The Photo Bin - April 2011

April 15th:  Tax Day on the Haw

This month’s photo bin is late, not because I'd forgotten, but because I’ve struggled for images. It’s full-out spring here in the Carolinas, perhaps the most picturesque time of the year, and I've got nothin'. Many things have kept the camera in its pack – weather, a family trip north, more weather, laziness – so I’ve scrambled for content worth posting.

I even considered skipping the month, having a photo bin gap, but realized that it would set a bad precedent, making it too easy to skip it again… and again. So, instead, I sorted through my meager April catalog and picked the three presented here. They interest me for reasons other than their visual impact, obviously, so you get a short story with each. Lucky you.

The image at the top of the post is a shot of one of my favorite stretches of the Haw, and one of my favorite trees, a towering white birch from under which I have coaxed some of my best shoals largemouths. The image is softened a bit, to present a lush, hazy, warm view of that lovely stretch of water, a stones-throw away from the house. Perhaps you can see why I love it here.

April 23rd:  Who's There?

The next image is a funny little shot, taken one evening as I prepared to document the new family of bluebirds that have arrived in our back birdhouse. When reviewing the digitals a few days later, I was surprised to see that I had been watched, from within the frame, by a wary Momma, something I totally missed during the taking.

To see a series of another brood, fledged two years earlier, check out this old post, The New Bluebirds.

April 7th:  Me, My Father

The final image comes with an apology for it is a picture of, well, me, taken by my once-again guest photographer, Mary. The picture fascinates me because it’s the spitting image of my father. The shot is rough-hewn, intentionally, both in content and finish, as that speaks of him best. He was a rough-hewn kind of guy. And, as I look at the shot, I realize that my grain is beginning to show as well.

So that’s the lot and I appreciate your patience with this month's makeshift bin. Perhaps in May I’ll get back on track and give you something more interesting to look at.

Or perhaps not.