A state of mind....with matching shoes. Great poster (guys would buy it for the tool content--girls would buy it for the Jakey content).....and there is no more likely place to see a state of mind so perfectly done, thank you.

Unfortunately Jakey has his eyes set on another lady, her photo is top left in the workshop! Love this shot, one of my favourite indoor farm shots from you Kathleen. So much detail and texture - and that trademark natural lighting and feel to it as well.

And I'll bet Jakey knows EXACTLY where everything is. Wow! He's got quite an angelic look on his face.

Great shot! I love an organized mess. My garage and workbench look very similar.

Peeking out from among the tools on the wall
Is Miss Dairy Queen(??)and the tractor Farmall.
Surrounded by a collection that seemingly has no end
Who knows what you might need when there is something to mend.
So Jakey sits thinking upon his workbench throne,
Might my next job be wrenching or cutter blades to hone?

Waoo ! This shop looks like an organized mess ;D

Wow! Thanks, Kathleen, for reference above- I do love to see what's happening both outside and inside your community- you do a superb job with both! :)

I love this! There is so much texture/color/intrigue/pattern with tool wall. It's immediately grasping/inviting. Jakey's expression is priceless, almost like he's thinking about anything/everything other than "work' related to tools. Cute! Such an entertaining contrast between human and interior environment. :)

Wonderfully complex composition.

Nice! Really brings the image alive and makes you look around more! Nice shadow as well, really caught that well. Good work Kathleen as always..

Whoa--this defies the laws of gravity! I agree, it's been a spectacular spring in the Midwest too. So beautiful after a miserable winter. I'd love to be visiting the PA countryside about now.

hello here is bicounette87.canalblog.com .
I live in France , 400 kms far from paris, near Limoges.

As I told you , this photo is exactly same as I see around me , around my house

thks , and I'll see your photos again...

awesome... that makes the image so much fascinating!

Ger - I did actually spend a moment looking on-line for a Gettysburg map to see about the location of the spring but with no success. So I did say "...may have once hid." Never was much on remembering historical facts and I'm no poet expert either - just like to exercise my brain with a few rhyming lines. :)

very nice shot!

JPH
"Behind these rocks soldiers may have once hid
Now they have become they playground of your kid."

I am not an expert on poetry so I am not sure if you are admonishing the photographer but if I remember
my history Spangler Spring is located in the Culps Hill area of the battlefield and was used as a place for both Union and Confederate troops to drink and talk without fear of being shot at.As far as I know no fighting actually took place there.When I saw the picture today it was the first time I had seen the building since about 1961 when boy scouts and cub scouts from my troop
camped on the battlefield above the spring.I guarantee you we climbed over the rocks also.
Ger

Behind these rocks soldiers may have once hid
Now they have become they playground of your kid.
With fear and apprehension they waited the "Charge" call
This son, at attention, soon also will fall.
Plaques and monuments are now all that is found
Gettysburg contains so very much hallowed ground.

Spangler Springs must be one of those weird gravitational anomaly spots where cars roll uphill and your watch stops.......or else I should warn you, Kathleen; it is illegal to glue a minor to a rock unless it's your child and your rock.......and, of course, your glue.

Love the crop on the building/window! Guess it is the lens and/or the angle of the light but the building and the tilted gentleman appear to be two dimensional cut-out props, which only adds to the general humor of the "falling into spring" motif.

I like how you arranged the rocks too.

Interesting composition. I'm a big fan of your work and check back daily to see what's new. You have a very good eye and must be surrounded by so much beauty where you live as evident in every photo you take.

Fantastyczna fotografia! Very nice.

Very interesting composition. I'm a big fan of your work - you have a unique eye and must be surrounded by so much beauty in your area as evident in every shot you take.

Sherri: He doesn't do anything for the camera, hahahha. He just does what he does and the camera follows. In this case I only had one chance. :)

Perfect, as always. I so enjoy your blog.

I've been hoping that you would make your way over to Gettysburg. This location is a photographer's dream, especially during this time of year. I've photographed there in both spring and autumn. It's hard to say which season is better. Spring sunsets from Little Round Top are breathtaking.

Great shot! How many times did he have to do this for the camera?

This is great! I love how he's leaning off the rock. You captured it at just the right moment.

I agree! Spring has been tremendous in PA this year - I like the hints of red and orange among the verdant green here...

