Soon, this bud will explode into a brilliant red bloom. I like poppies. To me, they represent history on a grand scale. From Afgani poppy fields to old paraplegic men selling paper poppies on memorial day, the poppy has witnessed and participated in much of our past & even more of our future. However, it's those men and their sacrifices that haunt my thoughts when I see poppies. I always have time and pocket change enough for those men selling paper poppies.
The day has been cool and wet with a soft drizzling rain. Just water enough to keep you inside but not enough to keep you from running outside for a quick shot of the water drops. The plant is called Silver Mound and it is gorgeous on its own. Throw in some water and you get sparkling diamonds of moisture.
I have a weakness for good silhouettes and good reflections. Combine them together and I am one happy photographer. In this image, I like the way the colors go from subtle pinks on the left to vivid blues on the right. However, never one to leave good enough alone, I also wondered if the image would make a good black and white. Is this an image about interesting colors or is this an image about light and luminance?
The good news is that the switch from color to B&W is something that can be done in moments. Better yet, the conversion does not have to be permanent and you can just as easily switch back. When faced by curiosity, let yourself go. Even if you prefer the previous image (as I do here), try it out. You have nothing to loose and you might find that your instincts were right.
Springfield, Ohio has a many claims to fame. Home to John Legend, International Harvester, Jonathan Winters, Colliers magazine, and my personal favorite Lillian Gish. She started off in the silent era and her career stretched until just before her death with "The Whales of August"
I always thought that she was a beautiful woman in her youth and a gorgeous human being in her senior years. In her will, she created the Dorothy and Lillian Gish prize, awarding annual prizes to those in the arts.
What I didn't know until recently was that she had a role in the controversial film "Birth of a Nation" at the beginning of her career.
Springfield never ceases to amaze me with its many surprises. Yes, it is a city that has seen better times however, it is also a city with deep and rich roots in manufacturing, history, and the arts.
A blank sign is like a blank canvas or a blank sheet of paper. The choices are wide open and you can put anything you want on it. You could advertise a product or service. You could make a statement to guide and educate your fellow human beings. You could boast of your accomplishments or just post your opinion.
A blank sign is a powerful thing indeed. What would you put on this blank sign? Tell me what you would put on the sign by using the comments and I will create the sign for you and post it here. If you would like to give sign making a try on your own, click on the image above and download the sign from flikr. Add your own content and show us what you can do by posting your image in the comments for this blog post. Go ahead, this is your big opportunity to speak your mind and communicate with the world. What are you waiting for?
Here is sign number one:
Sign number two:
We don't know why Dooley and Mac agreed to the dare. Fifteen minutes in the middle of the road was a lot of time not to flinch. If they did flinch, the time would start all over again. They huddled together, watching the oncoming cars with their roaring engines and belching tail pipes.
Their friends cheered them on from the side of the road and razzed them the one time they flinched four minutes into their first try. On the second try, they were victorious and were led around the pond in a loud procession of quacking and honking.
When Dooley got home, the ducks playing on the pond could hear his mother yelling.. "If all of the other ducks jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?" Dooley didn't care, his mother could quack all day. After all, this is how legends began.
Very few plants bring back childhood memories for me. This one does. Milkweed. As a kid, we would break off the green stems and have mock fights with them. The McMurdo, Karr, and McCarthy kids were hellions & whacking each other with milkweed and dried cat o nine tails was right up our alley. The sticky white sap from the milkweed would get all over us and the silky seeds from the cat tails would fly everywhere.
I could share a lot of stories of the trouble that we collectively generated as kids but, those stories should be savored at another time. Let's just say that it is a good thing that the local police sergeant was a family friend.
On our back patio, we have the most wonderful fountain. My father made it by mounting an old hand pump to half of a wooden barrel. It has been a fixture on our patio for years. What I love most about the fountain is the sound of the water pouring into the barrel below.
The sound relaxes me. I can hear it from anyplace in the house when quiet descends on our home. You can read to that sound and you can think to that sound.
To do right by the fountain, I waited until the sun began to set and got on my hands and knees to shoot toward the light. I shot about a dozen shots until I had it just the way I wanted it. I hope you find the image as soothing as the flowing water has been to our lives.
Geese and ducks swimming at a local pond remind me of a sailing regatta that Josh and I once saw on lake Thun in Switzerland.
tim mcmurdo 