Photo by Sherman

The adage goes something like this, “If you continue to do what you’ve always done, you’ll continue to get what you’ve always got”.  Maybe that’s my problem.  I keep doing the same thing and expecting different results.  Let me change my tactics by using “author’s license” and refashion that statement.  By using “author’s license” that’s just a nice way of having fun with someone else’s idea to fit what I want so I can write my article.  Here’s the way I would say it using “artist license”.   “If you continue to drive the same road, you’ll continue get to where you’ve always gone.”  Yep, I’m guilty.  I’ve driven the same road near Casper, Wyoming, sometimes several times a week for probably around 20 or more years.  I am not required to travel this road.  It was not the way to work or the grocery store or church or anyplace I need to go. No one held a gun to my head. I took this ride on my own accord in hopes of finding a world record Mule Deer buck to photograph. I haven’t taken that picture yet, but I continue to do what I’ve always done in hopes of photographing the great king buck.

This Fall and early Winter began like many other years I’ve traveled this short stretch of black asphalt at the base of Casper Mountain.  Dark, scattered patches of pine trees border part of this lane and some folks have their homes nearby.  Grasses, brush and willows cover  much of the mountain slope.  This time of year the shrubs are  naked of leaves but the gray brown stalks of their branches clump together to give deer both food and shelter. The wind keeps some vegetation blown clear of snow providing browse for deer.  In previous years I usually saw those wily critters off in the distance but rarely close enough for a great award winning photograph. In the past I have managed pictures of cute fawns and sweet looking doe and occasionally some average size bucks.

Things began to improve this Winter on my several drives.  During one drive I spotted a large buck laying in the brush not far off the pavement.  He had the largest set of antlers I could remember during my trips on this road. He ignored me and my car.  He was just laying scanning his territory keeping an eye out for potential danger.  Obviously he wasn’t concerned with insignificant me.  I knew if I tried to walk closer to him, he’d spook and high tail it out of the country.  I didn’t want to  unnecessarily  stress him as he needed to conserve his energy during this time of year.  Consequently I stayed at my car and managed to get some first-rate photographs by using my 2x teleconverter, my 18-250 mm zoom lens and leaned on the front of my car for support.  Finally, I was photographing a large deer and was close enough to to fill my camera frame with BUCK!!

Laying and ignoring me

Resting but alert

For those of you unfamiliar, the 2x teleconverter doubles the focal length of a lens and is considered a poor photographer’s substitute for a real telephoto lens. I think that comes close to describing me.  The lens is placed between the lens and the camera body. Using the 2x, I cranked out my 18-250 mm lens to its max telephoto. That made it similar to using a 500 mm telephoto.  A solid tripod is helpful or if you don’t have one, the camera still needs to be braced. To steady the camera I leaned on the hood of the car and used my arms as a tripod.  I turned the engine off to prevent its idle from causing camera movement problems.  I might add, a 2x teleconverter requires twice a much additional light; therefore, another reason to hold steady is shooting at faster shutter speeds with this gadget is difficult.

After shooting way to many photographs, I was more inspired than ever as I drove away smiling with the buck still laying quietly and undisturbed. I knew I would return in the near future.  Maybe doing the same thing would actually bring different results.  It already had!!

Still motivated I made the drive on other day.  Amazingly, I  spotted some young bucks not to far off the road sparring with their antlers and trying to push each other around.  I’d never seen this before on this road or anywhere else.  My good luck this Winter was continuing.  They didn’t appear to be fighting for dominance and mating season was long over.  They were more like the 7th grade boys I used to teach.  Just pushing each other and goofing around trying to show they were tough.  Maybe they were practicing for another, more serious time during a future mating season?  It was amazing to just sit in my car, watch them, and take some pictures. This time I used the edge of the car window to brace my camera lens on.  I felt very fortunate to witness and photograph this miracle of nature.

Young bucks sparring.

Same road, a few days later, the turkeys were out.  No, not weird people, but real live wild turkeys…. Birds.  And the deer were out enjoying a stroll, too.  The turkeys didn’t seem to mind the company, but I think the deer might have had second thoughts or were at least curious as to what those feathery critters were all about.  Once again, just being there and watching and photographing was a special and fun experience.

Who are you?

What are you doing in my world?

I seem to be throwing some kinks into that old saying, “If you continue to do what you’ve always done, you’ll continue to get what you’ve always got” or maybe there’s something to be said for consistency or perseverance or being stubborn. Don’t get me wrong, I think there is wisdom in being aware of doing the same thing and then wondering why the results don’t change, but that might not always be the best move in photography.  In this instance, I think of myself as more of an Edison. He tested over a 1000 different filaments before he came up with the right one for the incandescent light bulb. He persisted. No, I’m not an Edison.  Far from it but driving that same thoroughfare was just me being like a purposeful Edison. Instead of producing inventions, I have desired to create photographs. I am convinced I should continue to drive the road to somewhere.

My next article will be about amazing mule deer that are faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!.  Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s …….!”   Or??  Well …. Maybe…..  Stay tuned for for my next article and discover the truth of flying deer…… No, not Rudolf.

Also please visit my web site at http://samsherman.imagekind.com/store/Images.aspx/b172e61a-f5e0-48b8-bc34-01507ac764d5/Wildlife for these and other wildlife photographs.  Skip back through the other galleries too.

There!!  Through the top  of the windshield  I could see its curved, sleek, green body jutting out over the top of my SUV. It was silhouetted against the clear, Air Force blue sky, dedicated to providing transportation over mountain lakes and streams.  The sleek canoe we rented was strapped tightly on top cutting through the Wyoming air on our way to Leigh Lake in the Tetons. Excitement was in the air. Having a canoe on top my SUV proved to me it was really happening. The Casper Photography Association had proposed this canoe/camping trip months ago, and it was finally beginning. This was a dream coming true for me.

All along the drive,  Lori, my fuel sharing traveling companion on this trip, kept a wary eye on the canoe and would comment, “yep, it’s still there. It looks good.”  Somewhat later after the Wyoming wind began its daily rush,  she attentively mentioned,  “Ohhhh, it’s slipping to the side.  I think the wind is pushing it.  Shouldn’t we stop and secure it better?”  My response was my typical hard-headedness, “naw, it’s on tight and isn’t going anywhere. Besides, we’re almost there”.  Lori was doubtful but remained calm and circumspect.

As we traveled the two-lane black top, my spirits soared the closer we were to Jackson. Fortunately, by the time we stopped, the canoe hadn’t soared but stayed secure enough.  We made it safely to Jackson, but no thanks to me as by the time we were there, the canoe had loosened somewhat. I probably should have listened to the more reasoned voice of Lori, but my flawed male pride had prevailed. Fortunately, that hadn’t caused a disaster.

Up early at the motel Saturday morning, I dressed for canoe travel.  Viewing my refection in the mirror, I thought I looked pretty dapper and suave as I admired myself wearing my new blue, long-sleeved, fishing shirt and my new cream colored Tilly hat perched at a slight angle on my head.  During my shopping spree before this trip I was hoping my new ensemble would make me look more like Harrison Ford or Clark Gable or some other famous male star of the movies. I did feel a little foolish admiring myself like that, as being vain or suave or dapper was not my style.  They say clothes make the man…. yeah, sure… I did enjoy a brief moment of my ego lifting before venturing forth and having my new found Harrison Ford attitude melt away.

