Official Image Thread -- Make Up A Story That Goes With Your Image

Great idea for our new style image threads

I ran up the hill as fast as I could. My love had written me a note, sent by my ladies maid, to say he was waiting for me there. I slipped away from my governess and picked up my skirts to make the going easier. Papa would have been so angry!

When I got there the bench was empty. I waited until the sun set but he did not show.

Heart sunk I slowly made my way home and prayed the family were too caught up in preparations for supper to notice my absence



One image each per post ;)

Love this Idea for a thread! The story behind this image is actually true. I was out shooting the crescent moon as it was setting one night out near the Florida Everglades. As far as I know there was nobody out there but me. I saw a light darting back and forth and figured that it was somebody out there flying a drone. Odd thing is I didn't hear any sound, I have a drone and they are not quiet....at least mine isn't. I didn't think much of it as I was too busy trying to get the shot. Setting moons are difficult to photograph. When I got home I noticed something in one of my discarded shots so I cropped it and zoomed in. What I saw was something that looked organic and alive but with a light on the front of it. One of the weirdest things I've seen out there. Or anywhere. I still have that outtake photo and nobody seems to know what it is. Was it a UFO? Probably not as I don't really believe that we have aliens visiting us, but it's one of those things I've never been able to figure out.

I took this photograph last week from my Mom's window. She lives down in Fort Myers, Florida in a mid-rise and has a great view of the Caloosahatchee River. You can watch boaters navigating the channels, tour boats going by and pointing up at the windows, osprey and eagles flying by with fish and dolphins swimming around the shallows. And afternoon thunder clouds that seem to form over there on Fort Myers Beach each afternoon.

I had to sneak this shot when she was gone because these windows never open. There is bar to remove and then the locks have to be opened. The window slides open and there is no screen to remove, because they never open. Air-conditioned air would escape and the humidity would come in. The window originally was a screen in lanai but like many of the units in the building, my parents closed it in to make for more living space. The living space is great but sometimes down in Florida, I yearn to open a window and let some fresh air in like we would in New Hampshire.

Here's..........Romeo The Kukaburra...........Romeo The Kookaburra,photo by VIVA Anderson. Romeo came to my balcony recently, and stayed long enough for me to take his portrait. He is all the more charming because of his funny feather, and his beautiful eyes, looking at me in the true love only the Romeos of this world can know. I am in love with my Romeo.Pretty boy.

Yes... a great idea ! I have written " stories " or informational descriptions for my images since the beginning for me. When I just sold locally in my early days, I always included one on the back of my images and they became popular with many people who stopped by my booth to look at my art. However I have fallen behind here now that I have so many and I keep promising myself too write more stories, but have trouble finding the time to do so.

Here is one of my examples:



One beautiful summer day on the Ohio River, the home team was out of town and the stadium was empty. But it was not an uneventful day by any means, as the largest old-fashioned steamboat named the American Queen rolled into town for a brief stay. I thought it to be quite a coincidence that Ohio's third largest city has long been known as The Queen City and this nostalgic boat was docked in front of the Great American Ballpark. Besides that, this relatively new Major League Baseball stadium just happens to be the home of America's first professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Reds. Too bad that "The Boys of Summer" missed out on a chance to play on a day like this, but during the season and down on the river there will be plenty of ... Baseball And Boats In Cincinnati.


http://ScenesFromFarAndNear.com

Fresh Off The Bus:

It's amazing. A big white bus carries sleeping people to various locations around town. Later it comes back and collects them. I've never seen anything like it.

Strangest photo I ever took ...

Yes, I played with the faces a bit, but for the most part, it is exactly as you see it.

What I find interesting -- where did the ghost-like face appear in the center? And where did the profile come from at the far right? Is this what happens to people's spirits at night? Or are spirits doing something to these people?

People were drinking at the time -- Bacchus? And yet it had a Hieronymus Bosch feeling to it too.

This is a neighborhood block party that I recently hosted in my backyard for all the area locals. As you can see there are a couple of uninvited nosy neighbors who can't take NO for an answer. They just want to know who's dating whom, what's being served for drinks and food.. and basically to spread gossip throughout the town.

