The Weekend in Black and White: Bridge and Sky

I like to play with the shadows on this bridge and I thought the dramatic sky might work in black and white. At this time of day the shadow is almost like a little ruffle on a skirt while sometimes it covers much of the bridge floor.

Click for the home of the weekend in Black and White.

SkyWatch Friday: Walking with the sky

I was running errands on Monday and hadn't intended to go on a walk, but the sky took me by the hand.

My first idea was to walk up to the dam and take a few shots of the lake but not take the time for a walk.

I was clicking away before I even made it to the dam.

Once I was on the dam I took a ton of shots to capture the variety of clouds in the sky.

I hope we'll get some days with clouds like these once the trees have changed colors.

At this point the trees that are changing are mostly in the woodland part of the trail.

It was hard to narrow down which shots to post because I took so many.

I felt like the sky was putting on a show to keep me from returning to my home office.

I particularly like playing with the reflections in the lake.

All it takes is a slight turn of the camera or a little less or more zoom for a different picture.

The sky led me into the woodland part around the lake.

The sky took me to the bridge where I could look in different directions across the lake.

It was tempting to go ahead and walk around the lake because the reflections on the other side are often good.

However, I didn't have the free time so I contented myself with bridge shots before turning around.

It was also supposed to rain at some point so I didn't want to push my luck.

It is so much fun to sky watch that it would be easy to do it for hours.

I certainly took enough pictures of this particular show.

The good thing about the sky is that it is always changing for my enjoyment.

Now that the trees are changing too that will add another layer of fun.

Click for the home of SkyWatch Friday.

ABC Wednesday: K is for Killington

I took this shot of the road sign for Killington Drive last April because I thought I might use it for K in an ABC Wednesday post at some point.

Since this street is in my neighborhood and when I walk around the block I encounter it, I have shots through all the seasons of Killington Dr.

I think the mailbox below qualifies as pop kitsch. I always laugh when I walk past it.

The shots above are spring on Killington and the next shots will be summer.

I kid my neighbors who notice me taking pictures all the time that I'm not with the C.I.A. or F.B.I. If I was I'd be doing a poor job of being surreptitious.

Looks like the kiddies at the house below on Killington have fun swings.

Now I'm moving into later summer on Killington.

I kind of like how the house below is hidden by the trees.

These shots weren't all take during the same year. I had way too many choices when looking at neighborhood walk shots that included Killington. For one thing when I walk out of the neighborhood to the main road which takes me to the pharmacy, I walk briefly on Killington. If I go in the other direction to the trails leading to the lake I often choose Killington. I live on a dead end road (it's called a court but it's really a short dead end road).

I think the next summery looking shots are more towards fall but the leaves aren't changing yet.

Now it's in the full force of fall on Killington. Well not now but it was when I took the next few pictures.

As far as what it's like in the present we are just beginning into early fall/autumn where I live.

I can't wait until it does start looking like this in my neighborhood.

I think we may have an earlier fall this year than we normally do as I started noticing changes earlier than normal.

The pine trees below were catching the snow on Killington during last winter. I actually shot them from my back deck because the taller trees on Killington are visible from my back yard.

I particularly like the snowy Killington trees against the blue sky.

One last winter tree I shot during a walk on K is for Killington. I never knew I'd say Killington this many times in a single post.

Click for the home of ABC Wednesday.

Our World Tuesday: North Carolina Museum of Art

I always like to walk down the wooded path in the North Carolina Museum of Art park that leads to the Cloud Chamber for the Trees and Sky by Chris Drury.

When the weather permits the pinhole camera in the chamber projects an inverted image of the sky on the floor of the chamber but I think this works best in winter when the leaves have dropped from the trees. My sister was a good sport when she was visiting to head into the woods with me in spite of off and on again rain.

We actually lucked out with most of the rain happening after we were inside the museum.

The shot above is of the in door collection of works by Aguste Rodin and the shot below is of the Rodin Garden just outside the inside collection area.

It was raining when I took the shots above and below so I just stood inside with the door open for the photographs.

Then the day after I took the shots above, I was back walking on the trails at the NCMA and was able to shoot from a different perspective without the interference of rain.

I find that some of the large outdoor art at the museum grows on me such as the Ogromna by Ursula von Rydingsvard below.

Another of the relatively new pieces, shown below, that has grown on me is Large Standing Figure: Knife Edge by Henry Spenser Moore.

I've always responded to Auguste Rodin's work so they haven't taken any time for me to get used to. UPDATE - I should mention that the Rodin below is on loan to the museum although they have a gift of a large group for the permanent collection. I also read a good article about what is considered an "original" Rodin and it discusses this museum collection. You can click here for that article.


Lowe's Pavilion by Mike Cindric and Vincent Petrarca (shown below) looks different depending on the light. Not much light when I shot it and I even considered it as a good place to run to for shelter if the rain poured down too hard.

I spend more time walking on the paths in the art museum park than I do in the museum.

I like to look at the art inside but it's nice to be able to mix the outdoor art, nature, and walking for exercise outside.

Above is the Crossroad Trickster I by Martha Jackson Jarvis which from a distance almost looks like a huge ear of corn. The shapes in a distance in the middle right of the same shot are the very top of part of the Gyre by Thomas Sayre. Below is the stage of the ampitheatre in the museum park.

Click for the home of Our World Tuesday.