French Quarter

DSC_0020, originally uploaded by knledford.

A shop on the corner of Bourbon Street in the French Quarter houses many visitors. If you look closely you can see the rainfall adding a shine to the streets.

New Orleans Charm

NO04splatterweb, originally uploaded by knledford.

Stormy Weather

NO01WEB, originally uploaded by knledford.

A scarey storm moves in over the streets of New Orleans' French Quarter. I had the opportunity to go to New Orleans alittle over a year ago with my good friend Amanda. We had such a great time! I called her up at 2pm and asked if she wanted to take a trip, we were on the road by 7pm - Beach bound. We went on a 5 day road trip to Biloxi, MS & New Orleans, LA. We had so much fun, we pulled into Biloxi at 4am went into the Grand Casino, spent $0.75 in a quarter slot machine & I won $200.00. We high-tailed it out of there, made a pit stop at Denny's and headed for New Orleans. Unfornately it stormed the whole day so it wasn't the best day to tour the French Quarter. We walked and shopped and toured the historic French Quarter the whole day before returning to Biloxi. At that point we had been awake for a total of 42 hours straight and needed sleep. We managed to find 1 hotel that had rooms for less that $300.00 per night and jumped at the offer. After a good 12 hours sleep and a hot shower we hit the town again. We saw the sights, visited a few lighthouses and shops, enjoyed a 0.99 cent heartattack in a brown sack and hit the casino nickel slot machines. The nickel machines proved to offer 13 hours of good times. We invested 20.00 each and both came out of the deal ahead of where we started, which is amazing concidering the fact we were gambling. Finally our butts became completely numb and our eye lids heavy so we struct out for a place to crash, with no luck. Every place we check was booked or $600.00 a night, so we did the next best thing... we slept in the car... in a parking lot... of one of the biggest most popular, busiest casino's in the world. Safe you ask? Prolly not. A good story for our grandkids? Absolutely! Still to this day, nobody, including Amanda's husband, believes we actually did that, but we did, cross my heart, hope to die. Insane you say? Absolutely! That week was crazy but by far the most fun I've ever had. Would I do it all again? You Bet... I'm going to go start planning for it right now! ... oh wait, I forgot I don't plan...

Patterns

DSC_0118, originally uploaded by knledford.

I went to Church today for the first time in a long time. I actually enjoyed it, I went to the Church my dad attends. I felt a bit out of place, mainly because I was the only one in the whole place that was between 20 and 70 years old. There were a few little kids there with there grandparents and 2 teenagers, and the rest were all seniors. Anyway, my dad sang a solo song " What would I do without Jesus, it wasnt half bad. I believe I'll try to break all the patterns I've had for the past 15 or so years, go to Church and see what I figure out.

Wishing

DSC_0219, originally uploaded by knledford.

I would love to be sitting in an old blue chair on that beach right now.

Harbor

DSC_0070, originally uploaded by knledford.

Sail boats at te harbor in Biloxi, MS

Shadow Box

Shadow Box, originally uploaded by knledford.

I've been frozen inside the house for a while now, we've had a winter ice storm down here in the south. I made this shadow box of my Grandfather's military picture, metals, tie and buttons from his uniform. I've got it proudly displayed on my book shelf now.

Iron Gate

gate, originally uploaded by knledford.

An interesting pattern of an old iron gate door at Wilder Tower located in the heart of the Chickamauge Battlefield.

Reflections

lake, originally uploaded by knledford.

Lookout Mountain Lake reflects the last signs of the Fall season.

Backlighting

flower2, originally uploaded by knledford.

Globed Nature

turtles, originally uploaded by knledford.

Happy as can be inside a glass box. They gather on a log and talk about how funny looking the people staring back at them really are! " Did you see that little boy, he had his elbow in his nose, mining for gold he was!" " Oh yes dear, and earlier today I saw a woman with 3 long black hairs growing out of the mountain on her face... some people!"

Father and Son

webbaby, originally uploaded by knledford.

Ghostly

Ghostly, originally uploaded by knledford.

This photo takes a ghostly effect as the sunrise hits the fog in this valley battlefield site in Chickamauga, GA.

Triple Tigger Happy

flowers, originally uploaded by knledford.

How do you know you're alittle crazy about photography? When you see wild flowers growing in a ditch on the side of the road and you stop traffic to take a picture.

This picture makes me think of Spring, which I am ready for by the way. I'm not much for cold weather. The only thing good about winter is the clothes. You can pass with wearing your comfy sweatshirt without getting strange looks.

Art or Not?

ForestPaintingWEB, originally uploaded by knledford.

I used my signature fog effect for this photograph. Basically I blew hot air on the end of the lens. Someday I'm going to find someone who appreciates such retardation and cash in big time! I like it though, makes it look like a painting. The photograph was taken on Snobgrass Hill in the Chickamauga GA civil war battlefield.

LOST

rachel, originally uploaded by knledford.

A bamboo stranger wonders through a forest of panda delight.

abandoned

abanden, originally uploaded by knledford.

A pine plank wood house stands abandoned along the evening day sunshine.

The Secret Window

window, originally uploaded by knledford.

A glowing window of an old 1800's abanden house cast a warm silence on the wood plank floor.

Me

me web, originally uploaded by knledford.

It's a real wonder I'm still alive, this photo was taken by me, while driving on a curvey road. Well worth it though if I do say so myself.

Long Strecth of Highway

road, originally uploaded by knledford.

utterly surprised

utterly surprised, originally uploaded by knledford.

This cow looks... well... she looks shocked! The funny part was, right after I took this photo I see the cows owner standing across the old dirt road, he had the same exact face!

