My grandparents in rural South Carolina had one of these when I was a little guy, but my memories of using it are not fond!

 I live about 10 minutes from the Lake Guntersville Dam on the Tennessee River and I usually visit it several times each week. The Tennessee River is a navigable waterway with a significant amount of barge traffic. Among the commodities transported are grain, coal, and sand. I'm sure there are many other products transported on the river, but these are the products that I know of. 

Before 9/11 you could drive right up to the lock and watch the barges pass through.That experience was always interesting especially because you could talk to the guys working on the barge and the tug as they worked. I miss those experiences since right after 9/11 the government put up fences around the lock.

 The tale is that when a cowboy's favorite horse died he would put a boot on a fence post. I don't know if that's a true story, or not, but it sounds good.

 A comma or an exclamation point would have added some clarity to this sign.

I stopped, took the photograph, and turned around and went back the way I came.

 A couple of weeks ago I photographed guests at a very nice outside wedding. These are the only photographs at a wedding that I have taken in several years, but I always enjoyed doing these events although I  only did about 6, or so, most years. 

Here is a quick grab shot I did of the bride and flower girl as they were heading to the ceremony.

 So, I've been derelict in posting to this blog in over 5 years. Well, last Friday was my last day at work and I'm now entering retirement which I have some very mixed feelings about. I've spent the past 27 years at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center with most of that time being spent as a photographer. Now it is time for me to dedicate some portion of my time to my own photography. 

Here is a photograph taken with my Panasonic Lumix G9 and the Panasonic Leica 12-60mm lens which I have been using almost exclusively for the past couple of years.

I will try to be more active in publishing my thoughts, along with some photographs, going forward.