Quest For A Golden Dragon

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Natural Treasures” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.

The morning sun is already started to burn hot as I enter the marsh. I have heard a tale that somewhere in the maze of cattails lives a golden dragon who guards a jewel of great value. The crisp aromas of water mint fills the humid air. Rustling noises on the other side of the thick mat of leaves tells me that the birds are on the hunt. Silvery flashes dart through the water as I make my way towards the goal. Something moves just outside of my field of vision. I turned around but saw nothing. There’s a buzzing sound with a rattling that sounds a little like paper caught in a fan. I moved slowly in the direction of the noise and it moved away. I paused to give the sound a chance to settle. When the sound of papery wings ceased I gently moved the foliage aside and searched the lush green leaves underneath. And there I saw the legend was true. A golden dragon rested on a leaf guarding diamond sphere. I marveled at the shiny body and gossamer wings. Unlike the questing knights of tales told long ago I came not a sword and lance but a lens to capture my quarry. This tiny dragon breathes no fire. No smoke encircled it’s lair. The sun will soon reclaim it’s guarded treasure but it’s legend is forever preserved in my lens.

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

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https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

Click here to visithttps://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

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! 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.

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!❤

The Forgotten Lock

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “The Forgotten” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.

I was just out wandering around and looking for something interesting to catch in my lens when I notice the fence just off the main road a bit. I allowed my eyes to explore the area. I was looking for a trailing vine or maybe a small bird roosted in the chain link. Then I noticed the lock. It was just hanging there. I used the zoom lens to get a closer look at it. Locks are either indoor use or outdoor use. This one was obviously in the wrong place for a while. Time and the elements have frozen it with rust. I wondered if I had stumbled upon another love lock but a love lock should be on a bridge not a fence. Bridges represent transition where fences symbolize a barrier. Then on closer inspection of the image I saw that this lock was left open.

I realize that the lock was more than likely used to secure the nearby gate and was probably retired due to it’s inability to withstand outdoor use. But the symbolism of a rusty lock left hanging open on the fence was not lost on me.

The lock when open represents the concept of vulnerability.

The rust symbolizes the passage of time.

The fence symbolizes a barrier.

What is not pictured here is the gate. For the sake of the example lets say that the gate was open. That puts a whole new perspective of the story of the rusted lock. One of a person who has been receptive for a long time.

In the English language we generally use the word “love” to describe romance. But there’s also the concept of friendship, brotherhood/sisterhood, the relationship between a parent and a child, the affection we have for our pets and so on.

Perhaps the image that I captured is another “Love lock” after all. It’s just a different kind of love. A love for one’s extended family of community. Not a lock that holds in but an openness that invites the world to stop by from time to time and share a story.

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

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

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/

Click here to visithttps://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

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! 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.

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!❤

Red-winged Blackbird & A Childhood Goal Achieved

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Red-winged Blackbird On Cattail 6119” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.

I was on Muddelty Creek the other day in the marsh and heard an unmistakable sound. The trilling call of a red-winged blackbird. And then another, and another. The marsh was suddenly alive with them. Well, their calls at least. They didn’t really seem to want a portrait on this particular day. I would catch one setting still for a moment but as soon as I raised my lens they would take to the sky and disappear into the greenery.

A red-winged blackbird darting across Muddelty Creek

I remembered the iconic pictures from wildlife books I had as kid. The red-winged blackbirds were always pictured as being perched on a reed or cattail stem and I really wanted to reproduce that childhood memory.

I discovered that even when perched these hyper little guys are never really still. They seemed to be more jittery than I had remembered. Finally the one that’s pictured in mid flight moved a little closer and gave me the shot that I had been waiting for.

I definitely want to go back to this spot for more shots. I know there’s a female in the area but she’s much better camouflaged and will be harder to spot. I also want to catch the male in full display during his call and I’ve downloaded the call to help pull one in a little closer. For now I’ll have something that I have wanted to capture ever since I was a little boy leafing through an encyclopedia at Mt. Lookout Elementary School in the 70s.

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

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

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/

Click here to visithttps://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

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! 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.

