Tag Archives: Photography

Unknown's avatar

300 Miles for A Cold One

by

The text came in on Saturday night. “Meeting at 9am for a ride to Devils Backbone Brewery.  It’ll be an all dayer”

_MG_6309

It was indeed an all dayer, with enough stops along the way to see the big perspective …

_MG_6314 _MG_6319

… and the small.

_MG_6316 _MG_6323

While the ride is the reason, this day’s destination was pretty great.

_MG_6332

Devils Backbone Brewery, established in 2008, is an award winning craft brewpub in Virginia.  There’s nothing like pulling up, all hot and dusty, knowing that inside awaits a cold beer and a delicious plate of Fish and Chips.

_MG_6329

Quite simply, a wonderful day … on and off the bike!

_MG_6328

If you’re in the area, be sure to stop in.  Joe, that means you, too! It’s well worth the visit.

Unknown's avatar

The 4th

by

_MG_6039

You were expecting Fireworks? The Stars and Stripes?  Burgers and Potato Salad?  While I did enjoy all of the traditions of the 4th of July, for some reason, I wasn’t moved to photograph them.

_MG_6035

Instead, it was the simple things, on a clear, almost cloudless day, that drew my attention.

_MG_5987

It was a day of friendship, laughter, sunshine, and celebration.

_MG_6034

What a wonderful way to celebrate the 4th of July.

_MG_6029 _MG_6030

Happy Summer Everyone!

Unknown's avatar

Living on the River

by

You’ve heard me praise the New River in previous posts, and I’ve commented about how lucky I am to live just minutes from it.  Whether floating in a kayak or tube, or riding or sitting alongside, there’s nothing like a river to sooth the spirit.

_MG_5639

 Lately, I’ve been trying to imitate the work of some of the photographers that I follow.  If you’ve visited Ron Scubadiver‘s blog, you’ve seen his beautiful reflections.  Now, rest assured, I’m not comparing myself to him, but I thought of his work when I took these.

_MG_5620_MG_5624

Colorful reflections on the river are lovely, but the image might have more depth in Black & White.  If you are a lover of B&W, I welcome you to visit our new blog Monochromia.  The blog will feature images in B&W, and is the brainchild of  Joe at The Visual Chronicle, who says “We are a collaborative group of photographers, fanatics, artists and photo nuts”.

_MG_5634

Somehow I got to be a part of this talented group of individuals.  They are the pros; I’m, as you might guess, just along for the ride!!

Elina – Capturing Little Moments – http://capturinglittlemoments.wordpress.com
Robyn – Robyn Graham Photography – http://robyngrahamphotography.com
Patti – Nylon Daze – http://nylondaze.wordpress.com
Emilio – Photos By Emilio – http://emiliopasquale.wordpress.com
Joerg – The Things They Are In Pictures – http://joergthamer.wordpress.com
Joe – The Visual Chronicle – http://joeinfocus.wordpress.com
Meho – Le Mehograph – http://lemehograph.com (occasional posts)

Check out the blog and in the meantime for those of you in North America, Happy 4th and Canada Day (just a bit late).

Unknown's avatar

I Want to Shoot Like Liana!

by

_MG_5771

Have you visited Liana’s blog?  Her work inspires mine.

No, I am not the poet / writer that she is but if I can gain even a measure of her skill with the camera, I’ll be satisfied.

http://thehourofsoftlight.wordpress.com/

Many of the photographers that I follow inspire me, and I plan to highlight some of them over the next months.  When one of my images aspires to the style of someone I admire, I’m going to post mine, referencing the photographer at the same time.

Unknown's avatar

Life on the Bike!

by

Those of you who are new to my blog may wonder where the bike of Life on the Bike is.  Rest assurred that the original reason for the blog is back and after being sidelined for 8 months, so are my days riding!  I’ve had the bike just 3 weeks and I’ve ridden as many miles as I can squeeze into my schedule.  My first ride was with my friend Juli who took me to the dealership to pick up my beautiful new bike.

