Color Photography – Page 184 – LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

It’s A New Day & Anything Is Possible

There’s nothing like an early morning visit to the Gauley River. Tonight’s Feature Image was actually taken in the Fall. The crisp morning air feels clean and new on my face as I make my way across the painted sandstone pebbles. The smell of wood smoke fills the valley as the locals begin to stoke their stoves to take the chill out of their houses. Upstream the sun is just about to break over the mountains giving the morning fog a golden glow. With my coffee in one hand and my camera in the other I wander along the landing enjoying the sound of the river lapping against the stones. It’s a new day and anything is possible. On this particular day there was no day job to call me away from the peaceful setting so I took my time to watch the minnows play in calm pools near the edges. The occasional flicker of a tree limb alerts me to the presence of squirrels in the opposite side of the river. I found a rock that was large enough and dry enough to be my seat for the morning’s main show as the sun rises sleepily over the distant ridge. Those fist golden rays sweep steadily across the landscape until they wash over my face. I breathe in the new energy and think to myself “Anything is possible indeed.”

As we head into the New Year let me encourage you to take the opportunity to revitalize yourself and commit to a new start. It’s a new day and a new year. Let the past fade away like an echo on the river and be renewed for possibilities ahead.

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Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “The Gauley River Awakens” and is available for purchase by usingthe Contact Form on my website. ( just click on the the bell below)

(Note, I do not share or sell contact information. EVER)

4X6 is $5.00

5X7 is $10.00

8X10 is $15.00

Some cropping may be necessary for certain sizes.

Antique Service Desk Bell in Black and White — Ring this bell to order prints or schedule portraits

I’m also available for portraits by appointment. Use the Contact Form or message me on Facebook for details.

A Matter Of Perspective

Color Photography

The Kanawha River is often turbulent in this spot. There’s days when it climbs up out of it’s banks and threatens to wash away everything and we would be powerless to stop it. But every other day it’s calm and peaceful. Most days it’s a great place to sit down and enjoy life. You can fish or if you’re observant you might spot a bald eagle or an Osprey in this spot. In the Spring violets dot the landscape with blues, purples, reds and yellows. The songbirds are abundant here as well. As I look towards the distant shore beyond the falls it’s hard to think about the raging waters that have been here and will come again. It would be easy to look at the little park at Kanawha Falls (or any other body of water) and live in fear of the next stormy day and the rage of nature but then we would miss the beauty on the good days. Life is all about perspectives. We can focus on the good times or the hard times. Both are going to be present. But if we are focused only on the hard times will miss out on beautiful times in between the storms.

Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “The Distant Shore” and is available for purchase by usingthe Contact Form on my website. ( just click on the the bell below)

(Note, I do not share or sell contact information. EVER)

4X6 is $5.00

5X7 is $10.00

8X10 is $15.00

Some cropping may be necessary for certain sizes.

I’m also available for portraits by appointment. Use the Contact Form or message me on Facebook for details.

Homebound

Color Photography

The road home can be a steep climb. Sometimes there’s unexpected twists and turns. Some days the journey is through wind and rain or ice and snow. Some days are full of warm sunshine and the trees are full of singing birds. The journey home can be long. Blessed is the one who is joined by companions who encourage you to continue on. Even if they can’t travel along beside you every day. The warm smile in greeting and the voice that speaks gentle words of encouragement was a greater gift than you ever knew. It shouldn’t come as a shock that you made it home first. You should know that those encouraging words will echo in my memory until the day that I also approach that gate that marks the end of the journey. I won’t be surprised to see your smile or listen to the excitement in your voice as the gate opens up to welcome us home.

In honor of Billy. I’ll see you when I get home too.

Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Homebound” and is available for purchase by usingthe Contact Form on my website. ( just click on the the bell below)

(Note, I do not share or sell contact information. EVER)

4X6 is $5.00

5X7 is $10.00

8X10 is $15.00

Some cropping may be necessary for certain sizes.

I’m also available for portraits by appointment. Use the Contact Form or message me on Facebook for details.

Winter And Wild Teas

Color Photography

In the natural world winter is a time for rest. The animals tend to stay in their dens. The hardwood trees are in a deep sleep as are the bears. Even the deer find a nice place in the deep woods where they can shelter from the cold. The days are still short and the cold nights are long. Just perfect for deep rest.

