I have loved seeing this begonia continue to bloom well into fall … bright colors that surely fit into the oranges, reds and yellows of the changing leaves.
The blue, while not a fall color, is a lovely contrast against the brown leaves.
The afternoon sun brightens the yellow leaves that have fallen into the juniper.
Southwest Virginia … home of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a part of the larger Appalachian mountain range, and also of the New River, considered to be the oldest river on the North American continent. My current home in the City of Radford (http://www.radford.va.us/) is located in the New River Valley.
On any given day, I travel down roads that, especially during this time of year, are arguably some of the prettiest around.
In the summer, my friends and I kayak along this stretch of the New. During this time of year, I scramble down the river bank to shoot the old train trestle against the backdrop of the evening light and the changing leaves.
While visiting friends to drop off fresh baked bread or cookies, I’m rewarded by the beauty that I see outside their homes.
The ride to work takes longer than it should during the fall as I stop multiple times to capture the scenery. The first picture was taken from my office parking lot, while the next is the view over the houses near Radford University (http://www.radford.edu/).
The taste of a microbrew at The River Company (http://www.therivercompanyrestaurant.com/) across the New River is even better when this is what I see from the deck.
This gorgeous oak stops me on my way down to Main Street …
… while this is the view that greets me as I drive home from work in the evening.
Sure, there are things that I miss by living in the rural part of Virginia (restaurant diversity for example), but views like this one taken from Attimo Winery (http://www.attimowinery.com/) sure help to make up for it!
My camera and I are bound at the hip. I often stop when driving to and from work to photograph something. Sites that others may think of as mundane, to me are beautiful. My friends and family are patient with the vast number of pictures they receive from me … and they are never surprised to hear me say (during the middle of a phone conversation) “I’m out of the truck taking a picture”.
All photographers, including amateurs like me, know about light. Morning, evening … it’s all about light. But I am also intensely attracted to the shadows that objects and light create.
Whether it be the shadows of trees on the wall of the carport as I get into my truck on a lovely fall morning,
Or the view of a street sign as I pay my bill at the dental office,
and afterwards, while driving down Main Street.
The morning sun streaming through my lovely screened in porch creates wonderful shadows …
as it does for the wall near my kitchen door,
and the outside wall of a friend’s office.
Whether practicing my macro shooting …
or preparing to walk into my office each day …
the merge of light and shadow brings me joy.
Life is full of constant change …
moving from one season to the next
and with it, the passing on of wisdom from a long time caregiver to those who will carry on.
The beauty and the bittersweet are captured here.
I am always surprised when someone tells me that they don’t like fall.
The fresh air, the cooler temps, the energy … but mostly the colors!
I want to take my camera with me everywhere I go. And when I do leave it at home, I regret it. The beauty of fall surrounds us at all times of the day.
Morning sun…
Mid-morning Color …
Late afternoon light …
Evening Sunset …
Don’t mourn the passing of summer and end up missing all that is fall!!
Let yourself enjoy!!
While relaxing in my living room after a lovely day on the bike with Dave, I couldn’t help but see the beautiful evening light shining down on the trees in my front yard …
So fortunate to live in a home surrounded by trees.
Motorcycles and photography … a combination of two of my favorite things. Motorcycles have been in my life for almost 5 years, and photography for about 1. I’ve taken pictures for years but am just now putting some effort into it. It’s a natural to combine the two and I’m sure I’ll be taking pictures of bikes for years to come. This is just the beginning.
Most bikers work hard to make their bikes look good and ride well. A walk out to my carport right now will reveal the fact that my bike needs some attention to detail. It takes some time and elbow grease to bring out the beauty and shine in a bike and the time I’ve had with the bike lately has been spent riding it, not cleaning it.
Yikes!
Others have done better than I and I’ve had fun taking pictures of bikes the last couple weeks. Billy has been riding this 2003 Road King for 9 years.
Not all of my friends ride HDs but many of them do.
Another friend recently bought this bike and he finally has it back on the road after some repairs and upgrades. Check out the Sharkey’s sign reflected in the pipe.
Sharkey’s is a locally owned restaurant and bar, and at any given time, especially in the evening and on weekends, a line of bikes can usually be seen. http://www.sharkeyswingandribjoint.com/
A couple of the pictures that follow were taken with my cell phone camera and while they are not great photos, they do show how bikers work to make their machines look unique.
I love the combination of black and chrome …
But the colors are pretty too.
There’s something about that line of bikes that I love to shoot, whether parked in front of a beverage establishment …
… or riding down the road.
So until next time … Ride Safe and Have Fun!
I know I sure will!
I may just be obsessed!
Even though I’ve always been one to take pictures, I’ve mostly done it for social reasons. I’m the Documentress! I document the parties, the tailgates, the trips. Prior to having a digital camera (which I resisted!), I would shoot roll upon roll of film. I came back from that 8 week trip out west (https://lifeonthebikeandotherfabthings.wordpress.com/2012/08/29/my-recipe-for-the-perfect-vacation/) with a gallon sized ziplock bag full of rolls of film.
Of course there were times that I shot an event and realized later that I did not have film in the camera. Argh! If for no other reason that that, buying a digital camera was beneficial! Although as I write that, I remember that I’ve left the house with the camera in the bag and the SD card at home … in the laptop.