I tend to silently worry about complications beyond my control or even caused by me. My trepidations on this trip  included tipping the canoe and soaking all our camping gear; being a grizzly’s lunch (headlines to include “Casper Photographer Eaten by Grizzly”); and surviving two nights sleeping on the hard ground with only a slender pad to keep the rocks and roots from poking me all night.  I really wanted to concentrate not being the cause of any mishaps on this trip as it seems sometimes misadventure follows me.  Maybe I could fake it, but for two more days?

It was still too early to meet the rest of the crew for breakfast, so I settled in to wait in the room until the others were in the lobby.  Might as well watch some news on the TV, as I would be out of civilized contact for a couple of days.  I brewed some coffee using the little coffee maker so graciously supplied by the motel.  While it sat there and splashed and gurgled brown liquid into the clear, glass pot, sending out its delicious aroma into the room, I stood searching for the TV.   Ummm, where was that TV?  I inspected the low standing, long, fake wood cabinet in the room thinking I’d see that big old clunker somewhere on it. Nope, it wasn’t obviously apparent sitting where I expected it to be. Did I have one? I peeked into the beige fridge and small brown microwave in case the TV was masquerading as one of them. I opened each door of the potential imposters. Maybe the TV was hiding inside either one or the other?  Nope, not there.  Wondering where it was, I shook my head in a bedazzled sort of way.   Finally I gave up my search and just figured this room didn’t have a TV.  I supposed  I didn’t need to watch the news.  It didn’t matter if the world was still turning ’round or not, I was going canoeing today.

Sipping my room brewed coffee, I wandered into the lobby now hoping to sneak in unnoticed  as I really didn’t feel dandy even if my attire might have temporarily given me that attitude when I was alone in my room. Deep down I knew I had no resemblance to  Harrison Ford.   Lolena was the only one there and had the graciousness not to mention my hat or shirt. I was relieved at that.  I slyly asked her if she had a TV in her room as I didn’t.   She looked up and gave me a knowing smile and said in a very  diplomatic way, “yes I did, it was on the wall”….. Ooooohhhhh….the light came on in my head, but my  ego took a slight tumble.  I hadn’t thought to look there. Having a TV on the wall was new to me. Who would’a thought? With a mischievous smile,She did admit that she earlier had the same problem as I did. She had searched for a big box on the dresser, but she had the presence of mind to finally look up to the wall, something I wasn’t smart enough to do. I did feel better knowing that someone else had a similar  problem as mine.

Slinking back to my room somewhat embarrassed, I slipped the rectangular shaped key card into the lock, gently and slowly opened the door and peeked into the room.  Sure ‘nuf there it was right where it had always been and not hiding in the microwave or fridge. It was a black edged, large, but thin, wall mounted, TV.  I didn’t even turn it on, just grabbed my gear, slipped out, and packed the SUV.

We were off on our drive towards String Lake, self confidence intact. Five vehicles each with a canoe strapped on the top,  convoying up the road.  I felt like “Rubber Duck”  from the movie, “Convoy”, with Kris Kristofferson. We even had small,  black, individual, two way radios so each vehicle could stay in contact.  I was on top of the world ready to brave the rigors of canoeing.   But, first stop was Dornan’s at Moose, for breakfast. This photo club runs on food, and we weren’t to be denied.  It was pretty good grub, too, including scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, hash browns, and crisp bacon.  What a delectable, outdoor fare enhanced with a fantastic view of the Grand Teton off across the roaring Snake River to our west.  The Grand’s snow fields contrasted against the gray granite, thrusting almost 7,000 feet above the valley floor.  Yellow Arrow Leaf Balsams were flowering in great profusion all around us.  The air smelled of Spring in the Rockies mixed with breakfast odors.  Scrumptious!!

After wolfing down that great breakfast, I wondered around with my camera snapping pictures.  “Gee”, I thought, what if I had a penny for every picture ever taken of the Grand Teton?  I’d be rich and have a condo in Jackson Hole. I’d be a “zillion billionaire”.  Dream on….

The Grand as seen from Dornan’s, its snow fields contrasting against the gray granite, thrusting almost 7,000 feet above the valley floor .  Yellow Arrow Leaf Balsams were flowering in great profusion all around us.

Scientists say the Tetons were formed from a giant fault in the earth seven to ten million years ago.  They are considered a “young” mountain range as most of the Rockies are over fifty million years old.  Since they are young, that means they haven’t had time for erosion to wear them down.  Those scientists say the Tetons are rising at the rate of about a foot every 500 years thus growing faster than they are eroding.  Don’t think I’ll stick around and watch rocks grow, and besides I’m afraid I’m eroding a little faster than the Tetons are eroding.

Finally, after much anticipation,  we rolled into String Lake. It’s obvious why String Lake was named what it was when viewed on a map.  It’s a string of shallow water connecting Leigh Lake with Jenny Lake. Our first task after arriving was to unload and carry the canoes to the water’s edge, lug the camping gear and baggage, and set everything by the canoes.

What a beautiful day…. clear,  blatantly blue sky blanketing translucent, clean, shallow water in String lake reflecting the Tetons.  A person could easily see the  rocky bottom a few feet down. Trout were abundant and their sleek, finny bodies could be seen as they would swim by.

String Lake

I’ve always had a fondness for String Lake as my wife, Sandy, and I used to bring our kids here and float around in little rubber rafts.  I still harbor visions of blowing up those rubbery little air hogs.  I put the Big Bad Wolf to shame with my huffing and puffing, lips to plastic, gasping and turning purple as I tried to blast air through that little polyethylene insert, the taste of plastic strong in my mouth.  Finally they were full enough of my hot air to launch which was easy and the kids loved them.  Scott even stepped out of the raft and waded in the icy water. Shaun and Sara were too young for such cold fun but enjoyed the ride. I always thought the lake was too frigid to wade in. Scott, on the other hand, waded and played in the bone-chilling water and relished it’s cleanness,  coldness, and the beauty of being alive and in the Tetons.

I left loading the canoe to others as I have no experience in this intricate operation. I had a great fear of potential harm if I had loaded the canoe. My  mental vision consisted  of the boat tipping over and dumping both of us as a result of my poor packing job.  We’d then be bobbing in the cold lake tasting it’s chill,  trying to grab our gear while seeing the canoe floating away upside down. That was not what I wanted.  Best to leave loading to those who knew how to pack it properly.  I hauled my two bags to the canoe and gave them to Denny to place correctly trusting his judgement.  After he placed them, I tied my bags to the canoe so that if we tipped, the bags wouldn’t go floating off. ….. more later on that…. it wasn’t a bright idea.  I was still learning and sometimes my learning curve is steep.

As we launched the canoes, I dreaded getting my feet wet or cold even though I was wearing sandals. Gee, what a pansy. Helping with launching the canoe, I gingerly stepped along the edge of the shore obviously trying to stay dry. Denny mentioned, “ you have to get your feet wet sometime, Sam”.  Darn, he had noticed.  I finally stepped into the clear, cold water. It was chilly but not as bad as I had imagined. Scott had been right. It was fun and just a part of boating.

As I prepared to step into the canoe, I was fearful of tipping it over.  Denny’s instructions were “stay low and in the middle, hold on to the gunnels (sides), one foot then the other and set down.”  I gingerly grabbed each side, bent way over but not too much and stayed low and gently sat on the hard crossbar.  It was a snap.  No tipping and everything was rather stable. My thoughts amazingly turned to, “I can do this.”  I think Denny holding the canoe had a lot to do with the canoe’s stability.  He didn’t want his gear to go for a swim.

