Out of Our Minds

Trust

sambo — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 01:43:20 +0000

I’ve been wandering out into the pasture just to visit the horses at RHF all summer long. If I drive by the farm and the guys are in the pasture, many times I stop and say hello with a carrot and a scratch or two. Last spring I’d have to just about beg them to come get a treat, much less stick around for some lovin’. Gail told me I’d have to earn their trust, but once I had it, there was nothing better. So I worked on ‘em all summer, letting out a shrill whistle every time went into the pasture.

Today I wanted to see if my hard work would pay off. Instead of going to the horses, I stood at the end of the pasture and whistled my good ‘ole “here’s the old dude with the carrots and a scratch” whistle. When I saw Prophet’s head come up, I whistled again and I knew he recognized the sound. When he started moving, Miracle decided he wasn’t to be left behind and the race was on…

Not only did they come, they stuck around like they were glad to see me. And when I walked back to the barn, they followed. Kinda like they trusted me as their friend. Just like I trust them as mine. Ain’t nothing better.

I swear, the way these critters roll in the mud you would think they’re part hog.

Big Claremont Christmas parade coming up this Saturday. Heaven is pulling the carriage all fancied up and carrying the Grand Marshal, the Honorable Ned Jarret. Cindy and I are pulling a carriage all fancied up and carrying the Honorable Heaven’s…er…um…solid discharge, if ya know what I mean. Let’s hope he has a light breakfast…

—Sam

The Secret

sambo — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 03:47:17 +0000

There are so many photographers I find inspiration from these days. Moose Peterson, Guy Tal, and Darwin Wiggett are but a few that I find have the same philosophies about landscape photography that I have. All of ‘em talk about the sacrifices and hardships they go through to get the “unique” landscape image. Really what they are all saying is this:

The best way to get a unique landscape image is to take it when no one else will.

Pretty simple when you say it real fast. A bit tougher to stand in a bitter winter wind to get a shot of a place that has been photographed a gazillion times before.

But never during a rapidly approaching winter cold front that turns a mundane scene into an image that makes you want to run for a hot toddy.

Well, it made me run for one…

—Sam

How Time Flies

sambo — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 01:14:45 +0000

Long, long, time between posts. Probably a record. No excuses, just bigger names on the other lines if ya know what I mean. Anyway, to those that kept coming back to see the same old junk (both of you), I apologize and offer some new junk…

November is a “tween” kinda month. Not quite winter, but not quite fall either. There is still some color when the sky is right and the winter wheat is just coming up…

Then again, these kinda clouds just scream for some kind of desolate, dark image…

On the lighter side…

I see these trees everyday on the way home from work. At one time this land was a thriving woodland, full of 100 year old oaks and home to more critters than you could count. But hard times (or greed) forced the timber to be worth too much to be left alone. The loggers left surprisingly little behind, but these two trees survived for some reason. I always thought the identical shapes kinda made them look like father and son.

More sooner than later, I promise. Thanks for hanging in there…

–Sam

A Walk in the Park

sambo — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 02:27:59 +0000

Still trying out this Live Writer program as a way to speed up the posting process, thus maybe, just maybe allowing time for more ramblings and images? We’ll see, the jury is still out on it…

Went back through the recent archives to see if I could find anything that I may have missed on the first cut. I do that from time to time. Sometimes a fresh outlook is needed to really see an image. I took all of these around Bass Lake in Blowing Rock earlier this fall. At first glance I really didn’t like any of them. I guess they kind grew on me.

To be honest, neither of the above are really stunning, and could be a bit bland since there is not an abundance of color. But the lighting and light shinning on the right things in the images carry them.

I really did plan this shot. I thought the composition needed an important “third element” . So all I did was wait a few minutes till I got the right walkers in the right position and bingo! A walk in the park…

—Sam

POTD

sambo — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 01:40:11 +0000

Just a quick little update since I’ve been neglecting this poor little blog so much. My brother David over at Life’s Little Burps told me all about this little program that does everything but write the blog itself. Well, you can have everything, but I’m giving it a try anyway.

