30 Days of Photos – Day 16 Memories

Sometimes you just need to stop and photograph the things that make you happy. The things that bring back the memories.

Day 16 – Memories

I drive by here almost every day. The place has not chanced much in the past 20 years but I know that someday it will. Someday the barn that I played in as a little girl and have fond memories of will be gone. The grain bins that I helped clean out with somewhat fond memories may still be here, but there could be more added to the mix. This is the barn where my first cow had her calf. It is where the milk cow would come each morning and night to be milked. It is the place where we grind feed and stack hay in the loft. It’s the memories that bring this picture to life. For not every picture speaks to everyone, but not everyone has the memories that go with the picture.

Canon Rebel T5i
1/3200s
f/9.0
ISO:800

Blessings to you,
Laurie – Country Link

 

Advertisement

30 Days of Photos – Day 15 Finished

We have been waiting for this day for a long time and today it happened. Today we finished!

Day 15 – Finished

Each year when the days get shorter and the corn turns golden, we head to the fields for harvest. We go hoping for a good crop that produces high yields and low moisture. We go knowing the days will be long and sometimes the tempers short. We check the weather on the hour hoping for a bit more time when they say that rain is on the way. We eat at the edge of the field or on a tailgate the meals brought to us. We juggle kids, homework, laundry and business all from the cab of a tractor or combine. We rely on Gma and Gpa to help watch, shuffle, transport and supervise the next generation. Above all these things, we say thank you. We say thank you for the bountiful harvest, for the individuals who helped and for the fact that we finished.

Canon Rebel T5i
1/1250s
f/5.6
ISO:100

Blessings to you,
Laurie – Country Link

 

30 Days of Photos – Day 14 Dark

Just like the right kind of light can be beautiful, things in the dark can be beautiful too.

Day 14 – Dark

It’s not everyday that there is a chance to photograph something in the dark. Usually it would require a flash, but not tonight. If you were outside after dark then you witnessed the “Supermoon”. This is the closest the moon has been in 68 years. It shone bright over the farm tonight and was truly a sight to see.

Canon Rebel T5i
300 mm focal length
1/3200s
f/5.6
ISO:800

Blessings to you,
Laurie – Country Link

30 Days of Photos – Day 13 Explore

Nothing better than a beautiful day and a little boy full of imagination and the desire to explore.

Day 13 – Explore

Today we visited with family. We had a great meal and the kids took to the outdoors for a friendly game of touch football. It was almost 2:00 in the afternoon and if you have followed my pictures for very long, you know that shooting in the middle of the day in the full sun is not something I tend to do. The light and shadows are harsh. Individuals squint their eyes and my pictures never come out the way I want them too, but I am challenging myself to not only take pictures every day this month, but to also explore in my picture-taking. Be that exploring a new location or exploring the use of my camera, I am challenging myself to do more. Sometimes all of the wrong things make for a fun and interesting picture. My nephew and I both went exploring this afternoon and saw things in a new and different light.

Canon Rebel T5i
1/640s
f/7.1
ISO:200

Blessings to you,
Laurie – Country Link

30 Days of Photos – Day 12 Beauty

I am a believer that beauty can be found anywhere. You just have to be willing to look for it and sometimes wait for it too.

Day 12 – Beauty

This old grain elevator really spoke to me tonight. At first when I drove up on it I thought it was just a really neat structure. The old tin and the building its self is just something that you don’t see a lot of any more. Then, I got my camera on it and I decided it was more than just interesting, it was beautiful. I walked up on it and took a few pictures and then decided I needed a different angle. I drove about a  half a block away and found a great vantage spot where I could see the top portion of the elevator. If I have learned anything about photography, it is never to settle. Get the image you want. If you can’t get it that day, go back and try again or try a different perspective, angle or wait for different lighting. By doing this you can bring out the beauty in everyday items.

