tall tales – LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

The Traveler’s Nap

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

A traveler wonders from the road and comes to rest by the little waterfall on the edge of an unexplored forest. He removed the pack that he’s carried for miles and takes a seat at the base of the falls. As he listens to the songbirds and the water his mind and body agree that it’s time to get some rest. He’ll just lower the brim of his hat a little and block out the sun for a few minutes. Well, that was his idea anyway. But before long the music of the birds and the water fade away into the distance and he sleeps. A few of smaller creatures are curious enough to nervously approach the sleeping traveler. A squirrel sneaks down the trunk of the tree and deftly hangs upside down from the hat. The lines in his face look like tree bark but he’s not made of wood. And the squirrel leaves. A songbird lands on his chest and softly tugs at his beard. But he’s not made of straw or twigs so he nests somewhere else. A salamander creeps up to the traveler’s outstretched leg and wiggles up under his pant leg. But it’s not made of moss. “Too dry.” He says as he crawls back out to continue his search. A toad takes one vigorous hop and lands abruptly on the toe of the traveler’s boot. He puffs out his chest and croaks. The boot is soft from the miles walked but it’s not a toadstool and he leaps away. Suddenly a chipmunk darts out from a nearby hollow log. Without even slowing down he runs up the sleeve of the sleeping traveler’s jacket and exits the other sleeve. The chipmunk halts on the man’s folded hands and huffs. “Not a very good tunnel. It comes out in the same place it starts.” And the chipmunk scurries off. The traveler yawned and stretched. He raises to feet and brushes the litter from his clothes. He looks around before gathering his pack and sighs. “I was really hoping to see some wildlife on this trip” he thinks as he steps back onto the road.

The moral of the story is Don’t allow the journey you’re on tire you to the point where you miss the adventure.

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/

The Day I Fell Into The Sky

Color Photography

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

Sunday morning I arrived early at the parking lot of my day job. The previous day’s blanket of snow was washed away by a warm rain. Like all parking lots ours has low spots where the water pools after a bit of inclement weather. It was the perfect opportunity for some black mirror photography. Breaking storm, bare trees and low angle of the sun reveals an alternate universe within the pool. Having managed to hold onto my childhood imagination brings me to daydream about accidentally stepping in the wrong direction and falling through into the other sky. My daydream completely absorbs me and I can feel the rush of cold air blowing through my hair as the clouds rush by. At first I thought that I was flying instead of falling. As the ground grows ever farther away my lack of control says that I’m definitely falling. I’m just falling up instead of down. Then it hits me. I’ve slipped into a mirror world and things here are backwards. Here, birds swim, fish fly and cats bark. If something didn’t happen soon I would fall completely off of the earth and drown in space. What I needed was an anchor of some sort. It was at that moment that I felt something wrapped around my ankle. There was a sudden jerk and I stopped moving. It was a kite string. I looked down to see the most beautiful kite that I have ever seen laying on the ground. I was saved. It took every bit of strength that I could muster to pull myself out of the sky. As I neared the earth I discovered that the kite was actually tangled up in the roots of a tree. Even in the mirror world some things are universal. Trees eat kites and that’s it. But for me it meant a place to safely rest by sitting upside down on a branch. I had come down far away from the mirror pool I had fallen into. I was worried that I might not be able to get home. I started to look around in a panic and that’s when I saw the arrows carved into the tree. They pointed to a large crack in the bark. I gather some slack from the kite string and looped it into a belt that could hold me to the tree and used it to shimmy down the trunk to the crack. I tugged on the edge of the broken bark and found that the tree was hollow. With nothing to lose I crawled in began to work my way towards the end where I saw a little speck of light. As the light grew closer I realized that I was no longer upside down. I came out at the base of another tree in my world. I would show you the pictures from the other side of the mirror pool but when I checked the folder I discovered that every time I snapped the shutter it deleted a file. 😉

With my childish daydream gone it was time for me to return to the real world for real. I did manage to catch a few good shots of the mirror pool for tonight’s feature image. One of which has already been released on Facebook in a few groups that I frequent. I hope that you have enjoyed tonight’s surreal tall tale about falling into the sky.

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/

The Calling ( A Surreal Tall Tale)

black and white photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s image is titled “A Walk Through The Sky”

If you would like to purchase a copy please use the contact instructions at the bottom of the page.