A tear drops down Luna's cheek. She has been "stood up." It was not supposed to be this way...

I was talking with a group of Photographers in NW Wyoming and said I always want to get some good shots of a Great Grey owl, they proceeded to tell me exactly where to go to see them, up by the oil drum, which turned out to be a meadow with an old drum in it, then they warned me to take bear spay because there's an ol grizzly sow up there and she hasn't hurt anyone but made a few people hurt themselves, so I get there the next morning and trying to decide if i should go in there and another photographer Bill shows up says he would go with me, so off we go, we find the Great Grey and get busy shooting images and its flying from tree to tree putting on a show and lands in this spot with perfect light and black background and that's when I heard it, limbs crashing and a bellow I cannot begin to describe coming at me, fumbling for my bear spray I turned just in time to see it ...... a cow coming thru the brush it trotted right on by me. I just fell down on the ground trying to breath flat on my back when I noticed something way up in the top of the tree it was Bill looking like a Christmas ornament in the top of the tree, he came down and the last limb was still 20 foot up the tree so he had to just drop down, I ask him how did up ever get up there he looked at me and said I don't know I just remember running outta limbs. and that's the truth ......well more or less

A shepherd and his trusty sheep-herding dog watch his flock on this magical day in France. This is a 35mm slide I took in 1954 while in the army signal corps in Fromont, France. It was always my most popular slide, and the sad part about this picture is that it was the only one taken of the shepherd, who died a few days later. I would never have known that he passed away, except that some farmers showed up at the station and told me that his wife had no pictures of him and could she please have a copy, so naturally I had a print made for her. I think it is wonderful that he may live on forever in this and other pieces of my artwork.

Standing by the side of the road, you gaze across the barren field ... your eyes filled with the reflected glow of the setting sun and the threatening storm clouds fast approaching. Looks like trouble is on its way for the little barn on the prairie. Quiet and still, she awaits yet another blast from Mother Nature. A gust of wind whips the dirt up from the field and your eyes start to burn. You'd better get back inside the car and hurry home. Storm's coming.

This is not a made-up story but what actually happened and how Ben came to paint this cute little birdy ;-).



Bullock's Oriole No 1, by Ben Gertsberg, original acrylic painting on stretched canvas.

A pair of stunning yellow birds visits our hummingbird feeder all summer long and their chicks join them later too. The birds have golden yellow plumage on the chest, their back is raven black, they look like a three-dimensional artwork created by nature itself.

Raisa

Art by Ben and Raisa Gertsberg

Okay, the story is.. that I heard a rustling through the TALL GRASS and leaves.. RIGHT HERE.. right in this spot! I was wanting to take photographs of this beautiful Italian renaissance promenade here at Caramoor Estate in Katonah New York... I stopped "dead in my tracks" when I heard a VERY DEEP POWERFUL growl.... I turned my head and said to myself "What the hell was that?" I could see nothing... nothing but the sound of the wind softly blowing the leaves and footsteps hidden by the tall grasses... The sound was deafening... the fear was unspeakable.. Where was I to go.. where would I turn.... NO where near my car. I quietly and quickly left the spot I was in... and then took a deep breath in sigh of relief that I survived.

I was high up on the deck of a cruise ship, when a sperm whale passed below us.

.. @ Gary Langley .. I LOVED your story!!!! Laughing so hard I woke up the dog!!! And i can believe it!!!!

I remember when I was young and I would visit my grandmothers house. She always insisted having tea with me. Proper tea, she would call it, with an odd little snicker, as if that was the funniest thing she said in a while.

She would force me to dress up, the tea was bitter, and there were no cookies, but I drank it anyway just to be polite.

Her husband died years ago, and never honestly liked the tea time, so he always sat outside of the table. Still though in her memories, she always sets him out a glass and places his favorite chair near by.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

My mother and father have traveled the world. Once in Southern Africa, they picked up a wood carving of an elephant. This is a picture of it reworked into an abstract.



Dave

In the very early 1970s, the hippies had become artisans. Making images on rocks, pottery, jewelry, etc...... In the summers if you traveled, you would find their wares on the streets, in the parks, and in front of stores.

