Ice Follies at the Bank

There is nothing more beautiful than freshly fallen snow. This morning Linda needed to go to one of the banks in Spooner and I stayed in the car and waited. In front of the building, water had dripped on the bushes and frozen into ice cycles. I just happened to bring my camera and started to take a "few" shots of the ice on the bushes. As I was finishing up and employee of the bank came out and wondered what I as doing. I think she thought I was casing the bank and taking pictures of the vault or something. I could almost "picture" trying to explain this to a policeman. After I explained that I was taken pictures of the ice on the bushes she went back inside and I went to the car to with in safety. The pictures of the bars were taken in Spooner and Lampson. At least I am not writing this from behind jail bars.

February Snowfall in B&w.

There are 2 ways to look at a snow storm. One way is to only see the heavy white stuff that we have to shovel. The other way is to see the beauty and blessings of the powdery white stuff. As a photographer I also see an opportunity to take photos of God great creation. We saw a video in Sunday School class today about the uniqueness of every snowflake and the precise way they are made. Only a Creator could form such perfection. No 2 snow flakes are the same. These photos are the black and white version of the pictures I took this afternoon. I like the black and white because it brings out the contrast of the snow and the landscape. The pine trees are on top of the hill at the Dinner Bell Restaurant and the rest are of the birch tree in the back yard.

Lost on a Rustic Road

What does a photographer do when he is lost on a rustic road and has no idea where he is? Take photos, of course! This afternoon I went out to take a few photos for a project I was doing, when I found myself south of Shell Lake traveling down a road that I had no idea where it lead. I just kept going until I saw a sign for a "Rustic Road". That was an open invitation to take that road. I finally ended up in Haugen, but the journey was well worth getting lost. What started out as a few pictures, ended up with almost 350 photos of this wintery road, birch trees and even a pheasant. I felt like a kid in a candy store sampling every piece of candy he could get his hands on. This definitely was a God directed trip taking photos of His great handiwork. Here are just a taste of the photo candy I took today! Some are processed into black and white.

Birch Curls Black and White

Yesterday I decided to go for a walk in the woods to get some exercise and to take a few photos. Did I say a "few"? When I was done, I thought maybe I took 100 pictures, but in reality it was over 250. As I got to the edge of the trail into the woods, I noticed that the trail was freshly groomed. In fact the man was still grooming it. That made my trek a little easier. Even in the winter, the birch trees had amazing color and I loved the way the bark curled. The contrast of the shadows of the bark and the white of the trees and the snow, made transferring them into Black and White an easy choice. As color shots they are beautiful, but in Black and White they really come alive and stand out.

This afternoon I made a trip to Hayward to buy some bird seeds. On the way home, I took a side trip to Stone Lake and took a short walk by the lake. At about 3 degrees, it was a short walk. A few pictures were taken of the lake, but I concentrated on a few plants in the snow. The contrast between the white snow and the dark colors of the plants really stands out. There is nothing special about the plants, but they are still great works of art - Not my art - But God's. Isn't it great how God can take the plain and make it beautiful - Just like He does with us. The pictures of the thistles were taken inside the tunnel under the road.

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?