Summer – Page 5 – tim mcmurdo

dancing in the streets

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Yesterday was the Urbana Street Fair and for the fourth year in a row, my wife and her friends danced on the court house steps. I thought you might want to see some of the fun that you might have missed if you were not there.

In my humble opinion the girls get better and the crowd gets bigger every year. During the festival season, they manage to dance a dozen or so shows. Some events are fairs, some are galleries and some are for charity events. All are fun.

Bonus points for those who can figure out which of the camera shy girls is mine.

the threshing meal

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Earlier this week, I promised to share some images of the threshing meal at Carriage Hill Farm. Traditionally, the hosting farm would be responsible for preparing and serving a midday meal for the threshing workers that were working hard in the fields. The ladies of the farm would begin preparing the meal days in advance and worked hard to impress their guests.

Fifteen minutes before the meal was to be served, the bell was rung to give the men time to come in and wash up before they ate.

The first order of business was to get something to drink. They had plenty to choose from:

Ice Water

Lemonade

Raspberry Shrub

Iced Tea

Coffee

After grabbing a glass of their chosen beverage, the workers migrated to the table and found a seat.

What was served at this threshing meal?

Fried Chicken

Green Beans with Smoked Bacon

Coleslaw

Bread

Cucumbers and Onions in Vinegar Water

Apple Pie

Berry Cobbler with Whipped Cream

Watermelon

Not a bad meal at all. The men were served under the giant catawba tree in the back yard. With the good food and shade combination, they got to relax, cool down and recharge before they went back to work.

While the field workers filled up, the farm staff waited patiently for their turn at the dinner tables. These are the folks that had prepared and served the huge meal to the hands.

my morning walk

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

I have a friend named Deb that takes regular morning walks with her dog, Ash. Sometimes she shares a bird sighting, a favorite bloom or some kind of wildlife story. While I was walking by the lake and meadow this morning, I thought that this was a Deb kind of morning. The sunrise was spectacular and I hope this panoramic image gives you some sense of the color in the clouds as the sun rose.

This gorgeous mystery bird greeted me with it's call. I love the vivid yellow and red on the tips of its tail and wings. If you know what kind of bird this is, let me know. (I have been informed by some very kind and reliable sources that our mystery bird is a Cedar Waxwing).

I noticed this bird house overstuffed with large feathers. Did some kind of over achieving bird try to stuff her nest with big feathers? Was this some sign of domestic dispute? Surely these feathers must be large for the bird that fits inside such a small house? Usually I see small swallows living in these homes.

My last bit of interest was being scared silly by a huge deer as it leaped out of the trees and crossed my path, white tail flashing. I was so surprised, that I didn't have any sense to bring my camera up and take a photo. Next time I will try to be a little more prepared.

And that my friends, was my morning walk.

event horizon

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Event Horizon, June 2011

This is one of those images that surprised me when I saw it through my lens. My original idea when taking this photo was to see what the underside of Queen Anne's Lace looked like. I got my trusty long lens (thank you again Uncle Eddy) out of the kit bag and laid on the ground. What I found was that the edge of the flower blooms was really interesting and the underside wasn't nearly as impressive as I had imagined. So, I took the shot of both just in case, but took a few extra shots of the edge of the flower to be sure that I got it right.

Back at my desk, I performed some basic tone and contrast adjustments and converted the image to black and white in Aperture. I then cropped to 1×3 (one of my favorite crops) and called the image finished.

Exposure	0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture	f/5.6
Focal Length	280 mm
ISO Speed	200

Here is a picture of the entire bloom, just in case you forgot what Queen Anne's Lace looked like.

Have a great day folks.

the summer threshing

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Sunday was the annual summer threshing day at Carriage Hill Farm. If you have never seen wheat being threshed with a steam engine, you have really missed an impressive event. I've created a short video so that you can see and hear the process. Basically, a steam engine is used to drive a thresher via a long belt. Workers load dried wheat into the thresher where the wheat kernels are separated from the stalk. The kernels are drop into a bin that is emptied into a wagon while a conveyor piles the wheat stalks beyond the far end of the thresher where it is collected to be used as fodder for the farm animals.

Carriage hill uses a 6 horse power wood fired engine to power the thresher. A dedicated team of approximately 12 volunteers operate the engine and thresher, assisted by the farmer and his assistant.

The crew started in the morning and worked hard until lunch time. For lunch, the rest of the farm staff had prepared a traditional summer threshing meal for them to enjoy. They needed the energy because after less than an hour of rest, they were at it again until evening came.

I'll show you the threshing meal in another post. Meanwhile, enjoy the video and marvel at the hard work and ingenuity our ancestors employed to feed a growing nation.

friendly surprise

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

I started visiting Carriage Hill Farm last October and by the beginning of the last year, I thought I had pretty much gotten to know the farm inside and out. To my surprise, I didn't really know the farm at all. As Spring and Summer arrived, I learned that there was so much more to discover. New activities, new events and new people to get to know.

Today, I met two new (to me) volunteers at the farm. A mother and daughter team that had a very loving and tender relationship. I really enjoyed seeing them together and wondered a little about the bond between mothers and daughters.