Kathleen,
My last uncle libved in Hamburg till he passed away . By the way my wife pointed out your photograph in the latest issue of Pennsylvanic magasine , gerat work !
Adolph

I really like this shot; although, it is an odd combination of merchandise to display. It's interesting that many are commenting on his happy demeanor. To me, it's obvious. He's living up to the 4th, 6th, and 8th points of the Boy Scout Law: a Scout is friendly, kind, and cheerful. As one of the Asst. Scoutmasters for my son's troop, it's very heartwarming to watch the boys grow from rambunctious little kids in Cub Scouts to responsible young men in Boy Scouts. Thank you, Mr. Simmons, for your kind comments. And thank you, Kathleen, for posting this photograph.

Excellent shot! I was in the cubs, but didn't make it to the Scouts though - I was never prepared enough!

Brought me right back to childhood day I first got Girl Scout uniform and wanted to fill the empty sash up with badges as quickly as I could. :)

He is so DAMN happy, this photo made my day today. Also sort of creepy if you are driving by late at night. I am certain he comes alive at night to clean up the store.

JPH, guess the shoes have changed since a once square generation tied their square knots.

now you've gone and done it. I grew up in Hamburg and visit your site often. It takes me back, It seems as though I recognized the display before I read the caption. I'm 40 years old and sitting here in tears. Sometimes we never realize the best times of our lives until they are gone. I have a few other places around there to visit if you are interested

Proudly he stands, not a hair out of place
Poised in his outfit, smile on his face.
Among the trees normally standing his ground
This scout, mostly reflections, now do surround.
Displayed with shoes and handbags this is how he has fared
Is this what it means to be "Always prepared"??

I am not sure what one could say - but he appears to be a perky little chap!

I think I would have stopped too - more for the novelty.

This is hilarious! LOL!

So is he about to rub two sticks together, or are those his thumbs? And does the "newly forming club" intend some connection between the good old BSA and women's clothing? (Perhaps a new merit badge?) (Oh dear.)

I don't know when I've seen a more curious combination! No wonder you stopped for a closer look...excellent!

God Bless the Boy Scouts! We need more good young men who value faith, family and freedom.

Beautiful framing and colors. Bravo!

Kathleen,

What a sweet composition. I am a lover of buttercups (didn't know they were poisonous to cows, though...I learn something every day.)

You have such a creative spirit. I love visiting your site.

Nice depth of field control.

Ode to Closed Show

With son,then wife I came to see
Your photo show at the Gallery.
To view them large upon the wall
Is much finer than on screen so small.
People, places and things recorded for history
Why all the awards? Is really no mystery.

Wishing you continued success :)

Wasn't there a rhyme that you were also supposed to say when you did that with the buttercups? I wish I could remember...maybe my mom just made it up.

Thanks for the memories with this one. Such carefree days!

So sweet!

Handful of yellow
Neath the chin of this fellow.
Checking for color?
Seems to like butter.

Critters in the field
Always amaze us,
How they can eat the grass
And leave the Ranunculus.

Beautiful shot...the depth is fantastic, and I love the rich green in the background.

Ha! I had not thought of that old trick for many many years. Thanks for flash from the past!

The trick is to stick your chin out, and look good doing it! As for myths, I suspect they make better company than do the dispellers, so lets keep the myths and dispense with the dispellers....besides, the buttercups no doubt benefit the cows in a way that eludes the common dispeller. (Can we not benefit from a vision of a "crabtree" while at the same time knowing that we might suffer from eating a "crabtree?"

And thanks for the creative lesson in cropping!

I remember that tree ! I've seen it in my dreams ;D
A true lovely picture !

Beautiful! Love the pink of the flowers and the fog. Stunning

Lovely Tree. I Like it

lovely tones, very nice. /J

Wow! This is truly wonderful. The tree is made even more lovely by the rain and fog. I love the warm tone too. I think this one made my week!

Fabulous! The pink against the grey, the large trees mimicking the shape of the dogwood. Perfect exposure and light.

Great colours and tones

Otherworldly. Tree of Life. Taking it to the nest level. I recently spent a few hours looking through a Digital Artist publication. Personally I liked the matte paintings best and this "real image" sets a mood that would easily have earned a "Masters" rating by the staff. (I guess the 30 preceding comments attest to the same conclusion.)

I've also been watching the "Planet Earth" series this week so this shot fits right in quality-wise......just not the same planet apparently. (Have to change the name of that tree though Kathleen, you can't have a vision like this and call it a "crabapple" anything.....really!)

Thanks for the trip to where ever it is you've taken us.

WOW! I wish I could say oh I was just running errands and... ;)))))))

wow!

Wonderful

STUNNING IMAGE!

The contrast of colors, the grainy texture of the fog against the tree's own soft texture just fit together so well. You never cease to amaze me...this shot is so beautiful with a slight bit of eeriness. Just wonderful.