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!❤

Stonework And The Return Of Nature

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled Nature Returns 52619a

Many people have the opinion that the age of megaliths was when mankind truly began to conquer nature. We literally built a world made from the bones of the earth. As a child I found a book in my grandfather’s library that was all about ancient mysteries. All of articles in the book were about megalithic cities and artifacts like Stonehenge. I didn’t just wonder about how the stones were cut an moved but I dreamed about what it must have been like to live in those structures. I would imagine what the city sounded like with the music of ancient instruments echoing off of the stones. At a time when every meal was cooked over an open fire. In the days before the internet I would spend hours leafing through dusty old books and learning about stone cutting and leverage. I was convinced that I could build my own megalith o e day. But hey, I was ten years old and anything was possible and rocks were free so they fit into a ten year old’s budget.

Needless to say that as an adult I still have an affinity for stonework. I pass by the wall in tonight’s feature image every day and look at the large blocks of stone. I don’t really know the history of this retaining wall. It stands just a few feet off of the highway and in the winter when there’s no foliage I can read the lay of the land well enough to know that a structure of some kind once stood above the wall. Not far from this spot is the foundation of church that no longer stands and a forgotten graveyard that I have not had a chance to investigate.

But what has really caught my eye lately us the roses that cascade down the stone. They are mixed in with at least four other wild vines. My mind was taken back to my grandfather’s library and the pictures of ancient ruins in South America. Those pictures of vine covered temples and trees growing in the hallowed halls. The broken idols that once symbolized human mastery over nature are now the hunts of serpents and birds. Mankind’s victory over the forces of nature is temporary. The masterfully crafted stone blocks now tumble as the mountain rejects it’s constraints. Rain washes out the mortar and trees push away the stones until one day the wall topples like a child’s toy.

“Nature Returns 52619b” The trees are beginning to topple the old stone wall.

Perhaps if the world stands long enough a young boy will enter his grandfather’s library and whatever form the books will take will feature images of cut stone in Appalachia. Perhaps the boy will marvel at the ancestors skill in shaping the bones of the earth and read about our lives and wonder what must have been like to live in such a marvelous time when stone cutters and code writers worked side by side to tame the land.

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

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

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/

Click here to visithttps://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

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! 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.

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!❤

Crossing After The Storm

Hello Friends!Tonight’s feature image is titled “Crossing After The Storm ” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.

Last night the wind howled across the ridge line knocking over trees like a child throwing a tantrum. Bright flashes of lightning splashed across the sky and thunder rattled the windows. My little buddy Scout alternated between cuddling with my wife and I for protection against noise.

Almost as suddenly as it started the thunder faded away over the mountains and the three of us sat by candlelight listening to the rain as it slowed to a halt. As the sound of rain hitting roof gave way to the chorus of frogs I was struck by how peaceful the night had become without the noise of technology. With the only light being that of an LED candle in the hallway we soon drifted off to sleep.

The next morning the electricity grid was still down and that means going to town for coffee. As I stepped outside the mountains full of songbirds and that special fresh scent that comes only after a thunderstorm. The storm left behind a mist the clung to the landscape and made everything look magical. This was the perfect opportunity for me to get out with my gear and visit one of my favorite subjects to photograph. The curved trestle bridge between Alloy and Deepwater West Virginia. As I carefully step beyond the foliage in full view of the river and the bridge. The azure sky was broken up by the remnant of the storm. The clouds are no longer dark and angry and seem to be drawn beyond the mist covered mountain in the background. Below the river runs high and muddy but otherwise the is flat and soothing. The long curved bridge draws my eyes forward into the land of the Adena where it said that ancient giants sleep beneath the forest in halls of stone. I have taken several shots of the bridge and while Fayette County West Virginia has a world famous bridge this one rivals it’s beauty.

Like the rivers and streams of my Appalachian Mountains I can’t really seem to stay in one place. I take several shots from multiple cameras and it’s time to make my way towards the big blue truck parked on the edge of the road and look for the next destination.

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

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

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/

Click here to visithttps://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

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! 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.

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!