country roads take me home – LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

The Lonely Road

Hello Friends! Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Old Route 19 11221” and is available for purchase by clicking the thumbnail and reaching out to me on the contact page.

The old road stretches out before me like a lonely friend who has been too long without company. It seems to ask if I’d forgotten about all the places we used to go together. My old friend has been there on nights when I just needed to wander through and seen my home again. It’s shown me small miracles that stray from the cover of the forest and lay almost motionless in the tall grass with only the flick of a sensitive ear to give it’s hiding place away. It was the old road that turned myth into fact the day it showed me that the panthers still stalk the mountains. We sat together for several minutes. I with the passenger side window open just enough to see the eyes and long tail in the high grass. The driver and the old road were my only witnesses. The old roads know well my destination and talk to me in the sounds made by wheels in rain, slush and snow to let me know how fast or slow to go but on ice the road speaks very little and I have an abundance of caution if the road is silent. On mornings of travel the old roads always greet me with a smile in the rising sun. The same road bids me to rest well as I’m delivered home once more. And today, the road asks for one more adventure. One more day with no particular time to be anywhere. Just let the road pick the right place to be for a while. There’s life in the hills and the road knows where to find it.

Good night friends and be blessed throughout your days.

Announcement:

I am adding additional social media to my network. Eventually, I’ll be leaving Facebook behind for a multitude of reasons. Even though the Lloyd’s Lens Photography page is strictly non-political I have been restricted from interacting with followers with no explanation for why. But it’s not just that. For years now Facebook has throttled content providers in general. They encourage us to grow our audience and then want to sell us back the access to them. In addition, they collect and sell the data from our interaction. So Facebook has become an entanglement of thorns. In response I have created the Lloyd’s Lens Photography Discussion Group on MeWe. We can still interact directly on the blog but starting today I’ll be looking for more platforms that respect the privacy of my followers and don’t limit who gets to see the post.

I want you to join my group on MeWe: https://mewe.com/join/lloydslensphotographydiscussiongroup

Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!

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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Lloyds Lens Photography web link — Click here to visithttps://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

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! Simply use 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.

Clicking on the photo takes you tohttps://www.zazzle.com/lloydslensphotos?rf=238248269630914251

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

Thank you again for your support of my page!❤

A Wet Weather Falls & The Imagination Of A Child

Color Photography

Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Mountain Flow 21320” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

The rain continues to fall in my slice of Appalachia. However it is slowing down a bit and the rivers are slowly ebbing back to their normal levels. The rain brings to life thousands of little creeks that cascade off of the surrounding mountains. They pass through the forest creating a spectacle worthy of any display to be found in a theme park as they twist and turn through the tree roots and shoot over the rocks or just roll down the natural staircase of ancient stones.

As a child I loved to play in the woods on wet days and imagine what it be like to be able to shrink myself down like Alice in wonderland until I was small enough to make a boat from a birch leaf and a paddle from a twig. I would launch my tiny canoe in one of these streams and ride the rapids until I shot over the falls. Of course, being magical enough to change size would mean I would be normal size before I hit the bottom and thus avoided any real danger.

As look into the forest that encompasses the little wet weather stream the first thing I noticed was that the moss has that light green color that comes with new growth. Which is another sign that Spring is on the way.

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

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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.

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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.

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!❤

Out For A Drive

Color Photography

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.

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

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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! Simply message me on Facebook oruse 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!❤

A country Drive On The First Of June

Color Photography, Landscapes

Hello Friends!Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Country Drive 6119″and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.

The late Spring air smells of rain mingled with honeysuckle and roses as I cruise the back roads of Nicholas County. I have the windows down in my big blue truck as I queue up the music from my youth. I drive a little slower than I did then if I’m not late. Okay, I drive a lot slower. A friend once teased me by saying that every time I found a straight stretch in the road that the state had to come along behind me and paint new lines to replace the ones I blew off.

Back then I was kinda locked into the “guy thing”. Expressing masculinity through raw power and that meant speed and loud music at the time. I have a distinct memory of this same road and the soundtrack from Top Gun blaring out of a 1985 silver Dodge Colt at unmentionable speeds.

However, these days I have more of an appreciation for taking in the view and looking for the little things that go unnoticed by the average person. Things like the rust on the roof of the barn and the small birds that frequent power lines above the road. You might say that I’ve discovered that there’s an art to driving on a country road.

You still have to have that edge of a sharp eye and reflexes. You still need to feel the wheels in contact with road. Only it’s not about keeping it between the lines. Instead it’s about not missing the experience. But, it’s a different kind of thrill.

The contrast between the two driving styles brings up the thought of how I view time now as compared to then. My younger self was thinking, “Don’t waste time getting there” while today it’s more like “Don’t waste opportunity getting there”. I suppose that as I’ve gotten older I have a better appreciation for the here and now. Some if that comes from being established as my own person but most of it comes from finally realizing that all we really have is the moment in which we exist.

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https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

https://youtu.be/FDcrY6w8oY8

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Thank you again for your support of my page!❤

On The Edge Of The Storm

Color Photography

The sun hangs low in the sky and a cold damp chill sweeps through the Appalachian Mountains. In the distance I hear the frogs singing as they prepare to invade the newly formed puddles that sprawl across the old logging trails. It’s rained off and on most of day but the nightfall brings a downpour. We’re on the edge of a storm. I have been running about ten minutes ahead of front and that has kept me out of the high winds. Behind me the sky hangs in ragged tatters as the gathering clouds are ripped apart by the oncoming surge.

A quick snapshot of the oncoming storm as seen through my windshield

Yet in spite of the ominous signs of a major weather event the beauty of the Appalachian Mountains brings you sense of peace. Perhaps it’s the expectations that the mountains provide a degree of shelter. Or maybe it’s knowing that God has a way of working things out regardless of the storms.

I always feel more at ease once I pass by the old trestle bridge in Gauley Bridge. Not only does it mark the point where I’m almost home but it’s also the point where I enter the most sheltered terrain. We’ve had some bad storms in my area. In 2012 a straight line wind came through and did a lot of damage. Then there was the flooding in 2012. But through it all God took care of us. He never really promised that there wouldn’t be storms. He did promise that it would be okay.

As the big blue truck carried me deeper into the hills and mountains the storms were nipping at my heels. As I stepped into the house the rain finally caught up with me and the wind howled in the trees on the ridge line above. There will be the dead and broken branches in the yard to clean up and the odd piece of trim to replace but I thank God for the shelter of my mountains and that we’re all safe and warm.

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

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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/