While in Lexington, Kentucky last week I visited the Farmers Market in downtown Lexington. Here are a few snapshots.
It was concentrated in the block-long “Fifth Third Pavilion” but it spread out around the block and was filled with happy shoppers.
This corn was being sold from the back of a beautifully restored 1948 International truck.
This pooch was just trying to see what was going on, but staying out of the way.
Color everywhere …
Malinda and I just returned from a week in Lexington, Kentucky. Malinda was attending a conference about theatre in Education. I went along for the ride mainly for the opportunity for a change of scenery.
Lexington is a very vibrant and modern city, but with a healthy respect for tradition. The first thing I noticed was how they opted to restore old buildings rather than just knock them down and replace them. I love good architecture and that includes big modern structures but I really appreciate when people choose to maintain and restore older structures that have wonderful character and history.
Lexington is not without its share of interesting people. If you ever get to Lexington, look up Greg Capillo of Sprocket Jockeys. I met him while he was hanging out at the Saturday Farmers’ Market. Greg will provide a unique tour of the historic cityscape with his human-powered taxi.
More about my interesting visit to Kentucky in future posts.
I’ve sometimes said that if I saw another photograph of the Glade Creek grist mill in Babcock State Park I would scream. I keep seeing them but thus far I have restrained myself.
I visited the park a couple of years ago and made some photographs, none of which excited me. When I was down in that area last Monday, my route took me right by the main entrance, so I thought I would take another look. Naturally, when I got to the mill, I had to take some shots. With a subject like this, I feel I must at least come up with a different treatment from what has become a cliche shot. I happened to have my Nikon D200 converted for infrared with me so that was the camera of choice.
A while back I posted a discussion of IR photography here.
Today I had another shoot at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, WV. I spent most of the afternoon photographing areas that I missed in previous trips.
I am too tired to drive home tonight so I’m camped out in the local Super 8. But not too tired to look through the images and do a quick and dirty workup of a few of them in Lightroom. So here are some preliminary results from todays outing.
I am pleased to be sharing the Allegany Arts Council’s Saville Gallery in Cumberland, Maryland with Penny Knobel-Besa for “Two Visions” two-person exhibit of black and white photography. Penny is a widely exhibited artist and teacher who lives in Allegany County.
I will be at the gallery for the opening reception this coming Saturday, July 21, from 6-8pm.
I will be showing an encore exhibit of my “Forgotten Places: North Dakota” and I am excited about reaching a new audience for this work. If you missed the exhibit at the Delaplaine Center in Frederick or the Red Brick Gallery in Martinsburg, you can catch it at the Saville Gallery until August 19.
I visited Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park in October 2007. One of my favorite images from that visit was of a dead tree on one of the overlooks. I always thought that there was a heroic quality about this tree. Even as the tree has lost its ability to produce leaves and grow, it stood tall against the elements at 3,200 feet above sea level.
“Tree on the Overlook” October, 2007
Last Monday, July 2, 2011, I visited Skyline Drive again and much to my surprise, I came across the same tree. The surprise was that I recognized the tree and the scene immediately. It was not so surprising that nearly four years later the elements have taken their toll. Still, the tree hangs on and is perhaps even more elegant against the sky.
“Tree on the Overlook #2” July, 2011
I think we can all identify with this to one degree or another. Time eventually takes a toll on all of us so I think the lesson is to make the best of things while we can.
July, 2011
One way to get away from the heat is to go to higher elevations. The other day I took a ride down to Shenandoah National Park and drove the southern 65 miles of Skyline Drive.
The only other time in recent memory that I went there was in October 2007 and then the views were less than spectacular due to heavy haze. This time the haze was much less with clear sky and nice puffy clouds.
The view looking west across the Shenandoah Valley from about 3,177 feet elevation.
There were times when it was hard to believe that this place was on the edge of one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country.
Looking east (towards Washington) from almost 3,500 feet the mountains in the distance seemed to go on forever.
As I worked my way along the drive, I started to notice some unusual haze, what turned out to be smoke from forest fires in the valley. The fires were reportedly started by lightning strikes earlier in the week.
At one of the overlooks it was quite obvious what was happening and the smell of smoke was in the air.
In spite of the rapid growth and increased urbanization in Berkeley County, there are still working farms here. I drive by these farms almost daily and I have always thought they would be attractive subjects in the right light.
Recently there have been some really wonderful days – sunny and not too hot, with great clouds. The clear air with these skies are uncommon during the summer with the region’s typical “hazy, hot & humid. Here are a few images that took advantage of clear air and beautiful clouds, all within a few miles of home.
I was walking around Shepherdstown a couple of weeks ago looking for something to photograph just after sunset. The light was going fast so I looked to some of the stores’ windows to see what might be there.
“Pizza”
“Lost Dog”
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Light, Shadow, Form, and Texture 