Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas everyone. I thought I’d show you some of the decorations at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, WVa. I shot a wedding there the first weekend of December. All the photos were shot with an Olympus E-P1 or Olympus E-3.
Elamsville Road From My Driver’s Seat
I had to get up early this morning, drive to Patrick County, pick up my mother and take her to Roanoke for a doctor’s appointment. I could have been at Litchfield Beach, S.C. as much as I drove today.
Anyway, after leaving her house, I decided to take a few photos with my Olympus E-P1 and 17mm lens. Because plows have piled up snow all along Elamsville Road, where she lives, there was no place to pull off to take photos. Therefore, I decided to see what I could get while sitting in the driver’s seat of my Jeep. Fortunately, I never once met a car for the entire five-mile drive down Elamsville Road. When I saw something I wanted to photograph, I just stopped in the road and shot out of the window.
The first photo is of the neighbor’s farm. As I was driving down the road, I noticed two dogs walking right in the middle of the road. In Patrick County, there is no leash law. Dogs roam freely. If the Patrick County Board of Supervisors tried to pass a leash law, there would be more people showing up at a supervisors meeting than if they planned to raise taxes. I know because I covered both while a reporter/photographer at the Martinsville Bulletin. I shot the photo after the two dogs walked safely back into their driveway.
The third photo is of the hill where I learned that’s it’s difficult to drive a car from the passenger’s seat. I stopped there today because another dog wandered in from of me, and I took a photo while I was sitting there. Thirty years ago, I was coming home from college and drove through the curve at the bottom of the hill at about 55 miles per hour. After it was too late, I noticed the hill was covered with ice. Instead of slowing or trying to stop, being the daring sort I was, I gunned it trying to build up enough speed to make it to the top of the hill. I let off just before I hit the ice and then everything went silent. I rolled about halfway up the hill before having to make an adjustment. With the slightest adjustment of the steering wheel, I proceeded to face each ditch about three times before one correction through me into the passenger side seat. I was able to make only one more correction before hitting the snow bank with one hand still on the wheel. I walked to a nearby house, called a friend to pull me to the top of the hill and finished the drive home.
The fourth photo is an abandoned church along the road. The fifth photo is one of four graveyards (that I can think of) along Elamsville Road.
Finally, there’s a photo of a hearse at Clyde Turner’s junkyard and antique car lot. That’s Clyde and his dog in the final photo. Clyde is an interesting guy and quite a character. From time to time I stop, hang out and get all the latest scuttlebutt. I had not stopped to talk with Clyde in a couple of years. After greeting him with a handshake over the passenger side seat of my jeep as I said my name, he told me the names of all my family and what a great guy he thought my father was. He invited me in to say hello to my high school bus driver, Wilson, but I declined as I needed to get home and do some work. I see Wilson on a fairly regular basis anyway.
At one time, Clyde had a pet boar that followed him out of the woods when he was hunting, and a chicken that could take the wrapping paper off a mini Tootsie Roll. I know that sounds strange, but I actually watched the chicken do it during one of my visits with Clyde.
Today, as always, he pulled a Tootsie Roll out of his pocket and gave it to me telling of the health benefits for men who eat them (I won’t go into detail).
Notice the apparatus for distilling liquids on top of the building? I always thought that was pretty cool.
It’s Snowing!
There’s about six inches of snow on the ground and it’s still coming down. It’s been a nice evening at home watching it snow.
The first photo is Lucy at our front door. The second photo was at the end of my driveway. The driver of that truck was a friend who stopped to say hello since I was just wandering around in the snow. He was eating a banana and heading to Wal-Mart to do some Christmas shopping.
Amanda & Kevin With The Olympus E-P1
I carried my Olympus E-P1 around my neck again at Amanda and Kevin’s wedding last Saturday. Here are some photos with the E-P1. All photos were shot at ISO 1600 except for two that were shot at ISO 800.
Amanda & Kevin – Reception Part 1
It was a fun reception. I love a good sense of humor.
Amanda & Kevin Getting Ready
Amanda and Kevin were married on December 12 in the Stone Memorial Christian Church and the reception was at the Virginia Museum of Natural History. What a fun couple and their families were a joy to be around.
Ferrell-Harris Reception – Elizabeth and Haze
Here are a few moments for Elizabeth and Haze at the reception. Check out the fifth photo. Haze sees Elizabeth (out of focus right) walk back into the room.
Ferrell-Harris Reception
These are from Elizabeth and Haze’s wedding reception at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, WVA.
