2010- 500 Most Interesting Photos

I almost bounced into this guy while leaving for work. His colors are so bright that I just couldn't tear down his web and leave him for the birds. Besides, maybe he'll keep away some of the pesky door-to-door salespeople. :)

Austin and Kristin, getting ready to leave for dinner and the prom!

Not sure what it is, but it graced our glass door at the radio station I use as home base for overseeing the network. He showed up on a Thursday on the brick adjacent to the door, but he moved over to the glass entrance by the next morning. By the third morning, he relocated himself to an out-of-the-way part of the walkway, and we haven't seen him since. In attempting this shot, I didn't have a stand or anything to stabilize my hands, and I tried a half-dozen shots before I got these, the clearer of the bunch. (It seems my hands aren't quite as stable as they used to be.)

Being uncomfortable with heights, I've always been fascinated by men and women who have no fear of climbing towers. As you might expect, the occupation of "tower climber" comes with a high mortality rate, and I understand from talking with several tower climbers that the insurance they must carry on themselves is "sky-high." Your first mistake can easily be your last, and even the most experienced climbers can meet their fate in the course of an ordinary day. This particular tower climber has shared with me that gentle winds of 2-3 miles per hour on the ground can easily mean 15-20 mph winds or greater on very tall towers. In fact, when I heard this particular climber talking with his buddy on the ground via radio, I could hear the wind whipping into his walkie-talkie's microphone ferociously. On this particular day, the temperature was near 90 (F), and the climber was wearing a heavy insulated outfit. It would have been hot and heavy for anyone to wear, but add to that the sweating and fatigue from climbing a tall tower over several hours, and I don't see how anyone could bear to be in such a hot and weighty outfit that long. Unfortunately, its necessary because of the temperature of the metal, bees which build nests on towers during the Summer, for insulation purposes from electricity, etc. And you'd think that a tower climber would be bulging with muscle in the arms and legs. This particular climber has normal-looking legs and arms, but he paces himself, climbing only so far in an hour. Because water weighs so much, he typically constructs a rope mechanism on a pulley by which water can be lifted to him. In that way, he doesn't have to climb with the weight of the water pulling against him. In this series of shots, I didn't have a vantage point in which the sun wasn't shining at least partially toward me. I hope to get a better series of pictures from another location in the future. I have huge admiration for these people who risk their lives daily. These are people that many tower owners seem to take for granted.

Austin and Kristin, getting ready to leave for dinner and the prom!

My brother traveled across the country for several years, taking his camera with him wherever he went. One year, around Christmastime, he offered my family some of his choice prints. Loving his work, I grabbed as many prints as he would give me, and this is one of those "personal favorites" I took.

Kristin about to spank Brianna ("Barbie" or "Bri") with a brush. An early attempt to create a Selective Color image using The Gimp.

Building located on the outskirts of the town of Norris, SC near Cateechee. When I was a kid, I'd walk or ride my bicycle to this little store. You could do that back then without fear of getting run over, picked up, kidnapped, or disappearing without ever being seen again. I'd go inside here and grab a 12 oz 7-UP in the returnable bottle, my favorite. After it was a country store, it was a short-order restaurant for a short time, but the restaurant has been closed for at least 15 years. Its sad to see the old building abandoned and becoming overgrown with kudzu. At the rate kudzu grows, I may not be able to see the building by next year. lol

Building located on the outskirts of the town of Norris, SC near Cateechee. When I was a kid, I'd walk or ride my bicycle to this little store. You could do that back then without fear of getting run over, picked up, kidnapped, or disappearing without ever being seen again. I'd go inside here and grab a 12 oz 7-UP in the returnable bottle, my favorite. After it was a country store, it was a short-order restaurant for a short time, but the restaurant has been closed for at least 15 years. Its sad to see the old building abandoned and becoming overgrown with kudzu. At the rate kudzu grows, I may not be able to see the building by next year. lol

Had lunch at IHOP with Kristin and Kolton, and Kolton slept through half of our meal. It's amazing how quickly he's changing and how much he is growing! I had to ask Kristin to snap this picture for me!

A picture from Kristin's Droid