I upgraded to a digital “point and shoot” 5 years ago and happily photographed friends and scenery for years. My little Canon PowerShot SD1000 went everywhere with me and even fit in my back pocket. I have thousands of pictures downloaded on my lap top, and since suffering a hard drive crash a couple years ago and losing a year of photographs, saved on an external hard drive. A year or so ago, I started to feel dissatisfied with my little camera and my ability to zoom. I still wanted the ease of a point and shoot, but didn’t want to have to change lenses. I wanted to shoot on the fly and from the saddle of my motorcycle. My friend Tim, the man who knows everything about computers, all kinds of media, and especially cameras (he is an amazing photographer) encouraged me to look at a “superzoom”.
Canon PowerShot SD1000
The superzooms, according to Digital Camera HQ, are also known as extended zooms, bridge cameras or mini-dSLRs (http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/articles/superzooms-vs-dslrs-which-should-you-buy). The dSLR is the digital single lens reflex camera that professionals use and allows for “much sharper and true to life images” than a point and shoot or superzoom camera. But for me, a dSLR was too big, too expensive and too much for me at this point in my development as a photographer. I wanted to be able to improve my shooting but also wanted to be able to carry the camera around all day with ease, wear it while riding the bike (with my” magic strap”, Gary), and still put it in my purse /saddlebag.
Enter the Canon SX40HS, a 12 Megapixel super-zoom camera with a 35x optical range, a birthday gift to myself. It’s more affordable than a dSLR, I can easily carry it in my saddle bag or in a very large purse, and using the amazing “magic strap”, can easily shoot from the stopped motorcycle. It’s also light enough to carry around all day, which is what I did in Nashville (https://lifeonthebikeandotherfabthings.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/the-2012-bike-trip-tennessee-nashville/).
I love my new camera! I took some time to read the manual and I’ve already grown in my ability as a photographer. Evidently though, I did not read the manual closely enough because I’ve already had to restore to default settings once and I’ve also called on Tim for help when all of a sudden I was stuck in a function I could not get out of. I still don’t know near enough about aperture, shutter speed and ISO, and I’m on my third lens cap.
Canon SX40HS
I hear lots of good things about the pictures I take and while some have made the comment “your camera takes such good pictures” (hey, I’M the one taking the pictures), most people tell me I have a good eye. Maybe so, but I find that my “eye” and my “skill level” are often not on the same page. Taking 75 pictures to ultimately save 11, I understand (https://lifeonthebikeandotherfabthings.wordpress.com/2012/07/03/nothing-like-water-to-improve-the-mood/). Not being able to figure out why a picture I worked fairly hard on did not turn out as expected is confusing. This hobby takes practice, practice, practice … thank goodness I’m not buying rolls of film!!
So what about that “magic strap”? It is the RS-7 Curve camera strap that Tim gave me as a birthday gift (to go along with my birthday camera). Designed by Blackrapid (patent pending) the strap is worn across the chest and “when you’re ready to take the shot, the camera quickly glides up the strap into shooting position. Just “Grab. Glide. Click.” (http://www.blackrapid.com/product/camera-strap/rs-7/) I love it! I can walk or ride all day and the camera sits on my hip or at the small of my back, hands free, but easily within reach for shooting at any time.
It earned the name “magic strap” when I was showing it off to friends in BTs (http://www.btsradford.com/) one night, so now that is what I call it too.
I’m all set!
So much to learn but I’m having fun while I’m at it.
This is a re-blog of one of the very first posts I pusblished. It is also one of my favorites … but since it was one of my firsts, no one saw it. Maybe someone will this time!
Most of the time I am in a pretty upbeat mood, with no lack of energy or enthusiasm for what the day holds in store. And then there are other days. The ones when I seem to be focusing only on the negative instead of all the good in my life. More accurately when I find myself starting to wallow in self pity. It would be easy to stay in that world, to drift in that woe is me attitude. Something has to be done to banish the black clouds and quickly!
Some choose exercise, others music or prayer, assuredly others choose drink.
For me and for many, the soothing balm is water.
Thankfully I have friends with water craft and I now have a truck. One quick text to Debbie and Sandy I am on the way to pick up a kayak. Within 20 minutes of getting a “come and get it” reply, I am putting in at the Sportsman, ready to paddle around below the dam. Just me, and a few other guys fishing.
It is amazing how quickly my mood begins to improve. The colors of the late afternoon, the coolness of the water, and the lower temperatures of the air all begin to elevate my spirit.
The lushness of the trees ..
The opportunity to practice photography
Even the bridge over the New River provides a beautiful setting for a photo shoot, and soon I don’t even hear the noise of the tractor trailers going by.
In no time, my heart and soul feel better.
I enjoy the occasional chat with a passing fisherman who asks me if I’m having any luck. Knowing that after 20 minutes, I finally get what for me is the perfect picture of a Blue Heron, I enthusiastically say that I am!!
As many have said before me, I am reminded again of just how fortunate I am to live in such a gorgeous area of the country and indeed to have friends like Debbie and Sandy who were ready and waiting with kayak, life jacket and paddle to send me on my way without questioning my grumpy mood. I am grateful.
Friends, water, and a lovely evening: mission accomplished … foul mood gone … peace restored!
Life on the Bike and other Fab Things 