Travels with Charlie....

Tuesday became an explore day. At first I was going to take Charlie in his bike trailer for a ride. Then I thought about another place nearby that I've always wanted to see. It is a small park alongside the Pine River in Richland County.

It's called Pier Natural Bridge Park. It has a little playground, a picnic shelter, and a rock formation that formed a bridge or tunnel. It has 10 acres and some interesting sights to see.

I thought it might be a nice place for us to have a late lunch.

When we first got there we tried out the long stairway to the top of the rock formation that is called a finger. It rises 60 feet above the Pine River. 

Charlie had to figure out the stairs and he did a good job. Not easy for a short legged doggy with a long back.

We walked along the half mile 'finger' and enjoyed the views through the pines.

You can't visit this place without walking through the long crack in the rocks. Charlie and I spent some time inside the 'tunnel' of rocks which had  a nice breeze whispering through it to cool off.

[Disgusting that people felt the need to add graffiti here.]

Cool breezes!

Charlie and I had a picnic lunch at one of the many picnic tables that were scattered all around. There are also benches made by a Scout Troop along the top of the rocks placed so a person can sit and enjoy the sights.

Pano of three shots stitched together from my OM-5 camera.

The Pine River is also a fairly popular little river to go kayaking on so there is a spot for taking your kayak in and out of the river in the park. 

I was actually surprised by the amount of visitors that stopped for a little bit while I was there. There was enough room that felt like we had the place to ourselves.

I think I will come back in the winter and then again in the spring to see how this place looks.

There is nothing more impressive than feeling so tiny next to a 1/2 mile finger of rock that is 60 feet tall. I took this shot of a car that pulled up and parked next to the tunnel entrance for a size comparison.

Let's just say, it was small, worth it, and scenic. Not to mention, a nice place to have a picnic and a nice little dog to accompany you.

By the way. Charlie is getting better about car rides. He used to whine and complain all of the time and now he is settling in with a lot less commentary about my driving.

I seriously adore his company.

We plan to try out the pet bike carrier this week too!

Not an Axe Murder-er

At the Vernon County Fair I sat next to a fellow that I assumed might be about my age.
We watched the judging together and once in a while we found ourselves murmuring to each other as to how we might view a photo.

During the break I asked the gent if he'd like to grab something to eat and talk more about photography and cameras. He said yes, he was new to photography and was eager to talk to someone.

We got immersed in talking about how we discovered photography and how we liked to take photographs. We exchanged email information and cell phone numbers. By mid afternoon, I had to leave. But John and I had promised to get together for some sort of field trip if we could work it out, so I could perhaps help him with his Canon camera settings.
His interests were the Wisconsin River and Cranes.
We tried to organize a 'field' trip morning to the river but things kept getting in the way.

Finally last week we both agreed on a time and day. I suggested we meet at the BP Station near my home as it was on the way for our planned field trip.
Meet at 6 AM and drive to the Gotham boat landing for what we hoped would be an incredible sunrise over the WI river.

At 3AM I woke up with a start.
What if he is an Axe Murderer?
What if...
Um.

I laid in bed and wondered why I let myself watch stupid cop shows on Netflix with my husband before I went to bed.
What if he was a serial killing Axe Murderer?

Nonsense.
But.
Okay perhaps he kills cereal with a spoon.
Stupid mind.
Stupid head.

It was no use. I had to get out of bed. 3:30AM. I warmed up a cup of coffee. Then I set up the coffee pot so Rich could just push the button and make coffee. I dressed in layers and went out with a headlamp to do chores.

At 5:45ish I drove to the gas station, I was surprised. I was a few minutes early and I as I parked John rolled down the window of a little black car and said good morning.
I laughed. Indeed, he wasn't an Axe Murderer.

He explained that he was driving his daughter's old car as his truck was still not quite finished with the brake job he was doing.
Off we went, picking up the conversation that we'd had at the Vernon County Fair as if two months hadn't passed.

Cameras, photography, love of taking photos, birds, water.
Would we see a beautiful sunrise?

We didn't find a gorgeous sunrise, but we did find adventure.

John did find some birds at the river but we weren't able to ID them. I thought they were too large to be gulls but heck they were at the train bridge which probably was half a mile away!

The first spot we were at for the sunrise was dull and dreary. But I pointed out that there were trees that were making for interesting reflections in the water. So even though the morning was grey and colorless, perhaps we could salvage it with reflection shots.

I showed him how I saw the photo, and then he showed me his preference of the same scene.
It was a great learning experience.

It may be two months again before we get together to seek out a beautiful sunrise on the river. John really wants a great shot of that. It is on his 'list'. In the meantime I will brush up on his Canon and the settings it uses so I can help him.

Oh. And note to self. No he isn't an Axe Murderer, he isn't a creep, he is just like some of the other friends I've made that are photography nuts.

Here is some of what I ended up with.
I used some rather strong editing skills to come up with some of these.

 This one was my favorite to work on.
Original:

Edit one:

 Edit two:

Edit three:
This is my favorite one for so many reasons. I felt inspired and wanted to make a painting so I ran this through Deep Dream Generator and decided that this was the one I adored.

Another shot with a lot of potential, but I haven't done much with it.

Cruson Slough.

 And then the black and white edits of reflections.

The weather was dull and dreary, yet I was able to show my new friend all of the possibilities that were out there if you looked for them.

Rich did very well with being able to make coffee and doing his morning routine. I was back home by 11 o'clock and found him sitting and watching another murderous cop show. Indeed the perp on that show was not an Axe Murderer, but much worse. He captured women in a black van and chopped them up with a saw...eeeks!

It was a good thing John did not show up in a big black van with no windows.

Last note about John. He is an incredible entrepreneur. We discussed his ability to market his ideas. He told me how he was going to build his fledgling love for photography into money. He had a vision. I quipped that I had creative skills but NO marketing skills what so ever.
As I got out of his vehicle to go home, he said, "You know we can do that...marketing your photography."

So.
Lesson learned.
No harm in mentoring someone in photography. The favor may come back in an unexpected way.