Welcome to the rt tulley photography blogIt features photos, text, and poetry.April 24Dragonflies
I am thankful for dragonflies. As subjects for photographs they are real interesting to me. I have several photographs of dragonflies flying around the backyard pond.
I came upon this little fellow on the same day as yesterday's photo of the day. He seemed as curious about me as I was about him (or her). He landed on this little wood log and allowed me to get right up close for a handful of photos. I think this may be a Common Green Darner.
dragonfly
dragonfly so beautiful as you swim the sky in search of prey with your two huge eyes dragonfly as i get close by to photograph you so you to amplify dragonfly i only hope that you won’t make me oxidize with your namesake’s fire breathing breath for me to vaporize. © rt tulley
April 23Windows to the Soul
I am thankful for windows to the soul. We are all guarded. Most of the time we keep our true selves away from others. But those times when we open the shutters guarding our hearts and minds and allow others to look inside our being, to our very souls, are very precious moments. It is just as special when others remove their guard from us and allow us to glimpse who they really are.
This photo was taken of the partly open shuttered windows of the Bayou Paul Colored School, which I came upon on Bayou Paul Road near St. Gabriel, Louisiana. This one room schoolhouse was built in the 1920s and served as a school for African-American children in grades 1-8 until it was closed in 1955. Today the school stands as a landmark to times of old. I liked the shuttered windows, of which one is open and one broken to allow us to look into the schoolhouse.
windows to the soul
tightly shut to protect from danger we seldom allow others a glimpse of the stranger that lurks hidden within us all for fear that if they do they would be appalled cower from us then no more to be a friend but once in a while we open the window a crack for them to catch a glimpse somewhat surprised by their lack of being taken aback but instead they open the window to their soul and we find ourselves and them being thus once again made whole. © rt tulley April 22Rocky Streams
I am thankful for rocky streams. They are one of my most favorite things. I love the sound of the water trickling through the rocks and the beauty of it all. I feel at one with my Creator in the presence of such beauty. It is the reason I built a small homemade stream in my yard connecting to the Koi pond that was already there when we moving into our house.
This photo was taken on a family trip we made to Yosemite National Park in California. This is my daughter Beth stepping on the rocks in the south fork of the Merced River. She was wearing a t shirt that she got while playing on her high school softball team a few years back. The word "Believe" was meant to motivate their team into winning, however, I used this photo because I can't see how anyone can experience a setting such as this and not believe in God.
rocky mountain stream
i so love many things but among the best are rocky mountain streams to walk upon the tops of rocks and hear the gurgling water current as it laps over your shoe tops to lie in the sunlit grass watching the birds' flight in sky let the time swiftly pass connecting you with much more than just a human being and one with the Creator. © rt tulley April 21Purple and Gold
I am thankful for purple and gold. Of course, my LSU bias comes out here and my alma mater's colors shine through. There's nothing more beautiful than purple and gold together, especially on a Saturday night in Tiger Stadium!
I saw these pansies in Ocean Springs Mississippi outside a shop and took the pictures because their LSU color scheme.
purple and gold
in my wildest dreams wish i was purple and gold because then for lsu merchandise i could most surely be sold. © rt tulley
April 20Bicycles
I am thankful for bicycles. I am sure I am no different than countless millions of adults and kids around the country who have a special place for bikes in their hearts. Although I do not own one now, in the past they were an instrumental mode of transportation in my life, especially as a kid. While growing up, it was my only method of transportation, except when I got rides from my dad. I rode to school, delivered newspapers, had races with friends, and went everywhere around town on my bike. Where would I have been without bicycles. I think I'm going to need to get myself a new bike!
Bicycles have been around since the 1800s, having been invented in Europe. They were called velocipedes until the name bicycle was coined by The London Daily News in 1868. According to Wikipedia, there are more than a billion bicycles worldwide, which totals twice as many bikes than automobiles. Many inventions for bicycles eventually made their way into autos, for example spoked wheels, ball bearings, chain driven sprockets, and pneumatic tires. Were rear view mirrors, headlights, or little rubber squeeze horns first used on bicycles? Actually after a little cursory research it seems that all three arose in the automobile before bikes. Of course 'auto'mobiles, taking the lead from their name, have refined horns and mirrors by automating them. The bicycle has decided to go retro, as they say, by keeping the manually controlled versions of horns and mirrors primarily. I've seen battery powered horns, but they never last. Actually, nobody I know actually uses horns or mirrors (on bikes OR cars!) anyway. Another important invention attributed to the bicycle, and second only to baseball, was the development of performance enhancing drugs and blood doping - just kidding!
The photo above was taken of the bicycles chained to one of the bike racks outside the LSU Student Union. I focused on the one unique tire and let everything else be out of focus by using a large aperature (f4).
wind in my face
wind in my face road to my back as now i gain speed traveling free and easy upon my trusty velocipede. © rt tulley |