Denny shoved the canoe off and stepped in without causing much movement. I envied him that talent.  He had me in front where I couldn’t do much damage, just paddle.  As it turned out, I couldn’t even do that correctly.  I kept paddling in such a manner that if left alone, we’d still be on String Lake going in circles. The moose next Winter would be wondering what we were doing on their lake frozen in the center.  I kept thinking, “this isn’t brain surgery, but maybe I needed brain surgery to figure out how to paddle”.  Because of my paddling, we tended to go in a zig zag pattern as we moved slowly toward the portage at the east end of String Lake.  Denney’s excellent use of the paddle as a rudder and his paddling skills helped to keep us going in a straighter line in spite of my erratic efforts.

Glancing up at the mountains rising to our west, their sharp, grey granite, crag edges with white snow fields, demanded my attention.  I discovered many years ago riding through the Park the first time at age 15 that there was no way a person could not keep from peering up and staring at the those magnificent Tetons.  Canoeing on String Lake didn’t change that but only intensified my desire to see the mountains and relish in the feel of a dream coming true.  Maybe that’s a reason I wasn’t able to help keep the canoe going in a straight line.

After zig zagging across String Lake and gawking at those fabulous Tetons, we reached the portage area. Denny told me to stop paddling that he would get us to shore.  This was smart thinking as we did want to land the canoe safely. After landing, I carefully stepped out and didn’t tip us over.  Success again. We unloaded each canoe and carried canoes and gear over a dirt, pine-lined, well-used portage that wasn’t steep but slightly uphill and not a great distance.  It was easily wide enough for four people holding and carrying each side of a canoe. It took several trips over the dirt path to get the gear and canoes to Leigh Lake. Each of us did our share of lugging everything we were to use at our camp on Leigh Lake.

At the Leigh Lake end of the portage there were log steps a person had to maneuver down in order to actually get to the water’s edge. I managed to successfully negotiate the steps several times either carrying gear or helping with a canoe and not falling and stumbling and needing life flighted out.  We once again loaded each canoe, and I tied my bags to the boat.  I managed to attentively crawl back in and didn’t tip us over.  More success. My paddling was better now as Denny’s training was beginning to sink into my feeble brain, or had Denny just figured out how to override my pathetic paddling?

Pete and Harry in their canoe on Leigh Lake

Wow!! what a view.  Mt Moran dominated the skyline jutting up clear and sharp with dark timber plunging steeply  to the edge of Leigh Lake.  Grey rock, green pines, blue sky– magnificence! Better than any post card or painting I’d ever seen. A living canvas of mountain splendor.  Once again I just had to keep surveying such grandeur. I think I could have counted the individual trees because the atmosphere was so clear and clean and pure. The fragrant smell of mountain air and clean water was dominating my olfactory senses. No way was I going to not view and take mental images of this scene. At least now we were heading mostly towards Mt. Moran, and I was in front of the canoe. I could gaze and paddle at the same time.  I didn’t take pictures, as I didn’t want to get my camera out for fear of wiggling and capsizing the canoe.  Once again, visions of us tasting the cold water as our canoe filled with water came to mind. Consequently, the only pictures of this part of our journey are locked in my mind unable to figure a way out.

On the hour and half paddle, I recollected that Mt. Moran was named after the landscape artist who first painted the Tetons.  Thomas Moran was a British-born painter whose beautiful works of Yellowstone in 1871 probably tipped the balance toward creating our nation’s first national park.  (from the book Grand Teton Trivia by Charlie Craighead).  I could certainly understand why he’d be painting these scenes.  If only I wasn’t a scardy cat and didn’t feel comfortable for fear of  losing my camera to the depths below, I would have taken some pictures.  But, oh my, what magnificent watery scenes.

After we rounded the first point of land, the wind came up, and I could even see small white caps on the once placid lake.  I paddled hard even if I didn’t know what I was doing.  At times the waves splashed up and sent sprays of water into the front of the canoe and across my face.  I was beginning to think a trout might get blown in, but I suppose they are way too smart to be in a canoe while the wind is blowing white caps.  Finally, paddling closer to shore, the wind and water calmed, and we dropped off one group at site 15.  We needed two camp sites as the Park Service allows only six people in any one camp.  We had ten total.  Harry, Pete, Francis and her husband, Wayne, would be camping here.  Later they would canoe to our site for dinner, more photography and socializing.

The rest of us continued plunging hard back into the white caps as we moved further up the shore of the lake. Denny made sure we weren’t broadsided by waves.  Tasting the splashed in wetness was fun and exhilarating. Viewing Mt. Moran and the surrounding Lake was the most amazing feeling.  I was catching a glimpse of what it might have been like to be a French voyageur or mountain man with a canoe loaded heavy with pelts, plying the cold waters of the Rocky Mountains teeming with beaver and other fur bearing animals. They must have admired this scene and had similar feelings that I was having.

Finally, we arrived at site #16, Paintbrush Inlet, our site which was a pretty area just off the water with a circular fire box and logs placed in a square so the campfire could be enjoyed.  Lolena, Dennis, Lori, Al, Margi, and myself would be camping in this site.

As we were unloading, Denny  noticed and mentioned I shouldn’t have tied my heavy bags on the canoe as that might cause the boat to be pulled under the water from their weight if we would have toppled over. Canoes do float if turned over but not with heavy bags dragging them down.   Ohhhh crud ….. I had messed up.  My brain then went into over drive as I imagined watching the canoe slowly disappear below the surface.  Would I have dived for the canoe, my eyes open trying to see the canoe either on the bottom or continuing its slow decent in that cold clear lake? I’d probably be staring at fish eye ball to eye ball, my arms flaying out to pull myself down deep and kicking my feet, my cheeks and eyes all bulged out trying to hold air,  all the while fully clothed and life vest on. My new Tilly hat floating somewhere above to mark the spot of my error.  Fortunately, that didn’t happen, but I did feel badly for having unknowingly caused potential harm.

We checked out the campsite.  It was neat, clean and small.  When we departed, it would be the same way.  We’d only take pictures and leave footprints ( I read that somewhere once and thought I’d throw it in here).

Campsite #16

Lolena began to fix dinner as it was getting that time of day. She had volunteered to bring all the fixings and do the cooking.  What a woman!  She made Paella.  Among other ingredients it has sausage, chicken, onion, red pepper, canned tomatoes, saffron, bell pepper, rice, etc. She fixed it in the large wok she brought and cooked it as a one dish meal using the gas stove for heat one of us carried in a canoe.The aroma of the paella drifted across the campsite making my mouth water. Here was a meal for ten hungry photographers who knew how to eat.  I asked her how she did it, and she just, once again flashed her winning smile and said, “I’ve been doing such as this for years and just know how to do it”.  Lolena is an amazing camp cook.  What an fantastic feed in the wilderness!  I’m surprised a grizzly didn’t show up for a taste. That critter would have brushed us aside and dug right into the paella.  I doubt he would have shared it.

Lolena fixing dinner using her large wok and Harry in the background probably smacking his lips.

Francis sharing her birthday watermelon she hauled in on her canoe. Pete was off to the right taking his piece of watermelon for consumption.

While Lolena was creating that fantastic meal, some of us went searching for firewood.  Firewood was pretty scarce because of the heavy use the area received during the earlier part of the Summer. Scouting for wood and picture opportunities, my camera dangling from around my neck, I followed as close to the shore line as I could.  Scrambling and climbing over old, large, downed, grey trees with blue-green lichen clinging to their sides then squeezing through thickets of green brush with the smell of wet, boggy ground, I finally found myself at water’s edge.  Mt. Moran loomed large ballooning up from Leigh Lake. The mountain was awesome with its gleaming cliffs and deep shadows of blues and greys and white glaciers and snow fields.  I took some photographs, but nothing was going to capture the high I was feeling and the incredible beauty I was experiencing.