This is from an old painted plaque made by such a hippy back in 1971.

Dave

This is Fred. He's a jolly good fellow, but he does get in trouble occasionally. The local police force is very familiar with Fred. They have to drive him home from the bar quite often, because he does get a little loud and obnoxious on Friday nights. Everybody still likes him, though. They still call him a jolly good fellow.

Couple meets at a bar in a hotel for a drink. The light dims.. the romance begins as he gestures to her to go upstairs with him to share the night:

When I was so very young back in my college days, I was very poor. I promised my first serious girl friend flowers one day, when we had made it. With that in mind, I created this flower with her in my thoughts.

Dave

When I used to imbibe, gin and tonic was the last thing I would want. It went down to easily. On the surface a cool gin was refreshing. The price paid later for a hard night's drinking became my fear. Yet there was nothing classier than a glass of rocks with gin and tonic.

Dave

I live close to a flight path into Bradley International. Only miles away, over head the planes come in for a landing. While I am three small towns from the airport, if I listen mid day at my desk, even inside my condo every twenty minutes a jet will go by.

Cloudy skies or clear skies the jets are low and visible.

Dave

I remember as a teenager how much I enjoyed hand painting flat wooden ornaments. As I think of this time, I remember family traditions around the holidays that make me smile. I often wonder how my grandparents made dinners for so many around the table. My grandmother on Christmas Eve would make the feast of the 7 fishes for about 23 people. The next day she would serve antipasto, soup, lasagne and a ham or turkey. ''Soup to nuts'' as we often say. Today we have condensed and shortened these traditions, but they still remain with many wonderful memories of family being together, sharing stories, memories and just enjoying time together. I am so grateful for traditions and beautiful memories.

I snuck inside a hospital one day on a lark. Having some fun in the ER, I took and x-ray of my sunglasses.

I captured this photograph a few years ago entirely by luck, simply being at the right place and the right time...with a camera. During processing as an HDR image, I also added some painterly-style effects, but this is what I was so fortunate to see and this is a true story.

Early one morning I took a slow drive on a narrow road along the banks of the Ohio River. Searching for a special scene to capture forever, my view of the river was prevented by a dense layer of fog. However the sun was shining brightly behind me, so I turned to see this glorious scene. God's brilliant light burst through the trees, illuminating a quickly rising mist. As I stood there in awe, I expressed my thanks for His creation of this unexpected, yet beautiful view. I could only hope to experience more moments like this, so I made ... A Small Wish.





http://ScenesFromFarAndNear.com

Another poem (like a story of life)...

The Path


The path from which I started,
Rarely straight or true,

The path on which I'm traveling,
Takes its toll when one is new,

The path which I must follow,
Cares not its traveler's name,

The path can be quite rocky,
You'll have your share of pain,

The path has not been easy,
It's not meant to be I guess,

The path is seldom breezy,
And often treacherous,

The path sometimes is lonely,
Especially for me,

It offers no companionship,
It has no empathy,

The path is long when walking,
Until you're near the end,

Then it seems too short a stroll,
You cannot start again,

The path although bare and worn,
By others before you came,

They made it easier for your trek,
Their fate was all the same,

They followed the path when convenient for them,
But when the struggles came,

They carved another path their own,
Then never were the same,

The path with unexpected turns and twists,
My character carved by thee,

It likes to make me raise my fists,
And fight just to be free,

What roadblock awaits,
Around the corner I shall see,

What goal have I set forth,
And what of destiny,

The path at times was narrow,
Then wider it became,

Then like a fallen sparrow,
I felt like I was lame,

It's challenges I hurdle,
My legacy is just,

The seeds I plant are fertile,
My soul I now entrust,

So, carry on that follow,
For I now join my clan,

Don't let your goals be hollow,
Take time to make a plan,

Remember when you begin your trip,
Sometimes you'll stumble, sometimes you'll slip,

The path is just a direction you take,
The life you lead, is the one you make.



~ Brian Wallace (06-14-2018)

She stood before the dragon, wearing nothing but her pantsuit. Sword in hand, she felt tiny and afraid. But she knew that dragon slaying wasn't about how big or strong you are. It's about finding the weak spot and striking when the time is right.

