Skywatch Friday

I haven't done a Skywatch in a while and I've missed some great photo opportunities lately.  Autumn skies are often the best skies of the year for great sunrise and sunset photos.  This is a little before sunset in Kansas City, MO last Friday. We were visiting my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. I stepped outside to get something from the car and this opportunity presented itself.  Have a blessed week-end.

Inspiration Thursday

Be inspired through the music. Everyone who reads this blog, both of you, knows that I love inspirational music, especially Southern Gospel. However, I also love the Contemporary Christian genre. Here are three selections from today's most popular groups. Enjoy.

Wordless Wednesday - Flea Market Flip

Flea markets are among my favorite places to go.  There is an adventure around every corner and there is something for everyone. I almost never purchase anything, but I do find some interesting stuff.

Just looking down the aisle of the typical flea market can be overwhelming.  The eye doesn't know where to look first. One simply has to walk slowly and determine what is worth further investigation.

Every flea market in Arkansas seems to have at least one vendor that sells Arkansas Razorback stuff. The supply appears to be endless.

Arkansas also is home to the second largest poultry industry in the USA, so items reflecting this business have become popular flea market inventory recently. These hatchery nests are just one example. I'm not sure how they would fit into someone's home decor but they seem to be very popular.

  

Costume jewelry is a very popular item sold in flea markets. This vendor has gone to the trouble to make a couple of color coordinated displays in hope of selling more than one item. Nicely done.

 Even though I almost never buy anything at a flea market, I usually find at least one item that I wold love to own. This antique industrial chair is my pick. The leather seat and brushed steel finish is absolutely stunning. I am guessing that this item will not be available very long. Someone is going to snatch this up and take it home. If you're looking for a way to kill a couple of hours in  your day, I would suggest browsing a flea market. It's very cheap entertainment, as long as you don't get caught up in the hunt and turn browsing into shopping.

Ruby Tuesday Too

Wandering through a local flea market one can find vintage Coca Cola memorabilia. Sometimes the price is right and sometimes the price is more than one wants to pay. As for me, no thanks, I was just looking.

Wordless Wednesday - Good as gold.

Last Thursday my wife and I went to Tulsa to celebrate the 50 year reunion of my high school graduating class.  The festivities began with a reception at Oneok field, where the minor league baseball team plays, in downtown Tulsa on Thursday evening.

In the '60's your class ring was a treasured possession. You purchased and received it in the summer, after your junior year. I always thought that ours was one nice looking ring.

Classmates brought and shared all sorts of memorabilia from our high school years.  The last photo is a collection of "spirit ribbons" that were worn during the week prior to each football game.

 The last event of the reunion was dinner at Oklahoma Joe's BBQ and a dance next door at the historic Cain's ballroom. Cain's ballroom is an icon in country music and may be second only to the Ryman auditorium in Nashville as the holy grail of places that country stars have played. Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys had a weekly radio show here in the 40's & 50's. Gene Autry, Ernie Ford, Patsy Cline, even Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood have performed here.

Saturday morning we met in the old high school gym for the class picture. Recently, a new field house has been constructed behind the school, but this is the room where we cheered our basketball team and watched our wrestling team earn a state championship.
I cannot imagine the planning and effort that went into this event, but the committees that put this celebration together did an absolutely wonderful job. It was a week-end that I will never forget.

1965

Skywatch Friday

First light is always an exciting time of the day, even if your eyes aren't completely open and  your brain isn't fully awake to take it all in. Fall and winter provide some of the best sunrise and sunset photo opportunities of the year and one of the reasons that I love autumn. The morning is the best time for a special meeting.
When most people hear about having a "Come to Jesus Meeting" they are not thrilled about that possibility.  The fact is that Jesus wants to have a daily relationship with His saints.  It is a time to read His word, study the meaning, sing praises to him and make our needs known through prayer. The best meeting you will ever have is the one in which you "Come to Jesus" for the first time.  Have a blessed week-end.

Inspiration Thursday

Last week my wife and I made the two hour drive to Branson, MO to see a gospel music event, The Cathedrals Family Reunion. The Cathedrals were the greatest quartet in gospel music history spanning nearly 60 years.  The two founders, Glen Payne and George Younce passed away several years ago.  Several artists that had been former members of the quartet, all of whom now have their own groups, got together for a reunion tour.  I did not take any photos of this event, I just sat back and enjoyed the music.  The highlight of the concerts was the time spent around the piano harmonizing.  Many groups sing to complicated music tracks and the songs are wonderful, but occasionally it is just a blessing to hear several voices gathered around a piano harmonizing and praising our Savior through music.  Enjoy.



 Here is the last members of the Cathedrals Quartet singing on a Gaither Homecoming video. They are Ernie Haas, Scott Fowler, Glen Payne, and George Younce. Enjoy and have a blessed week-end.