Mt. Moran loomed large ballooning up from Leigh Lake. The mountain was awesome with its gleaming cliffs and deep shadows of blues and greys and white glaciers and snow fields.

After dinner we gathered up the garbage and food and anything that might have a food smell and took it to the bear box and bear pole.  This was a place away from the campsite the Park Service had provided to help keep the bears away from camp.  The idea is to move the bear bait away from campers so that we’d be less likely to become a grizzly’s meal.  The bear pole was a steel pole planted in the ground and sticking high into the air with four steel spikes evenly spaced at the top. It was designed to hang articles high enough to be out of reach of any plundering bear. A green-colored steel box that latched was also there for our use.  We crammed the rest of our food a into it.  Thus secured, we all felt better that we were protecting ourselves from a marauding grizzly, but I was also a little sad as all my snacks were hanging on the pole out of  not only a bear’s reach but my reach.  It was apparent I would be on a diet the rest of the night.

We saw no bears nor any new sign of bear.  Most of us did bring bear pepper spray but had no need for it and that’s fine with me.  I could just see myself facing a charging grizzly, then quick drawing my bear spray, hitting him with the pepper, and just making him mad.  Survivors would know I’d been there when they found my spray can,  camera, and maybe what was left of my Tilly hat, in the bear poop.

As the sun set,  we pulled out cameras and shot more pictures.  There were canoers and kayakers on the lake, dead trees picturesquely jutting out near water’s edge, and Mt. Moran obligingly posing for us.  The sky darkened but not before it turned a salmon color and pleased our visual senses and our cameras.

As the sun set on Leigh Lake, the water turned a slight shade of salmon and many of us captured it on our cameras.

During the evening, we sat around the campfire, exchanged pleasantries and stories about the day or just sat and absorbed the amazing experience of primitive camping in the Tetons.

Lolena and Lori

Lori, Margi, Al, Denny, Lolena

The shadows slowly darkened. Reflections began to disappear in the dark rippling lake. Campfire smoke drifted in its gray color encircling the area and it’s smell gave each of us the perfume of a day well spent.  The stars appeared above in the black sky one at a time eventually creating a ceiling of thousands of tiny sparkling campfires as each of us, one or two at a time, drifted off to our tents and sleeping bags.

End of Part 1 which consist of our first two days.  Please come back for Part 2 which will be about days three and four.  Time of publication is not yet established meaning I’m a slow writer.

For more of my photos of the Tetons, please go to http://samsherman.imagekind.com/  and click on “galleries” and then “WyomingSummer”.  There are at least two pages of WyomingSummer. Please look through all pages in this gallery.  Thank you for any purchases and don’t forget you can interchange mats and frames and find one to your liking.  Framed or unframed photos will be shipped directly to you from Imagekind.com.

One of the most unexpected events I can remember in my summers working for the Forest Service is the hot day my Forest Service pickup fell out from under me. I can look back on it with humor today since it’s been over 4o years, and I am still reminiscing about this galvanizing event. It must have made an impression on my young, naive mind.  I was employed as a Fire Guard on the Big Piney District of the Bridger National Forest. It seemed to me that Fire Guard simply meant that I did whatever the ranger told me to do from fixing and building fence, to cleaning outhouses, picking up trash along the road, building corrals,  fire pre-suppression and control, fighting fire and anything else he could think of to keep me out of trouble and out of his hair.  Sometimes that even worked but not on this day, at least not our of trouble.  It wasn’t even my fault. Really is wasn’t!

I had just crossed Edwards Creek, a small, clear, mountain stream tumbling on its way to larger streams and on to the Green River. The drone of the tires almost hypnotized me as they pounded over the rock and gravel of the road.  Hot, dry air rushed through the open window irritating my eyes with noxious smelling dirt filtering into the truck cab.  Speeding along about 20 mph, without warning I discerned a peculiar racket.   Thud, kerwack, wham!!  Thud.   Feeling the loss of control of my rear end; the truck’s, I mean, my stomach went queasy.  Sensing the left rear side of my truck dropping,  there was no time to react much less panic.  I was going nowhere fast.  Instantly I came to a screeching halt. I was stopped dead in my tracks.  Road dust poured through the open windows burning my eyes.  The air tasted like dirt as I sat there trying to figure out what had happened.  I was dumbfounded.  Dumbfounded pretty much fits me at that age of life anyway, but, just leave “founded” off and it would be more accurate.  Had the world stopped?   “Flat tire” came to mind.  I had experienced those before, but they didn’t act like this.  They would usually have a popping sound proceeding the thump, thump, thump of the flat,  and I might have trouble steering the green beast of a truck.  In short order I discovered a nasty flat wasn’t the problem at all.

The pickup truck was, as I recall, a 1957 Chevy, and, of course, Forest Service green. Not my favorite color, but that’s a different story.  It drove smoothly and usually caused no problems except this day it did.  Or I should say the left rear wheel had problems on this day.  Wheels are supposed to turn round and round,  but they aren’t supposed to turn so much they rip out of the lug bolts.  This was later diagnosed as metal fatigue.  Who would expect that?  I sometimes found myself fatigued and could understand that, but not metal!  At the time I was more mechanically challenged than I am today.  Yes, I know, in the 1960’s we didn’t use that term “challenged”.  That’s a newer term,  but it’s nicer than the term used then…. mechanically stupid would probably been used in that era.  And I was, but it wouldn’t have mattered if I was a mechanical genus.  Metal fatigue would catapult this into my memory.

I jumped out of the truck, somewhat frantic and befuddled, hoping no one else would be driving up the reddish-colored dirt road as I was stuck in the middle of it and couldn’t move the vehicle if I wanted. That Chevy reminded me of a green, macabre monster just sitting there defeated and unable to budge, road dust still tainting the air around it.  At first, my mind rebelled at the ludicrous spectacle perplexing my vision.   Examining the view more closely, I discerned that the frame of the truck was ensconced on the ground and the left green-colored rear wheel fender was buckled under itself.  The Lug bolts were still attached to the hub. The rest of the wheel, with a gaping hole in the center, was laying next to the truck as if someone had just pulled it off and deposited it there. I’m sure I was being laughed at by someone or something.  It was a sorrowful looking scene, the truck all crosswise in the road with the wheel hub sitting on the ground sticking into the red dirt.  It wasn’t pretty. Scratching my head I examined the situation.  Slowly it began to dawn on me what had happened. Accessing the circumstance as only a twenty year old could, I thought about panicking.  Instead I began to ponder a solution.  Solution, oh solution,  Wherefore aren’t thou, oh solution?  Slowly I developed a response to my predicament.  No problem;  just pull out the handyman jack; jack it up and mount the spare. Piece of cake.

I really appreciate handyman jacks.  I’ve employed them for various reasons besides jacking the truck up to replace flats including winching me out of mud holes into which I should have never steamrolled.  Don’t mention that to the the ranger.  This is another story of my lapses of judgement he doesn’t need to know about.  I knew how “handy” these jacks could be, but I didn’t really use it very often as who really needs to take advantage of a jack every day or even every week.  I jerked the jack out and noticed it was dirty, clogged up with gunk, and smelled kind of yucky. Next my thoughts changed to “ut oh”.  The words of Ray Lewis came back to me.  “Sam, keep your jack cleaned and oiled and wrap the spring apparatus so it won’t get dusty and dirty.  Someday you’ll want to use it and need to have it ready.”  Did I listen?  Of course not.  My jack was a mess and wouldn’t do what jacks are supposed to do.  Namely, jack so a vehicle will go up.

