Monthly Archives: January 2015

365 Day Photo Challenge 25/365 “Glass House”

25 Sunday Jan 2015

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http://tchphotography.smugmug.com/Chicago/i-Sp5v23W/A

Good morning everyone!!

This picture was taken at a mall in Chicago.  I went on a trip to Chicago a few years ago with the band while my son was in high school.  Whenever I see this picture I’m reminded that our lives are nothing but a glass house.  No matter how we try to hide from the world people can still see us.  My wife is amazed that whenever we go places, near or far, I always meet up with someone that I know.  Even on my trip to Chicago I met up with someone I knew a few years back.  I always joke around that I always have to be seen doing things that I should be doing otherwise someone I know will see me.

Life Goes On!

Still Working on Pictures

24 Saturday Jan 2015

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I’ve been working on pictures all day today and ran across Miss Laura.  She needed a pick me up after going through some crap in her life so I cut her a good deal on some pictures.  She had never “modeled” before so all this was new to her.  We both had a good time working together.

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365 Day Photo Challenge 24/365 “Working on Photo’s”

24 Saturday Jan 2015

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http://tchphotography.smugmug.com/Photo-Shoots/Dana-Micael/i-Q262X6j/A

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Saturday.  I Had a photo shoot cancel on me so I’m spending the day going over past photo’s and trying to tweak them for publication.  This is Dana Micael and she’s from Tuscaloosa a college town about forty-five minutes from here. I met here a couple of years ago and was fortunate enough to work with her a couple of hours.

The weather here has finally cleared and the son is shining but wind the temps are a little chilly.  I’m planning on doing some timelapse photography of the sunset if the clouds permit.

Get out and enjoy this weekend if you can.

Life goes on.

365 Day Photo Challenge Day Twenty-Three “Railroad Park”

23 Friday Jan 2015

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A little disappointed tonight as I have just found out the young lady I was to photography tomorrow at Railroad park has to work and will not be able to make it.  The only days she has available for a shoot are the days I’m either booked or have to work.  This is a common problem with trying to work out a photo shoot.  I wished I made enough money at it so I could quit my full time job and be a photographer full time.  I think that we all know that won’t happen at least until I can retire in three years.

Life goes on.

365 Day Photo Challenge Day Twenty-two “Waiting on Spring”

22 Thursday Jan 2015

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Another dreary, wet day in the deep south.  With the temps hovering in the low to mid forties and low thick clouds that hung around most of the day made this boy wish for spring even more today.  Rain is falling right now and is expected to stick around until early Saturday morning with a chance of light snow before ending.

I have a photo shoot scheduled for Saturday afternoon with a young single mom.  Nothing too fancy just some catalogue work.  I haven’t photographed anyone in quite some time.  Lately all I’ve been able to shoot are some landmarks and my pets.  I hope she isn’t afraid of some cool weather and we get some good shots.

The above photo is from the Botanical Gardens located here in the Birmingham area.  It’s free to enter and has sever genre of flowers and trees to sit and ponder things through.  I really enjoy going there when I have the time to spend.  The last time I was there I nearly had a hawk on top of me.  She was after a squirrel and I got in her way.

365 Day Photo Challenge Day Twenty-One “A Look Back”

21 Wednesday Jan 2015

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Tornado Damage 2011 060_tonemapped

This picture is still hard to look at.  April 27th, 2011 an F-4 Tornado ripped through our little community.  We lost 12 people and over 600 homes that evening.  We were one of the lucky ones.  We had some tree damage and debris in our yard but nothing compared to what happened just down the road.

The young man in the picture was one of my scouts.  His dad is there with him trying to dig out his bedroom.  They found the water bed intact and still full of water while everything else was destroyed.  What your seeing in the picture was in fact two houses.  The storm picked up the neighbors house and flipped it on top of the other.

It’s a miracle more people were not killed in this storm.  One thing that I feel was a huge contributor is that the high school band and 86 of it’s members were on their way to Orlando for a band trip.  If those kids had been home I feel the fatality would have been much higher.

365 Day Photo Challenge Day Twenty “The Straight and Narrow”

20 Tuesday Jan 2015

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Some may disagree with me but I think we have all chosen the path we travel.  At some point in out lives we made a decision that eventually made us into what we are today.  I made several “wrong turns” in my life that I now regret now that I have had a chance to look back.  Some of which I knew once I made the decision I would live to regret it and it would have dire consequences.

It’s how we handle these “wrong turns” in out lives that really matter.  Although I have not been diagnosed but I know I have bouts with depression and severe anxiety attacks.  I guess I should talk to my doctor about it but I really don’t need any more meds.  I try talking to my wife about some of the issues I’m having but she doesn’t understand.  She says she does but there’s really no way she could.

I know ignoring the problems isn’t healthy and I don’t really ignore them.  When ever things get tough at work I try to face the problems head on and deal with them but my question is, am I really handling the problem in the right way? Is there a different way I should be dealing with the problem.

Sorry for the rambling but it’s something that I had to get off my chest.

I admit, I shot her!

19 Monday Jan 2015

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_1TH0499 _1TH0500

With my camera!!.  Come spring time I’ll wish I had got her with something more lethal.  I love most animals and I love to take pictures of them.  What I’d love to shoot and I have never been invited is a deer.  Not with a gun mind you but with a camera.

I’m assuming this is mother Mocking Bird waiting on her mate to bring nesting material.  They have nested in this same tree for over five years now.  I keep calling her a she but in reality I’m not sure what sex this bird is.  Two summers ago I found  feathers of a Mocking bird on the ground next to the tree where they nest.  I figured that the mate would move on but to my amazement there were two nesting last year.

She kept moving around and I found it hard to get a decent shot of her due to the limbs in the tree.  I know my neighbors thought I was crazy but who cares.  I knew what I was doing.

365 Day Photo Challenge Day Nineteen “Almost a Bust”

19 Monday Jan 2015

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Well, today was almost a bust.  I did not get to ride my bicycle today which I am really upset about.  I have a 46 mile bike ride coming up in April and I have got to train for.  Today was a beautiful day with highs in the upper 60’s which was higher than forecasted.  The reason for the bust is that my wife had a doctor’s appointment and I had to stay at home near the phone waiting on the garage door repair man to come by and give us an estimate.  It was really late when he came by and only stayed a few minutes.  After he left I ran got my camera and my tripod and off I went.

As you can see by the photo I was able to capture some amazing shots of our cities court house.  I also got to spend some time at our cities park which is across the street from city hall. I had a time taking the pictures of city hall because every time I snapped the picture a car would drive by and ruin the exposure.  I didn’t stay long because the temps started to drop again and I didn’t bring my jacket.

365 Day Photo Challenge Day Eighteen “HDR 2 CCC Camp”

18 Sunday Jan 2015

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The above picture is at a  Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp located on the grounds of Oak Mt State Park located here in Alabama.  This cabin is part of this camp with was built back in the ’30’s.  In past years it has served as a church camp, a girl scout camp and a boy scout camp.  In 1976, the dining hall burnt to the ground and the camp decided not to rebuild.  Fortunately, a couple of years ago, a group of Boy Scout leaders decided to put life back into this camp and rebuild the cabins.  Through the use of Eagle projects they have rebuilt over 75 percent of all the cabins.  Although there are no plans to rebuild the dining hall, they are planning on using another large building as a smaller dining hall once it get rebuilt.