This blog is dedicated to finding the fantasy and beauty in everyday objects and scenes.
I am a graduate of the New York Institute of Photography with an emphasis in journalism. I also spent four years as the Community (i.e. Assistant) Editor for a small-town daily newspaper in Iowa several years back. During this time, I won a first-place National Newspaper Association quarterly photography contest. I also won first- and third-place awards in the Iowa Newspaper Association (INA) annual competition. And I won a first-place INA award for a special full-page feature I did on a week-long camp for advanced diabetic children, which featured a number of appropriate photographs.
Now making my home in Missouri, I spent my nights delivering newspapers for two large newspapers for over five and a half years. Kind of ironic, isn’t it? Life does have its twists and turns, doesn’t it?
I have since retired after collisions with ten or eleven deer, five head-on while traveling highway speeds, numerous other smaller animals (it’s surprising how much damage a raccoon can do to the underside of one’s car), and one black cow. One thing about black cows: they’re pretty hard to see in the middle of the road in the middle of the night. I was lucky I only grazed one of them, ripping off my driver’s side mirror, including the cables they were attached to. Also figuring into retirement was the fact that I was starting to get very sleepy at the end of the route and found myself on the wrong side of the road going 55 mph. I did not want to wind up like one of our other carriers who apparently fell asleep at the wheel and didn’t make it. It was getting that close.
I am currently a part-time volunteer for the local thrift store which is only open one day a week in my tiny little town.
Sometimes I just like to get out and drive around looking for different things to photograph. Once, after taking some photos of an old barn, a pickup truck came charging up to me and cut me off as I was pulling up to a stop sign, and the two guys in it got rather ugly, but it turned out well enough when they were convinced I wasn’t up to anything nefarious. You just never know.
Updated February 22, 2019. Thanks for stopping by.
f-stop fantasy 
I am LDS and I am listening to the Book of Revelations. I am having a hard time figuring out when the War in Heaven actually happened.
Thanks for dropping by. I believe I covered the War in Heaen in my 13-part series on Satan: who he is and what his destiny is. No one really knows when the War in Heaven took place, I suppose, but I did my best to try and place it in what I thought was the most logical time span. The Book of Revelation is certainly full of intriguing possibilities.
Greetings from City of George Town, Penang, Malaysia.
I knew Penang was from southeast Asia, but was unsure exactly where. Thanks for the geography lesson. 🙂
Hi Chris, I promised I would make a visit and here I am. Firstly thank you for following my own blog, it is great to have you come and see my work. Comments and suggestions are always welcome, as hopefully you have already found out. Now to have more of a look around your blog,MM 🍀
🙂 I”ll be looking forward to seeing more of your work.
Before kids and while they were still very young my husband and I used to make regular visits to the local Family History Center, and then online genealogical research really started exploding — and so did our family and work schedules 🙂 — perhaps as we move towards empty nesters in the next couple years, we can find more time to return to this fascinating hobby.
I’ve connected a couple of my lines into people who have written books about them, while other lines have stalled. Ancestry.com has been helpful in locating documentation about some of my ancestors, as well as connecting with others with similar interests, while familysearch.org has gathered together all their many sources, including records that are being indexed by volunteers. It also helps connect others with similar interests. I think those are the two largest helps on the Internet. Cindy’s List is another great resource.
Nice photos and stories in your blog Cris! I will visit your blog often and keep shooting and posting!
Thank you. I shall do so. 🙂
Cris, I really like your style and the subjects you choose to share. Excellent work!
Thank you. That’s always nice for the old ego to hear. 🙂
I love the outdoors. I love anything old (comes with age). 🙂
I appreciate your checking things out. 🙂
Don’t know how old you but you do good work. I love the forgotten and abandoned. I’m 44 😀
Thank you. I’m 67. 🙂 I feel very close to these old and abandoned buildings. 🙂
Oh, that’s not old! I understand that feeling 🙂
You’re too kind for words. No, I don’t feel that’s old-old. But neither do I feel that old. I think I just haven’t grown up yet. 🙂
Stay young!
🙂
Thanks for your comments on my photo challenge post. I really like how wordpress links everyone to each other’s work. You meet new and interesting blogs and bloggers regularly. I shall enjoy following your blog as well.
Thank you. I was a little late in getting out this week. I have to agree with you. I like to spend an hour or two or three each week just checking everyone out on the weekly photo challenge for the same reasons you mentioned.
Chris, I really thank you for following Petals Unfolding. May my blog be an inspiration to you as it is to me. (((HUGS))), Amy
Thanks, Amy. I’m always looking for good inspiration. I get a lot of mine from photography, and some from reading. It’s even more fun when they’re mixed together. 🙂
Did you catch my sunrise this morning? I don’t remember seeing you. You might wish to see it. I think it is awesome how the PINK light shot straight up. Sorry, I don’t have the link for it. It’s called, “Good Morning from New York”.
