Rainbow and Lightning – And a Little Luck

Posted on October 27, 2019 by bobg.bell@gmail.com

A rainbow that can be seen from end to end, in a rural setting, is certainly worth the effort of pulling off the road and finding a vantage point to get the shot. It can be as easy as just pulling off the road and stepping out to get the shot, or, if you feel you have the time, looking for an acceptable background, like an old farm, barn, or the like. The latter usually doesn’t happen because the rainbow has faded, and there’s no longer a shot by the time you get to a prime location. Sometimes, a compromise is in order.

I shot this one at a mobile home court in Marshall County, Kentucky a few years ago. At the time, I had a DSLR with a medium zoom lens At the wide end, it certainly wouldn’t capture a whole rainbow, but I could shoot three shots and stitch them together during post processing. So, that’s what I did.

A shot from Marshall County, Kentucky, a few years ago. Maybe the shot isn’t as good as it gets, as I didn’t have the perfect background. But, sometimes luck turns an average photo into something special. (Click on image for larger photo).

I started on the left and shot the first frame. As I did, lightning flashed. Did I get it in the shot? I wasn’t sure, and didn’t take the time to check. I went ahead and shot the center frame and then the one on the right before reviewing the photos.

I was surprised at the lightning hook on the first frame, and knew that I had a hard to get shot, which otherwise would have been an average photo of a rainbow in a rural setting. Maybe the shot isn’t as good as it gets, as I didn’t have the perfect background. But, sometimes luck turns an average photo into something special.

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Close to Home

Posted on October 16, 2019 by bobg.bell@gmail.com

Not all photographic subjects are found on back roads far from home. They can be found anywhere. The examples I’m showing here were found within just a few miles from home. I think we can get jaded by the sights and places that we pass on a daily basis, and not think of them as exciting, or worth investigating for a photo shoot.

I drive past Cook’s Mill in Greenville, WV almost on a daily basis for work. If the light is good, I sometime stop and take a picture, or two. I have shots from all seasons. This is one of my favorites.(Click on image for larger photo).

The old mill above, is less than 15 minutes from home. I drive past it almost on a daily basis for work, and often stop to capture the different seasons, or another angle. Even closer to home is the automotive service center below, which is within a stone’s throw from my house.

This care care center is a stone’s throw from our house and made an interesting subject on a cloudy day. (Click on image for larger photo).
A small Appalachian town shot from our back deck is a slice of Americana that will never be seen by most. (Click on image for larger photo).

This final example was shot even closer to home, from our back deck, with a camera set up on a tripod. It shows a typical small Appalachian town at dusk. Nothing out of the ordinary, but a slice of Americana not seen by most. So, don’t forget that home can be a great place to start a photo portfolio. While home may seem ordinary to you, it might fascinate someone else.

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Backroads to Thurmond

Posted on September 15, 2019 by bobg.bell@gmail.com

There are no major roads going through Thurmond. Signs off of U.S. 19 point to it, with little other information. It’s a railroad town, on the New River, almost deserted, except for a few people who live in the area, and National Park Service employees who now keep up the once thriving coal metropolis and banking center.

Looking down the tracks, Thurmond, WV. (Click on image for larger photo).

It was a winter day earlier this year, and I was headed back home from a meeting when I saw the sign that pointed to Thurmond. I had heard of the town, and knew a little of its history, so I decided to venture off the highway and follow the winding mountain road. After a half-hour of driving I came to the old town. No one else was there, even though the old town is somewhat of a tourist destination, and maintained by the National Park Service and New River Gorge National River.

The old Thurmond depot and bridge across the New River are visible from the hill just across the tracks. (Click on image for larger photo).

The Chesapeke and Ohio ( C&O) depot is still in use as an Amtrack stop, and National Park Service visitor’s center. The Amtrack station is the second least used stop in the country, behind the one in Sanderson, Texas.

CSX (formerly C&O) trains run along the tracks, just a few feet from the store front town of Thurmond, on a regular basis carrying coal, chemicals, heavy machinery and construction equipment and supplies, among other things. I didn’t know the trains’ schedule, but was lucky enough to be there when one went through. I could hear it coming, so prepared by putting a wide angle lens on one camera, and a telephoto on another.

A CX train goes through Thurmond, WV. (Click on image for larger photo).
A CSX train goes by the Thurmond Depot. (Click on image for larger photo).

I didn’t spend long at the historic site, once an important part of West Virginia’s rich coal mining heritage, but was lucky enough to be able to shoot a few shots before rain rolled in and put a halt to my photo shoot. Clouds and bare winter trees gave a feeling of desolation, which made it difficult to image this as a bustling and thriving business destination in days gone by. In it’s heyday, traffic in or out of Thurmond was by foot or rail, as there wasn’t a road into town until 1921. That road, like so many others in rural West Virginia, isn’t much to speak of. It turns and twists twists along woods, hills, and streams, and an occasional old house on it’s often one lane course. But, it get’s one to it’s destination, and that’s all that has counted in almost a hundred years.

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