Ray was an older more experienced employee who accommodated

us kids when he didn’t need to and probably didn’t want to, but we learned tremendously  from him and respected him even more.  He wasn’t ancient. He was probably in his late 50’s or early 60’s.   At that time to me being about 20 that meant he was an old critter.  I was told he was originally a redhead, but you couldn’t prove that by looking at him when I knew him.  His hair was snow white and close-cropped.  His limp I’m sure bothered him, but he never let it get in his way.  He seemed to know something about everything.  He once told me he had first come to the Piney area in a wagon with his parents on the Lander Cutoff of the Oregon Trail. He said that as young man he had homesteaded on Fountenelle Creek but eventually gave it up. Not old enough to be a pioneer in the Oregon Trail sense of the word, folks, when he was a boy, still traveled by horse and wagon.  He probably silently laughed at us young guys as he dealt with our antics.  His smile was infectious but when he added his chuckle to that smile and shook his head back and forth, we knew we’d done something brainless.   I was visualizing Ray as I remembered that one important lesson he had once stressed with me.  Keep your handy man jack clean and oiled.  Of course, who really did that?  He did.  I didn’t and would quickly regret it.  I was brainless.

The jack wouldn’t go up.  It was clogged with grease, road dirt, and all kinds of crude.  Here I was out in the “wilderness” with no help and a jack that didn’t work, but  hey, no problem.  I’d use my Forest Service radio to call for help even if that would be humiliating.  Maybe Brian, the Recreation Guard, was nearby and would come to help.   I clicked the send button of the radio and was rewarded with the crackling noise of loud, blank, static. That was not a good sound.  I was still in the Edwards Creek Valley surrounded by tall lodgepole pine trees and mountains;  consequently,  the radio couldn’t get out from my position.  No help would be coming by way of me crying out for help using that piece of technology. Sad but true, I was stuck.  Did I panic yet?  Believe it or not, no.  No panic attack this time but I knew I had a wacky problem to solve.

I was torn between hoping someone, Brian, the ranger, a tourist, or someone, would come by and help me out or if I should start walking, or, ….. figure it out myself.  Of course,  if help came they’d see my embarrassing predicament, a jack that didn’t work from my own ineptness. What smug, twenty  year old, Forest Service employee wanted that?  No sir, not me. Walking wasn’t going to be fun as it was a long way home.  I was in dire straights.  I’d have to get out of this myself, somehow.

What to do? What would Ray do besides snicker at me, smile, and shake his head?  Sometimes the most simplistic of ideas is the right one.  I needed to clean the jack!  How to do that?  Wracking my feeble brain, I remembered I happened to have part of a five gallon can of gasoline I used for the chain saw.  Grabbing it and a rag, I threw the jack into the middle of that red, dirt road and poured a small quantity of gasoline onto it.  The harsh smell of fuel wafted up to my nostrils as I scrubbed the gasoline into the jack gears with the rag.  I cleaned out all that muck and gunk that had collected during the summer then dribbled a little motor oil onto the spring.  Setting it up right,  I tested it by levering the handle up and down and letting the oil lubricate the spring and pin.  It worked. The moveable parts of  the jack ran smoothly. It’s amazing what a little TLC could do.  I managed to save myself!  Who cared if the radio wouldn’t work or no one would come along?  Walking out was no longer necessary as an option.  Maybe I was fortunate the radio didn’t work?  I could save myself and not look moronic in front of my boss.  I could do that another time with a lot less effort.

Congratulating myself, I found suitable size rocks to block the wheels in order to prevent the vehicle from rolling, placed the jack under the rear bumper and cranked the glossy oak handle up and down.   Miracle of miracles,  the truck moved up and up as it should have.  I could see the pin move in out of the sprocket holes of the jack. Finally,  the broken wheel hub was high enough to remove that ugly looking circle of fatigued metal.  I quickly used my lug bolt wrench which I hadn’t even lost yet, loosened the lugs, pulled off the torn metal of the decrepit wheel, threw it in the truck with the old tire,  put the spare tire on, and tightened the lugs.  With excitement bursting its way out,  I felt like singing but didn’t want to scare the wildlife.

Reversing a handy man jack is as simple as flipping a lever.  Since I had cleaned the jack, it worked flawlessly. Cranking the smooth, wooden handle again, the truck was gently lowered to the ground one notch at a time as the jack spring pulled the pin to the next lower sprocket.  Next, after removing the jack, I lovingly swaddled the jack in the rag I had used to clean it, and set it gently and lovingly back to its proper place in the pickup bed.  Unblocking the wheels, I was soon on the road again, hot air and dust swirling through the cab, filling my nose with the perfume of road dirt.   I felt smug and had a large smile on my face.  Well, maybe I was also relieved that I wouldn’t be embarrassed if found mired crosswise on that road. Maybe I wasn’t so dimwitted after all?

A person would think that the truck wheel falling out from under me would happen once in a lift time.  Nope, it happened again.  I wasn’t alone the next time. I was with the assistant ranger and he was driving, but that’s another story for another time.  I’ll leave it there and repeat what I asked the assistant ranger, as I watched a truck wheel roll past us and sensed the rear of the truck drop and we crashed to the ground,  “Is your  handyman jack clean and working properly?”

Sam Sherman in Forest Service uniform Sept. 1968 at McDougal Gap, Big Piney, Ranger District, Bridger National Forest, Wyoming Range. Photo by Sandy Sherman.

See Sam’s photographs at  http://samsherman.imagekind.com/.

I’m a college kid again!  Well, maybe not a” kid” but at least a college senior.  Ok, not that kind of senior, but a senior college student, the kind with age and it’s great.  I can go to college and not worry about girls, pimples, gagging from dorm food, or even grades.  So what if I’m only auditing one class for no grade!  I am still taking a college class, a digital photo class!  I’m enjoying it and even learning a few things about Photoshop.  Just goes to show even this old dog can learn new tricks and sometimes even scratch behind his ears but not with my hind leg.

We were assigned a project that used some of the Photoshop commands we recently learned.  This lab assignment was to create a cover for a fictitious magazine. The professor said we could create any type we liked as long as it wasn’t pornographic or sexually suggestive. Darn, there went one idea.   Well, on to other ideas.  Did I want to be sensible or humorous or show how lamebrained and off the wall I could be? Lamebrained is easy for me,  so maybe I should challenge myself more.  How about humor?  Sometimes my humor goes over people’s heads so maybe I should hold off on that one for now.  Which leaves sensible.  I suppose I can be more sensible at times.  That for me is a more difficult task, so I’d better challenge myself and try to impress the professor.

Consequently, I selected a photograph of a Mule Deer I had recently taken and decided to make a standard cover for a fictitious wildlife magazine.  I had to tweak the original photo by using that Photoshop “magic” I had learned.  This required a  little “levels” adjustment.  Tweak the exposure a little then add text and, walla’, a magazine cover.  I’m not going to discuss those Photoshop steps here as this is not a Photoshop tutorial.  Besides,  I want to keep you guessing and thinking I’m a photographic genius.

Before Photoshop "magic"

After Photoshop "magic"

This is supposed to be a “sensible” type cover. Maybe it is, maybe it’s not,  but, I was having so much fun, I did another cover.  Fun?  How about a little humor after all?  A quick look through of some of my pictures brought out a scanned slide  I hadn’t used before.  I saw the neck collar in the picture and thought “mule”.  It was probably a horse collar but “mule” came to my mind.  I took the picture in North Carolina many years ago.  The collar and harnesses  looked as though it had been hanging there for years.  Therefore, the idea of “retirement” came to mind.  Also,  I’m retired,  so it just seemed a fit for this old mule.  Plus, I liked the photo.  The old leather horse/mule gear was fascinating and fit right in with the weathered , brown siding of the old barn.  It appeared to me that someone hung it there and just walked off.  I guessed that the mules were sent to retirement and the owner followed.  Old mules don’t die, we just discolor.