I’m closing up for the night. It’s been a very busy day for me. Have a great evening, Chris! (((HUGS))), Amy
I haven’t checked today’s blogs yet. It’s been a very busy day. When I do, today or tomorrow, it will show up and I’ll check it out. Thanks. 🙂
Once more…thanks for your visitation to my modestly shanty hut..hehehehe.
Feel free also to visit again anytime you wish
Best wishes
Nono
Thank you for stopping by my blog! I will be back to see more!
Thank you. I’ll try and keep it a living thing.
Hi Cris….congratulation…
Word Press “Versatile Blogger” Award Nomination
This is an official announcement that I’ve nominating you for the “Versatile Blogger” award.
As a recent recipient of the award, one of the award rules I must comply with is to:
“Versatile Blogger” Award Rules:
Post a picture of the award – above
Thank the award giver – above
Share 7 random facts about yourself – below
Nominate 15 other bloggers about this and tell them by leaving comments on their blog – below
What is this Word Press award? “It is a way to introduce bloggers to each other and to promote quality blogs that the awardees and their readers might not be discovered otherwise.”
You can read more about the award and my responses to the three required rules at my website: http://abualbanie.wordpress.com/2012/03/31/word-press-versatile-blogger-award-nomination/
Thank you for the inspiration you have given Cris
~ Hendra Taruna ~
Thank you, Hendra! I appreciate your nomination very much. The problem I’m having is that your notification showed up on my post, “About”.
I have three blogs and each one has an “About” page and none of them have a comment from you in them, so I don”t know which blog you are nominating me for. 🙂 And the notification didn’t say which blog your “About” comment was from.
I have a Versatile Blogger Award for my The Biblical Apologist blog, so I’m sure it’s not that one and I’m still working on the 15 other bloggers to nominate there. Phew!
And 15 more? This is going to be a tough one. Is if fair to use the same 7 random facts and 15 bloggers that I used in Apologist? I’m still new at this.
I so appreciate that you find something worthwhile in whichever blog this is. LOL Sorry for laughing. I find this a bit ironic — to be nominated and not know which blog I’m being nominated for. Thank you so much.
Ahhh. I just went to my email and found out which blog you are nominating me for. LOL I should have done that to begin with. I’m still not sure how you made a comment and not have it show up as pending. Weird. Thank you, again. Please answer my questions, though. They’re still valid. Thanks again, Hendra.
Now, I’m getting a comment showing up on the My Blogs page for f-stop fantasy as pending, but when I click on it, there is nothing there. It’s getting weirder and weirder. 🙂
Now your comment is there. W-e-i-r-d! And so are all my follow-ups. Well, like I said, I’m new at this. 🙂
Hi Cris….Actually I’m totally new for this “award” and whatsoever LOL. But I nominated the f-stop-fantasy only, for the versatile award…if you got 5 award, please consider it as multiple award from me LOL
No, I only got your one nomination. I was just confused because your comment never showed up in my “About” page, but it continued to show up in my Notifications drop-down menu (the little number in between “New Post” and “Cris” on the little black WordPress bar at the top of the page. So, I got a little panicky, trying to figure out what was going on. Sorry for the drama. LOL And thanks again. I’ll be nominating one or two of who you nominated because I think they’re really good. I still haven’t nominated 15 yet for my Versatile Blogger nomination for my The Biblical Apologist blog. So, I’m a little behind. 🙂
You are very welcome ….LOL don’t worry Cris….I feel the same with you…at the beginning I little bit panic I hope I didn’t make something embarrassing for other blogger (LOL)
No, you’re good. I tend to make my own embarrassment. LOL
Sorry to be a little late with this! Thanks for stopping my new blog site and leaving your comment. Will be following your work here.
~ Best ~
Just a short note to say thank you for visiting my new blog site and your nice comment about the image. TThe blog is still pretty raw and in development after 2 weeks.
Will checkin on your site from time-to-time.
~ Best ~
Rick Diffley
Thanks Rick. Raw is sometimes the best. Just do what you do and do your best. That’s all anyone can ask.
hi, Cris. thank you so much for dropping by my writing/photo blog and trying to “Like” my posts (smile). i hope it works next time. feel free to subscribe to daily doses. i’m enjoying your nature photos very much. thank you, again. cheers, y
Thank you. I’m glad you like them. Besides people, they’re my favorite things to photograph.
I don’t know what’s going on with some of the sites I try to Like. I click on Like and a little box pops up wanting me to sign in. I do so, but it doesn’t add my Like. So I click on it again and the same thing happens. I can generally do comments, though. i should take it to the forum. They’re good at providing answers.