Magic Trains

Since I was very little, I have loved trains. I don't know much about them, but it doesn't matter. When I was a preschooler/kindergartener, I lived by the train tracks. I suppose we were about 2 blocks away, but since I was little at the time, that part is perhaps skewed. Sometimes I could hear them traveling; the bells ringing, the whistles blowing, the engines running and the wheels turning. I was not allowed to go near the train yard or tracks unsupervised, but even then, I don't recall going down there. I always just saw from a distance. My mother taught me the song about the little puffer-bellies; Down By The Station. I remember walking along the sidewalk singing it to myself. One of my favorite books was about a train.
Now I live near the train tracks, again. Different tracks with different trains, but it holds the same enchantment. I found this area one day, as I was out and about and stopped to take some pictures. I just have a small camera and it was getting dark, so they are not the best pictures ever, but have a look!Now I live near the train tracks, again. Different tracks with different trains, but it holds the same enchantment. I found this area one day, as I was out and about and stopped to take some pictures. I just have a small camera and it was getting dark, so they are not the best pictures ever, but have a look!

(Sorry for the crookedness. Sometimes I have a hard time seeing my screen when I click and sometimes I just like to see what I get when I point my camera and shoot).
With these particular three, I was just mostly playing with the length of the click. I think I like how all three turned out. They each have a little different style. Anyway, tell me what you think. What you like and what you don't. (If you use the terms, "top, middle and bottom" instead of "1,2,3" your comments will make more sense. Thanks.)

Old Time Wagon

Radio Flyer was sepia toned, but then I wanted it just a little darker. Maybe I should have fixed it with a black and white filter then sepia toned it, but I don't think I could have kept the red if I had done that.

Yellow Sunset

I took this picture a few weeks ago, but when I was going through my yellows, I remembered it and wanted to post it by the other yellow pictures. Tell me what you think of it!

Yellow Day

Today, i decided to make a "Yellow" project. I took pictures of anything I wanted (if it was yellow) on my walk. I almost gave up after seeing 3 yellow automobiles and not much else sharing the same color, but then I caught glimpses of other yellow items and decided to press forward. :)

Beautiful yellow flower had some water in it! I love when I see this on flowers! What do you think of the composition of this picture?



Some yellow items I saw are compiled in this collage: Yellow pants, a yellow shirt, cars, school bus (of course), yellow caution tape, curb paint, and some sort of can of stuff...or what used to be stuff. I have no idea what it is. I could have looked - oh well.





This picture makes me think about life. (Sorry about the blur.) Notice, the child's wagon is yellow and bright. The adults' bikes are mostly dark and muted. In comparison, the yellow wagon looks so happy. The child doesn't even ride this - he walks, pulling it behind him. Sometimes this is how we see things - children love life and although they have their concerns, it is still happy and adults forget to see the little things that make life joyous. I know this isn't always the case, but sometimes we need to paint our bikes yellow, so to speak.

So, can you guess the story of these pictures? We went berry picking! I loved the scenery and wanted to capture some of it to share, but that is kinda hard in a car. Never the less, here are a couple of the car shots.




I feel like the mom in the book, Blueberries for Sal by RObert McCloskey. I loved that book when I was a child and I love it, still. Ryan took this picture, by the way.

Flustered bird

This little thing was stuck in my parents' basement window well. Maybe he was happy to be down there, but I don't think he was. I let a box down to see if he would hop in and I could pull him up. That didn't work. I let a rose bush trellis down so he could climb out on it. It started to get steep for him, but there were some long bush branches to help him up.
Needless to say, I saw him in there again, later. I put the trellis back in and he came out and hid behind the rose bushes, in a patch of morning glory. I just love the expression on his face and how he holds himself.
Tell me what you think of this picture. How would you do it differently.