There is a strange story
is it true
impossible to know
about an exotic flower
rare and unknown
not another in the universe
like her
she grows alone

Somewhere deep
inside a jungle
beyond the imagination
in the sunlit shadows
this wild iris grows
discovered only
by the bravest souls.

If you gaze upon
her untamed beauty
you will see colors
you have never seen before
but beware
alas, I know you will not
heed this warning
you will want more
so much more.

If you dare
inhale her intoxicating scent
if you stare
into her tigress eyes
as I know you must
you will want to tame her
to keep her for your own
Sadly for you
She will be the last to hear your cries
for this wild iris goddess
only grows alone.

This piece was commissioned by my wife, Jackie, to accompany an essay/poem she wrote about my mother that would go into a volume of her writing. She wrote the piece while my mother was convalescing in our home after a hospital stay when she was in her 90's. She lived to be 103. She was an expert knitter and whenever not moving about she was knitting. The afghan in the picture was one of her works. The essay/poem is below.

She Sits and Knits

She sits and knits;
an artisan, practitioner of a long ago craft.
Knitting and purling an endless skein of yarn,
with raglan sleeves or ribbed neck and cuffs,
casting on and casting off, knitting two together,
counting rows and stitches in an endless parade of knots and patterns.

She sits and knits;
taught in childhood by a patient woman,
followed through adolescence, and adulthood.
She sits and knits as a grown woman,
wife, and mother.

She sits and knits;
from childhood through widowhood.
Countless scarves and mittens, sweaters, vests
and skirts, coats, baby blankets, afghans, and the search for the perfect hat.
A myriad of colors and ombres, worsteds and sport weights,
argyles, cables and intarsia, on round needles or double points.

She sits and knits;
clothing for self, children, nieces and nephews, homeless shelters, newborn
babies.
Through the loss of parents, babies, friends and family,
in-laws and spouse.
In cool summer evenings and cold winter nights,

She sits and knits;
and each of us is like a garment,
fashioned patiently, one stitch at a time, with love and steadfastness,
at an even pace, over her many years.

She sits and knits;
and that’s why we’re all different in her eyes.
She applied the same love and care to each of us,
knowing that each was of a different pattern, some plainer and some
fancier than others, but made in good yarn, in attractive colors,
to live and survive in the world as the garment we were meant to be.

She still sits and knits.

I see Carol is backing me up here! TOLD YA :PpPpPpPp

It's a jungle out there people!

___________
Susan Maxwell Schmidt
So-so Board Moderator and
Artist Extraordinaire

Once upon a time an artist got up in the morning, ready to work, as she did every morning, and she spilled out her guts on the canvas. After about four hours of frenzied work,
she stood back and said to herself, "Put down the brush, hon, you are done!"
She did. The End to a true story.

Post Script: Some months later, a client came by and said the painting looked like a broken heart and he loved it so much that he had to buy it. The artist named it that and spun a tale to match the buyer's connection. He was thrilled that he could see the artist's intention and she was thrilled to make an easy sale.
The Real End.

This is the true story behind this photo.

I was hired to photograph a June wedding in Alaska. We made it a family vacation with my daughter and parents (husband stayed home). I wanted to make sure to capture the sunrise/sunset (sun does not fully set in late June / early July). The first day we got there we drove up to Talkeetna Alaska where the wedding would be taking place 3 days later. We were staying along the Susitna River. The owners told me there was a moose and bear spotted earlier that day.

This being my first time and first day in Alaska I was nervous not knowing what to expect, so my mom was originally planning to go with me (she is my back up photographer at weddings). But she was exhausted so just before midnight, I got up and went down to the river alone. At the time, the river was low and there was some exposed higher areas in the middle of the river so I crossed some water to reach them. Hearing the stories about how mean Moose can be, I was shaking and each time after I would set my camera for a long exposure, I would look around watching for wildlife who might be coming out for a late night snack. I made a lot of noise so they would stay away. My fast/nervous breathing was probably loud enough. Thought I was frightened, the scene was breathtakingly beautiful. Rain clouds were moving in and you can see the Denali mountain range glowing in the sunlight, The very top of Mt Denali / Mt McKinley was covered with the clouds as you can see in the photo. I moved around to different locations working as fast as I could.