Kathleen

I love all your images but this one is hard to beat. Beautiful! Tone and exposure and setting, phew it is just wonderful.

Ian

Love the pastel feel of this image, the mist/dust really adds to that. Excellent!!

Kathleen,
The trees in the background w/ all there tops are so beautiful .A large % of ours are snapped due to the 12/10 ice storm .
Adolph

Beautiful.

Oh my goodness. This is beautiful. Love it.

Gorgeous, what an atmosphere. A beautiful image.

this is beautiful! I wanna sit under it and have a picnic!

Very awesome, love it.

Velvety smooth and luscious

Hauntingly beautiful-love the mood of this.

Whoa....GORGEOUS!

wow - atmosphere and mystery! This is stunning Kathleen. One of your best for me in a while :)

How can you shoot such excellent picture while running errands in the pouring rain?

Moody and beautiful. Makes me want to live where you are :)

Pretty much all I can say is WOW!
I have enjoyed your photo's for a while now and I think this is a beautifully composed photo.

What a beautiful composition ! I've seen somebody who says it's a little bit zen, I agree :-)

Absolutely beautiful shot - the atmosphere and lighting are both superb

This is the most beautiful photo I have ever seen. Absolutely lovely!

Breathtaking!

Wonderful shot, I absolutely love the lighting.

Veiled in fog the forest does surround
This tree cloaked in pink, a sight quite profound.
Given the abundance of flowers
And the current spring showers,
The crabapple harvest should abound.

Beautifully captured blooming of a crabapple tree. The mist gives nice boost to perspective. I like it a lot.

Very smooth et zen shot. I love this one.

Beautiful shot! I like the contrast between the tree and the foggy background.

Mystical.

Beautiful low-contrast, warm-toned work. The delicate yet complex form of the tree is really something in front of the busy background. Excellent crop as well.

Laurie: This is handheld. Wanted to get used to the idea first... next time I'll bring the tripod. :)

Great photo!

Macro is so hard to do handheld, did you use a tri-pod for this? The DOF on macros is so finicky and it makes such little difference whether shoot at f2.8 or f16, at macro distance it's still so tight either way.

This is more bees than I saw all last year, however our fruit trees were full of bees with the first warm days this year.....so nice to see their back(s.)

Any more BEEG ideas young lady? (Not that I need to ask!)

Do I detect a little camera shake here. Really great talent love your eye for photos.

amin: I was wearing a Tyvec jumpsuit and a pith helmet covered in netting.

Closer!? When I start shooting through an electron microscope I'll let you know! :)

very cool! am going to assume you were very well protected to take this photo. :)
did you get a chance to get some that are even closer?

A bustling city lives within the hive
Where new bees growing come alive.
The queen rules the nest
Also producing the best
Honey for our money, no jive.

Maybe you should add the disclaimer that "subjects depicted are not actual size."
or do they get this big in DT?

Simply wonderful, They are like alive. Stop working only for a moment. And the variety of brown. Awesome.

Bees are indeed amazing and so very important to us.

This is wonderfully handled with the focus on the sign. Great work.

Betty, don't discount the importance of bumble bees. There are crops that they pollinate. "Their long tongue makes them important in pollinating certain flowers that other bees can't reach. They are also active in much cooler weather than honey bees and can pollinate plants that flower in the early spring. Without bees, many plants on our planet would not be able to reproduce and their species would become extinct. Without all those plants, animals that depended on them would starve and die. We depend on many of those animals for our food supply. We also depend on many of the plants that bumble bees pollinate." (quote from http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/bumble_bee.htm )

Kathleen, your photos are an inspiration and an education. Thanks.

Great image here, wonderful dof use

Great image - we keep honeybees in our backyard (Chester County). If you ever want to come photograph or bring your son, please do! We love to teach people about the importance of bees and backyard beekeeping... take a look here: http://web.mac.com/betsybarron/TheBetsy.Com/The_Hive.html

Through your gorgeous photos and informed commentary, you continue to raise our awareness of nature and how dependent we are on it. Thank you.

It is dangerous to rely on one species. Another example is monoculture.

Excellent shot, Kathleen. I also realize the bee problem.. even in my apple tree there are only bumble bees. Yesterday, one honey bee!

I also work in Cooperative Extension here in New Jersey, for the field crop and livestock agent. I absolutely love it!

How rare and good it is to see a photograph about bees...

Bees allowed me to keep them for several years back in the 1970s; three colonies and a truckload of the finest honey were the result.
I look forward to seeing more mellifluous imagery.

david tinnon: The Einstein quote has gone through a discrediting process - no one can prove he said it and no one can prove he didn't say it, so... who knows!

