I waited for this juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron to lift his head. Even though I was braced on a tree the angle was awkward, I’m out of practice holding a lens up for any amount of time. Finally he won, I grabbed a shot and moved on. It was a pretty long distance so I didn’t think it would be much anyway.
Turns out he was looking across the water the whole time.
I photographed this simple headstone, surrounded by hand made brick, the other day. There was not much information except for the date 1860. There was little to the image but I liked the scene for that reason. An unknown person buried here in 1860 just makes for an interesting image and story (to me).
I wanted to finish the photo in an old style. The date 1860 is how I described a film filter I have saved in DxO Filmpack a while back. That was the connection for this photograph…and long story 😂😂.
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One of the early photographers, Felix Bonfils, began commercial photography in 1860 at the Levant in Lebanon for the French Army. Later opening Maison Bonfils photography studio in Ottoman Syria, now Lebanon.
Bonfils became the name and style in photo history known for the thousands of detailed albumen prints, stereoscopic views, and architecture and landscape photographs across Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Greece, and Turkey. Below is one of the styles described as a Bonfils photo. I use this film simulation often when I want old looking photographs.
Buried 1860 / Bonfils Photography 1860
Specs; OM-1 (1), OM 100-400 II, Lightroom, DxO Filmpack.
The combination of the OM-1 (1) and OM 100-400 II is not something I would usually use for this image however I ran a Firmware Update on both and wanted to test the results. All worked fine, in spite of me (another long story)
The local dragons remain active, and we still spot tiny hatchlings once in a while.
We let any fallen leaves pile up where the wind blows them. Old plants are piled in a corner of the back fence. Little things like that give the Anole places to live and dig down to survive the cooler winter weather.
Oh, we never bring in the big pots from outside. Anole are sneaky critters, find one in the house and it becomes a great adventure.
Like many good street photographers Keith Goldstein, click here ’For Earth Below’, has a theme/project that he follows during his street shoots. Being in NYC he picked the ever present orange traffic cone. An invisible item in plain sight it’s amazing how many places and uses the cones can be found.
Yesterday we wandered around the old cemeteries and I stopped by baby Rosalie. The grave site is one of the last 1800’s plaster face casts surviving. Making a plaster cast of a deceased relative was a practice for a while. Below is her actual face in the head stone designed like an old baby carriage.
For years the tradition of leaving a small gift for a deceased child has been going strong on this rural grave site. It’s probably out of hand now, tourists come to cemeteries around here on ‘Ghost Walks’. I suspect they are leaving gifts.
Orange Cone – For Earth Below, Keith
One of the recent gifts were a few small figurines and… the ever present (miniature) orange traffic cone.
Orange Cone – For Earth Below, KeithOrange Cone – For Earth Below, Keith
Seeing the cone I immediately thought of the web site ‘For Earth Below and Keith.
Orange Cone – For Earth Below, Keith
The grave of baby Rosalie Raymond, Charleston, South Carolina.
Its gotten cooler at night so this years flowers are coming to an end. Been a great season though, and the vines still have plenty of buds so they are not quite ready to quit.
If there is any chance of photographing a butterfly it will be at one of the local plantations. They have gardens that have existed for hundreds of years. Something is in bloom there somewhere.
This was one of the first plantation properties in North America. The king of England divided the southern coast of the colonies between 8 Lord Proprietors. The charter was to further break up the land to planters, many from the island of Barbados plantations. This was done in 1623.
The building below is part of the brick structure of 1741. The actual plantation homes are nothing like I thought they would be. Though there are a few that have the ‘Hollywood’ look. In the real world brick was used as much as possible. Things had a tendency to burn down back then.