Wordless Wednesday -Not So Much

I know, I know, fall is almost upon us. Here in Northwest Arkansas some of the leaves are already changing colors.  Some are still very green.  I fear that this autumn will not be as colorful as the past couple of years and that it may be much shorter lived.  So, while I wait for my favorite photo place to put on it's harvest festival of color, here are few images from the spring of 2014.

And now, a little gospel music to celebrate the one who has created it all.  Have a blessed day.

Inspiration Thursday

Inspiration comes from a multitude of sources.  I suppose it all depends on what you want to be inspired to do.  I saw this camera in a flea market booth a few weeks ago and it reminded me of my first inspiration to pursue photography.  In 1965 I was a freshman at Oklahoma State University and one of my room mates was taking a photography class.  There was a sports car rally event being held on the parking lot of the football stadium and he was going to take some photographs, so I tagged along because I liked cars. The camera he was using was an Argus C3, like the one above.  He took one roll of film and then he handed the camera to me and I shot a roll of film.  The photos were black and white.  I was inspired on two levels.  I was hooked on photography and sports cars. A couple of years later I bought my first 35mm camera, a Minolta SRT101 and in 1972 I bought my first and only sports car, a '71 Datsun 240Z.
I used that Minolta for over 20 years. When it finally ceased to function properly and could not be repaired, I bought a Nikon N50 and I have used Nikon cameras ever since. Later, the introduction of digital photography inspired me, because I was no longer limited to 36 exposures per roll, and someone else doing all of the processing. My first digital SLR was a Nikon D80 and I used PhotoShop Elements 3 to do the post processing.  I am now shooting with a Nikon D7100, using PhotoShop Elements 13 and will most likely upgrade to version 14 soon. The camera may well suit my needs for another 20 years. I retired two and a half years ago and that is when I really began to get more involved in photography.  If you wander around in this site you will see some of my serious and not so serious work. Evey time I take my camera out and use it I learn something new about photography and I learn that I still have not scratched the surface of the things that I can explore through my lenses. And it all started with an Argus C3 fifty years ago.  What has inspired you? Have a blessed week-end.

Wordless Wednesday - Flea Market Fun

The trend of incorporating vintage items into interior design elements and collections is something that I find most intriguing.  First of all, I love antique stores, junk stores, flea markets, auctions and estate sales.  Although estate sales can be a little sad because it usually involves a family disposing of the life long collection of a relative who has recently passed.

I am constantly amazed at what one can find at a flea market.  Virtually everything you can imagine will show up in a vendor booth at some point.  I mean, would you consider this couple collectible and exactly where you display these folks?

A little scrap lumber, few decorative items, a little imagination and you have a bird house that any city bird would die for.

Some of the items in the flea market booths bring back childhood memories and may be the reason that we find ourselves purchasing things that we don't really need.

Before plastic & foam, these double walled galvanized coolers could be found at the end of the bench on every little league field.  They could also be found on virtually every construction site in the country.  Yes, the water had a little metallic taste, but it was cold and it was how we "hydrated" ourselves before Gatorade.

Some items just make you wonder what story they have to tell.  Were these shoes worn by an entertainer?  Perhaps they were purchased for a very special occasion.  It is obvious that they were not worn more than a very few times.

If you collect something, a flea market might be the best place to find an item that you love for a bargain price.  This booth had the largest single display of Frankoma Pottery that I have ever seen.  This desert tan in one of the most popular glazes and this vendor is asking near retail price for some of the pieces, but I LOVE Frankoma and I just may have to return to this place and purchase an item or two.  Have a blessed day.

Skywatch Friday

The first light of day calls us to a fresh start. We have the opportunity to put the failures of yesterday behind us, learn from our mistakes and take on the world with a new resolve to be better than we ever have before.  For most of us today will end much like yesterday and the day before, and the day before that, etc. We will have gotten some things done, failed to complete other tasks and generally feel like the day was not a total loss. For a few of us this day will be viewed as an epic fail.  Life will beat us up and kick us to the curb. Finally, there will be those who have one of the best days of their lives.  As the old saying goes, "They have the world by the tail with a down hill pull." One of the best ways to start each morning is with a Proverb from the Bible. Proverbs is a book of wisdom and we could all stand to be a little wiser in these difficult times. Proverbs 2:10-11 says, "When wisdom enters your heart and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you." That's pretty good stuff. There are 31 Proverbs and I don't think that is coincidence.  I believe that God wants to impart knowledge and wisdom to us and He has something to say each day. What does He want you to know today?  Open your Bible to Proverbs and let the "Word of God Speak." It just may be the start of an epic day. Have a blessed week-end.