©2012 Cris Coleman

Rising Sun by Cris Coleman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Hope is when the rising sun pushes the dark clouds away.
Hope is when the seeds of yesterday rise up and push towards the sky.
Hope is when the bright rays of daylight push the dark clouds of ignorance away.

©2011 Cris Coleman

Rural Sunrise by Cris Coleman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

What greater hope can you have than a beautiful sunrise after a dark, cold night?

©2010 Cris Coleman

Old Barn by Cris Coleman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Occasionally, I like to take up my camera and tripod and get in my car and just drive, usually spring, summer and fall, rarely winter, my least favorite season.

One of the things I like to take photographs of is old barns and other dilapidated buildings. I’m not sure why, but perhaps it’s because I am getting up there in years, even if I’m not feeling it, except in body.

Sometimes my photographs are all that’s left of the old barn or whatever.

This particular old barn was taken on State Highway C in northwest Missouri in the afternoon. Each barn has its own personality. This one has two beady eyes, a long nose and a missing mouth.

Old barns are fun!

©2009 Cris Coleman

What do you do with a day-old kid in the depths of winter? You bring him indoors and wrap him up in a diaper, of course.

©2011 Cris Coleman

Three Silos at Dawn by Cris Coleman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

I pass by this farm every morning. It’s one of my favorite places to photograph, although most of the time it’s dark. It’s so picturesque. It just sort of stands out above all the other farms I pass by, and there are lots of them. (It didn’t seem this fuzzy when it was on my computer.)

©2011 Cris Coleman

Goat Head by Cris Coleman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

One day, with camera in hand, I wandered all over the 30 acres I live on (note: I did not say own), seeking something worthy to photograph. I came across this wonderful-looking goat head, strangely poking out of the ground. It even has an eye, as well as a horn (the other one is hidden).

One just never knows what is hiding in plain sight.

©2011Cris Coleman

Late afternoon on the farm by Cris Coleman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

One of the first things I learned about photography while studying through NYIP was: The best time to take outdoor photographs is just before sunset or shortly thereafter or just after sunrise or shortly before.

This is one such shot. It was a peaceful, easy feeling on the farm that particular late afternoon. I took many photographs with this lighting that evening, some really cool shots.

Unfortunately, this is the only shot that survived a nasty virus that wound up taking everything I had on my computer.

©2011 Cris Coleman

Winter Fantasy by Cris Coleman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Ever since I moved eastward from Sacramento, California in 1970, I’ve been confronted with a yearly challenge: winter!

Winter in Sacramento can be described, at worst, as minimal:

1. Minimally cold (mid-30s would be a cold winter).
2. No snow (a few snowflakes once in the fifteen years I lived there).
3. No sleet (but fog was pea-soup thick).

In Missouri, winter can be described as:

1. Cold, although this year, so far, it has been positively delightful, compared to past winters, except for one short blizzard and one week of really cold, but not below zero, temperature.
2. Blizzardy from time to time.
3. Ice storms, a little less frequent than blizzards.
4. Snow, snow, snow, although this year, except for the one short-lived blizzard, has been really nice, a virtual heat wave, comparatively.
5. Slippery roads from time to time, made worse by having to drive on them throughout the night when they’re at their worse.
6. Fog here too, although generally not pea-soup thick, but sometimes.

Still, there is hope beyond winter, and this winter has been particularly hopeful. So far.

(Regarding the photo: I told you I liked reflections.)

We get some of the most interesting sunrises in NW Missouri. I frequently see them as I'm coming home from work. This is just a sampling.

Country Sunrise by Cris Coleman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License