river life

river life

Usually I am at this location early in the morning with sea gulls, or geese. On this visit the river had many visitors and activity.

from a morning ride

…..the meeting of the fishermen….

fishermen

….old canal locks….

the locks

…..the spillway…

falls

…….my Trek on a bridge…

bike on bridge

bridge and clouds

bridge and clouds

One of the aspects of photography I love is the way that it helps me to see a single location in different ways. I have been to this place countless times and it is amazing to me how different “by the riverside” can look. I think to myself:

“What a wonderful world.”

misty side up

fog side up

Pretty self explanatory 🙂  Taken on a beautiful, misty morning ride…

abandoned 4

abandoned 4

I guess you can say that I have grown fond of this building. I have taken a few shots of it in the dead of winter, but this is what it looks like in the summer. (Still trying to find a way in to take some interior pictures. Shhhhh….)    🙂

a TREK on a bridge

a TREK on a bridge

One of my favorite ways to get exercise, enjoy a good view, and take photos is by riding around on my TREK. This is a beautiful old bridge, in Morris, IL, that crosses the I&M Canal, a brilliant feat of engineering. You can read about the I&M Canal here.

summer barn

summer barn

I call it the 5 Mile Barn, because it is near 5 Mile Bridge, west of Morris, IL. I have taken lots of images of it (too many perhaps), but since I pass it on my morning rides, I can’t help but feel that it just is calling to be photographed. I was thinking of going down to it, but the summer rains have really caused the weeds and grass to grow. Plus, there was a rather good sized snake skin right near where this was taken that made me wonder who was waiting for me down there!

morning ride

morning ride

Hello WordPress family! Missed you guys  🙂  Finally home after a two week trip to St. Lucia with our church’s student team. We had a BLAST, and, I am so proud of the work of our students. This was taken this week during one of my early morning rides. I may post one or two St. Lucia pics. Have a great weekend!

1st X-T1

1st X-T1

I recently sold all my Canon gear and the proceeds went towards the purchase of a Fujifilm X-T1 with Fujifilm XF 18-55 and XF 10-24 lenses. This is my first post using the new camera and 10-24mm lens. I have lots to learn, and lots of 5D MarkII images to post as well, but this is sort of a milestone for me. Hope you enjoy! This was taken in Morris, IL, along the banks of the Illinois River.

river sky

riversky

river sky is it too much to ask that you stay awhile

winter has been so dark and lonely and i miss seeing your clouds

as they dance along the river carrying the day away to a distant sea

river sky just stay awhile and if you must leave

then take me with you to the sea… please take me with you to the sea