Tim McMurdo

gotta scratch!

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Betty! Sometimes I say her name with love and sometimes with frustration. Betty rarely stands still for a photo. Here I wanted to capture a picture with the focus on her paw and her, looking at the camera, in the back ground. She would have none of it and fussed and fidgeted until she finally just started scratching behind her ears. I finally gave up and took the shot as it was.

The entire affair wore Betty out and she decided that she needed to take a nap. She has it so bad. I almost feel sorry for her.

jane and charlie

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Saturday morning, I visited Jane and Charlie in the main pasture. I love the morning light and the way the trees and barn are lit up by the sun.

The morning air was crisp and chilly. Perfect for getting out of bed and greeting the day. So, I packed the gear and headed for the farm. When I first arrived, the sky was still dark. By the time I left, the sun had cleared the horizon. So, I started with the tripod and ended hand held. Not a bad way to spend your Saturday morning.

barn at sunrise

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Once again, I found myself getting up early to shoot the sunrise… someplace. But, where? I could not think of anyplace spectacular that I wanted to go to on a spur of the moment drive and eventually decided that I would visit my favorite location, the Carriage Hill Farm.

After loading the car and a short drive, I arrived and set up to shoot the barn in the twilight. And then it hit me, I had no idea how to go about manually focusing in such dim light. My camera has an electronic view finder, not the traditional optical view finder. I just couldn't see the image through the view finder well enough to focus. I then switched to the 2.75 inch LCD screen on the back of the camera. Still no good results, I just couldn't see well enough. I then switched to auto focus and zoomed out until the roof line along the barn's roof line became defined enough for the camera's auto focus. Not the perfect solution but, it worked well enough to take this shot.

The lesson learned was that I need to practice focusing in low light conditions until I find a process that workes for me. I'll let you know when I find a good way to get sharp images in very dim conditions.

river bend sunrise

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Monday morning, I met with my boss in Cincinnati. He lives in Lexington, KY and I live in Springfield, OH. Cincinnati is half way between us and provides the opportunity for us to meet without driving all day.

We planned to meet at 9:30 but I woke up at my normal time around 5:00AM and decided to just get up and go see the sunrise from Eden Park on Mt. Adams.

When I arrived, there were already two other photographers sitting on benches huddling, in the cold, behind their tripods. We all acknowledged each other and then returned to silence. Dawn is not an occasion to speak, it is a time to sit in wonder and awe. Talking and chatting can come later.

I arrived in time to experience the last of the twilight before the sun peaked it's orange face above the horizon. While I was there, I watched a river barge silently navigate around the bend. I'll bet that it was loaded with coal and headed for one of the power plants down river. I wondered if they experienced the dawn every day and did they really see it or was it just another morning to them?

Every weekday morning, I drive east into Columbus for work. Along the way, I make a point of anticipating and watching the sunrise in front of me. Every morning I think of how lucky that I have a great job and that it allows me to witness the spectacle that is dawn.

seed pod

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Nobody knows what it is. Could be a seed pod. Could be that, aliens were hatched from it and are running around eating humans all over west central Ohio. Probably a seed pod. I doubt that there are aliens huning in Ohio. But… you never know and I will be sure to lock the door tonight when I go to bed. You can never be sure about aliens. Or ghosts. You can't be very sure about ghosts either. At least a locked door keeps the aliens out.

simple thimble thoughts

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

If I ever wanted to learn to sew a quilt, I think that I would want a thimble. Think about it. You would need to push a needle and thread through multiple layers of cloth and batting material, tens of thousands of times. The process repeated for every stitch. Can you imagine what all that pushing would do to your finger tips?

If I wanted to have a thimble, I think that I would want a unique example like the one you see in the picture above. That my friends, is not an ordinary thimble. None of those metal shot glass looking, full coverage thimbles for me. I want an open toed sandal of a thimble. I imagine that this thimble is the Birkenstock of the sewing circuit. A quirky European import thimble made for the kind of individual that likes to dance to his/her own tune. No following the masses for the owner of this thimble.

Those are my simple thimble thoughts. I just felt like sharing them with you. I hope you didn't mind.

Just for fun, try saying "Simple Thimble Thoughts" three times, fast, without spitting. 🙂

bird on a board

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

I'll bet that as you were laying in bed this morning, trying to figure out if you were awake yet, that you were thinking that a bird on a board would be the perfect start to your day. I agree with you, that would be a perfect way to start your day and even your week.

I can't bring you a real bird on a real board because I don't know where you live and the bird would probably fly off when I tried to pick the board up. I can bring you this picture of a bird on a board. When you think about it, the picture is probably the better way to go. It's portable and the bird never takes off just when you need him the most.

Enjoy your bird on a board. It is a gift from me to you. You are welcome.

columbus skyline

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Yesterday, I mentioned that I had driven over to Columbus, Ohio to catch the skyline in the early morning. This image was taken in the twilight just before sunrise, one of my favorite times of the day for photography.

A month or so back, I described how I scouted locations for my Cincinnati Sunrise shoot via the internet. I used the same process that I described in the previous post. I think that I am really getting good at using the technique.

a tale of two fruit

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Across the road fro our home are two trees that bear fruit this time of year. Shown above, you might recognize a black walnut. The green outer casing rots way, revealing the walnut inside. I like walnuts, but even with a source near by, I prefer to buy them. The rotted casing stains your hands and is difficult to wash away.

You are forgiven if you don't recognize this one. Say hello to a hedgeapple. In my home, we call them brain fruit. They are also called osage oranges (go figure, they are all green). In Arkansas or Texas, they are also called horse apples though, to be honest I think of horse apples as something else entirely.

As far as I know, hedgeapples have no real purpose other than as an insect repellent. They are not poisonous or toxic, but are said to taste terrible. If I ever come a cross a recipe for hedgeapple pie, I'll be sure to share it with you.

columbus dispatch

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Apparently, the Columbus dispatch has been around for more than 140 years. Seems like a lot of time for the midwest, 1870 or so.

I drove over to Columbus this morning to catch the skyline in the early morning twilight and came away with this image as my favorite of the day. I'll be sure to share more with your over the next couple of days.

Have a great week!

Author: Tim McMurdo