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Friday, December 8, 2006 We had a small celebration for Mom and Dad's 50th (Golden) Wedding Anniversary. With children and grandchildren around them, each read a piece they'd written about the occasion. Dad reflected on all the years and his pride for his wife and children, and Mom remembered the wedding day and honeymoon. We learned some new things about our parents that night, and we are more endeared to them than ever. They were married at First Christian Church in Columbus, Indiana on December 7, 1956.
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Here is my favorite crop of the photo taken yesterday. Wide panoramas are always a challenge to frame and display without sacrificing vertical size, so we're considering the above as a 40x30 inch print. Tuesday, December 5, 2006
A bend in the Nolichucky River near Erwin, Tennessee presses against a rock cornice known locally as "Devil's Looking Glass" (see USGS topography map for location at topozone.com). This is an extreme 180° panorama, taken in the river, comprised of 135 photographs (five rows of twenty-seven images, ISO 100, 1/80th @ f/8). The digial images were assembled using AutoPano Pro. It took a computer over five hours to complete this full resolution composite. The final size is a whopping 23,250 x 9725 (226,106,250) pixels, or 226 megapixels. Sunday, November 26, 2006
This is another effort from Friday evening at Beauty Spot. Nightfall is that time when the colors fade from the earth into the sky, and an effect called "afterglow" appears on the horizon. While the setting sun was far too intense to photograph (just not enough atmospheric haze, in spite of my and my brother's collective optimism), the minutes after sunset were open season. The moon added considerable charm to the shot. Saturday, November 25, 2006 I've spent much of the last week in Unicoi County creating scenic images for a special project. It is an intriguing place, a valley bound by the high Unaka mountains to the south and the formidable Buffalo Mountain range to the north. The long, rolling valley between the ranges contains the towns of Unicoi and Erwin. This is the perfect time of year for this project. The photos will be displayed in an environment of blue, green, and gold shades and stone. Yesterday, I was blessed to spend some time in the afternoon and evening shooting with my older brother Doug. We photographed the sunset and afterglow on Beauty Spot, a 4,400 foot peak on the North Carolina boundary of Unicoi County. While I derived my inspiration for photography from the work done by my grandfather and father (we hope someday to post their work online), Doug was my mentor. He too has crossed over to the digital realm.
Sometimes you set out to create one kind of photo (in yesterday's case, a sunset), but you come away with something else. The shot (above) of stunted, windswept trees is a case in point. I want so bad to tell you what I think the trees are doing, but I'm not supposed to interpret my own work; instead, look long and hard at the scene and let your imagination go. One of the county's greatest attractions are its thirty-some waterfalls (see list). Red Fork Falls, pictured at right, drops sixty feet in its first cascade (with another seven or so cascades downstream). I was especially attracted to the lush greenery and moss, sustained by a persistent mist. I'm finding, in my exploration of this county, a natural beauty right up there with any national park I've visited. Thursday, November 23, 2006
Grandma and Grandpa really had their hands full today with our three sets of triplets visiting for Thanksgiving. This is an example of what one can do with any digital camera, a tripod, and PhotoShop. (It helps to have strong lighting in the room so you don't have to use the on-camera flash.) On the photo forums, this technique is often referred to as "multiplicity". The kids thought I was crazy to have them moving around the room so much. After seeing the finished product, now they think I'm silly. Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Unaka Mountain stands frosted above Limestone Cove. With an altitude of 5,190 feet, it is Tennessee's 29th highest summit. Dawn's first light adds a delicate golden touch to this chilly blue morning. Saturday, November 18, 2006
Rocky Fork, a ten thousand acre forest managed for many years by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, is privately owned land. However, the owners may sell the property to developers, who, according to what I can read online, want to create a gated resort community here. This has spurred a grass roots effort to preserve Rocky Fork (see saverockyfork.org). My day ended somewhat prematurely. I stopped at an I-26 overlook only to lock my keys in the car. Sigh. Everyone who drives knows the feeling. You know you'll get back in the car, you just don't know if it will be after the stars come out. Anyway, I breathed a prayer (Psalm 121), had a MacGyver moment and took apart one of the wiper blades to make a lock pick. I could work the bent-up blade close to the door lock, but it couldn't grip it (too slippery). Then a college-aged fellow named Chris appeared. I asked if he had a coat hanger (a common tool for breaking into cars), and he found a plastic one in his car. But Chris was relentless and found another motorist who had a hand mattock and a length of electric wire. My first thought was to use the mattock to break the window (I apologize to Rick, my father-in-law who loaned me this Geo Tracker; Rick, read on, things worked out). Chris used the mattock to gently pry the door frame open so I could slip the wire around the door lock knob, and voilą! Praise the Lord! It turned out that Chris was traveling the other way on I-26 and felt compelled to turn around to help someone--just a sense he had from the Lord. He's a Belmont University student and works on a ski patrol for an area resort. When I left, he was walking uphill to the overlook to study his Bible. I thank God for Chris, and I thank God that there are people his age that still call on the name of the Lord. Monday, November 13, 2006