Anthony DiSante: Yes, that's pine needle smoke in the photo. This variety or "race" of bees is extremely gentle but it's always best to be cautious. I learned that the best time to check on the hives is when it's sunny and there are plenty of blossoms available (such as when I took the photo) because 2/3 of the "workforce" is out gathering food.

Just this week there was a segment on How It's Made about honey. The way it works is fascinating, and it's kind of unbelievable that those tiny bees produce such a huge amount of honey.

Is that pine needle smoke in the photo? The TV show said that as the beekeeper approaches the honeycombs, he sprays pine needle smoke, which alerts the bees that an outsider is approaching; this is so the bees aren't caught off guard and therefore don't sting. The guys weren't wearing gloves or anything -- they were touching the bees and the honeycomb with their bare hands! Crazy.

Now there you go, sticking your lens into someone else's beesness.....and besides, shots like this give me the hives! Recently I read a quote in which Einstein predicted if the bee should vanish, mankind would quickly follow. (Sounds like the kind of thing I might have read here.)

Thanks for beeing there.

Another worker pictured that needs hood and gloves
To do a job that hopefully he loves.
A little smoke calms the bees in their home
So keeper can safely check super and comb.
As things blooming give up minute drops of nectar
Let's do what we can, the bee, to protect her.

Many people also don't realize that our honey bee population is dying, and rapidly. Scientists don't know why this is happening and don't know how to stop it. Considering how dependent we are on them for food, it's pretty scary.

Haagen-Dazs, has a website with information about them and links to a couple of places that are doing research about the problem: http://www.helpthehoneybees.com/

Study

I like this one as the previous. There is a dreamlike quality and a warmth that just "feels" so good.

This is just gorgeous! I really like how the pathway leads my eye further into the photo. And the colors are breathtaking!

very, very well processed.

lovely photo...love the shallow DOF.

Hi Kathleen,
Nice capture again. This picture is a perfect example of framing. When you frame a subject it will be better to show framed subject. But I would have loved it more, if it leads me to the end of the orchards which gives more like "from here to there concept". Because of the lens at 200mm, the the pic already lost the distance seperation, but then at 200 mm and f3.5 you got the nice shallow DOF.
All in all good pic
-Balaji

A lovely warm image - has a very nice feel to it! DOF really draws you into this world.. nice work Kathleen.

Such a gorgeous image!

I really like the composition & detail. Nicely done.

that is bitchen.

Like soft watercolors. A very positive creation,

thank you.

Wonderful composition, depth of field...just love this!

YAY!!! Blossoms after the long winter. Great shot and I hope I have blossoms in my orchard soon too! We have snow coming in on Monday.

JJ :D

I don't know why but when I saw this one, I thought of 'Tennessee waltz' by Eva Cassidy. (A song I love. Who doesn't.)

I agree with everyone, the colors and DoF are simply wonderful. Stunning. Same goes for the previous photo - Apr 22. Hope there are more to come in what seems to be a DoF series. Really love your work, Kath. Thanks for giving us such beautiful pictures to look at.

This is really different. I think I like it, but it takes some getting used to.

The orchard looks like soldiers, row upon row
Trees standing at attention, fruits soon to grow.
Working the blossums bees happily hum
Tree to hive, making more than one run.
Honey and fresh fruit coming to our table
These tasty treats our thankfulness inables.

Oh I love this!

Really outstanding composition and use of DOF.

It's just beautiful...the colors in the background really make the photo for me.

The rainbow bokeh of those trees in the distance against the brilliant green is captivating! Happy Spring!

Beautiful photo! Effective DoF. Pretty :)

very nice composition ... :) ...

Spring is here! Lovely warm tones.

Your use of selective focus in this shot in really sweet. And the colors -- the red shirt, the yellow dandelions, the dark green grass. And those feet in the air! Really nicely done.

I didn't read every comment, so I'm sure I'm being repetitive when I say that your creative use of limited depth of field allows this to have a very impressionistic feel! I'm a long time RSSer of your site.

I love the lack of focus on the boy. He is lost in this moment. Just as he should be! Bravo!

It is as if there is only this spring day, and it is sufficient.

I'm totally fogged in Quatsino B.C., so this image twice appreciated, thank you!

Brilliant image! Impressionistic. It tells a great story and has a wonderful feeling to it. The red shirt and the white shoes in the air add the needed contrast.

This is like a beautiful dream. I love the mood of this. The softness is wonderful and offers that dreamlike quality. Spring fever is in the air!