There's a little more humor in this one.

The digital photo college class is fun and challenging and even gets me to thinking more about my photography.  Yes, sometimes I do think and often times it doesn’t even hurt.  I would recommend that if there are any photographers out there who have an interest in improving their pictures, they learn a little about Photoshop.  Photoshop Elements is a lighter version that is less expensive and easier to use,  and I would suggest that one for the beginner.  It is somewhat different from the full version and has less to it but still enough to help improve your photos.  And, so, what if you find out you are the old dog learning new tricks?   You might even find yourself as a college kid.

Please check out more of my photographs at my web site.   http://SamSherman.imagekind.com/

Zoom, whiz, zip came the vehicles as they whipped by me as I held my camera and eyed the old, grey barn across the snow-covered, icy road. Scott patiently waited for me in his truck parked as far to the right as he could fit, flashers going.  I had noticed this old barn last Summer when I was in North Idaho visiting.  At that time I just couldn’t visualize how I wanted to photograph it.  I guess I was having photo block.  Now it was Winter and there was a fresh layer of snow covering everything. The road had been plowed to the sides but that created huge heaps of snow where it had been pushed consequently there was no shoulder for Scott to park his truck.  That made it difficult to really get off the road and out of the rushing traffic. Fortunately the traffic had been light.

After the last car passed, I gingerly began to step across the road.  “Oops,” I thought, “here comes a big, loaded, logging truck traveling fast.”  I retreated back to my edge of the road. Roar, whish, it kicked up snow as it passed by.  Once again I attempted to venture across. Yikes, I said to myself, ” here comes a large, yellow pickup truck.”   Where had all this traffic come from? There was basically none when we stopped. The pickup slowed down and I stepped back to my edge waving thank you and let it pass. “There are nice people here” I thought.  I looked both left and right. “No cars!”  Warily I made my way across the icy road.   I viewed the scene deciding on the composition knowing I probably didn’t have much time before the next vehicle would be zooming by.  Compose, zoom, crop, let the auto exposure do it’s job, shoot.  I walked up the road a little further and repeated my steps of picture taking. I looked down the road and saw a long string of vehicles coming in the distance.  I quickly made my way back to Scott and his truck. Jumped in and off we went.

After returning to Scott and Tonya’s house, I quickly loaded the new pictures onto my computer.  As I viewed the photo I liked best, I decided it might look good in black and white.  Doing my computer, Photoshop magic, I turned it into a monochrome. To me it looked better in black and white and everyone else agreed.  Consequently that’s the way you may see it below.

Barn off Dufort Road, North Idaho

Please check out this photo and others available for purchase at  http://samsherman.imagekind.com/.  Click on Galleries.  This photo is in the Idaho gallery.

The sign speaks for itself.

5:30 a.m.  5:30 A.M. !!!  What am I doing here standing on this hard, concrete sidewalk, shivering, grinning like a silly cartoon character,  in the cold morning, waiting for this sporting goods store to open??? I must have lost my mind.  Don’t laugh! I think I used to have one. Oh, right! We came here with some friends for the “good deals” at 30% off when the store opened at 6:00 a.m.  I’m also here because my wife, Sandy, dragged me “kicking and screaming” the previous evening …. to shop.  While there that evening she found some things she thought she’d like for Christmas and we should come back the next morning and “enjoy” the 30% discount the sporting goods store was offering.  After stirring me out of bed at 5:00 a.m., here were are, 5:30 a.m…. waiting…. waiting in a long line for the store to open at 6:00. It was the longest 30 minutes of waiting I can remember since I was a kid waiting for Christmas. Of course I had to make it seem it was awful and bad so Sandy would feel sorry for hauling me out that early.  I wasn’t going to admit it was actually kind of enjoyable standing under the town’s Christmas lights and visiting with friends and breathing in the cool, crisp morning air. No way would I let that out of the bag. I’d stand there pretending I was miserable no matter how much enjoyment I was having “shopping”.

We had been invited by friends, John and Cindy, to go to Buffalo, Wyoming, to the small community’s Christmas’ parade and to participate in some fun shopping and socializing. We were also joined by our friends, Lloyd and Joan. Turned out to be a great trip.  We stayed at the historic Occidental Hotel in downtown Buffalo right there on the corner of Main Street and Fetterman.  It’s “located near the Bozeman Trail at the foot of the Bighorn Mountains and visited by many famous people of the Old West as they traveled along the Trail”.  At least that’s what their web site says.  I’d recommend it to anyone, but beware of the ghosts!

During a previous visit, we were entertained by stories of ghosts who inhabit the hotel.  One such story is about Emily, who was seven years old when she died, allegedly of cholera. According to hotel stories she has been heard to say “Please hold me.”  During this trip, I mentioned to a very nice gentleman wearing colorful cowboy boots who works at the hotel that we hadn’t been bothered by the ghosts.  He told me that sometimes they come out to play and sometimes not. He revealed that recently while he was working he felt someone tugging on his shirt sleeve like a child would while wanting to get the attention of an adult or parent,  BUT, no one was there…  Well, I’m not sure I believe in ghosts, but that was one man’s first-hand experience tale.

Is the Occidental haunted? Are those ghosts in the window? Probably not.

The room we had was called the Rose Room

Saturday evening was the Christmas parade, but before it started it was suggested we go to the quilting shop as they had a special hot cocoa mix.  Well, I like hot cocoa so quilting store or not, I was game.  We all went traipsing down Main street to the quilting shop and walked through the front door as if we knew what we were doing. I nonchalantly looked over some of their tables and racks as if I intended to buy something. Strolled right into the back room as if I worked there, and found the special cocoa mixed with 3 liquors.  The gentleman poured us each a cup of the creamy liquid.  Man!! It was good. It slid right on down with no problem. I did feel guilty about not buying anything, but Sandy fixed that as she found some gifts for the grand kids. The store was also selling chocolate candy, and it’s very difficult for me to pass one of those shelves up. I smiled with my Santa twinkly eyes and politely requested eight truffles and two almond/chocolate turtles. The lady was more than happy to oblige my request.  I think the special cocoa turned out to be a good idea for the quilt shop proprietress as I’m sure their sales sky rocketed that night.  Plus, I’m also sure she appreciated my Santa smile….

The parade was enjoyable to view.  The night was warm at 27 degrees and no wind, very pleasant.  It included all the things you would expect from a small town Christmas parade. It had cub scouts, fire trucks, floats, and Santa Claus. In addition John and Lloyd added the pungent smell of cigar smoke.  Seems they have made it a tradition to each bring a cigar and light it up at the beginning of the parade so that everyone in front of the Occidental watching the festivities can enjoy their cigars with them.  Ummm, come to think of it, there weren’t any people standing around them, and they did have a great view of the parade.