At the last location I moved to (this shot), I set my camera and while waiting on the long exposure I looked down and saw large foot prints and scratching claw marks. It appeared a bear had just recently been there fishing. I felt like my heart was beating out of my chest. My legs and arms were shaking it was hard to even set the camera (thank goodness for tripods!). I started humming and singing even louder (my singing would scare anyone ha ha). I wanted that perfect shot so I took a couple more, and then very quickly but calmly went back to the cabin.

The photos came out so beautiful and it was well worth the risk! It has made me even more of a risk taker now when it comes to capturing that perfect shot!

Susan ... tiny monsters, indeed, who also enjoy our hearts and souls. :o)

Standing on the eastern side of the "Place Chauderon", in the city of Lausanne in french speaking Switzerland, Florian Z. was hesitating. should he go forward where he could get Cocaïn
and some weed with it? Or should he go up the street behind him on the right, where he could get Heroin at the "Place de la Riponne"? He figures he should do both, to make some speedball
but what if the cocaïn was actually with methamphetamin mixed to the sugar instead of the cocain? And what if the heroin had too much Fentanyl in it? The result could be deadly...
Lost in his thougts, he suddenly heard a voice behind him: "Bonjour monsieur, c'est la police, on va procéder à un contrôle d'identité."
After paying the 100 CHF.- fine for possession of illegal marijuana (with more than 1% delta-9 thetrahydrocanabinol) because he had forgotten a spliff in his wallet, Florian Z
had only some small change left, so he went to the supermarket to buy "Gralsberg Export" beers and was happy ever since, until the next morning when he had a hangover.

One of the versions of this image that I have available in my gallery comes with its own story.



If you click on the link you can read the story - or rather, poem - on my site.

The aliens hovered momentarily over the lush blue planet, during a time long, long ago. Spotting a small hairy creature on the ground beneath their craft, they talked among themselves for a moment, before one of them said, "Hey, let's have some fun. Let's mess with this little creature's DNA in such a way that it slowly evolves into a more intelligent version of itself". Many millions of years later, their offspring returned to see the progress of their ancestors' fun little experiment. They all had a big laugh.

@Mike............nobody's listening,lolllllllllllll.........................

Post one image each, and then in a week the theme will change

Abbie said, "One image each per post ;)"

I think you're confusing this thread with my TUSU thread VIVA. That's the one with the changing weekly theme :)

___________
Susan Maxwell Schmidt
So-so Board Moderator and
Artist Extraordinaire

If these walls could talk... they would tell several stories. This is an abandoned CPR house on the east-central Alberta prairies. A CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) house was a house built by the CPR on lands granted to them by the Canadian gov't in compensation for building the railway across Canada in the 1880's.

The CPR built houses and barns on these lands, dug wells and fenced the quarter sections and rented them to farmers in order to encourage settlement on the Canadian prairies. Farming was very hard in that era and many of these homes changed possession several times over the years. As well many of the houses and barns were sold to other farmers, including my own grandparents, and they would be moved to another farm, very often by horsepower.

I took this photo before I started using hdr. I took several shots and in this one I like the effect of the clouds, seeming to emphasize the constant, drying, prairie winds. This house may be well over 100 years old, and has decayed and crumbled over time from the harsh prairie winters and searing, dry summers. But I'll bet if it could talk it would have many interesting stories to tell...

People's Touch is Gold - See it yourself in this image!

This shot was taken at old Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic.

Commissioned by King Charles IV in 1357, Prague's most stunning bridge spans 16 arches and is lined with 30 Baroque statues of religious figures. There is also a lot of small art forms on this bridge. Centuries ago some of them were covered by gold... Time passed... And that gold became buried under many layers of dust.

On my image you could see a small figure of some Saint on one side of a bridge. Some time ago it was as dark as other parts of the bridge... But over time a faithful people would love to show their faith in God and respect to this Saint... Every time, when such people were passing by this small Saint figure on the bridge, they touched this figure. It is small and could be covered by human palm. Repeated over and over again this gentle human touch made a miracle - this figure of Saint became gold again.

