Tools of the Trade.....Repost for Terri

Well, every once in a while it pays to listen to input  from those of you who are caring to visit my little blog from time to time. Terri informed me earlier today that she had difficulty making out what was in the image of my old tools that I had posted below. On top of that, my "in house art critic" agreed with her, so who am I to argue with 2 very smart women? Here is my repost of the image below, and hopefully it will be a lot easier for folks to view and enjoy somewhat. Maybe it is me who is fading into history, and not the tools so much.....at any rate, for what it is worth, here it is again. Cheers everyone.....

Tools of the Trade.....

Over the years, I have enjoyed many many DIY (do it yourself) projects that involved some fairly minor renovations, and some quite major. When I was just a boy, I had been involved in building 3 homes by the time I was 16 years old. My work life started when I was 12, and I got a job at a local BP service station, pumping gas, checking oil levels, and cleaning the windshields of customers cars. However, I always enjoyed building stuff, and renovating. This past Summer, I replaced the front verandah on our house, and by the time I was finished, I pretty much knew that this would be my last major project. From now on, someone else will have to do it. As the song goes, you gotta know when to fold 'em. So tonight I went out into my "man cave" and set up this little image that is a "parting shot" to my old tools....they helped keep me somewhat balanced financially and mentally as well over the years.....I think!! Hope you enjoy.....

 

End of Summer Roses.....

Another Summer has passed, and a couple of days ago, I went out to the back yard and snipped a few blossoms for the kitchen table. The aroma was just lovely, and it forced me to take a quick picture before they wilted. This is the result, and I hope it brings a smile to your face......Cheers!
 

Old Tyme Fiddler.....

He left us a few years ago, and when he would tune his fiddle and I would join him on the Hohner diatonic accordion, we spent many many evenings making the rafters ring, while other family members danced in the kitchen. He had a pitch perfect ear, and did not need any tuning aids or devices. He was 99 and played right up to the end when he passed. I loved that old man.....

Surround Sound on a Detroit Night.....

 This is a re-post of a coloured rendition that I had posted about 3 1/2 years ago. I had wondered what it would look like as a Black & White, and I accidentally came across it today, and decided to drop it on here.....with a different title. It is a composite of at least 3 different images that I decided to play with one evening, and it took several hours of editing in Photoshop and Corel PaintShop Pro software. Anyway, for what it is worth, here is the mono version....Thanks for looking in. Cheers!

The Black Hat.....

 This image is a Black & White rendition from the same session as below. As I said, I have been away from the portrait end of things for a while, and there is a lot that could have been improved. Making mistakes is a part of the process of learning and improving, no matter the endeavour. Someone once said that the perfect photo has yet to be taken, but I have to suggest that I have seen a lot of them that come pretty close....not mine of course. At any rate, I have to say that playing with a set of studio lights and some of the gear that goes with it, is a very nice diversion from my flowers and still life stuff that I have been doing for the past several months. There have been many times that I wished to have been able to go out about town with my camera, but reading the many headlines in the local newspaper of the various assaults on folks of all ages, makes me more content to hide away in my garage or back yard, and do my thing there.....and focus on the positive. Cheers!

Mysterious Woman.....

Lately I have been dabbling with studio portraiture, and this is my first attempt in a very very long while. It is fun to experiment a little with some off beat styles, and this lovely lady decided to go a little on the "dark" side for me. She was a thespian in her high school days, and I was fortunate that she has not lost her "joie de vivre" for this little session. The lighting is not what I was hoping for, but it will do for a start. It would probably look not half bad as a black & white, maybe I will give it a go sometime. Thanks for your time. Cheers!