On writing

When I was in High School, many years ago, I had a creative writing teacher named Mrs. Lewis. She inspired me so much that I wrote in my yearbook that I wanted to be a writer. Granted I was young and impressionable, but I really did mean it. Now I sit here at the computer punching keys, sharing my thoughts and I want so badly to write. But what to write about? Mystery, fantasy, dungeons and dragons, whatever I consider just seems futile. So, for the moment, I am here sharing my thoughts with the world. Is the world listening? Probably not. Still write I must. Thanks for reading if you are out there.

car show on July 3 photos will be posted

I'm looking forward to the car show on the afternoon of July 3rd at the International Community Church. To get to the church follow route 15 to Hayward drive then right onto Byte drive in  Frederick, Md. Stop by if you have a chance; there will be fireworks after dark. Photos of entries and trophy presentations will be posted asap  at http://www.mgd.shutterbugstorefront.com/ after the show. It should be a fun time.

may 18

Trying to stay creative takes a lot of effort. I like to drive around the countryside with my camera and often notice photo opportunities that help get the energy going in everyday scenes. Of course photo-shop helps immensely.

Frederick east side

A lot of renovation is happening on the east side of Frederick. I guess that is a good thing, but yesterday I drove by this old cannery building and thought I'd better get a photo of the sign painted on the building before they scrub it off. The renovation has brought a lot more traffic to the area, but in some ways it is sad to see the character of the area change. I guess that is progress.

My winter studio

I don't have heat in my more spacious summer studio, so I have been thankful for this space in my kitchen this winter. I made the desk, the top lifts up to store paper and supplies inside. It's may not be real high quality, but it gets the job done. A coat of blue/gray paint when the weather warms up should help it's appearance.

The wonders of photo editing

Here we have a before and after photoshop sample. IMHO this rustic scene near Libertytown, Md. is greatly enhanced  by the removal of ugly utility wires and their shadows plus a little boost to the color saturation.

SD40-3 at Brunswick, Md 2-11-2011

I grabbed this photo of CSX 4008 as it cruised past me and into Brunswick rail yard around noon yesterday. I was waiting for a west bound when this EB totally surprised me. I stopped briefly in Brunswick on my way to visit my son at Shenandoah University and I didn't have my scanner along. You can click on the image to see it larger.

Rumor has it that WB Tower is going to be closed. Progress is a real bummer for this rail fan.

Dulcimer photos

I am finally cataloging my dulcimers. I took photos of 4 different dulcimers today. Here are two. On the left is and hourglass with padauk body, sitka spruce top and heart shaped sound holes. On the right is a cherry tear drop shaped body with western red cedar top and butterfly shaped sound holes. I need the photos for my web-page.

http://www.mytown217.com

Feb 1, 2011

I was organizing my photo folders this morning and came across this photo of the Great Frederick Fair. I took this photo from the Ferris wheel in September 2010. Just thought I'd post is as a reminder that that dingy snow wasn't always outside my window. BTW, The Ferris wheel is the only ride that I am brave enough to handle :-) 

My Web page is on line

I just uploaded the main pages for my web-site mytown217.com . 

mytown217.com

I am looking forward to displaying two paintings at the FCAA show
 February 5 at the Delaplaine Center in Frederick.

woodpecker

I had visitors for breakfast this morning. If the photos are a little distorted and speckled it's because of the kitchen window.