January 15, 2014

"How High's the Water, Mama?"

Two days before 2013 ended, I was driving around the area south of Mcgaheysville and Elkton here in Rockingham County (VA), and I noticed that the rain we had had brought the South Fork of the Shenandoah River close to flood stage. This reminds me of the Johnny Cash song, "How high's the water, mama?"

So here is a picture of the river along with a short video of the water rushing by.

flood stage South Fork Shenandoay River, VA

Flood Stage South Fork Shenandoah Rivernear Elkton, VA, USA (30-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)

While I was driving around that part of Rockingham County, I noticed cattle Angus cattle grazing with the Massanutten Range in the background.

Angus cattle grazing with mountains in background (I)

Angus Cattle Chewing Grass South of Elkton, VA, USA (I) (30-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)

Angus cattle grazing with mountains in background (II)

Angus Cattle Chewing Grass South of Elkton, VA, USA (II) (30-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)

Which photo do you like best? Or maybe you prefer Holstein cattle. Here is a photos of Holsteins in a neighboring farm.

Holstein cattle in a nearbyt farm

Holstein Cattle Resting in Meadow South of Elkon, VA, USA (30-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)

The going back to some other venues, in this case human manufactured beasts, here are two photos of construction equipment. The first is a Samsung SE350 LC-2 backhoe (excavator) with a hammer attachment. If you want a used hammer attachment for your personal backhoe, check out Hunt Tractor's attachment page.

Samsung SE350 LC-2 Excavator working in Harrionsburg

A Samsung SE350 LC-2 Excavator Working in Harrisonburg, VA, USA (28-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)

And while the design may have been around awhile, I had not noticed it. The bulldozer below, a Caterpillar D6N XL, has its drive wheel as a third wheel on top of the other two wheels on which the track runs.

CAT D6N XL crawler tractor

A CAT D6N XL Crawler Tractor Working in Harrisonburg, VA, USA (28-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)

Each of these photos were fun to capture. They represent interests from my pre-teen and teenage years. Dad, the construction equipment is for you!

January 1, 2014

One-Two-Three Let Them Work...

Today, at the beginning of 2014, I'm going to post some photos in the "other venuses" category. In this case some industrial photos.

To begin with there are two photos of the Frazier Quarry here in Harrisonburg, VA, USA. They remind me of quarries that my dad spent much of his life working in and of the road past our home that was completely rebuilt when I was in third or fourth grade. And in fact we lived on the property of a quarry where my dad for foreman of the crushing operation when I was in fourth through eighth grade. Lots of good memories.

Frazier Quarry, Harrisonburg, VA

Frazier Quarry, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (19-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)

close-up of Frazier Quarry

Close-up of Frazier Quarry, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (19-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)

Quarries also remind me of big backhoes and power shovels at work. Here are several photos of backhoes working in preparing a new parking lot in But first of all here is a link to a video of the backhoes at work.

three backhoes at work oon a parking lot

a close-up of one of these backhoes

a few days later they are still at work

one backhoe at work in another part of Harrisonburg

And last of all are two photos of an electrical substation in Harrisonburg. Here it was the geometry that caught my eye.

electric substation (1)

electric substation (2)

So while I am mostly involved in photographing nature in its many forms, man-made equipment can also have its own interest and art. Enjoy looking around you and observing with enjoyment this new year.

Response Form