Nature Photography by Richard L. Bowman

March 2, 2017

Look at What Accumulated in My Files

September 23, 2015, is the last time I posted on this blog. However, that does not mean that I did not have any photos that fit in this category. In fact if I post them all at one time, there are more than 50 photos. So pleaser peruse them and enjoy yourself! In general these will be in reverse chronological order with the newest ones first.

I have been working up a show entitled, "A Slice of the American Pie." Any of the photos below that I have as candidates have the label, "AmPie." Whether I can get it shown somewhere is still an unanswered question.

a fastfood drive-thru ad

Fast Food Ad at Drive-thru (AmPie) (21-Feb-17; © Richard L. Bowman)

In the greater Harrisonburg area (Rockingham County), we have several different churches of Old Order Mennonites. Some of them still drive horse drawn buggies. It reminds us of a slower pace of life.

an Old Order Mennonite buggy

An Old Order Mennonite Horse Drawn Buggy (6-Nov-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

two Old Order Mennonite buggies

Two Horses and Buggies (AmPie) (19-Feb-17; © Richard L. Bowman)

A parent and child can show some of the deepest caring loves in the world.

a mother and young daughter swinging

Our Daughter Heidi and One-and-a-half Year Old Kiara (AmPie) (19-Feb-17; © Richard L. Bowman)

One thing I enjoy watching is the changing color and shape of the sky and and clouds in it. Here are a few samples.

dark clouds to the west over our shop

Dark Clouds with Bright Light on the White Shop (12-Feb-17; © Richard L. Bowman)

large cumulous cloud over Mt. Clinton village

Large Cumulus Cloud over the Valley Near Mt. Clinton (VA) Village (8-Jan-17; © Richard L. Bowman)

sunrise from opur front porch

A Colorful Sunrise from Our Front Porch (18-Dec-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

sunset over our shop

A Colorful Sunset over the Shop and Woodpile (22-Nov-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

People at work are definitely part of the American pie. Here Dale and Jason Lehman (Lehman Construction Group) pour us a new sidewalk from our redone porch to the driveway.

men at work pouring concrete in our new sidewalk

Pouring Concrete for a New Sidewalk (AmPie) (12-Dec-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

The four-lane Interstate highway system is also very much a part of the American scene since the automobile is such a major form of conveyance for us.

a straight stretch of I-64 west from Charlottesville

I-64 Coming from Charlottesville, VA, toward Staunton (AmPie) (19-Nov-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

trees along the side of I-64 west from Charlottesville

A Group of Young Trees Beside I-64 (19-Nov-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

On a different scale, I also like seeing trees in different seasons close up.

a leaf and a tree

Leaves Hanging on Our Ash Tree in the Fall (12-Nov-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

red leaves behiind unfocused ones

Focusing on Red (Flowering Plum) Leaves in the Background (8-Nov-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

flowering plum leaves

Focusing on Red (Flowering Plum) Leaves in the Foreground (8-Nov-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

yellow-green leaves of an ash tree

Ash Tree Leaves Still Live and Well in the Fall (AmPie) (2-Nov-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

one dead leaf on a green leaved ash tree

One Dry Ash Leaf Hangs On As Others Have Fallen or Soon Will (2-Nov-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

branch stump left after cutting off

Fall Pruning of the Flowering Plum Tree (14-Oct-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

holly leaves over deck railing

Holly Leaves Peek Over the Deck Railing (14-Oct-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

rain splashing on an outdoor table

Catching Rain Splashes on Our Deck (29-Sep-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

How about some more landscapes? These are from various locations--Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Lezhë (Albania).

rainbow at McGaheysville VA

Summer Rainbow at McGaheysville, VA, USA (8-Jul-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

another photo of thie rainbow

Another View of the Rainbow (8-Jul-16 © Richard L. Bowman)

reflected shoreline, Grubb Lake, PA

Trees on the Shore Reflect into Grubb Lake, PA, USA (AmPie) (4-Jul-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

another photo of the reflected shore of Grubb Lake

Another View of Trees on the Shore of Grubb Lake, PA, USA (4-Jul-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

farm and dark clouds, Landisville, PA

Storm Clouds Over Farmland (PA) (28-Jun-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

family yard and dark clouds, Landisville, PA

Dark Clouds Over Farmland and Family Backyard (28-Jun-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

clouds and their shadows near Lezhë, Albania

Clouds and Their Shadows on the Ground Near Lezhë, Albania (25-May-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