IMG_5128

My second ride was with my friends Dave and Michael, the two guys who taught me most of what I know about riding.  I wrote about them here almost 2 years ago.

_MG_5166

The other night, seeing that a storm was brewing, and thinking that the evening light might make for great photos, I headed out on the bike.  It felt great to feel the wind in my face (even with my new full face helmet).

IMG_20140620_182943

 I took off down a dirt road, near the train tracks, and proceeded to happily shoot the surrounding farmland.

_MG_5533

I couldn’t decide which of these I preferred.  What do you think?

_MG_5534

It was a lovely evening and the storm held off long enough for me to play a little longer.

_MG_5536 _MG_5546

Even the structure of the new bridge appealed to me that evening.

_MG_5544

More riding photos soon!!!

Unknown's avatar

Vintage in the Garden

by

This past February, I posted photos of glass vintage airport runway lights found atop the posts of a garden fence. The cobalt blue lights offered a stunning contrast against the bright white snow.  During a recent visit, I found another of these lights, this time in teal, gracing the railing of the front porch.  In the post linked above, I labeled them Insulators, but was corrected and told they were runway lights.  My Facebook friends are confident that this one is indeed an insulator.

_MG_5343

Liz and Wilson have the most beautiful spaces within their garden.  In addition to a variety of flowers, vegetables, and fruits, the garden is decorated with intriguing pieces of art and vintage items.

_MG_5340

This last piece adornes the deer fencing that surrounds the blueberry bushes.

_MG_5350

Liz and Wilson raise the concept of  “yard art” to a whole new level.

_MG_5346

Unknown's avatar

Tibetan Prayer Flags

by

While visiting a friend one evening last week, I admired the prayer flags that graced her already beautiful outdoor space.

_MG_5335

“Traditionally, prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom. The flags do not carry prayers to gods, which is a common misconception; rather, the Tibetans believe that the prayers and mantras will be blown by the wind to spread good will and compassion into all pervading space. Therefore, prayer flags are thought to bring benefit to all”.

_MG_5332

My friend’s husband had recently had surgery and the prayer flags were hanging to promote healing and peace during recovery.

_MG_5336

Prayer flags come in sets of five colors.  These colors, arranged from left to right in a specific order, represent the five elements.  Blue symbolizes the sky and space, white symbolizes the air and wind, red symbolizes fire, green symbolizes water, and yellow symbolizes earth.

_MG_5334

By hanging flags in high places, the blessings depicted on the flags are carried to all beings.  As the wind passes over the surface of the flags, the air is purified and sanctified by the mantras depicted on the flags.

_MG_5338

While I was familiar with these flags, I did not realize the meaning of them.  The information in this post was gleaned from Wikipedia.  I’d love to hear your thoughts or experiences with these flags

Unknown's avatar

Basil

by

Two years ago, I called it a love affair … but I think it’s time to be honest … I don’t want to go a day without basil.  In fact, it makes me happy just to see these plants outside my kitchen door.

_MG_5318

The combination of basil, mozzarella, tomato, and olive oil just can not be beat and it serves as my lunch or dinner almost every day during the summer months.  Of course, basil elevates almost any food, at least in my opinion.

_MG_5322

Unlike many of the garderners whose blogs I follow, I did not raise these plants from seeds.  Perhaps I’ll try that next year.

_MG_5330

The aroma of fresh basil is heavenly!  I’ve even been known to swab a leaf across my pulse points in the same way that another woman might use perfume.

Would you say that I have a problem?

_MG_5321

Let me know if you do … you can find me near the basil plants.

Unknown's avatar

A Golden Stop

by

At the end of a day of travel, I was prompted to pull the truck over to capture this golden scene.

_MG_5205

_MG_5201

Just think! Soon I’ll be pulling over on the bike because Yes!  The new bike is in the driveway!

_MG_5214