Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Carnifex Ferry Overlook 100620a” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.
Standing on the edge of the mountain at the Carnifex Ferry Overlook and gazing down to the Gauley River certainly gives me the feeling of flight. I’ve written before that as a child I would open up my jacket and pretend that I could catch the wind and sail like a kite. But of course the fantasy was decades before wing suits and the jet pack was in its infancy. But call of the horizon was strong and in my childhood dreams were plans of paper hang gliders and trash bags modified to become hot air balloons. Little did I know that I would live to see these things become more of a reality. Well, maybe not the trash bags but helium balloons and lawn chairs were close enough to count. For now I’ll have to settle for looking out over the edge of a cliff and feeling the wind on my face and perhaps opening a jacket to catch the wind when nobody is looking to see a fullgrown man pretend to fly. And of course in my dreams I’ll build all kinds of crazy contraptions in order to get airborne. In fact I think it’s time to go work on that now. Good night friends, be blessed and maybe even catch the wind in your dreams tonight.
Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that 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.
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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.
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 “The Turning 2019” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article. The title refers to the fact that these are the first true Fall leaves of 2019.
Don’t let the warm days fool you and take the calendar date with a grain of salt. Summer is over. The Almighty has commissioned a change in the season. I have seen it with my own eyes. I’m speaking of my natural calendar. For me Fall is when the leaves change color. The Yellow Poplar is among the first to change. Even with the long dry spell that we’ve had the leaves turn from a rich green to a cheerful yellow. A lot of people think that the color comes from cool weather but it’s actually in response to the wavelength of the light coming from the sun. Plants are vreally very efficient. The green chlorophyll is only able to use certain wavelengths of light and when those wavelengths are no longer available the chlorophyll dyes and the green goes away. The other colors were always there but they were covered by the green. The yellow color comes from Xanthophyll and the reds from Rodophyll. The tree is still processing sunlight into sugar and will continue to do so until the leaves drop. But the green is no longer needed so there’s no sense in maintaining those cells. Different types of trees have different llevels of the yellow and green pigments and so we get the beautiful mice of colors in the Appalachian Mountains.
At the first sign of changing leaves I start to crave the taste of homemade beef stew that’s been simmering on a woodstove all day. I have already been looking for my favorite oversized flannel shirt and have my boots ready for long walks through open forests. During the summer months the underbrush is likely to be hiding a venomous snake in my area so I get the most use of the trails in cool weather.
The big question this year is will we get to enjoy the Fall colors or will the dry weather drive the forest into an early dormancy. If the tree can’t get enough water to make sugar then it doesn’t need the leaves and shuts down until Spring.
The pop of yellow in this clump of trees does give me hope that we’ll see a beautiful and colorful Fall if it rains soon.
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 “Homeward Bound” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.
I love the opportunityfor just taking long slow drive on a quiet back road. If you know me personally that thought might make you laugh little for two reasons.
1. My daily commute is long and I’m constantly stating that I need to find a way to eliminate it.
2. During my commute I have tendency to… well, “Take full advantage of the throttle.”
But there’s a huge difference between going out for drive and having to drive.
Having to drive means maintaining a schedule and being there on time.
Getting to drive means that you’re just out for journey and you’ll be there when you get there. If there’s even a there to be at.
I loathe the first one but the second choice is something special. It’s an expression of freedom. It means that my time is my own. If I want to pull over and spend the next hour photographing a flower that’s growing in the ditch there’s little or no consequences for the delay.
West Virginia has no shortage of quiet little one and two lane roads. They wind their ways through the mountains past picturesque farms and deep forests. If you know the back roads there’s grand views from ridge tops and quiet streams in the valley below. We miss so much at seventy miles per hour on the interstates.
For a long time now I’ve had the urge to leave the freeway and just see where the little side roads take me. I want to find that road that has no painted lines and discover the wonderful treasures hidden between the hills.
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 “Into The Storm” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.
