Category: Miscellaneous

What I learned today by browsing the American Kennel Club website:
English Setters have white coats intermingled with darker hairs resulting in markings called “belton”.  Belton markings can be orange, tri-color, blue, lemon, or liver in color.  That’s a word I’ve never heard before – “belton”.   Belton is a village where the breed’s founder, Edward Laverack, liked to hunt, so that’s where the term originated.  Now,  how would you use that in a sentence?  Hmm….next time I am at a dog show I could say, “My, what pretty belton you have!”  Is that it?  Um…probably not.  I’ll have to work on that!  🙂 

I know I write this every time I post images from Lancaster County, Pa., but I just love the horse and buggies clip clopping along the narrow winding roads.  It’s not unusual to see the buggies ‘parked’ outside of the homes of Amish families, but it is feels awkward stopping to photograph them – I feel so “touristy”.  As luck would have it I saw this buggy inside of a barn as I was driving through the country and I was able to just stop and grab a quick shot.  It feels like a black and white image except for the grass and red ‘triangle’ that is always found on the back of the buggies.  I love the shapes found in this composition – the lines in the roof and on the doors, the rectangles in the cement blocks, and the circles of the wagon wheels.  This image was very minimally processed in Photoshop – just some contrast and sharpening.

I guess I’m not your typical car show spectator.  Most of the folks there are really into cars.  I mean, they know the model, the year, if the car has any non-original parts, whether it’s in good condition or not, etc.  As for me?  I’m lucky I can tell the difference between a Volkswagon and a Corvette!  I am SO not a car person!  I absolutely do scrutinize the cars, though…but from a photographic perspective.  I’m looking for great colors, shapes, lines, angles, reflections, etc.  I love it when a car owner comes over to me and starts to explain all about the car, type of engine, wheels, etc.  Then they notice my blank stare and I have to explain that I’m just into photography.  Oh well!  Some of the reflections are very fun to photograph!  I can’t even tell what color this car is because there is so much reflection from the car parked next door.  Don’t ask me what KIND of car it is because I’ll just tell you that “it’s a red one!”  That’s the best I can do!  🙂

I never know what to expect when I head down to the lake with my camera.  Sometimes there are more people than I would like.  Other times there are many boats on the water causing lots of ripples [which can be good or bad].  Other times it’s either too sunny or not sunny enough.  This particular evening I visited twice.  The first time, around 5:30 PM, there were still a lot of swimmers and boats on the water.  I decided to leave and come back.  At around 7:00 or 7:30 I returned and found some nice light, soft movement in the water [but not too much], and a lot less people.   I pretty much had the docks to myself … yay!   I love the colors and patterns in the water in this image.   There always seems to be something worth photographing at the lake! 

Last week I wandered around my neighborhood with my camera and a single lens….the Canon 135mm f/2.8.  When I got to the beach I saw some children building a sandcastle.  Nearby was this pair of pink flip flops.  This scene just says “summer” to me.  The evening sun was casting a glow on the sand that highlighted the flip flops and I love the pink color.  When I returned after my walk, the children as well as the flip flops were gone.  I guess I arrived at just the right time to catch this shot.