Having a little fun with the Baltimore Downtown Holiday Inn.

The famed Circle One restaurant – on the top level of the hotel – is now an amazing event space, but was once one of the first revolving restaurants in the continental United States, offering stunning 360-degree city views.

Because of the shape of the one time restaurant, I thought it might be amusing to add a similar shaped UFO and a speech bubble saying, "NEVER MIND... I THOUGHT IT WAS ONE OF OURS!".

The house was shuttered tight...as tight as my temples when I left the city this morning. As I entered the place, it was dark, and musty...the light streaming through in narrow beams around the edges of the windows. One by one, I opened them....the light and air free to enter at last. I walked over to the door to the beach. As I pushed it open...a breeze unfurled the yellowed lace curtain and it blew out toward the blue sea beyond, I was home.

The bags were packed. Then repacked. Check with the airline. How many bags can we bring? How many pounds before they charge? Does the tripod fit? Pack the camera bag. Fret over the lenses. Do I really need this one? What about something for walking around? Definitely bring the extra batteries. Do I have enough spare batteries. Pack again. Take some out. Check the weather. Does it ever get cold there? How about at night? PJ? Toothbrush. Oops time to go.

We've all done it ... headed out to the car on one of those fresh spring mornings, our hands filled with books or briefcases or hot coffee in a go-cup and our minds on our plans for the day ahead of us. Suddenly, just as the door slams behind us, or the garage door lumbers up we become aware of something else. Something magic.

Even if it's only for a brief second or two that we stop and take in the everyday beauty all around us ... that vision of a fresh spring morning ... the pastels and the flutters of the breezes, the delicate flowers and songs of the happy birds ... even if it's just for the tiniest, most brief of moments, that mental snap-shot can carry us through to a beautiful day ... if we let it.

I actually already do this with most of my images. Here is one of them and the actual description I posted with it.

I heard a legend once that there was a fish made of gold and if you could catch one there was a treasure in his belly... this is the inspiration for my next make believe fish in the fanciful fish series. Meet the golden mackerel. His golden skin is so shiny that he looks as if he is really made of solid gold, or at least gold plated. He swims in shallow lagoons among the the golden seaweed and has been seen teasing fishermen with his shiny appearance even causing divers to go hunting for treasure. This is a fun story but totally fictional, so don't go looking for the golden mackerel in the shallow lagoon.

On a late afternoon they sat in the garden to play a fun game of Mahjongg. Soon the game turned into a catastrophe as some of these feisty felines began to disagree.
"You can't call that tile, she already racked hers! - Yes, I can! It's my house, I make the rules! - Oh, for the sake of all treats, just cut it out and let's play! I don't have all day. I need to go home soon and take my afternoon nap."

Another early-morning dog walk.

Your eyes aren't completely open yet, nor is your brain completely functioning. Mother Nature's frosty, foggy autumn morning matches your mood. No bright rays of sun ... no brilliant autumn colors ... those are gone ... well at least for the present. And in the oncoming several months the gray will only intensify. The colorless frosty air you breathe matches the sluggish feel in your icy bones. You dig your gloved hands deeper into your pockets and hunch your shoulders against the still, chill air. What on earth are you doing out this early, anyway?

Your dog barks at nothing. Even the squirrels are still in bed.

The pup is finally ready to head back home. Back to a warm dog bed for him ... and a hot coffee for you.

It's going to be a long winter.

You approach the courtyard with mixed feelings. You've been dreading this day ... what awaits you beyond the doors is anybody's guess.

It's an incredibly beautiful spring afternoon ... one of those days that exemplifies what spring should always be ... cornflower blue skies, blooming flowers, soft fragrant breezes, the sweet songs of birds, the sunlight golden and soft like the hand of friendship on your shoulder. As if the occasion that brought you here, which fills you with uncertainty and apprehension, were a mere nothing.

Gently, the surroundings nudge your spirits ... make you want to take a deep breath of good air into yourself ... and you feel your heart begin to rise.

Well, things usually have a way of turning out for the better when you give them a chance, don't they.

Here we go.

i totally forgot i had this thread open and its well past due... thanks for playing.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com