Sometimes Yard Art Will Do

June 22, 2014 (Part 2)

Emerging From the Shadows

After I got done with my scheduled activities for the day, I decided that while I was still out and an out I might as well try and find some more things to photograph.  I was in King, NC which I have spent some time in looking for subjects, but I was in a different section.  I was driving all around and found lots of promising subjects, but nothing that caught my eye on this particular day.  I just kept driving around, and driving around until I found myself starting to hit familiar streets again.  I took that as a sign that I should be getting home.  I still had the images from the morning still to process.

As I was coming down NC 65, I happened to get a glance of an old truck that I recalled sitting there from before.  It was well within somebody's property so I had not spent much time scoping the truck out.  Since I had been driving for over an hour now, I figured I might as well stop and see if I could do anything with the trucks.  When I pulled in the driveway, I saw a number of trucks, a couple of tractors, and a wagon right there at the entrance to the property.  This was worth doing some investigation on.

I located the house without too much trouble and pulled in to see if the owner was home.  I was greeted by a rather large Yellow Lab who I promptly made friends with.  After getting licked, and showing the dog I wasn't there to hurt him, I happened to look up and saw a man sitting under a shelter watching me.  I quickly introduced myself and informed him why I was there.  Either he is just a really nice guy, or he trusted me since his dog liked me, but he agreed very quickly to let me photograph his trucks.  Without giving him time to change his mind, I got back in my truck and moved back to where the yard art was situated.

Case of the Blues

I was doing really well with the sun which was staying behind the clouds for the most part.  The first truck that I photographed was this old heavy duty Ford which was painted in my favorite color combination...blue and rust.  I was wishing that it had some sort of bed on it, but the cab was so good that the I quickly forgot about the missing back half of this old workhorse.  I found myself working several different angles on this truck, and even did an abstract on the passenger's side, shooting into the sun.

The Wounds of Time

The rust on this truck was magnificent, and you could tell that it had been sitting for some time now.  All of the rust was very consistently streaked down the side, and that just screamed to be photographed.  While I was on this side, I was starting to get some problems from the sun which was shining now on the driver's side.  Instead of worrying about it, I finished up what I was doing on the passenger side, being careful to compose in such a way that the sun didn't interfere with me.  When I was done, I decided that I might as well embrace the sun, and try a few shots with the truck being bathed in spots of sun.

Long Miles, Hard Miles

The sun actually worked with me for a change.  The sun on the ground helped to frame the truck, and there was a nice dollop of light on the front of the hood, highlighting the really cool nose vents, as well as the grill below.  Since the front of a vehicle contains that vehicle's essence, I saw that as being a sign it was time to press the shutter button.  I'm actually quite happy with how this one turned out.

Always Time to Celebrate

After I got finished with the Big Ford, I moved over to a vintage Dodge that was sitting there next to the driveway.  At first glance I was rather put off by the ribbon hanging from the door handle, but after some consideration I found it to be that perfect splash of color that the old truck needed.  I also liked the dichotomy I saw here.  The truck was very obviously long ago out of service.  It has been relegated to yard art duty and from the looks of it, has no engine, but still manages to look festive sitting there in the woods.

Bumper Crop

Indifference

The Ford that I saw from the street made for one of my more interesting subjects.  There seemed to be a personality here and I could almost sense thoughts coming from this old truck.  It seemed content to just sit there and have the trees drip on it, and the weeds grow up around it.  It wasn't phased by any of this, and had a quiet pride about it sitting there at the corner of the property.

When I was done with this session, I had another 60 frames recorded on my memory card.  When it was all said and done, I found that seven of them were worth keeping.  Recalling, thinking that I might get about three images when I left the house this morning, I have to say that I am thrilled to have 18 keepers from the day.  I also have to add that I am worn out now.  Its been a very long day!