"the wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round..." this song seems to be a rite of passage when riding a school bus. i have no clue if it still gets sung by today's youngest generation. i can only thank my lucky stars i never remember singing or hearing this song riding the bus. surely. my hearing loss was my best friend in those moments. my apologies if this begins endless hours of playing in your head. 🤓
a few blogs ago, i shared some images from a road trip in wisconsin. it was actually a trip i took two weekends in a row. some images i made the first time around weren't "up to snuff" for me. i was also curious to see what kind of lighting would transpire at some of the places i had visited this second time around.
this first image is from the the second time i went back. i love this rusty old school bus. peeking inside a window, i could see it had been transformed into a rv but those days belonged to a distant past based on the look of the interior. the exterior also gave a telltale sign of being put to pasture a while ago. lichen, rust and oxidation were rampant over the totality of the bus. it was beautiful to behold in its decay. all around, spring was starting to show life. new foliage of yellow, green and orange were being birthed on the branches of nearby trees. wildflowers were not only sprouting but blooming. winter had settled into a slumber and would not be waking anytime soon. although, never say never. i think there is only one month out of the year that it has never snowed in minnesota. i can't remember which month that is but let's not jinx it, shall we?
i found myself enjoying the contrast of the past glory days of the bus and the emerging sense of a fresh new season all around it. isn't that the way life is? it's in constant flux. one thing ends only for another thing to begin. for a time we bask in the good. for a time we toil in the bad. i've learned long ago that is life. i've also learned long ago that attitude is everything. i'm nowhere near having it all together. but i can say that when i choose (it is always a choice) to accept my current circumstance(s) in life with a positive outlook, it makes it more bearable if the circumstance(s) is not good. it isn't easy. it can require a persistent mind reorientation. but it is so much better than getting wrapped in the tentacles of a negative mindset.
this second image was the first time i found this vintage bus. the sun found its way more easily through the branches and bathed the bus in the warm early light. lichen, rust and oxidation had added its wonderful array of colors and textures. based on a little research i did for the international 160 nameplate that you can see in the upper right of the image, this bus seems to date from the mid to late 1950s as my best guessimate. please share in the comments below if you know i'm not correct. i was drawn in by the bulbous front signal lights of the bus. i'm no auto buff, but i do enjoy looking at the shapes and lines of vintage vehicles. this bus was no exception. i found the signal lights eye-catching as it slowly gives in to the encroaching lichen all over it. a flicker of light seemed to shine through the amber cover as if the bus was trying to keep alive the memories of bussing kids to school and providing transportation to memorable vacation destinations. i made several images of the bus showcasing the lines, colors and textures but this one is my favorite.
this last image is a favorite of mine as it leaves the imagination of a story to be filled in by you as well as myself. to me, it is the classic portrayal of a rite of passage for many people who fish. i intentionally left the fisherman out of the image for the purpose of this being a shared passion by many. put yourself behind the pole in this image if you love fishing and let the memories flow. fishing at your local creek. knowing just the spot where the fish bite (this person did, indeed, hook a small trout). having the thrill of a line go taut and the interplay between the fish and the angler. perhaps you had a best friend at your side often on these fishing adventures, be it human or canine. this image was a fun one for me to compose. on a more artistic point, there is something that resonates with me with the shared angle of the boulder on the right, the pole and the fishing line. you can follow that line, if you look carefully, for a ways before it blends in with the foamy white of the creek. the overall soft image gives a great feel of a more nostalgic time.
this road trip was noteworthy for a not so good memory for me. you might remember i shared some phone pics of my injuries a little while back. i was hoping the image i took shortly before a tumble into a pile of boulders would be worth the injuries. at this point, it has not as the wind that day made for a tough time of getting a sharp focus throughout the image. i shot a few images with different focal points, a technique called focus stacking. it has proven to be a rather difficult image, not in the stacking, but in the blending to get the whole image in focus. it's a type of image making used by many photographers when it simply is not possible to get a sharp looking image from foreground to background in one image. wind is not a friend when doing blending of images and with this being an intimate woodland scene, flowers, leaves, grasses, etc. were all blowing. i will share the image if i can ever get a great final product. but don't hold your breath. lol.
thanks for taking the time to read this blog and look at the images! there is a comment section below if you would like to share anything that that this blog might have brought to mind. i enjoy reading every comment and responding to them all.
these images will be added to my spring landscape gallery soon. if you are interested in purchasing any of them, just let me know using the chat button on the bottom right or the contact form at the bottom. it'd be my great pleasure to help you bring to fruition an art piece that will be enjoyed for many years.
whether this is your first time visiting here or you are a repeat visitor, again, thank you! it means the world to me that you took the time to do so! please be sure to check back every 1-2 weeks for a new blog.
i'll see you next time with more "images from a quiet world"!