Angry clouds gather above my head once again. The wind batters the abandoned strip mine in bursts as the songbirds huddle together in the thickest part of the underbrush as they seek shelter from nature’s wrath. Somewhere else in the forest a box tortoise closes his shell as tightly as he can and the deer bed down on the leeward side of the mountain. The instinct to avoid a storm is one of the strongest forces in nature.
But there are those who have a different mindset. Some people run into the storm. For those people the raw power that God placed in elements of nature is irresistible, for some it’s scientific curiosity, and for others it’s the knowledge that after the storm passes someone will need help. I’ve found that the majority of the people who run into the storm do so because they themselves were touched by the aftermath of a storm in some way.
There’s definitely a Superman complex to one degree or another going on in the minds of most people. That’s okay as long as it comes with an equal measure humility. As humans we have a drive to make a difference and there’s a sense of fulfillment that comes with helping a stranger that will never see or hear from you again. But I think that there’s more than social instincts happening. I think that helping to set things right makes us feel like we’ve got some measure of power over the storm. We may not be able to stop the storms but the storms can’t stop us either. The scientists who chase storms do so to provide earlier warnings and stronger shelters. The rescuers do so to bring as many people to safety as possible. The rebuilders take up where the rescuers and scientists left off. Everyone does their part and the whole benefits.
But this phenomenon isn’t limited to weather. We extend this behavior into all aspects of life. A person who is terrified of a natural storm may not think twice about rushing in to aid someone who is in the middle of emotional distress. I’d be willing to bet that a lot of those who would take on the natural storm will steer clear of the emotional storm. We all have a purpose and a place in such things. In fact for a lot of people the “storm” comes in the form of loneliness and what’s called for is a person who is just willing to ask them about their day.
As the storm moves in closer to my position I can see the thick bands of rain cascading down and a second wave of thunder begins the countdown to when I need to have my camera and myself someplace warm and dry. Fortunately the big blue truck is just a few steps away from where I’m set up. This particular storm isn’t really expected to cause damage. Sometimes all it turns out to be is a few gusts of wind, an isolated shower and a lot of noise. That’s great for a dramatic photograph but not really dangerous enough to warrant sticking around long enough to get wet.
With my lens tucked away safely in its dry case the big blue truck rolls back onto the pavement and I move on to the next opportunity.
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 “Thunder On The Gauley River ” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.
Late Spring and early Summer is storm season in my Appalachian Mountains. The heavy dark clouds rake across the ridges and the sky takes on that ominous hue. I have been watching the tulip poplar all day. Just before a storm they turn the underside of their leaves outwards and begin to shake and sway. Once as a child I heard my paternal grandmother make reference to the poplars doing a rain dance. “Thems trees are gonna make thunder”. She said in her old time mountain dialect. She was from Jodi which is the little village on the right side of the river in tonight’s feature image. But I digress.
I knew that the view from the Gauley River always offered a spectacular image during inclement weather. Having just come from the west I estimated that had just enough time to jog out to the middle of the bridge before my gear and I was soaked. By the time I got to just the right spot the sky was really getting dark. Small birds were darting around in a flurry taking advantage of the disoriented insects that were caught in the breeze. Just a few minutes later the flight of the birds was replaced by the leaves that were blown down from the mountain. I had to work quickly if I wanted to be dry when I made it back to my big blue truck. I was able to get a few exposures before the sound of approaching rain began to echo up from down river. It was time to move and move fast. I could hear the stormfront gaining on me as I stretched out my stride in order to pick up speed. I dared not look back while I fumbled with the fob and repeatedly pressed the unlock button. As the door slammed shut the large globular drops impacted the windshield. I raced back onto the highway and straitened a few curves in an effort to beat the storm to my home. I managed to get there just as the storm caught up with me. In it’s final act of wrath the storm managed to keep me in the truck for a few minutes but as it was drawing it’s second breath I slipped out of the garage. In my final act of defiance I closed the door to the house. I suppose that this time my race against the storm ended in a draw.
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 