The wind stopped blowing so suddenly that it seemed to make a thud and the rolling clouds froze in place. For a moment everything was silent. As I looked around I began to see other signs that something must be amiss. There was bird that was frozen in mid air. The flow of water which normally jetted from the overflow tunnels at the base of dam was suspended in mid stream and the rapids on the Gauley River looked solid enough to climb. Time was definitely halted. But for what reason? And why wasn’t I effected? I released my grip on the camera and it too remained suspended in mid air refusing to fall. I stood back and marveled at the world for a moment. I was tempted to hop but then on second thought what would happen if I didn’t land? I reached out and took a hold of my camera and it became free again. I began to realize that as long as I was touching an object it would behave normally. Then there was a voice. A voice that wasn’t as much heard as it was felt. It seemed to call me down to the water’s edge. I began to make my way towards the calling when I tripped over a stone in path. “Great!” I thought. “The only object capable of falling in this world is me.” I had laugh at the ridiculousness of my predicament. I seemed to fall in slow motion and barely felt an impact when I came to a rest at the bottom of the dam. That’s when I spotted the golden key laying in water. It was an odd shaped key with a tubular shaft and wings on one end. The shaft had a groove the length of the shaft and several knobs on the inside of tube. It hung on red silk ribbon that was seamless and without a clasp. Instinctively, I knew that that this was the purpose of the calling. I hung the key around my neck and continued on following the direction of the call. The landscape shifted as I traveled and soon I came to the mouth of cave. Just inside the threshold of the cave opening was a crystal doorway. The crystal door was ajar and at the top there was an engraving of two triangles with one inverted over the other. The tips of triangles touched. I felt that voice again urging me to step through the doorway as the door opened fully. I looked inside and there on a stone pillar was an antique mantle clock with a hole in the face that my golden key would fit. I knew then what must be done. Inserting the key in it’s spot I began to wind the clock. I continued to wind until the tension on the spring felt just right. However, when I tried to remove the key it was stuck. I gently jiggled and tugged but it was no use. This key was not for one person to keep. As soon as I let go of the key the clock began to tick. Slowly at first but I could easily tell that it was picking up speed. The voice began to call from outside of the cave. It was more urgent than ever. As I glanced away from the clock I saw that the crystal door was beginning to close and now that time was flowing again the opportunity to leave the cave was running out. I leapt through the closing door and rolled out of the mouth of the cave just in time to see it fade away into the hillside. I could feel the breeze on my skin and looked up through the canopy of trees to see the clouds rolling by. Time was fully restored and I would have to make my way back up to the big blue truck and head home. I wondered why this task had fallen to me. Was it fate? Was it something that I was born to do? Or was it just that I was in the right place when the clocks stopped ticking? I’ve been told that it’s a photographer’s work to freeze time. But I had not expected to be responsible for getting it going again.

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/

I am available for portrait sessions by appointment by appointment. To schedule a session please go tohttps://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/contact/

All Images used by this blog are the original work of Lloyd’s Lens Photography and may not be copied or reproduced without expressed written permission from the photographer. To purchase a copy or request a license please contact me using either of links below.

The contact form on my website is found at https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/contact/

Or use the Message button on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens

Daydreams Of A Legend

black and white photography, digital art

About tonight’s feature image, this is the same clump of willow trees that I have been photographing in different seasons for almost a year. I processed several versions of the photos but decided that the blue of the selenium filter gave the best feeling of a cold winter day. The image title is simply “The Wading Willows In January“.

The spray from Kanawha Falls seems to freeze in the air on this cold January morning. The wading willows seem to be wandering out of the mists as if they are on their way back to shore. The scene takes on an otherworldly feel that’s right out of Tolkien’s Middle Earth. If not for the soft whine of the turbines belonging to the hydroelectric dam it would be easy to forget that Route 60 was just a few steps away. Still, I have to wonder if there’s a monster lurking in the icy depths below. Not some “Devil Fish” of folklore with tenticals such but a real world monster. Every body of water has a legendary fish that’s more than just the one that got away. In my area it’s usually a catfish that’s large enough to swallow a man whole that live at the base of dams and bridges. Occasionally someone sees a V shape in the water or spots one near the surface. I’ve met at least one person who showed me an expensive fishing pole designed for fishing the ocean surf that was snapped off at the base and the hook was pulled out straight. They say that when the water is up that the really big ones come looking for new hunting grounds around the stumps and logs that are inaccessible otherwise. It would be great to rig up a big fishing pole with just the right bait on a day like this. Perhaps I could build a small fire to keep warm and settle the monster catfish issue once and for all. However, the real world need to be on time for my day job pulls me away from the quest and the really big one gets away again.

