Stunt Drivin'

Shadow Shot Sunday
July 3, 2011

Shadow Shot Sunday is a fabulous weekly project showcasing the rough images cast by objects blocking rays of illumination, shadows, and eminates from Tracy’s Hey Harriet Blog. Have a look at some great photographs and find out to participate.

This past week, I took my newly purchased Triumph motorcycle on sort of a shakedown cruise. I did over 700 miles, (about 1150 Kilometers), in two days of riding and crossed the border into Canada for some business I had to attend to. I had many hours of daylight to accomplish this as we’re at the height of the Summer sun. That meant I took a lot of breaks and wandered off the beaten path to discover some new roads along the way.

Besides stopping to smell the proverbial roses, I also stopped and took some photos. These will be showcased in a post that will be available for viewing on Monday as part of my Monday Mystery Tour series. 

One photo I did not stop for was this Shadow Shot. While scooting along at highway speed, I reached into my tank bag and pulled out my camera, which I had set for such a shot, before I left the last stop.

Yours truly on the highway

I snapped a couple of photos, using instinct as to where the camera was aimed, so as not to take my eyes off the road for more than a split second. This is a safety concern, I know. But I am an experienced driver and although retired from wage earning employment, I did actually work as a stunt driver in motion picture production in Minneapolis and Hollywood at one point in my life.

So, the usual warning will be posted:

Professional Driver, do not try this at home.

If you enlarge the photo by clicking on it,  you can see the asphalt highway surface to be blurred. The camera focused on the shadowy image and the background suffered clarity from the speedy motion carrying me towards home. I was cruising along at about 60 miles per hour, (97 KPH, or for the nautical minded, around 53 Knots)

Please feel free to come back Monday and check out what I was up to in Canada, including the intrigue of crossing the border. In the meantime, be nice to your neighbors.

Peace

Mourning Dove

Shadow Shot Sunday

June 26, 2011

This is the weekend, time for Shadow Shot Sunday. A great meme of photographic and other expressions from around the world. If you’d like to see more Shadow Shots and find out how to participate, please go to Tracy’s Hey Harriet Blog.

The sun is rising early this time of year. Here in the Northland we have full sunshine by 5:30 AM and it doesn’t set in the Western sky until after 9:00 PM. The heavens stay lit until ten PM or later. 

It was one of these early mornings, when the sun was casting long shadows, that I saw this image on the throw rugs that were hanging on the deck. From my easy chair, while sipping some fresh brewed coffee, I had not a clue as to what was creating this particular shadow.

I wasn’t so curious about the “blob” seen on the rugs as I was about the long “stick”. I couldn’t figure out what was creating this amazing shadow. A power line? The dog run? What?

 I grabed my camera, always at the ready, and snapped a few photos when I realized that it was the mourning dove, one of two that come to the trough feeder every morning here at Spadoville. 

The bird was standing on the yard arm, (yes, all Pirates have a yard arm in their yards and I was definitely a Pirate in a former life), in that early morning sunrise.

Glad I captured this one. I found it to be unique, basically becasue I didn’t know what it was and what was making it a shadow in the first place.

Peace to All