Color Photography – Page 217 – LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

Little Boys and Dirt Roads

I have often said that my highway to heaven is a dirt road. Dirt roads take us to places unknown and seldom seen. We enter another world where a good ATV ( commonly referred to as a 4 wheeler in my part of Appalachia) or your own feet are the best travel options. When I was a kid we would head out on an old dirt road like the one in the feature image ever chance we got. These roads often contain mud holes that more akin to ponds than potholes. In the spring and summer they’re normally full of tadpoles and newts. My brother and I would escape the heat of the mobile home by finding one of the largest holes we could back under the canopy of the trees to play in. We’d come home covered in mud after riding our bicycles through the mud as hard as we could. We were pretending to be motocross racers. We’d slam the brakes in mud and throw it out as hard as we could. Whoever could make the biggest splash was the winner. We’d play Evil Knievel too. (For those too young to remember he was the most famous stuntman of my youth. You can read about him here). My poor mother would have two boys who looked like mud monsters by the time we were done.

Later in life I would walk these dirt roads at a slower pace while stalking deer or just out exploring. Walking a road like the one in the feature image is kinda like being on a treadmill with people throwing mud, rocks and tree stumps at your feet. The mud settles in low spots and it’s a perfect way for a beginner to find animal tracks and learn about tracking.

Today necessity keeps me on the nice pavement. I walk through a world of concrete and asphalt. But I still long for an abandoned dirt road with a huge mud hole and a good off road bicycle.

Grumps

Color Photography, wildlife

Like most photographers I own multiple cameras. I normally have my minimalist kit everywhere I go. Most of the images that I share on my blog are taken with my phone. I have a Samsung Galaxy 6 Active which has served me well for landscape and general photos. I also have a Panasonic Lumix which is a high end point and shoot that is several years old. I like it for the 400 mm lens even though it’s only an 8 MP. That’s what I used to zoom in on the little bird whom I have named Grumps. He landed on the picnic table outside my day job and gave me that “I haven’t had my coffee” look and since I don’t want any copyright violations with a well known game I couldn’t resist the name. Okay little guy, I’ll let you get some coffee before the next shot. I guess this is look you get when you’re not the early bird and worms have been gotten already. 😂

Gateways

Color Photography

There is something meditative about watching the river roll gently by. With the sky reflected on the water’s surface I began to understand why ancient cultures looked at bodies of water as gateways to the “other world”. The river itself is a contradiction. It’s always in motion but always in the same place more or less. Beneath the water’s surface truly is another world. Fish, crustaceans and turtles roam around exploring an alien landscape that’s just beyond our vision. What sunken treasures roll by unseen on the bottom? What secrets lie beneath that second sky below?

One Spring Day

Color Photography, Thoughts and Musing

An isolated spot, a big tree and a blue sky with big puffy clouds. It’s all part of the simple pleasure of childhood. With the only exception being a spot in the higher elevations of the mountains (where I actually saw ice flowing out of a spring. Winter has finally ended. The near eighty degree weather has arrived and there’s just the right amount breeze coming out of the southwest. It’s time to open up the windows, shoo away the doldrums of the grey and lifeless seasons left behind. Breath in the fresh air and cleanse your spirit. Bathe your eyes in the cool green of the new growth. Watch your step as you stroll along the wooded path. The sleepers have awoken. There, in soft mossy beds by the trail. Orange with red spots. It’s an eft lumbering on its way to the pond where it will transform into a tiny aquatic dragon and lurk among the sunken roots and branches. He’ll join his cousins, the frogs as they gather for a chorus before the next rain. It’s a very good day indeed. It’s real life. And, it’s happening now.

Glade Creek Grist Mill at Babcock State Park 4.29.18

Color Photography, travel, West Virginia

I love the old Glade Creek Grist Mill at Babcock State Park in West Virginia. I have been told that it’s the most photographed mill in North America. It always has an awesome scene to capture no matter what the season. The mill was actually built from the recovered pieces of other mills that had shut down. West Virginia is known for its coal mining but we have a lot to offer in green energy too. Our rivers and streams are in perpetual motion and capable doing a lot of work. This mill is still operating seasonally and grinds grain but others in the past milled lumber for our timber industry.

This image was taken last Sunday prior to meeting with a client for portraits. (Yes, I do portraits too 😁 anyone in southern West Virginia that is interested in portraits can contact me either on my website contact page or message me on Facebook)