Having shown one photo from our time in Albania, here are several more.

another cone in a tree

Pine Cone Sits on Its Branch (7-May-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

lily pads in a small pond in a parking lot, Tirana, Albania

Lily Pads in a Small Pond at the Italian Hospital, Tirana (2-Apr-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

close up of arborvitae needles

Close-up of New Arborvitae Needles (2-Apr-16 © Richard L. Bowman)

a small island on Patok Lagoon, near Lezhë, Albania

A Small Island in the Middle of Patok Lagoon, near Lezhë (28-Feb-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

close up of the island on Patok Lagoon

A Close View of the Same Island (28-Feb-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

During the February 12-14, 2016 weekend, a number of staff, teachers, and parents from Lezha Academic Center took a vacation in Kosovo. We stayed at the Arxhena Hotel, Brod, Dragash, Kosovo. Here are a few photos from that trip.

yellow chairs await us at the table in the hotel's restaurant

Yellow and White--Chairs and Table Ready for Dinner (12-Feb-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

The hotel had a small waterfall constructed outside on their patio. I tried some experimentation to see what effects I liked best when photographing moving water.

a small waterfall at the hotel; fast enough to catch the water

My Best: ISO 400 1/640 f3.5 (12-Feb-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

slow enough to make the water look like a sheet of fondant

ISO 400 1/1.7 f4.0 (13-Feb-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

the waterfall with another exposure setting

My Second Best: ISO 80 1/30 f8.0 (14-Feb-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

the waterfall with a final different exposure

ISO 80 1/15 f8.0 (14-Feb-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

The hotel also had a self-feeding birdbath in the small water way out in the patio. As a physicist I was intrigued by the concentric waves produced by the water entering at the center of the bath.

a bird bath continuopusly filling

Birdbath and Concentric Waves (14-Feb-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

Round about the hotel were some small hills and mountains which still had some snow on them which made for some interesting photo compositions.

dried bush on snowy rocky soil

Dried Bush on a Snowy Rocky Hillside (13-Feb-16; © Richard L. Bowman)

a boulder on a snowy rocky ground

one of the nearby hills

a view of the hill later in the day

a view later in the day of the h ill

As we meandered our way down the mountain in Kosovo on our way back to Lezhë, we passed several vignettes of clouds, mountains and villages.

another mountain looking a different direct6ion

villages dotted the mountain side as we left the hotel

Back in Albania where we stopped for gas and something to eat, I noticed these heavy excavators sitting out front, presumably to be sold. I was particularly pleased to see that they were New Holland branded equipment--a E385 and a E345. New Holland is a small town near where I was born and raised in Pennsylvania. The New Holland brand began there.

two excavators at the gas station we stopped at for food

Closer to home, we saw more dark clouds gathering for a storm.

storm clouds moved in as we got closer home

A month earlier than our trip to Kosovo, I saw this colorful sunset.

sunset over Lezhe

Backing up to the fall of 2015, I took some beach photos in Shëngjin. The assistant principal of Lezha Academic Center, Bardha Paplekaj, hosted Elsie and I there for a seafood lunch after which we walked along the almost deserted beach.

Shëngjin beach at sunset in November

Shëngjin beach with a low wave

Shëngjin bresvh with a foot print

Before we left the US for Albania at the middle of October 2015, I captured some photos that intrigued me artistically near our home in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

a maple leaf in the grass

rain drops on a close bunch of yellow flowers

a feed mill in Harrisonburg, VA, with train tracks

train tracks near the feed mill

I hope you have enjoyed sampling some of the compositions that interested me from our time in Albania and in the US. I thank God for beauty and that we have the aesthetic sense to appreciate it.

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