My year in pictures.

In January: Dakota found her place in the sun.

 

 Both Faceboo and Google+ presented me with "My Year in Pictures". I enjoyed them both and had a few "Oh yeah !" moments but I decided to do my own version to share. 

After all - it was MY year and My pictures and MY memories. I hope you enjoy seeing them (again) as much as I did.

Baby Luke joined the party in February.

In March we went to Cumberland Falls - and I started to play with toys and tools to process my pictures.

In April I became a sketchguru.
At least on every #sketchgurusaturday that is.

I took one of my favorite shots ever in may. It was raining
up on Buck Mountain. SOOC which means
straight out of camera - no post processing!

It rained a bit in June too. Another SOOC shot.

One day in July this spring house caught my eye.

Captain Luke and Dad out on Dale Hollow. Leo was at the helm.

And the winner is... Not me. Not even an honorable mention.
I shot this at the fair for my Photo Scavenger Hunt.

October Train Excursion. Another one of my favorites.

In Monterey for a dinner theater night with two of my favorite women.
(Hope and her Mamma) 

I took a lot of good ones in December but this one just came out so nice. Thanks to the Veterans Administration for taking such good care of me. 
Well, there you have it. My version of it. I hope your 2014 was as good as mine was. I hope your 2015 is even better.

The Pull of the Tractor

I know that opposites are supposed to attract. Why then, am I drawn to old rusty broken down stuff.

I love the chain-linked steering.

 This is where the farmer stood and steered. That door with the lever is where he'd toss is some wood. (or coal) I'll bet it was pretty toasty standing right up against the firebox.






Here's a view of the single cylinder engine. I'm guessing that the half moon shaped block of wood on the other side was the clutch.

Probably the pressure gauge ? 

Aren't you glad your car doesn't steer with one of these ? 

What the heck. I needed to get some gas anyway - and there was this tasty looking tractor...

City Lake Falls Revisited

It's been raining for like two weeks off and on, so I thought a trip back to City Lake Falls was in order. 

 Of course it rained the whole time I was there. The light was lousy and I got chilled to the bone, but I'd do it again in a flash. I'm even thinking about going back about midwinter to see if it freezes up.

Summer Photo Hunt

"2014 SUMMER-SENSATIONAL SCAVENGER HUNT"

First a bit of background. 

I have been bitten by the "shutter bug". Taking pictures is the easy part. Finding an audience is a bit harder. Sure there are some folks who "like" some of your pictures and even a few here and there who actually like you. Finding people (who aren't in the pictures) that want to see your stuff, though ? That's priceless.

So I hunt. 

About 500 of my besties get together and compete for bragging rights while chasing down light and trying to put on a magic show and improve their skills. Is it truly a "scavenger hunt" ? Well, yes and no. It's that and more. Some of these guys stage incredible scenes with props and gizmos and gadgets and stuff that just blow your mind. Others, like me for the most part, like to hunt for what's out there, rather than make it up. 

We are all trying to do the same thing though. We want to show you what we see. Not just what is there but what we see when we look at it. Sometimes we do and most times we don't but that's the idea. If you see something different, that's part of the plan too. As long as you get to see something different, we've done something. 

So- Now For Something Completely Different : My Album

Please feel invited to comment. Good. bad or whatever comes to mind. Questions, suggestions and impressions would be very nice, Thank You in advance.

Ice Cream Cone

Your City

Perfect Summer Day

Red Fruit

Worst Habit

The Letter "B"

Childhood Memory

Sour

Peace

Pig

So There's my ten pictures. The Captions are the words I was hunting and I hope you enjoy them. Even more so though, I hope they get to to see something about this summer. I hope they get you to comment too. What do you see ? How would you have done it different ?  

Here is my album from the "HUNT". The word I was hunting for should be the name…

Here is my album from the "HUNT". The word I was hunting for should be the name…:



'via Blog this'

*this is an expereiment - it probably won't work and I'll have to do some work...



I hate it when that happens.

                             Waterloo Falls

 My Obsession With Falling Water

I grew up in SoFla where everything is pretty much flat. There are still a few scenic rivers and of course there is always the beach but really, there is just nothing like a good waterfall.

Luckily, I now live in a place where there are plenty of them. Some of them are small, like City Lake Falls and some are really big like Burgess Falls but there are probably a dozen (or more) within a half hour drive from my house.

Here's the story of how I found this one:

I found a great website called Waterfall Picture Guide with reviews and of course pictures and videos of waterfalls in several states. They even have an app for that called Waterfall Finder that allows you to search by "nearest". (Android only - sorry) Which is how I found my way to Waterloo Falls. Most of the locals don't even know about this one !

The Map

The App

I really loved this particular waterfall because it was close to home. About 20 minutes - though you do have to trust the GPS on this one (LOL) and also because you can park right next to the water. It's only a two minute walk to where I took most of these. I do want to go back when the weather is better though and hike the 3-4 minutes down to the base.

Here's all the blog pix if you're in a tl,dr kind of mood.

Almost there 

cool bridge

view from the bridge

Not even quite there yet and it's looking                  cool !
So- I crossed this bridge and the app told me to turn down this dirt road. It looked like somebody's driveway. Then I had to drive right by a couple of houses and down what looked almost like a jeep trail. Then suddenly There's a wide spot or two to pull off the "road" and - well, see for yourself...

A phone shot from the truck

It was simply gorgeous. The Black-Eyed Susans were everywhere and the trail to the falls was short and sweet.

See - so peaceful and pretty

Waterloo Falls - Overton County TN

The rest of the pictures are my artsy attempts but I'll leave a link at the end to the originals

You just have to have one in B&W

Okay - so maybe I got a little carried away with the artsy stuff ?

No cameras actually got wet for this shot.

Here's a link to the originals (and then some)

I hoped you enjoyed this. I had a blast going, shooting and putting it together.