Tag: tracks

Morning Coffee

Color Photography, West Virginia

Pictured above is the trestle bridge at Gauley Bridge West Virginia. The Gauley River was peaceful and calm when I stopped at the convenience store to top off my morning coffee. You can see the last pylon from the old bridge still standing in the water.

Once part of American Civil War the remnant of the old bridge now imparts a peaceful feeling as I look out over the cool green water. Just beyond the trestle is the point where the Gauley River meets the New River to form the Kanawha River. The flat water seems to be popular with kayak enthusiasts who paddle up stream to relax on some large flat rocks and play in the shallows. The place always seems to give me nice reflection for my lens as well. After taking a few deep breaths I pulled myself away from the urge to call off work and headed back onto the highway slightly heartbroken due to leaving such a peaceful scene.

A Mysterious Gate

black and white photography

Tonight’s post has a gate attached.

I stopped by this place on my drive home today just to take this picture. I’ve passed by it often and I’ve liked the rustic look. There’s something about the texture of the weathered wood that I really find appealing. This gate literally leads nowhere. Just a wide spot near the road that I’m pretty sure belongs to the Railroad. (I didn’t pass beyond the gate due to the private property sign hanging on it.)

I suppose that the scene represented a mystery to me.

An open gate that guards an empty lot. A sign that warns you to keep out. And an empty (I presume) gas can. A younger version of myself would not have been deterred by a sign on an open gate. I would have walked right on in just to be rebel. However, today I’m responsible for my own actions and so I’ll have to live with the mystery. But I do have a theory. This gate is there to keep the weeds from running out into the road and causing a traffic accident. 😉🤣

Gateways

Color Photography

There is something meditative about watching the river roll gently by. With the sky reflected on the water’s surface I began to understand why ancient cultures looked at bodies of water as gateways to the “other world”. The river itself is a contradiction. It’s always in motion but always in the same place more or less. Beneath the water’s surface truly is another world. Fish, crustaceans and turtles roam around exploring an alien landscape that’s just beyond our vision. What sunken treasures roll by unseen on the bottom? What secrets lie beneath that second sky below?

Take That First Step

black and white photography, West Virginia

Sometimes I wonder where the tracks would take me if I could just follow them to the end. What sights would I see? Would we pass along the river? Would we travel beneath mountains deep inside the Earth? Somewhere beyond the farthest mountain is something different. Something we haven’t seen before. Something new and exciting. But we’ll never know what it is unless we take the journey.

We often desire to do something but we find reasons to avoid starting. I wonder if it’s because we are afraid of the journey or if losing the mystery? But what if there’s a more exciting mystery beyond the first one? Well, there’s only one way to find out. Go for it. I dare you.

The Next Tomorrow

black and white photography

Sometimes when I am feeling stressed and just want the day to be over I try to take a deep breath and look at the big picture. I call it the “Next Tomorrow” theory. It’s not about procrastination. Procrastination only makes things worse. Procrastination gives problems time to build up a little problem army so that they can jump you all at once. The idea comes from the thought that its tomorrow already. The next tomorrow I can enjoy life if I get things accomplished today. The next tomorrow is just around the bend in the rails and I really don’t have much time to wait or waste.