Lloyd and John with their cigars at the parade

Sandy, Joan, Cindy

The Virginian is the fine eating establishment connected with The Occidental.  Our group delighted in a terrific meal there one evening.  I had the Occidental Mixed Grill which consisted of sauteed shrimp, scallops and fish.  It was a mouth watering feast.  After lingering over our meal it came time to pay. Sandy suggested it was time I started taking responsibility of going through the process of paying for our meals out. Just so you’ll know, I have been allowing my wife to do this for years and we’ve had a running joke that I should be pulling the credit card out and paying. I complained that I didn’t usually pay because I hate to carry my wallet with me. This night I had my wallet so I was going to get stuck paying.  Our friend, John, said I should carry a “man bag”, and we all laughed.  Of course, I wasn’t smart enough nor quick enough to have a good come back right then but I finally came up with one.  I reached down, grabbed Sandy’s purse, pointed to it, and said I had my ” man bag” as I dangled the purse in front of us and said, “and she (pointing to Sandy) carries it.”  That got a good laugh out of everyone…. except Sandy who gave me a searing look. I pretended to inspect my plate instead of looking back a Sandy and respectfully continued my dinner .

Breakfast is my favorite meal. There is lots of cholestrol there, too.  The Busy Bee is a newly rebuilt and reopened cafe right next to the Occidental.  I had heard good things about it from an e-mail that Craig Johnson sends to people on his mailing list.  He writes enjoyable mystery books about a fictional deputy sheriff in a fictional Wyoming town which might be Buffalo.  The character tends to do business with a cafe called the Busy Bee.  He just waltzes right in and asked for “the usual” whereupon the waitress brings him whatever she feels like.  But I digress.  Our group was intent upon eating at and enjoying the Busy Bee.  And we did both.  There was plenty of chatter from us and other patrons but in addition we heard the sounds of Gene Autry serenading us with Rudoph,  Jingle Bells and other Christmas favorites.  He was always one of my favorite country crooners along with Roy Rodgers and Dale Evans when I was a young boy wanting to be a cowboy.

The Occidental Hotel with the Busy Bee attached

The original sign of the original Busy Bee Cafe'

Busy Bee cup sold for only $8.50

All good things must end. Darn it,   and so did our Buffalo weekend. Sunday morning we were up relishing another cholestrol breakfast at the Busy Bee.  I ordered “the usual” and got eggs, bacon, and hash browns with coffee. We came with John and Cindy so of course went back with them.  On the way we replayed in conversation all the fun activities of Buffalo’s Christmas parade weekend.

Side note:

Sandy student taught in Buffalo a “few” years ago.  I thought it might be nice to include a picture of the place she lived while there. At the time it was the Pacific Power and Light building.  Most of the student teachers were housed there.  Originally back in the “olden” days (no, even before me) the rooms upstairs were where some of the ladies of ill repute took care of their business.   I’m not sure if they were sending a message to the student teachers comparing the past with the present or not but that was the joke at the time.  At least the room was affordable.  Sandy was in the upper middle room.  They still rent rooms there and probably still to student teachers.

Sandy lived in the upper middle room when she student taught in Buffalo

For more of my photographs please go to my web site at   http://samsherman.imagekind.com/store/default.aspx  and click on galleries.

“The End” !!!  What?  Wait !! How do I take a photograph of the “the end” ? “The end.”  Of what?  The world?  What?  I’ll have to figure that one out before I’m finished.  “Old wood”, no problem that abounds in Natrona County.  “Lines”,  ok, I can do that.  “Animals”!!  Hey, this is Wyoming. There is wildlife everywhere, even in town. So, no problem. “Framed”, fine, that can be done but might be cliché.  “Chimney”??  Well, We might be able to find something.  “Orange”!! Oh, no.  It’s Fall.  How about yellow or gold?  Nope, it was “Orange” by decree of the president of the club even though I protested.  “Partner”.  Ok,  I can handle that.  Those were the themes the Casper Photography Association came up with for their annual photo scavenger hunt.

It was once again a challenge.  We picked eight themes and a partner, and we were to go out and figure ways to illustrate the theme in a photograph.  We could only use two pictures for each theme.   Consequently we were limited on the number of times we could click the shutter.  I can do this!  I know I can!  Even this old fuddy duddy can come up with something.  Fortunately, we weren’t expected to do this alone.  We could consult with our partner and we could explore the community together feeding off each other’s ideas.

I managed to muddle through the morning and come up with a few pictures that didn’t turn out to badly.  If it wasn’t for my partner, Denny, and his inspiration, I wouldn’t have done very well.

Our first idea was to go to the Oil and Gas Commission office where there is an old, antique drilling rig that was made of wood.  What a great idea for “old wood”!  As we were driving to take that picture, we passed a  flock of geese sashaying along the river bank.  Denny mentioned that maybe we could get our animal picture there, so I quickly found a turn around place and went back to where the congregation of birds were, grabbed the camera and jumped out of the car.  Denny was having some problems with his camera and didn’t get any shots because the geese quickly strutted off and out of site.   I did manage to shoot the one picture shown below.  After taking a gander at the picture I decided instead of “animal” I could use this as my “orange” picture because the beaks and feet of the geese showed so much orange. It was a stretch but if I didn’t get any others better I could also change my fancy and use it for the “animal” picture.

orange beaks and feet

“The end”  I imaged would be a very difficult theme to portray, but once again Denny saved the day.  He knew a great place.  We hiked up a blacktopped path after parking in a lot in Mills. It turned in a longer tramp than I anticipated as Denney has long legs compared to my shorter limbs. Keeping up with him was turning into a chore and I could feel my breathing get heavier as if I was chasing a deer. Oh, wait, it was Denny I was trying to keep up with. He walks like a deer runs, but finally there in front of us was the end of the tracks.  What a perfect place for our theme, “the end”.  Catching my breath I tried to conjure up a good composition.  Denny wanted to get both rails in his picture and the two signs on each side of the track.  He was right in his thoughts,  the track ends and the signs tells the rest of the story.  I was concerned the viewer might not be able to read the signs in the 4″ x 6″ prints we were going to use to show our creations.  Consequently, I used only one sign and the track ending.

The End

As Denny was photographing his vision of “the end”, I saw what I thought would be a not to bad picture of the theme, “lines.”

Lines

I would call these lines more specifically leading lines as the rails lead the viewer’s eye right to Denny who is the subject of the picture.  The rails are not really the subject they add to the composition by helping the viewer find the subject easier.  Even the railroad ties help in finding the subject in that they are the repetitive, monotonous pattern and the subject is the oddball, interesting shape.  No, I didn’t call Denny an oddball even though he might argue with that, but his shape is so very different (oddball) from the rails or the ties.   Consequently, he sticks out and is easily noticed, and that’s one of the things that make a good photo, the subject is easily recognized and seen by the viewer.

The last photo theme I would like to tell you about is “animal.”  Search as we might from whipping around the gravel road drive through at Garden Creek Falls, then careening over Wyoming Boulevard, and cruising around town, we couldn’t find any more animals since we spotted the geese.  Now this is Wyoming.  There is wildlife everywhere, so where to proceed? Racking my feeble brain, I finally suggested we drive up by the Events Center as usually there were antelope there.  No luck until we saw a two track dirt road with humps of yellow grass growing in the center.  Denny suggested we follow it, so I turned my Blazer onto the rough, pot hole-filled road.  As we crested a small grass covered hill, there they were, two nice bucks.  I eased the Blazer closer just knowing the critters would jump and skedaddle at any minute.  They hung around long enough for us to grab our pictures.  The best part of my picture below I believe is its simplicity.  I used my zoom lens to crop out and was fortunate enough  to be slightly down hill from the buck.  That allowed me to shoot up and skylight the buck against a beautiful blue sky.  The foreground grass adds to the simplicity.  Once again there is a repetitive pattern and the odd shape, the buck, stands out.  Denny was also able to capture a nice picture of a buck antelope.

