SOUTH MOUNTAIN CHAPEL ©1972

This lovely chapel is just off the Blue Ridge Parkway near the interesction of Rt 56 and Montebello, VA.

This is a documentary which came about quite by chance, but I was drawn to the beautiful all-wood interior. I photographed it in both black and white and color.

Thanks to a member of the church, I was allowed to go in and complete my photography.

Click on the image for a larger view

ASPEN GROVE ©2009

COLORADO WINTER ON THE GRAND MESA

I am frequently on the lookout for nature's abstracts, and trees have always been among my favorite subjects.

I drove up to the ten thousand feet level of Grand Mesa last January to get a taste of winter at the higher elevations and I spotted this aspen grove on the way in. It was bitter cold and the breeze did not help matters one bit, but I managed to set up my tripod and camera and this is what I ultimately ended up with.

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Click on the image to get a much larger image and you will be able to appreciate the original a little better.

DISCOVER COLORADO NATIONAL MONUMENT

EROSIONAL MONUMENTS

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We recently spent a week near Fruita and made a number of visits into the Colorado National Monument.

When we lived in Wyoming, we made numerous visits south and drove by this park on I-70 but never realized what a lovely park this was until just recently. In fact, it reminds us of the area around Moab, UT. There are a vast number of canyons and monuments to explore.

This is but one of many images I made this past week, and these curious looking blobs of sandstone are called the "Coke Furnace." I made this exposure one afternoon following a frontal system which passed over the area. This time of year, the lighting is low, and it worked well for this image.

For a larger view, click on the image.

LONE OAK ©1980

LONE OAK

Central Virginia

This image was made right at the tail end of a snow storm and everything was perfectly quiet with no breeze.

I used to drive the back roads of Virginia immediately following a snow storm looking for interesting landscapes; trees were among my favorite subjects.

My camera pack consisted of an old Boy Scout pack frame with a green plastic trash basket strapped to it. There was a badly soiled canvas flap on the top to keep the weather out, and it was held in place by two strips cut from an old inner tube. Nothing fancy. In fact it would appear to many as little more than a throwaway.

Having left the scene and putting a good ten miles between me and the oak tree, I happened to look over my shoulder and lo and behold. I did not spot my camera pack on the back seat. It was only then that I realized that I had left it sitting on the highway directly behind the car.

Have you ever experienced sheer panic? Well, at that moment I did, and after finding a place to turn around, I headed back. There were a couple of turn-offs that I wasn't quite sure of, but the landmarks looked familiar.

To add disgust to frustration, I spotted the tree in the distance and there was a dark speck in the center of the opposite lane. The forty-pound pack was still sitting there, right where I left it and people were simply driving around it. I hate to tell anyone how many thousands of dollars of camera equipment was packed into that old ragged pack. I am still convinced that the appearance of that old ratty old back pack saved my gear. I am also thankful than no one hit it with a car or a truck.

To view a larger image, click on the oak tree.

COUNTRY STORE ©2009

Country Store SW CO

This type of subject matter is not normally my cup of tea, but having driven by this old country store so many times, I could no longer resist. I had to photograph it before it disappeared.

I actually made this image much earlier in the year and just a couple of weeks ago we happened to drive that road and I noted that one of the big advertisements was missing. Moral to this store is: if it feels right the first time, photograph it, or it may disappear. Many a good image has been lost because of procrastination.

Just a few days ago, I drove by this old store and noted that several of the colorful signs are now missing. Go figure... jj May 14 2011
click on image for larger view

THE SMELL OF EARLY FALL ©2009

A TOUCH OF FALL IS IN THE AIR

We headed into the Colorado high country yesterday to check out the fall color. At nine thousand feet, many of the trees were just beginning to show color, but I thought the trees that were just beginning to lighten up were breathtaking in their own way.

I also made a number of new images with the golden aspens in full color, but this one was my favorite of the lot.

The sky was mostly cloudy with a frontal system moving in and this landscape lended itself to bright lighting rather than direct sunshine.

My wife suggested that I go back today for another session, but the morning paper had a weather prediction that was stating that the high country above 6,500 ft would be receiving eleven inches of snow later on in the day. This is September 23. I will wait until later in the week when the full color presents itself.

Click on the trees to bring up a larger image

JEKYLL ISLAND GA ©1991

Live Oaks and Fog along the coast of Jekyll Island 1991

This was one of our favorite camping areas during the Christmas/New Years Holiday season. A bike trail took us along the Atlantic shoreline and one morning when the fog was rolling in off the ocean, I took my camera pack along. This has always been one of my most memorable images.

When we decided to move west to Wyoming , we sold our home in Virginia and spent the winter on the island. In April of 1997 we headed west.

To enlarge image, click on the trees

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