I have often referred to the farm as a living still life. The key word here is living. The place is full of life. Sometimes fast paced action and sometimes like this pair, tender and thoughtful.

mama mia?

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

If you are anywhere close to my age, that means your grew up in the seventies. And wether you liked them or not, you probably listened to a LOT of ABBA. Not content to keep ABBA's ear worm tunes to ourselves, we have since inflicted their music on our children as well with movies and plays like "Muriel's Wedding", "The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert" and "Mama Mia".

I know this because in-spite of my aversion to pop music this sugary sweet, I have managed to tap my toes and sing along through all of them. I am not proud but, evidently I like ABBA music.

So, it was in musically challenged state that I went to see an ABBA tribute band at Veteran's Park in Springfield last night. I used the excuse that the event would be a great opportunity to take some concert shots but, we all know the real truth. I'd asked my photo buddy Larry if he would be there but, he said he had too much stuff to do. I suspect that in reality he was hiding in the bushes singing "Money Money Money" and giggling to himself. Fess up Larry!

The crowd gathered to a couple thousand people as they waited for the sun to set and the band to take the stage. While I waited, I shot the crowd and the men's room door. Did you know that they made urban wear for seniors? Must be an emerging market.

Finally, just after eight, the band took the stage and the crowd went wild. There was singing, clapping, and dancing in the aisles.

This is a picture of "Frieda" looking for Larry in the crowd. She and I both knew he was there someplace. It's ok Larry, you have to admit you have an ABBA addiction as your first step towards getting help.

last day

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Meet my sister, Kelly.

And her husband, Bill. Notice that they are both wearing their best hiking gear… not! While both wore shorts, they also wore their dress shirts. Bill had his pen, glasses and case placed neatly in his shirt pocket. I don't think that Bill owns a single T-shirt. If I told you that Bill was a math teacher at a private school, would you be surprised?

I spent my last full day and night at their house in the North Georgia mountains. We had a really wonderful day of hiking and eating followed by some visiting with each other and finally, we capped the day off by going to bed early at 7:30. This seems to be very typical of my visits with them. We have a fantastic day, wear ourselves out and go to bed before the sun.

We started off by driving further into the mountains between Georgia and North Carolina. The day was relatively clear for a hot summer day and we could see for miles. The entire vista was uninterrupted nature. Mountains and forests without a sign of human habitation in site.

Once we were well into the mountains and near Highlands North Carolina, we stopped and went for a long hike at Glenn's Falls. The hike started through the forrest of tall pines, scrubby wild rhododendron and mountain laurel.

Eventually we found the falls. Three in all. They were wonderful to see and gave off a welcome cool mist. All told, we probably hiked two miles, all up and down hill. While Bill and I had appropriate hiking shoes, Kelly finished the entire trip wearing only a pair of beaded and bejeweled flip flops. Kelly kept asking how much further and Bill would only answer, just a little farther. Together they make a really warm couple to be around. They tease each other non stop and like to hold hands while they are walking.

On the way home, we stopped at Dry Falls, just a short walk from the highway. Typical of Bill's generosity, he wanted me to see the falls while we were up there. The wet spray coming from the falls resulted in spectacular green foliage and mosses along the trail

If you are ever in Northern Georgia and want to know of some local trails, just ask Bill. He might even go with you… just relax, ties are optional.

gumbo and jambalaiiiiyaaaa! It’s the cir-cle of life…

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Ok, I will be the first to admit that I don't know the words to the song. Let's just say this is a close approximation. At the very least we should be able to agree that there was a pretty dawn with a tree in the Disney movie and that is what this image reminds me of.

In todays post, I will be sharing some images taken with a f4.5 70-210mm lens with a 1.4x tele-convertor attached. This heavy hitter, the tele-convertor and a nifty little f1.7 50mm prime lens were shipped to me in a surprise care package by my Uncle, John Edward Moore (affectionately known as Uncle Eddy by the members of my family though the rest of the world calls him John as far as I can tell).

With any new lens comes a learning curve. How close can I get to my subject? Where is the sweet spot in the focal length? How slow is the lens?

With this lens, I am finding that the sweet spot is really wide, running through most of the focal length. Yes, the lens is a bit slow, especially with the tele-convertor attached. However, I am not a sports photographer and this lens seems to be perfect for what I shoot as well as the way that I shoot. The lens has a lot of glass and is heavy. I can shoot hand held but at slower most speeds, I think that I prefer to use the tripod or a monopod.

Thank you Uncle-E, This is a fine piece of glass and I am looking forward to getting to know it better. What do you folks of the internet think? Do you shoot with a 70x210mm lens? I feel as though it should be a part of every photographer's kit.

and he shall be named terrence

Posted on July 2, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Meet my friend Terrence (Terry if you are friend or family). My good companion jumped aboard the hood of my car some place in North Carolina. He and I got along fairly well. Terry is not much for conversation. However, Mr. T did like my choice of music.

Some place in Eastern Tennessee, Terry and I went our separate ways. He spotted a nice little pond and wanted to go hang out with the girl bugs. Ahhh, summer, all the bugs are in love. Me? Oh, I continued my journey home. I had a Pookie Bunny waiting for me.

Exposure	0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture	f/5.6
Focal Length	55 mm
ISO Speed	200
Exposure Bias	-1 EV