Animal

Notice how the colors all go together.  The gold grass, the tan antelope, the blue sky with a few white clouds.  Simplicity, balance, angle, and color all go together to make this a nice photograph.

“The end” turned out ok but it wasn’t my best photo.  The “animal” photo probably was the best I did that day.  All in all. it was a good day of photography filled with challenges, some met, some not, but a good day.

Please go to my photo web site so you can enjoy some additional photographs of mine.   http://samsherman.imagekind.com/store/default.aspx

Walking quietly down the highway minding my own business on a short, pleasurable jaunt with the tall forest of North Idaho rising all around and the ribbon of road stretching ahead, I began to notice in the distance a cheering crowd of people with their brightly painted cars and flowing colored ribbons, apparently  encouraging me ever onward.  The crowd was ringing bells, whooping and howling for, what was apparently, me to hurry on to the finish line.  As I picked up my step and moved on more quickly towards what I thought was to be glory at the finish line, I was tempted to put my arms up in the victory sign and say things like, “thank you, thank you very much, I appreciate your encouragement.” But, was I dreaming or was I part of a Chevy Chase movie or what?

As I was preparing to raise my hands in the victory salute, to bask in the glory of a  triumphant task accomplished and become immortalized,  two runners I hadn’t realized were behind me, came bursting by and the crowd’s attention was suddenly  riveted on them and I became invisible to the hordes of admirers I thought I had.  The runners surged across the finish line and fell into the arms and embraces of the mob. I continued unnoticed on  my walk and was real happy I hadn’t embarrassed myself by raising my arms in victory.  I had been puzzled and was contemplating why they would be cheering on a slow walking photographer with his camera hanging around his neck.  Obviously they weren’t whooping for this fella but for the racers that had been silently sprinting up behind me. Now I could sulk off  quietly and take my snap shots.

We were spending a few days with our son, Scott, his wife, Tonya, and their new baby, Clara (one of our new grandbabies).  We had driven and walked by this very pretty scene on Lake Pend Oreille several times.  There were all kinds of tall, beautiful, yellow flowers with the lake and sky showing blue in the distance.  I knew from the moment I saw the scene I wanted to come back with my camera.  It was not far from Scott’s house so one morning I decided to make the short hike.  I walked through the woods, just outside their door, down the trail to the highway, turned left onto the tree lined road and noticed the assemblage of people and cars just past the point I planned to take pictures.  I figured to find out more of what was happening as I ambled closer and closer.  That’s when the cheering started of which I had no idea why they were cheering for me.  Of course they weren’t but for awhile it sure felt like it.

After my near embarrassment,  I just traipsed anonymously right on over to the spot I wanted to shoot pictures and went about my business.  I viewed the scene, focused on the flowers in the foreground (which I think are the Common Tansy), composed, set the camera for the proper lighting and shot away.  The the previously excited crowd ignoring me and me ignoring them.  They continued with their congratulations of the runners, slapping them on the back, giving them big bear hugs and high fives and generally making them seem like they must have accomplished bringing world peace instead of winning a race.

Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho

The photos above are two of several from just below the crowd on the highway.  Even though I was not being cheered by the crowd nor was I part of a Chevy Chase movie, Chevy would have felt right at home in my shoes but I suspect he would have been raising his arms in victory and finding lots of embarrassment. For me it turned into a pleasant photo shoot.

Please take a look at some more of my photography at http://samsherman.imagekind.com/

With all the snow and rain we have had this past Spring, I practiced taking waterfall pictures.  I’ve been especially interested in creating the look of those long, silky, smooth, wispy, blurred, white streams of water.  In May the Casper Photography Club took a trip to Spearfish Canyon in South Dakota.  The water was roaring through the canyon and consequently over the several falls in the canyon.  It turned out the photo club knew where to go to find fast water.

Roughlock Falls is a beautiful waterfall in Spearfish Canyon.  We parked in the parking lot and walked down an easy paved, shaded trail that had brown painted board rails most of the way.   I could hear the creek rushing by before I could see it.  Spearfish Creek is a typical mountain stream, clear, cold with lots of white water.

Waterfall photography can be accomplished with any camera but if you are interested in exploring different visions, the a 35mm with manual override is a good choice.  A zoom telephoto lens might also be helpful as you can zoom in or out and select a good composition.   As I arrived at the falls, I looked over the possibilities and began to mentally frame and compose photos in my mind.  I also know my camera and lens well enough that I can begin to visualize several scenes before I ever begin shooting.   I didn’t have a tripod so I used the railing to brace myself.  The first shots I just used the auto exposure/focus and zoomed to a pleasant composition by cropping.  The shade of the newly leafing trees also helped to keep the light from overwhelming the exposure.  I clicked the shutter button and viewed the monitor  to see what I’d gotten. Not bad with an  exposure was f/5.6 and 1/125 of a second.  The zoom lens was at 85 mm on my 18 – 250 zoom lens. I tried several shots using the auto setting just to get myself familiar with the light, the water movement and different compositions.  I like my digital 35 mm as I can shoot many pictures and not worry about running out of film.

At 1/125th of a second, the water takes on more of a frozen in motion look.

This photo isn’t really what I had in mind.  I needed to experiment with my shutter speed so that the water would be more like long silky streaks.  1/125th of a second isn’t necessarily a fast shutter speed but was to fast for what I visualized as the motion of the water was to “frozen” looking.   My camera has a manual setting and I quickly changed to it.

I zoomed in on some whitewater and set my camera shutter speed to 1/45 of a second.  Then the aperture at f5.6 to have a properly exposed photo.  The results are below and I was still getting to much of the frozen water look but there was the beginning of that silky look that I envisioned.

At 1/45th of a second the silky look was closer to what I envisioned.

More experimenting was needed. Scanning the creek and waterfall for a better scene, I once again reset the shutter speed to 1/4th of a second, the aperture to f/19 for a correct exposure and braced the camera with my arms, elbows on the rail, and released the shutter using the shutter button.  I should have used a cable release but had left it in my car.  The shake reduction function on my Pentax really does a great job fortunately.  After viewing the monitor, I thought this was closer to what I have envisioned.  After some cropping tweaks in Photoshop, below is my final picture.

Final of Roughlock Falls

Once I had the technique down, Bridal Veil Falls was just as enjoyable to photograph as Roughlock Falls but I did less experimenting.  Unfortunately I did not have a tripod or rail to brace myself on so had to rely on holding the camera steady and the shake reduction feature of the camera as I did not bring my tripod on this trip.  My first attempt was once again to depend on the auto functions of the camera for focus and exposure.

Not a frozen in action waterfall but close to it at 1/125 at f/5.6

Shutter speed is the critical factor when shooting water and desiring that silky look.  Resetting to the manual function.  I reset the shutter to 1/4 second and set the aperture for correct exposure.  I hand held the camera and hoped I could hold the camera steady enough.

1/4th second at f/32 and hand held. The zoom was set at a focal length of 85 mm.

When shooting moving water pictures and you are looking for that silky, streaky view, shutter speed is the control to work with the most.  A faster shutter speed will tend to freeze the water action and if that’s what you want, use that faster shutter speed.  But if you are looking for a softer more silky view, set the shutter speed slower.  For me I like the 1/4th second setting.   I would suggest you use a tripod and a cable release however.  But when you don’t have either, try holding the camera steady and squeezing the shutter button carefully.  Photography is a wonderful experiment and trying different settings is part of the fun of photography.

Please send me your photography questions and I’ll try and answer them here on this blog.  Also, please take a look at some of my photos at http://samsherman.imagekind.com/