop. When done correctly there’s a squeak.

I hope that you have enjoyed tonight’s Forage Friday post. If so, let me know in the comments!

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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The Bite Of Winter 2020

Color Photography

An old joke goes that if you don’t like the West Virginia weather all you need to do wait a few minutes and it will change. Almost as soon as the Forsythia bloomed in Smithers the bitter cold settled. The waterfall at the old wall has all but stopped flowing. I’ve always thought that icicles look like teeth. In my imagination the waterfall becomes the very bite of winter itself. However, this is normal. This time of year we have a series of cold and warm weather. And it’s a good thing too. The frost heave is how nature sews the seeds of a lot of the wild plants. The cold makes the water in the soil expand and stand up then as it thaws it covers the seed. This action also opens the protective cover of some seed allowing germination to take place in next few weeks. By late March ( At my latitude ) most of the bitter cold will be gone and we typically have a light dusting of snow near the Easter holiday. I haven’t really looked into it but my gut feeling is that the longer days excite the jet stream in the upper atmosphere and the cold Arctic air is pulled South this time of year.

For now I’ll just bundle up in jacket and wait until old man winter loses his teeth and retreats back to the North.

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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To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.

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The Lord &Lady Of Songs

Color Photography, wildlife

As the days grow longer there’s a point where the local Cardnials ( and other songbirds) decide that love is in the air. The brightly colored males can be heard all through the hills. The female can be heard as well but her call is a simple loud chirp where the male call is long and varies in pitch. It’s also been my experience that the male takes great pride in frustrating photographers. Hello either sits high in the trees outside of the range of my lens or in the thickest clumps of twigs he can find. There’s been a few times that I could have sworn he threw a couple of “neener neeners” into his song as I raised my lens and focused in just in time to see him dart away.

Neener Neener Bird — One of the “Neener Neener” moments when the male Cardnial flew off with a snicker.

But I don’t really give up so easy. If I let this bird win now he’ll only be encouraged to continue his taunting. So I have to come up with some ultimate plan to capture a bird in my lens. The most experienced bird hunter in the world has to be Mr. Wile E. Coyote. And, I’m familiar with all of his master plans to capture a bird. The problem there was that I didn’t have an anvil handy and I’m not really a skilled enough painter to create a convincing looking tunnel on any of the local rocks. So I did the next best thing. I found a few soundtracks of Cardnial calls on YouTube and played them over the speakers in my truck with the volume as high as it would go. It only took ten seconds to get a response.

Image Titled Lady Of Songs and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

The female Cardnial seemed to be very interested in whoever this new suitor was. She popped up right next to the truck window.

I hit the soundtrack again and she moved to the power line directly over my head.

The female Cardnial overhead looking for the second male.

It wasn’t long before the male couldn’t take this challenge to his territory and when he showed up he meant business! The fly in the ointment with my plan was that even though I got him to come out of hiding I never realized how twitchy an angry male Cardnial can be. He was no longer singing for a mate and he was flashing his wings and tail feathers in an effort to entice the other male into a duel for the honor of his lady.

Once he was visible I turned the volume back down slowly and he began to calm down a little. I was only able to catch him still enough for one shot before he took of in pursuit of the female.

He was still in a defensive posture and he never really got as close as the female Cardnial but now that I have a trick up my sleeve I hope to try for a closer shot soon.

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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To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.

If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is

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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! 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.

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First Bloom In 2020

Color Photography

Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “First Bloom 22520” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

Softly the rain drifts through the mountains kissing the landscape before pooling and making it’s way back to the river. The cycles of the rise and fall of the water seem never ending in the Eastern Forests. I have the day off so I decided to take a trip and venture out to look for some fresh photos for you. These trips often mean me just driving until I spot something that stands out from the background. Which is exactly what happened today. I don’t know why this little spot in Smithers West Virginia is different but every year it yields the first blooms of the season. Usually several days ahead of the rest of my area. Forsythia is one of the very first plants to wake from its long winter slumber and smile at the passersby. The bright yellow flowers always bring a welcome break from the doldrums of winter. I don’t mean to mislead you. We do have more cold weather on the way. We’ve been told to expect snow within the next few days and it’s normal to see the Forsythia flowers covered with ice and snow. It opens not because of warm weather but because of the Earth’s angle to the sun and the length of the day. It’s because of this I believe that this little strip of land must have just the right solar aspects give it a head start on everything else. Officially, it’s only 22 or 21 days until the Calendar start of Spring But from the blooming of this bush forward is when the land really starts to wake up and get ready to receive the light.

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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To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.

If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

If you’re enjoying my blog and don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website.

https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

https://youtu.be/FDcrY6w8oY8

Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

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.

Thank you again for your support of my page!❤