Canon Rebel T5i
1/200s
f/9.0
ISO:800

Blessings to you,
Laurie – Country Link

30 Days of Photos – Day 11 Movement

At the end of a long day, all I want to do is to stop movement.

Day 11 – Movement

I like playing with movement and seeing what it is that I can capture and stop. Like a child jumping into a swimming pool or the basketball going through the hoop at just the right time; there is just something about getting the movement that inspires me. Like this American flag. I like to see if I can capture the movement just right to get an interesting picture. Now that I have, it is time to stop the movement of the day.

Thank you Veteran’s for the service and the sacrifice you have made.

Canon Rebel T5i
1/400s
f/5.6
ISO:100

Blessings to you, 
Laurie – Country Link

30 Days of Photos – Day 10 Sunrise

A frosty morning and a beautiful sunrise were all it took to get us up and out to take in the beginning of a beautiful fall day.

Day 10 – Sunrise

This morning I looked out the window and saw what was the beginning of a beautiful day. The grass was frosty, there was a light fog lifting off of the lower bottom ground and the sun was just up over the trees. I don’t always photograph in the morning golden hour, but this morning was too good to pass up. Add in a seven-year-old who wrote her name in the frost with her boots and played with our dog Nick and I don’t think you can get any more picture perfect.

Canon Rebel T5i
1/1250s
f/5.0
ISO:100

Blessings to you,
Laurie – Country Link

30 Days of Photos – Day 9 Farmers

Farmers are a favorite subject of mine to photograph. You just never know what you might get when you have your camera around one.

Day 9 – Farmers

Yesterday in the field I just wanted to get my yearly picture of the kids in the grain truck with their farm hats on. Since I was on the top of the grain truck with them, I was able to be at the right vantage point to capture this image of my soon to be 68-year-old dad. He is a Farmer. One of my favorite Farmers that I like to photograph. I have pictures of him in the fields, among the cows, sorting hogs and teaching the next generation about farming. In all of these photos you see his dedication, his love, and his passion for what it is that he is doing. Sometimes you see the fatigue and frustration this job brings, but no matter what you see what it means to be a Farmer. And that my friends is something amazing to capture.

Canon Rebel T5i
1/80s
f/5.6
ISO:400

Blessings to you,
Laurie – Country Link

 

30 Days of Photos – Day 8 Harvest

The simple things in life are what matter. Like simply diving into a pile of corn.

Day 8 – Harvest

Like with today’s election, I had multiple choices to use for my picture today. I had the choice of a picture of my farmer father standing on the steps of the combine with his I Voted sticker proudly on his chest. I had another picture of our 13-year-old son proudly standing on the tractor he loves to drive in the field. Then I had this picture. A picture of our daughter playing in a pile of corn without a care in the world and I knew, as great as the other pictures are, this one says so much. For me it says that no matter what this day brings, it is a good day because we are here together and we are doing the things that we love to do. One only needs to choose to put a smile on their face and dive into whatever opportunity may come their way. Maybe even a pile of corn.

Canon Rebel T5i
1/250s
f/5.6
ISO:400

Blessings to you,
Laurie – Country Link

30 Days of Photos – Day 6 Sunsets

This time of the year the sunsets here in Missouri are beautiful. I don’t always get to capture them, but tonight on a friend’s family farm, I took just a bit of time to capture the sun going down.

Day 6 – Sunsets

Capturing sunsets can be a bit tricky, for me that is. I love the way the look, but I want to capture the sky the exact way I see it, not capture it and alter it with a photo program. Tonight I was at a friend’s and this tractor and augur were setting at the edge of the field. I walked to the fence to capture the sunset, but did not feel like I was really capturing its beauty. I walked away and up to the tractor, turned around and saw what I needed to do. I dropped all of the way to my belly, decreased my f-stop, increased my shutter speed and crossed my fingers. Here is the result of my sunset picture.

Canon Rebel T5i
1/1250s
f/7.1
ISO:800

Blessings to you,
Laurie – Country Link