Category: Uncategorized

Morning Drive 

Color Photography, Summerville, travel, Uncategorized

Early on the morning of August 21st 2017 I stopped by the roadside park at Summerville Lake in West Virginia.  The shot was taken by placing the camera directly on the road.  The road crosses the Summerville Dam which is a Flood control dam. My grandfather was a engineer who helped build the dam.  Below the lake is the flooded town of Gad. The traditional way of naming Dams and Lakes built during the flood control project had to be suspended to prevent a scandal.  The local community just couldn’t allow the existence of “Gad Dam” and “Gad Dam Lake “. The resulting history is somewhat of a local joke today.

I spent a large part of my youth on or in the lake.  By the time I was 16 swimming from the beach to the campground was a ritual way to celebrate the opening the summer lake season.  Just to left of the road here there’s a cliff where I used to dive.  I’m guessing the drop was about 60 feet high from the surface of the water and the bottom of the lake is about the same.  We’re not allowed to have such adventures there today.  Unfortunately a person was injured because he dove from the wrong spot.  The Corps of engineers decided to ban diving altogether.

On the right side of the road is the Gauley River. The outlet for the lake creates class 6 rapids and so that spot is popular with rafters and kayakers.  The river is a great place for trout fishing.   There’s a local story about a specific DNR officer who came up on two guys fishing.  When he asked to check out their licenses one of them dropped his pole and took off running downstream. After a harrowing chase the officer finally corners the fisherman and once more demandsfor the license to be presented.  When the fisherman produces the license everything checks out. No laws were broken.  The two men are completely out of breath from the chase.  Panting heavily the officer asked why the first man ran. “You have your license and there’s nothing I can charge you with ” he said.  The fisherman replied “yes, but my friend didn’t have one.”

If you come to West Virginia,  Summerville Lake is a great place to have some summer fun. Just don’t jump from cliffs and if you plan to fish you better have a license.  The DNR officers travel in pairs now.  😉

 

Sunday 

black and white photography, Church, Sunday, Uncategorized
  • Growing up in the Bible belt I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to visit a lot of small churches.  In the days before the mega church and when there was nobody selling religion.  The churches of small communities were places where families gathered to hear the word of God and not just what the preacher said.  We knew good and well that nobody can buy a ticket to heaven with money or goid works.   Vain obligations were just that. We resisted judging each other because we were justified by the blood of Christ and not by works or money.  Church is a place for bonding not bondage.  
  • The architecture of small community churches is something special.  Everything from little cabins to scaled down cathedrals can be found tucked into Appalachian landscape.  Bells and spires are sometimes  topped with crosses and sometimes not. 
  • The ringing of the church bell was a special privilege.  Young people (mostly boys) would like up and take turns tugging on the rope. In trutruth we just liked making noise.  
  • After church service extended family would get together at the home place for a large meal. The cooks would all gather in the kitchen and soon the house was full of wonderful smells the sounds of laughter.  During the warm weather the children be outside trying to have fun without getting dirty. That’s a very difficult skill to master for a 10 year old boy.  I can still smell my grandmother’s homemade bread when I think about it.  

The Beacon  

digital art, Fiction Story, short stories, The Beacon, Uncategorized

Today I wanted to take a break from the black and white photos.  This image is a composit of a lighthouse I photographed several years ago.  It was my first excursion into photography with lens larger than 35 mm.  I created the background and storm clouds by manipulating other photos in my archive.  

I wanted to give you feeling of the powerful light driving back the darkness.  Everyone at some point feels lost in the storm.  We need a beacon of hope to bring us into shore.  I can see the inside of the little cabin at the base of the lighthouse in my mind’s eye.  A kindly old caretaker stokes a warm fire and offers a blanket to a young refugee who barely made it to shore. The younger person is soaked to the bone from the winter storm.  As they sit together and enjoy a hardy meal the Atlantic Ocean rages outside.  Waves crash against the stoney shore in vain as if Neptune himself was frustrated with the young person’s escape from the darkness.  They are safe and secure within the refuge of the lighthouse. 

Obstacles 

black and white photography, Uncategorized

We all have those times when we wish we could just make a little progress.   It’s seems that something is always stopping progress towards a goal. If you’re like me then you double down on your determination and push forward with all your might. But sometimes an obstacle is there for a purpose.  In this case the fence is there because its keeping people from getting to close to edge of the New River Gorge.   

Quiet Time 

black and white photography, Uncategorized

I’m a person who values solitude. We as modern humans are bombarded with stimulus from every angle.  Voices tell us to dress a certain way, go to certain places and pretty much influence every aspect of life.  (Don’t even get me started on the “buy this or fail to be popular ” voice).

This park bench sets in the back of a office building.  It’s a refuge for those who just need a quiet place to breathe.   The day that I took the picture the rain served as an extra layer of protection from the outside world.  The noise of other conversations, intrusion from others and even the excessive cologne from that one person in every crowd is washed away by the falling drops of rain.  

It’s a time to decompress and renew my sense of self.  On this bench I belong to me.  Each drop that hits the cement pad ripples out as a tiny wave to push away the world.  

Sitting in the rain on a cold winter day may not make sense to most people but for me it’s way to clean the day’s mental and emotional clutter from the soul.