Landscapes and Other Venues
October 25, 2013
October 7, 2013
September 25, 2013
September 19, 2013
September 19, 2013
September 14, 2013
September 8, 2013
Chaotic Patterns and Straight Lines--Both Caught My Eye
On Sunday after worshipping at Beldor Mennonite Church, Elsie and I enjoyed some pleasant time with pastor James Åkerson and his wife Emily. And I took just a bit of time to explore the blanket of colorful leaves on the forest floor. Beldor "holler" is at the foot of the drive up the mountain to the Shenandoah National Park (Skyline Drive).
Natural Leaf Mosaic (I) (20-Sep-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Natural Leaf Mosaic (I) (20-Sep-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Natural Leaf Mosaic (III) (20-Sep-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Natural Leaf Mosaic (IV) (20-Sep-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Which one strikes your sense of aesthetics best?
A few weeks ago, my eye honed in on the line of the guard rail along the sidewalk leading up to the bridge on Cantrell Ave. in Harrisonburg.
Guard Rail along a Sidewalk, Harrisonburg, VA (I) (12-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Guard Rail along a Sidewalk, Harrisonburg, VA (II) (12-Oct-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
So what do you think of these two photos? t
October 7, 2013
Exploring Water, Land and Sky
It has been one day shy of a month since Elsie and I visited the James Madison University Arboretum. As I go back to those photos, I discover that I still have not mined all of the good stuff. So here are two more. The reflection of trees and sky in the quiet lake is always a marvel to me.
A Reflection Landscape on the Lake at the JMU Arboretum (8-Sep-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
And I do like swinging bridges, as long as they are not over deep gorges and appear very safe! In this case there was nothing in the stream over which the bridge was built.
A Swinging Bridge at the JMU Arboretum (8-Sep-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
A week ago, we were in Pennsylvania visiting with some family, and I tried getting some photos of a soaring vulture. What I did get was this serendipitous photo of the Sun just starting to peak from behind some white fluffy clouds.
Sun and Clouds Playing Tag, Lancaster, PA (29-Sep-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Nature still gives me surprises and lots of fun!
September 25, 2013
It's in the Color and the Design
Below are two photos I took a few weeks ago. Both caught my eye for the colors in them and the design. The fast food restaurant picture has well-defined edges and bright colors.
Fast-food Restaurant with Almost Solid Color Patches (13-Sep-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
And the sunrise below has soft bright colors and high contrast.
Full (or Almost Full) Moon (15-Sep-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Looking at the luminosity histograms of both of these photos is rather interesting. I access this in IrfanView through the Image/Histogram menu option.
Luminosity (Gray-scale) Histograms (Black on Left, White on Right) (25-Sep-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
These curves are only of the grayscale intensities and not across the color spectrum. So black is on the left, and white is on the right, with varying grays in between.
Thus the fast food restaurant has some obvious narrow bands of grays, and this is true as we look at the picture and notice the black asphalt, the slightly lighter red roof, the lighter yet blue sky and the lightest pale yellow of the walls.
On the other hand, the sunrise has distinctively black shadows (see the extreme left of the histogram) with the light highlights being the pinks and light blues and the light yellow being the brightest.
As a retired physics professor, this stuff is very interesting to me. So if it does not interest you, I'm sure you can skip over it! :)
September 19, 2013
"Oh Mister Moon... Please Shine Down on Me."
Our son-in-law, Holden Byler, sent me an email this evening telling me about the beautiful harvest moon. Well, at 10:45 p.m. when I went out, the special color from it lying so low in the horizon was gone, but it still was a great moon. See Holden's Harvest Moon photo here.
Full (or Almost Full) Moon (19-Sep-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
It reminds me of the little folk song we learned in grade school, some 55 years ago.
"Oh Mr. Moon, Moon, bright and shiny moon,
Won't you please shine down on, please shine down on, me?
"I'm wanta shoot that possum with my big shotgun;
Shoot that possum 'fore he starts to run."
"Oh Mr. Moon, Moon, bright and shiny moon,
Won't you please shine down on,
Please shine down on,
Please shine down on me?"
Thanks, Holden, for alerting me of this great photo opportunity!
September 19, 2013
What Does a Live End Look Like?
To me a "dead end" implies that there must be something like a "live end," and that brings all kinds of images to mind. So I'll let your imagination platy with this one.
A "Dead End" Sign just a Half Block Down Our Street (15-Sep-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
September 14, 2013
Wall Flowers Are Not to Be Messed With!
Merriam-Webster defines a "wall flower" as (a) "a person who is shy or unpopular and who stands or sits apart from other people at a dance or party" and (b) "a garden plant grown for its bright, pleasant-smelling flowers." I'm still deciding which definition fits my photo, caught with my old simple LG phone this noontime.
A Flower in a Concrete Crack (14-Sep-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
OK, I was trying to make a pun, but this flower sure had to have persistence to have sprouted, grown and persisted in the crack between the concrete block wall and the sidewalk. Maybe it can be an artistic symbol or reminder for how God wants me to live even in tough spots.
September 8, 2013
Just for the Fun (Art?) of It!
Recently I took a couple of photos just because "they caught my eye" (in one case) and because of "serendipity" (in the other case). Now you get to decide whether you like them or not..
A Little Artwork Growing on Our Deck (5-Sep-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
And then there is the one I only saw when I looked at the photos on my computer--a sort of self-portrait.
A Serendipitous Self-Portrait (5-Sep-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Now I wonder what else I will notice.
--©2013, Richard L. Bowman
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