March 2013 – Page 2 – tim mcmurdo

spring is springing up all around us

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Tim McMurdo

I spent a little bit of time walking around the yard this weekend and noticed that the spring bulbs are pushing up out of the ground. Plants like these surpriise lilies are well on their way.

These hyacinths are up as well. The crokus are above ground and the daffodils and tulips can't be very far behind. I am loving all of those saturated and vivid spring greens. After months of winter grey, the color makes a big impression on me. It's like getting a nice glass of cold water after walking through the desert. Life is good.

Have a great week all of you fine folks.

sabi and betty take a time out

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Tim McMurdo

This is one of those shots that you see right away. I looked up and saw Sabi sitting on the edge of the cabinet and then saw Betty sitting by the table and thought "I need to get this one". Luckily, I was packing my camera gear with a mind to take a ride on this gorgeous day.

Sabi did a rare thing and actually looked into the camera. Snap, it was in the can. Sometimes taking a shot turns out just the way you envisioned it. Even with cats.

Have a fantastic Saturday folks.

Tim

rust and decay

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Tim McMurdo

Rusty Door and Decay

I’ve written about Springfield’s urban decay a few times in the past. To be sure, there is plenty of it. However, the city is tearing the old buildings down as fast as they can. New hospitals, skating rinks, and other buildings are going up in place of the old brick factories. I will miss them when they are gone. To me, the old buildings are a photographer’s dream come true. I suppose that there really is no stopping progress.

Have a nice Friday folks. The weekend starts in just a few hours.

cold winter stream

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Tim McMurdo

After shooting the pre-sunrise in the cemetery at Mt. Tabor on Sunday morning, we rambled the back roads for a while as we headed into town for breakfast. This stream presented a pretty scene, so we stopped for a few shots. We didn't stay long because we were still cold from the morning's shoot and wanted some hot food in our bellies. Life is not so bad at all.

Have a wonderfully productive Wednesday.

silently awaiting the dawn

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Tim McMurdo

Saturday morning, my friend Jim Nash and I braved the sub-freezing winds to visit Mt. Tabor at sunrise. Cold does not begin to describe our experience.

We'd braved similar cold the Saturday before, but the clouds and falling snow ensured that there was no dawn to see. This time, we only had to deal with the cold. The result was a series of shots showing the 19th century cemetery's head stones highlighted by the brightening skies. These two were my favorites.

Will they go into my annual book of favorite images? Probably not. In this case, it was the experience that is memorable, not the images.

a little color for a rainy monday morning

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Tim McMurdo

Monday's are hard enough without having to deal with rainy skies. Here is a splash of color from my weekend. When the gray skies beging to get to you, just stare at these images for a feew minutes and let the color seep into your soul.

Who new that Monet, Degas, Cassat, and a handful of other impressionist artists were so accessable?

I know that you are more used to seeing muted colors from me, when you see me post color at all. However, I love great color when I see it. Driving down the street and being surprised made my Saturday morning. I hope it makes your Monday morning a bright and cheerful one. Have a fantastic week.

a pair of cows beats a full house

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Tim McMurdo

A pair of cows beats a full house

You never know what you will take home after a day of shooting. I certainly didn’t expect to discover that this photo of two cows would be my favorite shout from yesterday’s outing. Life is good when there are nice surprises like this one.

Have a wonderful Sunday folks. Rest before next week kicks in.

schoolhouse rock

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Tim McMurdo

Schoolhouse on the Ohio back roads.

This early one room schoolhouse was found one Saturday morning as I desperately searched for a break in the clouds. I really wanted to capture a farmscape. However, I’m very happy I found the school instead. We have a lot of these schools here in Ohio. Usually they’ve been converted into a small home, are being used as a storage building, or are just falling down. This is the first example that I have seen withe the belfry still in place. It might be crooked, but it’s still there.

No windows, it must have been dark and oppressive inside. Still, I am certain that many thousands of children received a solid, no frills, education while attending here.

Have a great Saturday.

the pretty side of winter

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Tim McMurdo

In my last post, I complained about the amount of snow we had gotten. In this post, I will brag about how beautiful the snow we had gotten looks. You see, this is part of snow's mystique. I hate shoveling it and I hate driving in it, but I love looking at it. I am a man after all and this is generally how we feel about snow. See, I just used the word "feel", so I must not be that bad. I am in touch with my feelings and I am only just a little uncomfortable.

As you can see, snow is rather pretty. Especially this type of heavy wet snow. It piles up on top of everything. My friend Pati is from The Dakota Territories and pines for the snow when we don't get it. I think I saw her making snow angels in the parking lot at work when I arrived. That woman is not right in the head. That, in turn, is part of the reason we are friends.

Wednesday evening, on my way home from work, I came across these scenes at Leffels Creek, in my home town of Springfield, Ohio. I thought you might like to see them. Escpecially friends from sub-tropical Australia. You might have monsoon rains, but for good or bad, we have snow.

its still winter

long cold walk

its still winter

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Tim McMurdo

Here in Ohio, the month of March is a little strange. Today we got ten inches of heavy wet snow dumped on us, but it is supposed to melt quickly and be sunny and in the mid fifties by the weekend. the good news is that by April we will settle into a regular routine of trading rainy days for sunny days and that by the end of May, summer will be here to stay. In just a few weeks, I'll be looking for the crocus to pop their blooms above the ground for the first time.

Month: March 2013