bodacious adj. (Southern) Outright; unmistakable
banter v.t. To address with light, playful, good-natured remarks
Welcome to my blog! I pray the images and ideas will be pleasing to God, and a blessing to you.
In joy,
king
Libby
Several years ago, i used to ask [read: beg] Carman to let me photograph the long, tall drink of water that is her daughter. This year Libby turns into a high school senior, and my opportunity arrived. The caveat? “We need to do this during the end of July.”
For the unenlightened, it has been said that here in Georgia we have two seasons: Summer…and August. Those who know me understand i therefore have two least favorite seasons…
Our window of opportunity was an afternoon/evening, and the following morning. After going over our wish list of ideas and locations, i found myself vacillating about our options, and how to plan our schedule so as to be efficient and best honor the potential. (One might note ‘efficient’ is not a term usually associated with yours truly : )
Friday afternoon came, and after changing the plan as late as that morning, we sweated through a long church session, but The Rainmaker provided a shower to cool us off.
Then came more decision time: spend the evening shooting indoors? Or go to a scenic locale in hopes of a sunset (knowing we could end up with a dud of mere gray clouds…and lots more sweat : )
I chose to go for the sure bet, and so we finished the evening doing the studio shots. Upon leaving for the night, i noticed clear skies overhead, and had the (highly inappropriate) notion that perhaps this was God’s way of telling me i made the wrong choice, and even ‘rubbing my face in it.’
Here is the cue for (my repentance, and for) one to recall the Old Testament passage about ‘joy’ coming in the morning. Knowing we only had a few hours, we had planned to start early. While driving to meet my victim subject, i was reminded there is at least one advantage to having lots of nasty humidity in one’s environs: i was engulfed in fabulous, foggy atmosphere! If only this would last until we could get a shot!!!
Libby and her mom arrived through the fog, and as we took advantage of this way cool gift, i perceived God winking (and possibly even holding His hand over His mouth to hide a holy snicker) as He lovingly chided me for my bad attitude the night before. No amount of money could have bought us such a wonderful setting. To help y’all grasp a sense of His kind provision, take a look at the image below. Aside from being downsized, there is 100% zero post processing. This is the scene straight out of the camera : )
(look at lots of Libby here)
My thanks to Carman and to Libby. And my praise to our Weatherman for
in joy,
king
sunset sighting
The weekend presented with a dearth of cute gals or little kids to photograph, so…“Cue the western horizon!”
I knew of the plan to put an observation platform at the Flint River overlook, which is on the road to Sprewell Bluff. But it wasn’t until i went there Friday evening i realized the work is done. There’s even a little house next to it, but i digress…
The new platform should afford improved picture-taking of that marvelous scene—(or at least more enjoyment of the view, should there be one other person on the planet who doesn’t have a telephone for a camera : )
My cameras (which are useless as telephones) climbed out of their bag and went to work, snapping a setting sun from the nice new vantage point. One of them decided that would make a quaint little movie, but unfortunately the operator still has much to learn about keeping a consistent exposure level when shooting time-lapse. For those who can stand the flicker, here’s the flick:
While little brother was occupied with movie-making, the big camera was free to look around and enjoy various sights, such as a rising almost-full [super] moon:
funky clouds with lightning:
funky clouds without lightning:
and the cool funkyness of a moonlit vista—this one including several items of note…
In the shot above, one can see the fog rolling in from the left, the planet Mars (orange dot below the big cloud), and the star Spica slightly down and to the left of Mars. Also just over the horizon in about the center is an area of sky brighter than the rest. This reminds me of a phenomenon called zodiacal light or false dusk:
http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-zodiacal-light-or-false-dusk
It is usually seen more often in the spring and fall, about 30 to 60 minutes after sunset. (Of course this may have simply been the city of Manchester, polluting my night sky : )
For folks with large, bright monitors, here’s a portrait of the big dipper:
The handle is on top, going to the left, and the cup part is at the bottom, facing diagonally up and to the right. As can be seen in the photo, the star in the middle of the handle is a binary (double) star. I’ve been told that in ages past, the Indians used that as a means of testing their children’s eyesight—by having them look at the middle star and telling the parent how many lights they could see. (No fair for any who try this now, you already know what to look for : )
I didn’t think to get a nice picture of the observation deck while it was light, so above is a simple shot of one corner as one is looking east, toward the rising moon.
see sweet sky shots here
So whether by sunshine or the light of the moon, i’ve observed the observation platform to perform well. My thanks to those who provided it, and to the One Who provided the creation to be observed.
king
longingly looking at lots of lovely lilies
If the question is, “do daylilies like loving looks?” i believe—(as the duly [self] appointed spokesman for fine flowers), the answer is “Yes.” They all smiled beautifully as members of the local daylily organization allowed me to roam about, snapping shots at their annual show. My thanks to them, and to the local Masonic Hall for providing us a blooming good environment.
(link to lots more luscious lilies)
in joy,
king
Laura’s laurel
Last time i spent time with Laura, we were in Mrs. Doris Watson’s journalism class in high school. She recently invited my camera to visit the family place west of town, and i was allowed to tag along.
The weather was wonderful. The timing worked well for watching wildflowers, mountain laurel and native azaleas—which were pretty in pink.
The water was wet—whereas we went woods wandering, wondering about worn wood and wide holes.
If you need a more thorough look, click this link for a plethora of photos.
I’m thankful for a delightful creation…for good stewardship of it, and for the opportunity to report on it. My appreciation to Laura, Nina, Andrew and Banks for putting up with me. They helped make it a picture-perfect day : )
in joy,
king
“One Finite Morning…”
Through 45 years of picture-taking, i’ve come to believe nothing trumps dumb luck…
…except an infinite, gracious Creator/Redeemer, Who delights in blessing His kids with reminders of His glory.
To me today’s reading from George MacDonald’s ‘Diary’ is fitting tribute to this gift:
“That all things Thou dost fill, I well may think—
Thy power doth reach me in so many ways.
Thou Who in one the universe dost bind,
Passest through all the channels of my mind;
The sun of thought, across the farthest brink
Of consciousness Thou sendest me Thy rays;
Nor drawest them in when lost in sleep I sink.”
in joy,
king
construction continued
Crew was observed flying in this morning to resume work on the residence outside the guest room window. Construction had halted on 31 March due to (an un-named neighbor : ) having people come spend the day digging up the stumps in his back yard.
When interviewed about the prospect of raising another family, Mrs. B. Bird was asked if she had a preference for having boys or…chicks. She replied she merely hoped they would be healthy, and sufficiently protected from ‘that whacko King Davis and his pesky camera.’ The person in question was reached for comment regarding her remark, and simply stated, ‘It’s a dirty job, but God is gracious and provides according to the need.’
forest fairy
For some time i've wanted to try this shot: a young dancer, leaping between rows of planted pine. Lilli-Anne obliged me, and i think she reached new heights : )
We did try some other things, hoping to make use of (her wonderful hair, and) the sun before it went to bed.
At its appointed time though, the sun did just that...
but not before i was allowed a quick wink "good night." Thanks to Lilli-Anne and Jessica, and to Kenny for supplying a long hoped-for 'forest.'
