• Metro Parks

    Free Concert

    Concert Bench
    Concert Seating

    Rain started beating against my window around 1:00 am in the morning and continued raining until mid morning. Just after noon the blue skies started to appear and the heat/humidity started to rise. As your clothes begin to stick to your damp body you realized that you’re living in the Ohio Valley and not back in Colorado.

    In spite of the weather I decided to give myself an assignment. I walked through Blendon Woods park with only my 85mm f1.8 portrait lens.  Every so often along the trails are these benches where people can rest or you can sit while enjoying the free concert orchestrated by the birds. And what a concert it is. Hope you had a good day!

  • Art/Design,  Cityscapes/Urban

    Empty Bench

     

    Empty Bench
    Black and White Version

    Okay, I’m on my couch in a slouched position reading a new book I just bought called, “Within The Frame”  by David deChemin. For whatever reason I remembered this image from a year ago and wondered how it would look in B/W. I looked up the image then did a comparison in Lightroom, which he mentions in the book, between a color version and a B/W version, and is a powerful tool that needs to be used more often. Which one stirs the emotion in people is subjective, so both work. But there is more.

  • Documentary/Street,  People/Portraits

    Waiting Together

    Waiting Together
    Waiting Together

    Waiting is not something people like to do, especially in these present times, and I’m one of those people. While waiting in line at the bank yesterday, I found myself getting irritated. Even though I had nothing that important on my “to-do-list” I wanted a second bank teller. It was my perception we needed to be moving along faster. Has that ever happened to you?

    As a child I remember sitting at a doctors office waiting to see a doctor. It seemed like eternity. Now that I’m a few years older I’ve come to accept sitting and waiting as a time to enjoy the moment, relax and take it all in. I admit to failing, as in my example above, but hopefully getting better at it. When we really think about it, there are no real short cuts in life. When we ask for it quicker we sacrifice something. No way did I want to be short changed by a bank teller. I like this image as it shows a couple waiting for a boat to carry them down the Potomac River to Mount Vernon. I went along with them and it was worth the wait.

  • Cityscapes/Urban

    Blue Bus Stop

     

    Blue Bus Stop
    Blue Bus Stop

    A few years ago I began to notice benches. I had one month were I posted an image of a bench I took on that day. Benches are everywhere and are in every imaginable shape, color, size and location. And, comfort will vary just about every one of them. Just as interesting as the benches are the people who sit on them or stand beside them. This image was taken in Daytona Beach.

  • Cityscapes/Urban,  Metro Parks,  Plants

    Yea for Spring

     

    Spring is Near
    Spring is Near

     The first day of spring in the U.S. is considered to be around March 20 or 21, depending on what day the vernal equinox occurs. This is when the sun sits directly above the equator on its apparent trip northward. I took this image on March 20 while on a walk at Inniswood Gardens. I like how it shows the tree blossoms and the green grass as well as the barren trees and the lonely bench. A big Yea for Spring!

  • architecture,  Cityscapes/Urban

    Gazebo in Winter

     

    Gazebo in Winter
    Gazebo in Winter

    As our winter days become colder and snow blankets everything around us, those places we spend outside in summer take on a solitary look. Instead of sitting on this gazebo, we find fireplaces to sit around or busy ourselves in our kitchens.