Anna writes her name (at three and three-quarters years old), and parents fall on the floor. You see, nobody has taught her how to do this. Now she's over at the piano, and she's changed her tune from random clanging to deliberate note picking. Saturday, November 11, 2006
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
I don't know what the record is for most miles on a pickup truck is. If anyone can find out, I'd like to know. I do hope that my next Toyota pickup (should there be one in my future) is engineered and built as well as this 1990 one was. Sunday, October 15, 2006 Anna and Erika take to the skies! This summer and fall, we built a perimeter trail around our land, and among the treasures we discovered was this grapevine swinging spot. Both the girls truly enjoy it, and I think it's a wonderful workout for their upper arms. Of course, Erika gives it all she has and likes to swing way out to touch an overhead branch. Our trail has lots of other neat features. In one section, it winds under a rhododendron slick, and in another, we have log steps racing up a steep bank. There is a good variety of maple, oak, pine and other trees to compliment the ferns, vines, wildflowers, and, er, poison ivy and briers. The trail and woods will become an extended classroom for all the kids, and with its constant elevation change, walking it will always be a good workout for me.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Thursday, October 5, 2006
"Smile, everyone, for the picture!" This was the best attempt of four to get a quick snapshot of the grandchildren with their Job grandparents last week. We'll try again next time, and maybe Grandma won't have to tell Anna to look at the camera, Erika won't be watching a NASCAR race, and Tommy, who only glanced up this one time from his thorough exam of a cordless phone, will be more photogenic. Dad gets the award for being most cooperative. I think it's funny that everyone is in this picture is holding something.
Visit Archive for Spring and Summer 2006
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Today I went on an excursion into Unicoi County
to find
some photogenic scenery. Rocky Fork was recommended to me by
a friend living in the county, so after locating it on a USGS
quadrangle, I explored a small bit of this wilderness area. This photo of
some falls on
Rocky Fork Creek was about half a mile upstream from the highway.
In November 1989, I purchased a 1990 model Toyota pickup truck (two wheel drive, five speed,
with A/C). I
was determined to end my habit of trading too soon (having in the 80s run through six other vehicles).
Making good on my pledge to "get my money's worth", today, after 17 years and 350,000 miles, I permanently retired it at
Keith Bowers Auto Sales and Salvage. May it rest in peace (as it becomes an organ donor, I suppose).
Wow, where does one drive 350,000 miles? That's all the way to the moon and forty percent of the way back! In reality, it's over 3,000
round trips from Roan Mountain to Johnson City (safe trips, I might add, with a
huge prayer of
gratitude to God). Big milestones for this truck include three trips out West, a vacation in
northeastern Canada, and a trip to the Gulf coast.
Ultimately, rust
ended the life of this vehicle. I would venture a guess that it
would have lasted at least three more years in another environment, but where we
live, the DOT uses some pretty corrosive chemicals in the winter. We're
glad to have safe roads, of course, but the price is premature aging of
mountain-run vehicles. While examining the undercarriage of the truck, I
could see large chunks of the frame were largely eaten out. The truck bed
was getting thin, maybe too thin to safely stand on, and I already had concerns
about how much weight it could carry without collapsing.
To end the curiosity
of those wondering what drove this decision now, well, two days ago the fan belt
which ran the water pump and alternator snapped on my way home from work.
As I coasted into Elizabethton, I mentally inventoried the tasks needed to shore
things up: replace fan belts, fix cracked windshield, repair brakes, get
new tires, fix the air conditioning (Freon leak), weld right rear leaf spring back to frame, replace timing chain
(likely in 2007), and replace shock absorbers. And that's just the
non-cosmetic stuff I knew about. I didn't expect much trouble from the
engine or transmission (both replaced with rebuilt units in 2003), but still,
the list was long and expensive. Many of these items had been postponed,
but to continue using the truck meant they all would have to be fixed in due
course. I also now question the safety of the vehicle in an accident, what
with much of the frame's design strength sapped by rust, deterioration, and
time.