Lots been goin’ on since the last post. Times and seasons are a changing, and the landscape is a rainbow of colors right now. Bella and I snuck off to the Blue Ridge Parkway a couple of weeks ago. It was so pretty, all ya had to do was push the button…

A classic shot of the Linn Cove Viaduct. The foreground trees are encroaching more and more into the photo as the years pass. A 3 by 3 feet area on a rock twenty feet high is about the only place to get a decent composition.

I’ve been a member over at Betterphoto.com for a number of years now, entering a few photos each month in their photo contest. A huge site with over 60,000 photos entered each month from all over the world. Like all good photography sites, they pick what they consider an outstanding photo each day to be the “Photo of the Day”. It’s quite an honor that I’ve been lucky enough to receive 4 times now. The latest was this past Monday, and quite a surprise. It is one of my very favorite photos of Murrays’ Mill and I’m thrilled it got some recognition. Shot early before dawn, I’ve never seen all the lights on in the mill before.

More sooner than later I hope…

—Sam

The More I Practice

sambo — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 01:22:40 +0000

“The more I practice, the luckier I get.” That’s what I thought Gary Player (the famous golfer) once said. Doing a little research finds that a whole bunch of folks said it at one time or another. So I don’t mind saying it here one more time. In landscape photography you have to be lucky, not doubt about it. Almost nothing is in your control, all you can do is prepare and hope to get, well, lucky. It’s the preparation part that gets most folks.

I always have the camera in the car, and many times me and the gals will pack up the wagon and journey through the country, just looking for neat stuff. Always in the evenings when the light is the best, we wander this way and that, chasing the light and solving the world’s problems. The trick is to see the image from a moving vehicle, stop, (go back), find a place to park where I can get out without getting killed, grab my junk, set up and get the shot. All before either you lose the light or in some cases, your welcome (like this time). So I really had to practice to get even one shot. I missed more great drive by photos than I could ever count just because I couldn’t figure out how to take the shot fast enough.

The soybeans turning yellow in the fields is a sure sign fall is right around the corner. The fields have gone from a dull green to a brilliant yellow, and when the sun kisses them just right they are as pretty as any field of flowers. I found this tree standing proud just beside highway NC64, not far from Statesville. Luckily a school was just across the road, so I could park without getting me or my companions run over. The light was sinking so fast, I really had to move quick to get into a position with the right lens to get the shot that was screaming in my brain.

I almost missed it…

But I got lucky.

Speaking of lucky, maybe we’ll be just that over at Coolphotoblogs. We entered their weekly challenge, so head over and take a look. You WILL see some of the very best photoblogs on the planet.

—Sam

Drive by Shooting

sambo — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 01:50:20 +0000

Ok, so the iPhone iPhoto of the day didn’t work out so hot. It’s still tough to get time to make a post, but I’m determined not to let this thing die yet. So more posts = fewer words. I’m not cut out to write a long entry. I tend to agonize over every word so it ends up taking me half the night to get something out. So let’s try it like this. Short and sweet.

More barn hunting this evening with my gals. I used the curve and the fence shadows to lead the eye to the barn.

Cows sure are friendly critters. Topaz Adjust brought out some detail.

There, that wasn’t too painful, now was it?

—Sam

iPhone iPhoto of the Day (It’s Here!)

sambo — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 01:55:47 +0000

They came today. I guess I’m commited. Or need to be…

More later. We’re really gearing up for our Farm Festival at Rising Hope Farms.

—Sam

iPhone iPhoto of the Day (Fence line)

sambo — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 01:57:12 +0000

Only iPhone shot I had all day. Silver Efex Pro to the rescue!

—Sam

iPhone iPhoto of the Day(s)

sambo — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 02:07:41 +0000

Been a little busy so they’re late, but here we go.

Yesterday Bella got into a little discussion with another dog in the parking lot…

And today we went to McGuire’s Pub for lunch. I get a lot of strange looks when I’m there for some reason…

–Sam