Antique Service Desk Bell — Ring this bell for Facebook

Recently, I’ve been made aware that many of my posts on Facebook are being buried in the feed. So, if you don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website at the bottom of theWelcome Page

Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “The Wading Willows In January ”and is available forpurchase by using the Contact Form onmy website. ( justclick on the the bell below)

(Note, I do not share or sell contact information. EVER)

4X6 is $5.00

5X7 is $10.00

8X10 is $15.00

Some cropping may be necessary for certain sizes.

Antique Service Desk Bell in Black and White — Ring this bell to order prints or schedule portraits

I’m also available for portraits by appointment. Use the Contact Form or message me on Facebook.

I Dare You ( part 4 )

Uncategorized

Tonight’s post is the final part of I Dare You. You can avoid any spoilers by starting with I Dare You part 1. If already have part 1 in your Trick-or-treat bag but missed the middle here is Part 2 and Part 3.

We stand there staring at the old mansion in the foggy moonlight. We’re sitting ducks out here in the open I whisper. You look at a run down abandoned building with its sagging beams, broken windows and holes in the roofing. I can tell by the look on your face that you’re not happy about trying to hide in a place that looks like it’s straight out of a horror movie. You don’t want to get stomped into a little puddle of goo by a tree monster do you? I continue as I nudge you forward. Reluctantly, we move up onto the porch and try to peak inside. There are broken floorboards, fallen plaster and debris everywhere inside. Cautiously we jiggle the doorknob. The old lock fails due to the extreme rust and the door freaks open. When I try to step inside the floor just inside the threshold gives away and you jerk me back just in time to prevent me from falling through. What’s plan B you whisper as we gaze down at the fresh hole. As we look around we spot a detached root cellar with the door ajar. Simultaneously we look at each other and say “Plan B!” We head for the cellar door. As we get close we can smell the musty air coming out of the darkness. There’s a sound coming from the inside. Someone or something inside begins to groan loudly. The door bursts open so hard that it knocks us both down and we look up at the tall moss covered figure towering over us. We began crawling backwards to get away as the creeper groans and stomps the ground. We think that we’re gonners for sure. Then the thing starts laughing hysterically. But it’s a human laugh. The creeper reaches up with its gnarly hand and pulls back the hood of a ghillie suit. It’s Derrick. The captain of the football team. Happy Halloween he yells as he continues to cackle. Derrick is a jerk but we both had to admit that he got us pretty good. That was you the whole time! You exclaim. Derrick confesses that he overhead the dare and since he lives close by he ran and put on the ghillie suit. It was his cat that met us on the trail. After a few more laughs and some reconciliation the three of us decide to have one more peek inside the old mansion. As we stroll comfortably back across the lawn there’s a terrible commotion out on the edge of the foggy forest. We can’t believe our eyes as one of trees pulls it’s roots from the ground and begins walking towards us. As we turn to run we see that Derrick is far ahead of us with no plans of looking back. You and I run for lives vowing never to set foot on an abandoned property again.

Addendum..

Old Man Redburn chuckles as he watches the young teenagers run away. As he walks to the pickup truck parked at edge of driveway he thinks about how every year kids come looking for the creeper. He sits on the tailgate of his truck and removes the stilts and the coveralls that he glued tree bark and Spanish moss on all those years ago when he started the rumors of something in the woods.

Hello Friends! Thank you for your support of my page and I hope you enjoyed my four part Halloween story. If you have enjoyed the photos or the writings please let me know by commenting and sharing my work on your social media. Please also consider following Lloyds Lens Photography on Facebook. If you don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website at the bottom of the Welcome Page.

Tonight’s Feature Image is titled “Echoes In The Mists 2” and is available for purchase by contacting me on Facebook or by using the Contact Form on my website.

I’m also available for portraits by appointment. Just use Facebook messenger or the contact form for details.

Tag: tall tales

The Traveler’s Nap

Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

The Day I Fell Into The Sky

Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

The Calling ( A Surreal Tall Tale)

Daydreams Of A Legend

I Dare You ( part 4 )