Tag: Things to see in West Virginia

Anticipation Of Game Day

black and white photography, Thoughts and Musing

There’s a certain feeling that you get just prior to competition. All of the training and conditioning has been done. It’s game day. You go to the field and prepare mentally. The butterflies in your stomach seem to be not just having a party, but a hard core punk rock slam dance party. You hide it well beneath your cool exterior as you check out the other competitors. The truth is that they have the same butterfly party going on their own stomachs. It’s been a long time since I have been in an athletic competition but I still have to tame those unruly and wild butterflies before every important event.

Eventually I come to the conclusion that I’ve done all that I can do until the they fire the starting gun and it’s time to run. Then all you can do is run the best race you can run. If you lose then lose with dignity and work harder before the next race. If you win then win with grace and congratulate your competitors for a race well run. Sportsmanship is an important life skill. If we can’t learn to be a gracious winner or good loser then our lives become full of turmoil when we fail. It’s a fact of life that failures will happen. When they do it’s not a tragedy, it’s an opportunity to learn and grow.

As I write this post I’m preparing for my biggest show of the year. The 38th Annual Arts And Crafts Show at The West Virginia State Fairgrounds is one of the biggest events of year. I have the same feeling that I used to get on game day. But I know I’ll do well because I have done everything that can be done to prepare.

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 want to invite everyone local to come out to show and say hi to me in person. I also want to invite you to Follow Lloyds Lens Photography on Facebook and as always you can sign up for email alerts on the home page of my website.

At The End Of The Day

Color Photography, Summersville Lake, Thoughts and Musing

Deep blue fades to black as the golden sunset transitions to red. In the forest edge the Katydids give their calls. The soft breeze carries the scent of freshly brewed coffee rising out of the warm cup in my hand. The day’s work is far behind me. I wasn’t really finished with all my tasks today but that’s alright. If we can’t take a few minutes to quietly enjoy God’s beautiful creation then what’s the value of the day’s effort in the first place? Sometimes a project turns out to be a little bit more than you anticipated. I started today with an ambitious list of “future accomplishments” to achieve. However, that didn’t happen. While it’s important to have goals life is more than a list. Life is a gift. At the end of day it’s not the accomplishments that should be counted. It’s the living that counts.

Hello Friends! 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.

Prints of the Feature Image are available for purchase. To inquire about purchasing you can use the Message button on Facebook or the contact form on my website.

Lloyds Lens Photography Contact Form

Some Memories Of My Grandfather & A Special Sight On My Daily Commute

Color Photography

Out of all the jobs I’ve worked I think “Rancher’s Assistant” was my favorite. My Grandfather McClung made it seem easy. As a pre teen my responsibility was to count the cattle a couple of times a day and check the fencing for any slack in the barbed wire. Even though I haven’t been involved with cattle for many years I still have an urge to take a head count anytime I see cows.

I miss the long walks out to repair a hole in the fence line. It was the conversations and time with my Grandfather that made it special to share work. And then there was O’l Count. My grandfather’s cattle dog. When it was time to rotate the pastures (moving the cattle from one paddock to the next) we would open up a gate and tell O’l Count to bring the cattle. Without fail he would gather the herd and drive them through.

Occasionally a mother cow or the bull would resist but the dog was way to quick and agile for what seemed like a slow motion attack. He would dodge to the side and circle back around to nip at their heels. Most of the time this wasn’t a requirement. We always fed the cows something special when we moved them and when they saw the gate open they would come running like pets.

The cattle my Grandfather raised didn’t look like the one in the feature image. They looked like the one below. They were Hereford cattle.

I believe that it’s a Lakenvelder bull in the feature image. The Lakenvelder is a dairy cow and it seem that the milk would be perfect for dipping Oreo cookies. 😉

Needless to say that when I pass by this herd on my way to my day job I have a nostalgic reaction to seeing them even though they’re not the breed I’m used to. Believe or not this breed is an endangered species. According to Wikipedia there are less than 300 of these cows in the United States and less than 1000 worldwide. Which of course makes it an extra special sight in the Appalachian Mountains.

