Tag: Lloyds Lens Photography

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)

Oh Deer! Where Did You Come From?!

Back and White Photography, wildlife

Living close to nature means interesting neighbors. They are generally good natured and tend to keep to themselves. Oh sure there’s the occasional dispute over who owns the garden but for the most part they don’t bother anyone. Being the outgoing personality that I am, I decided to walk over and check on her after a long hard winter. However, she didn’t seem to be happy that I interrupted her breakfast. In fact, she looked downright stressed that I was there. “Hello, how’s it going?” I spoke in a nice soft tone. She refused to answer. Once more I tried to start a pleasant conversation. “I see you made it through the winter ok.” Can you believe that she just stomped her foot and snorted off? How rude was that? But in her defense I was there unannounced and she probably hadn’t had her morning coffee 😉

The Flow

Color Photography, poetry

I wonder what you’ve seen on your journey from the top of the mountain.

You seem to pass through the mountains from a source unknown.

You slip along the the rocky ground playfully giggling and jumping the whole way.

You turn over every stone in your path.

You carry sticks and use them to tap out a marching tune that expresses the joy in your heart.

Not being one to turn away from a dare you leapt the edge of the earth and dove into the cavernous depths below.

You explored every inch of the underworld and exploded from the other side of the unseen to join in the course below.

Where are you going? What will see before you get there?

Soar

Color Photography, Fiction Story, wildlife

The shadow sweeps silently across the landscape and the forest freezes. The songbirds have stopped singing and the squirrels hug the trees tightly as they try their best to look like a piece of bark. Only the humans seem oblivious to the predator soaring in the sky above. He is a master of the sky. He flies higher and faster than anything living in the area. The wind speaks his name. It’s an ancestral call that he cannot resist. He dives from his perch in the tallest tree and skims the Treetops as he answers. His heart throbs with excitement as he reaches his speed and meets the wind. As he pulls upward into the flow his wings beat the air into submission with a wild thunder. Gravity fails to bind him as he achieves the apex and locks his wings. It’s time to soar. As he dances with the breeze something stirs deep within his core being. It is the quickening in his spirit. He is at one with the phoenix, aileron and the roc. He is king of the sky.

Canadian Redbud

Color Photography

Today is Arbor Day! I’ve not really spoken much about my my educational background on my blog. My formal education is mostly in Forest biology. At one point my long term goal was to get into strip mine reclamation. Redbud is one of the trees that is used to recondition the soil. Redbud is a legume which means it has nitrogen fixing bacteria in it’s roots. While it seldom gets to be timber sized it can to be about 20 feet tall (6 meters). I used to have one in my backyard that was quite thick for a shrub. It was about 18 inches (45.72 cm) at the base. The beautiful pinkish purple bloom is actually edible and the pods are too when processed properly.

The best thing about Redbud is that it’s one of the trees that blooms early in the Spring. At the time I am writing this the photo is a couple of weeks old. After the long dark winter the burst of color from the Redbud is a breath of fresh air.