Back to the poor old cow... ya know, ya move to the country to get away from the popurazzi, soon you forget about them, and then, on the one day you dont shower and wear a bra, something like this happens.

oh the humanity...

Grandpa

Grandpa, originally uploaded by knledford.

I've been going through my grandma's photos and old books lately gathering stuff for a heritage album. I came across this old photo in my grandma's wallet. It's original condition was torn and bent down the center and had stains and spots all over it. After some digital magic and a lot of patients I have restored the photo back to new condition. My grandpa was in World War II. He worked in the training camps and made his living as a boxer.

Vintage America

truck, originally uploaded by knledford.

Sunset on a different time.

Warmth

Warmth, originally uploaded by knledford.

Some people look at fire wood and they think of comfort and warmth. I look at fire wood and I think of an inferno. Why, you ask? Well, because my grandmother has had a wood heater in her house for as long as I can remember. She decides when to start it up by the days and months, not by the temperture outside. Currently, it is 66 degrees out side and 98 degrees inside. It's enough to boil your brain, you can sit in her house for a few minutes and feel sick from the heat. The strange part is, in the summer, if it was 98 degrees outside, she'd have the a/c of 60 and her shorts on. Frankly, I think its just one more way of torturing those who come to visit and/or live with her. ;o)

Rust

Rust, originally uploaded by knledford.

Vintage Chrome

Wouldnt you?

Would you?, originally uploaded by knledford.

When I was really young, maybe 4 or 5, I remember my Grandpa riding his old blue tractor down around our big ole barn and through the fields at his house. It's seat was rusted and the padding was his old fannel shirt he'd thrown accoss it. I was raised a tomboy, as you may have noticed from my "cowboy" post. From as far back as I can remember he'd have me out doing something, whether it was building porches or working on cars. I remember he'd drink coffee all the time, and of course I had to have some too. Secretly it would make me gag but whatever he did was fine with me. I recently was walking around my grandpa's barn and saw his old blue tractor. It reminded me of when I was little, he'd let me drive it around. I'd sit in his lap and he'd get me going, then without warning he'd just jump off, I remember him saying " you can do it, just turn the wheel away from anything bigger than you." Thinking back, it seems like a sweet story of trust and love. I know now I play with my neice Summer, I try to remember that and let her be independent, however, turning her loose with a battery-ramming tractor might seem abit much. In all my thinking back about how sweet my Grandpa was, I remembered that, that old blue tractor, with all it's charm, didn't have any brakes. And the only way of stopping it was pushing the clutch to the floor and pulling on an old choke at the same time. Granted I was maybe 5 years old, my legs couldn't have been that long. However, given the errors of this machinary and taking into account the fact I was five, I never once killed or mangle anyone. My Grandpa would walk along behind the tractor, not a hint of doubt on his face. Maybe he really did know what he was doing. He's not around anymore so these reflections of then are all I have, what memories to leave a child with though, if you think about it, as an adult you realize it isnt the fact he was nice enough to let you drive, it was the fact he trusted you to do so. And in the end, wouldnt you want to be known for that?

The Cowboy In Me

The Cowboy In Me, originally uploaded by knledford.

When I was a kid I would pretend to be a cowboy. My friend and neighbor Richard would come over and we'd ride our invisible horses many hours of miles. In the front lawn of my Grandma's house stood this piece of iron work my Grandpa had built countless years ago. The bandit we called "him" as it strikes a cowboy look. Used as a flower pot holder for my Grandmother, who never quite figured out why her flowers kept turning over on there own. We'd ride our 'horses' though canyons and rivers, over large mountains and deep valleys, and fight the bandit in one of those classic western shootouts. With his hip "six shooter" and witty quick moves, he provided countless hours of heroic good times. Weathered and beaten, The Bandit still stands in a shadow beside our barn, lonely and forgotten. Not a time I see him though, does he not take me back to those horses, with the largest tumbleweeds ever seen and the biggest badest cow pokin' riders the west ever saw...

Outside Looking In

Outside Looking In, originally uploaded by knledford.

There are no words.... only the images in your head.

The Dance

The Dance, originally uploaded by knledford.

I think Garth said it best... I could've missed the pain but I would've had to miss the dance.

Remembering The Ride

Remembering The Ride, originally uploaded by knledford.

When is the last time you went to a park, you walked in that gate and were actually excited to be there? You walked in that gate with not a care in the world, the fact you had the day to do anything you wanted and this is what you choose. You didnt have to work overtime so that when your 60 hour week was up you could still be in debt. Do you remember, riding those rides, your butt actually fit in the seat. The pourly welded bucket seat that held you from your death didnt concern you at all. You went over those hills and around those tight curves, swinging you from side to side, up and down, the joy on your face was clear and the wind was in your hair. Not a care in the world.. Remember those rides? I'd give all the things that , in the end, make me miserable, for just one more of those rides...

Drops of Sky

Drops of Yesterday, originally uploaded by knledford.

Morning sunrise reveals the playful beauty of the rain.

Vintage Past

Vinage Past, originally uploaded by knledford.

Yesterday's Classic Beauty

Natural Wonder

Natural Wonder, originally uploaded by knledford.

Light dances in the rarely seen wonders of home.

Hues of Late Day

The Red Strokes, originally uploaded by knledford.

Warm views of an old scene

Timeless Country

Timeless Country, originally uploaded by knledford.

Old posts of home, weathered and torn, they go on for miles, in those old fields back home.

Morning Grain

Morning Grain, originally uploaded by knledford.

Blue morning waves of grain, early day strolls keep you sane.

The Hidden City

The Hidden City, originally uploaded by knledford.

Below the layer of fog lies a city, roof tops of Chattanooga peek out from the blanket above.