The giant elm tree in tonight’s feature image is just as beautiful in the winter as it is with its leaves on in the warmer months. One of the special treats of the colder months when I was a kid was bark teas. I’d be careful about where I harvested the bark (see note below) but elm actually has a nice spicy flavor. Several years ago I was able to try it for the first time. Traditionally it’s used for sore throats and colds ( I’m not a doctor or a certified anything so this is historical statement and not medical advice) due to the gelatinous fiber it yields. The flavor is similar to the Balsam Poplar that grows in higher elevations. In just a few months the buds will begin to swell and they make a good tea as well. In the old days, the Basswood (Linden or Lyme in Europe) buds were a source of winter food for my ancestors. Winter hikes in my teens always included stopping by a grove of black birch for a handful of wintergreen flavored twigs to nibble on. Sassafras was also a wonderful bark tea with an aroma that filled the house. There’s also the Carolina Spicebush who’s twigs provide a very lemon like flavor and the red berries of the stag horn sumac which has to be filtered well but gives us a pink lemonade in winter.

Perhaps that’s why I like this big old elm tree so much. It’s not only because it’s awesome to look at but it reminds me of all the cool stuff that the Appalachian forests provide even in winter.

(NOTE: WHILE THE TREES AND FOOD USES MENTIONED IN TONIGHT’S POST WERE TRADITIONALLY USED IN APPALACHIA THERE ARE HAZARDS AND FOOD ALLERGIES TO CONSIDER. FOR EXAMPLE, THE ELM IN TONIGHT’S POST IS GROWING NEAR A PLACE WHERE HAZARDOUS SOIL CONTAMINATION IS A RISK AND THEREFORE I WOULD CONSIDER THIS PARTICULAR TREE UNSUITABLE FOR CONSUMPTION. IT’S A SAD REALITY OF THE MODERN WORLD AND JUST NOT WORTH THE RISK. MCHM IS IN USE IN THE REGION AND LOCALS KNOW ALL TOO WELL THAT BY THE TIME A SPILL IS REPORTED IT’S ALREADY TOO LATE TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION. )

Tonight’s Feature Image is “The Big Elm At London West Virginia 12.27.18” and is available for purchase by usingthe Contact Form on my website. ( just click on the the bell below)

(Note, I do not share or sell contact information. EVER)

4X6 is $5.00

5X7 is $10.00

8X10 is $15.00

Some cropping may be necessary for certain sizes.

I’m also available for portraits by appointment. Use the Contact Form or message me on Facebook for details.

The Road Ahead

Color Photography

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is traditionally the period when people say goodbye to the past and hello to the future. It’s one of those in between times when anything can happen. Where past and present meet to determine the future. People are beginning to think about New Year’s resolutions. We have a tendency to review a list of “never agains” and “I’m gonnas”. When I looked over my own list I started to realize that both the “I’m gonna” list and the “never again” list was the same thing. It was just two different ways of expressing regret. Perhaps a better way to say it is that regrets come in two flavors. Regret that’s rooted in what did and regret that is rooted in what I didn’t do. The more I examined and thought about my list the more I realized that it was reliving those regrets on a daily basis that was holding me to past. I would pick a few of these regrets and base my New Year’s resolutions on the feeling of regret. Here’s the problem. I carried the regret into the New Year and always wound up repeating that pattern. What I had was a self identity problem. I was viewing myself as the guy who always does the things that brings regret. I was defeating my own purposes before I could even get started. After a little more contemplation I decided that the feeling of regret should be treated like an alarm clock. It’s something that’s only supposed to wake us up but not something that keeps us awake. If we hold onto it then it becomes like an anchor that holds us to the past.

So, this year why not try to address this resolution thing not with a list of regrets but a list of opportunities. Opportunities to change the overall patterns of action/inaction by seeing yourself as the person who owns the moment and is capable of forging them into a bright future.

Tonight’s Feature Image is “The Bright Day Ahead” and is available for purchase by usingthe Contact Form on my website. ( just click the picture of the bell below)

(Note, I do not share or sell contact information. EVER)

4X6 is $5.00

5X7 is $10.00

8X10 is $15.00

Some cropping may be necessary for certain sizes.

I’m also available for portraits by appointment. Use the Contact Form or message me on Facebook for details.