While running errands yesterday I came to an intersection where a man was standing with a cardboard sign which read that he was unemployed, looking for work, had children and a wife to support at home.

In honesty, I’ve often driven by people with similar signs because I thought it was a scam. In this case, I was several cars back so I had time to study the young man. There was something in his eyes, a look of sadness and perhaps hopelessness, that touched me. It looked like he was embarrassed having to beg for help. I didn’t have much money with me, I don’t carry much cash, but as traffic began to move I eased up beside him, rolled down the passenger side window and handed him what I had, telling him I didn’t have a job to offer but perhaps this would help a little. His only words were “thank you so much.”

Now, I don’t know if I got taken or not. There’s a good chance I did. We have to be so on guard to keep from being taken advantage of by unscrupulous people that often we can’t give in to our better nature of helping someone in need, one-on-one–that’s a shame.

© Earl for Meandering Passage, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: berry, leaves, Photography, photos

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“Dull November brings the blast, Then the leaves are whirling fast.” – Sara Coleridge

I had hoped by this time to have some initial impressions of Adobe Lightroom 3 to post but this last week I was focused on other projects and have only opened the application once. It’s still on my “to do” list.

© Earl for Meandering Passage, 2009. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: leaves, november, Photography, photos

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I spotted this arrangement of fallen leaves on a dark wet asphalt parking lot and took this photo from directly above. The hues are enhanced greatly by the wetness from the rain and most of these leaves look fresh and recently fallen. Nature made a much better arrangement then I could every achieved.

While there may still be a random fall foliage photo or two, this marks the official end of the fall foliage series. It seems like a good photo to end with–leaves laying on the ground.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and Happy Halloween!

© Earl for Meandering Passage, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fall, fall colors, fall foliage, leaves, Photography, photos

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Have you ever had a grand scheme that you thought was a sure winner only to later realize it was the wrong place at the wrong time?

I’m sure this bug’s bright green camouflage sounded like a wonderful idea a couple of weeks ago–not so much now, and certainly not here.

© Earl for Meandering Passage, 2009. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: autumn, fall, fall colors, fall foliage, Photography, photos

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I placed myself among this small closely spaced grove of trees to shoot from the inside out.

© Earl for Meandering Passage, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: autumn, fall, fall colors, fall foliage, Photography, photos

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This photo is a closer view of the leaves from yesterdays bright orange/red tree.

While these colors are amazing, what if tree leaves were always this color and they turned bright green only before falling off for the winter? I guess we’d be amazed at green leaves. It’s about what is considered normal or unusual.

© Earl for Meandering Passage, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fall, fall colors, fall foliage, leaves, Photography, photos, salisbury nc

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These scenes of fiery color were only three of many as I found along the city streets–red, orange, yellow, and green, all present in abundance. It’s no wonder this is my favorite time of year or that these colors with the cool temperatures make one feel so alive.

I’m certainly not alone in enjoying this season. Most polls have autumn as number one in popularity, then summer, spring and winter.

These images have had very little post-processing. I doubt I could improve the colors even if I wanted to.

In the “be careful what you ask for” column. My wife and I have been discussing doing a little car trading and last night I sent an email to a dealer inquiring of a vehicle we could be interested in. As I sent the email I predicted to her it would be like tossing blood into a body of water full of sharks. I’ve been dealing with the feeding frenzy this morning answering emails and phone calls. I’d forgotten how much I dislike dealing with car salesmen–it’s exciting and painful all at the same time. I keep reminding myself they’re trying to make a living during hard times like everyone else.

© Earl for Meandering Passage, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fall, fall colors, fall foliage, Photography, photos, salisbury nc

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Fair warning, this week is going to be fall foliage week on Meandering Passage.

Salisbury, NC, is a small town which, like many, has a historic homes district with lush lawns, gardens and trees. It’s a nice area to walk about and take photographs. When photographing in this part of town I often get looks from people curious about what I’m doing.

I noticed this was especially true when shooting photos Saturday in the rain–no doubt they wondered if I was of my right mind or if I was up to no good. Most of these frowns and stares changed to smiles and waves as they followed the direction my camera to see the bright trees and leaves. Then it seemed more reasonable to be standing in the rain taking photos.

© Earl for Meandering Passage, 2009. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fall, fall colors, fall foliage, Photography, photos, salisbury nc

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“If you can’t be in awe of Mother Nature, there’s something wrong with you.” — Alex Trebek

© Earl for Meandering Passage, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: flowers, Photography, photos

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It was overcast and rainy this morning but when I looked out into my neighborhood and saw how the wetness made the fall colors look so vibrant and inviting I decided to drive into Salisbury and take photos–rain be damned.

I took my Nikon D700 with the 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. I also mounted a Singh-Ray LB Color combo Polarizer. This is the first time I’ve used this filter which features both a warming polarizer and color intensifier in one compact ring. I didn’t need the polarizer but I was interested to see what this combo would do with the fall colors.

I was very impressed with the results. None of these photos have not been enhanced in any way. I only did a little perspective and tilt correction on two of them. The color saturation/vibrance, contrast, exposure, and everything else, are exactly as they came from the camera. This filter is said to be excellent for macro photography as well–I’m looking forward to giving that a try.

With the overcast conditions and the extra filter I did have to shoot at ISO 1600 to maintain an acceptable hand-held shutter speed.

I like fall with strong red and yellow foliage colors but still bright greens mixed in as well. So for my taste, I’d say this is peak fall color season.

© Earl for Meandering Passage, 2009. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: autumn, d700, fall, fall colors, Photography, photos, salisbury nc, Singh-Ray

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