Hello Friends and thank you for your support. 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 me by signing up on my Home page or following Lloyds Lens Photography on Facebook.

Looking Forward to Bridge Day 2018

Color Photography, West Virginia

Rising up from the New River Gorge is in my opinion one of greatest feats of engineering in the modern world. The New River Gorge Bridge. To give the outside world an idea of scale there’s a four lane highway at the top. The height of the bridge allows for base jumping. And in just a few short weeks that’s what will happen here. A crowd will be gathered at the top and tourists will hike across. I have not been able to make it out for Bridge Day for several years now but I’m hoping to get a chance to photograph something special. I was there several years ago when a parachute malfunctioned and the jumper executed a successful cutaway and redeployment of her spare chute close enough to the bottom that she said she could see her own face in the water. ( and the high dive at the swimming pool gives the rest of us the willies). I think that the experience of jumping into the canyon has to be the closest thing to living flight that human could feel. I can imagine the wind pressure on my face as I descend into the river and then touching down gracefully on the flat rocks at bottom. I was able to find a short video of the human catapult launching the jumpers off of the bridge Here. (The video is not mine) The spectacle itself is a full fledged carnival. There are vendors set up offering everything from trinkets to Gourmet Foods. This happens to coincide with the peak color of Fall most years which makes it one of the most beautiful occurrences in my mountains. The competition for a premium spot to shoot from will be pretty fierce and I expect that those who are already connected have a claim staked out. But I’m crossing my fingers.

If you’re a person who likes the outdoors, festivals or extreme sports and if you think that you might want to attend then here’s a official Bridge Day Website. The Event is Saturday, October 20, 2018!

If you enjoyed this post please like and share my page to your social media and follow Lloyds Lens Photography on Facebook. 🤗

To Share The Same Sky

Color Photography, Fiction Story, short stories, Summersville Lake, travel, Uncategorized

The September sky was crystal blue and the time of the Equinox signaled an end to Summer’s warm carefree days. The sun hangs low on the horizon. She meets him by the boat launch as her father and brother packs the camp. The last weekend is nearly over. This is last hour of their summer romance. Here on the edge of the fading lake they embrace beneath the sun and moon. Like the celestial bodies above they can only share the same sky for a short season. The lake boy looks deep into her eyes which are the same color blue as the sky. She noticed how the summer sun has left it’s golden tone on his skin. They continue stare silently into each other. Memorizing every line of the other’s face. Every freckle on his face and every colorful fleck in her eyes. The summer was a time when two worlds met and joined as one. But like the sun and moon the forces of nature will only allow the sharing of the sky for so long. As the embrace for summer’s last kiss, he reaches into the pocket of his shorts and pulls out a small box. “Close your eyes” he whispers. She’s a little bit nervous about what comes next but she trusts him and does as he asks. He places a golden chain around her neck. Suspended from it was a locket. It was small but elegant. Inside was the picture of the two of them on the local fishing pier. Her brother had taken the snapshot when they wasn’t looking. “Don’t let me be forgotten” he whispered once more as he clasped the necklace about her neck. A single tear rolls down her cheek and she thanked him for the gift. By now her family waits patiently in the packed car. “I’ll be waiting here for you next summer” she replied with her voice cracking. “True love is faithful no matter how long and cold the nights to come will be.” She added. With no way to delay their parting any longer the young lake boy stepped aboard his day cruiser and drifting off of the shore. He watched with anguish as she got in the car and went home for the school year. Throughout the coming months they would call, text and even attend prom together. The following summer they met again in the same spot by the boat launch. And never parted ways again.

If you’ve enjoyed my photos or tonight’s fiction story that was inspired by the feature image please let me know in the comments. Please also consider following Lloyd’s Lens Photography on Facebook and share in your social media.