A Walk in the Woods!

This past week, I was having some problems with acid reflux and decided to see if going for a walk in the woods would help. It actually turned out to be the best medicine I could have prescribed for myself.  Of course I took my camera with me, which aided in the remedy. I didn't see any exciting wildlife, so I took pictures of leaves, trees and a few logs. With the contrast of the white snow and the dark color of the woods, I decided to transform them into black and white photos. For sun I took a picture of my own shadow in the snow. What surprised me is how it turned out so sharp in Black and White. I didn't see Big Foot in the woods, but I did find what looked like and "alien log". What do you think? Can you see the horns, the eyes and the mouth? I still praise God that we see things in color, but Black and White does change the character of common objects that we see.

New Life for old cars

A few miles west of Spooner there is place that is a resting place for old cars, trucks and tractors. I think it is called "Rest Home for old Engines". It is a great place to photograph these old relics. It was a little cold, so I did not spend a lot of time there and shot quite a few from the warmth of my car. (Some bold photographer I am!) These old engines may rusty and be useless as machinery, but they came to life as I photographed them. I can almost imagine them driving down the road 50 or 60 years ago or out in a field harvesting a crop. One of the joys of post production in Paint Shop Pro is adding a little color or even adding a little drama to the photo to bring it to life. As God looks at us, what does He see? Are we just some old relics or does He see us through the eyes of the Master Photographer, Jesus Christ. I think His view of us is quite a bit different than we see our selves.  These photos are of just one of the old cars. Does any one know what car this is?

Wrong Turns - Right Turns

It never fails! Every time I go out to take photos of the area, I inevitably take a wrong turn and end up where I was not planning on going. Many times it ends up being a "right turn" instead of a "wrong turn". Today I thought I was going down one road and somehow ended up on Highway 77 east of Minong. This actually turned out to be a very good thing. As I traveled past a lake there in a tree was a lone Eagle, just waiting for me to take his picture. He just sat there for several minutes posing for the camera and then finally flew off. I went down the road a little further and there was another eagle in a tree. For probably 8 or 9 minutes he sat there as I shot him, then he too flew off. I thought that must be the end of it, until I looked back and there in another tree was 2 eagles sitting there. They may have been the same eagles I just shot. It was perfect. the sky was clear and blue for a background and they sat there staring at each other. They must have been a couple, because one of them was hissing and pecking at the other one trying to chide him. It always fascinates me that when I make plans for the day, God has a way of changing them and His way is always better than my own. New Year's Day, my plan was to take it easy and catch up on some office work and go out to take a few pictures. When I went to turn my laptop on, the hard drive was fried, so I ended up making a trip to the Twin Cities to take the laptop to my son, the computer tech, to work on and hopefully fix. Praise God for a son that understands computers. God had a better plan for me that day.

Train Spotting 2012

A couple of years ago they released a movie called "Train Spotting". I have no idea what the movie is about, but I like the title. During the past 2 weeks I have been enjoying finding train yards and taking photos of the trains and parts that are lying around. Three or 4 times I shot at the Spooner Train Museum. Today I went to Stanbury, Wisconsin and shot photos from where the trains were parked. The only thing I did not enjoy was that my fingers were getting quite cold and numb, but it was worth it. Between the trains, letters on the trains and parts, I shot well over 1000 pictures in the last 2 weeks. These photos are just a sampling of what I shot. A person cannot live in Northern Wisconsin and not fall in love with the trains. Train Spotting is a enjoyable hobby and even a little exciting.
Some of these photos are in black and white and some I have left in the original color.

Railroaded Letters.

Years ago, both Spooner and Trego, Wisconsin were Railroad towns. Spooner's school mascot is a train. Most of the year the "Pizza Train" runs out of Spooner and heads north to Springbrook and, of course goes through Trego. Spooner also has the Railroad Museum. Yesterday and today, I spent time at the museum taking photos of the trains and equipment. One of the things I noticed was the unique lettering on the old trains and thought they would be great for letter art. Several months ago I purchased a box of photo sleeve with a stick-able backing. They were perfect for the project. One of the things that I really enjoy about the lettering, is that is is far from perfect. They are old, rusty and faded. Some of it is railroad graffiti. Whether these sell or not, it is fun putting them together and I can spell out almost any word I like. God is the same way with us. Even though we are FAR from perfect, He loves us and sent His Son to an imperfect world to give us eternal life.
   If you would like to purchase letters, they are $1.50 each. Send me a note with what letters you would like and where to send them to. Fdistad@Gmail.com or call 715-939-0601 The letters are 4" x 6" and include the sleeves.

Fog and Frost

This morning when I woke up I noticed that it was quite foggy outside. This could only mean one thing: It was  perfect time to take some pictures. This time of year is usually very drab and colorless, with very little contrast. But the fog adds dimension to the landscapes. One of the ladies said on Facebook that she would rather go out and take photos than go to work this morning. That's when I knew what I had to do. (Sorry Kathy D. - but not too sorry!) Most of these photos were taken on County Road K on the way to Spooner. The sun was trying to find its way through the fog. It amazes me how that God can take something that is usually quite bland and turn it into a work of art. God, of course it the Great Artist!   

The Minnesota Trip

One of my responsibilities as an Area Coordinator with InFaith is to visit our missionaries at least once a year. Yesterday I took a trip to Underwood, Minnesota to visit one of our missionaries. Round trip it was about 550 miles and 13 hours of sitting in the car, leaving at 6:00 am and getting back home about 9:00 pm. It was a long, but very worth while trip. I chose to take a route that went on the north end of Mille Lacs Lake and of course take a few pictures of the shore line. These pictures were taken about 8:30 am at one of the boat landings. The double sun is always amazing and taking the shot through the trees adds to the composure of the shot. Whenever I take photos like this, I always remind my self that I may take the photo, but the scene is from God. I am just taking a picture of what He created. As a photographer, I know which of the photos I favor - The second one. Which one do you like the best and why?