Hi photo lovers.
Spring has sprung, so it seemed like a good time for a spring equinox-themed foto flog. The featured image is on of the surviving plants from one of the back yard flower beds that got dug up by the dogs. Was hoping to replace them all and refill the missing soil, but time just got away from me. To my pleasant surprise some of these began to grow in January. Not all of them bloomed, unfortunately. But this one did. That’s one tough little plant.
I am still using my same equipment, and am no professional. If you are an avid photographer, regardless of your skills and professional experience, you are in good company here. Booman Tribune was blessed with very talented photographers in the past. At Progress Pond, we seem to have a few talented photographers now, a few of whom seem to be lurking I suppose.
I have been using an LG v40 ThinQ for the last year. It seems to serve me well, now going on its second year. Occasionally I get to use my old 35 mm, but one of my daughters seems to have commandeered it. In the next year or two I will probably have to go through the whole smart phone purchasing process again. I never look forward to that. I am curious about the cameras on other smartphone models. I now have a daughter using an iPhone 8 (what we could afford). She seems happy with the photo quality. Always curious to get input on smartphone camera quality, as that is one of the variables that I weigh when I do purchase one of those contraptions.
This series of posts is in honor of a number of our ancestors. At one point, there were some seriously great photographers who graced Booman Tribune with their work. They are all now long gone. I am the one who carries the torch. I keep this going because I know that one day I too will be gone, and I really want the work that was started long ago to continue, rather than fade away with me. If I see that I am able to incite a few others to fill posts like these with photos, then I will be truly grateful. In the meantime, enjoy the photos, and I am sure between Booman and myself we can pass along quite a bit of knowledge about the photo flog series from its inception back during the Booman Tribune days.
Since this post usually runs only a day, I will likely keep it up for a while. Please share your work. I am convinced that us amateurs are extremely talented. You will get nothing but love and support here. I mean that. Also, when I say that you don’t have to be a photography pro, I mean that as well. I am an amateur. This is my hobby. This is my passion. I keep these posts going only because they are a passion. If they were not, I would have given up a long time ago. My preference is to never give up.
Peace.
Spring has sprung or is springing in Eastern Pennsylvania. Mom Culture spotted the lonely dandelion in the sidewalk this morning. I was attracted to the cherry trees in bloom. And I broke out my macro lens that I’ve hardly ever used to try get the tree bud about to burst. I hadn’t counted on the image having such narrow depth of field, but here it is anyway.
The winter pansies have burst forth in the spring
The Arkansas River just a wee bit north of the US Marshals Museum.

This one came from a visit to a local park system that I really thought twice about. I got there, and thankfully very few people were there, making it very easy to practice social distancing. If it had been crowded when I drove up there? Let’s say no photo is worth the risk. I don’t know when I will see that trail area again. May be able to still, but maybe not. Best to ride this out and hope for some fall foliage photos eventually.
Here’s a Cooper’s hawk perched in our neighbor’s yard
Thanks for the photos’ y’all. I may keep this one going another week.
You needn’t go outdoors to enjoy photography. It can be fun to look into things around the house. Once, my photo club had the assignment to take three pictures showing a progression of what can be done with a household item. I chose a loaf of bread, bread in a toaster, and a sandwich. I got a kick out of the results. I can’t find those images now, but I enclose a couple taken of shadows of small statues that livewith me – Have fun
Love it! And yeah, for those who are trying to shelter in place (in those states that are still too lax) or have been given no choice but to shelter in place (which is really what makes more sense), finding creative ways to incorporate our indoor surroundings makes sense. Gotta keep that creative outlet alive.
I took this picture on my Wednesday run. I do a lot of phone photography while I run, but this is the first time I’ve really felt so many layers of meaning. Like, what is going on here?
I mean, it’s a sign on a church, so maybe it’s the name of the church. It can also be read as a message to the congregation, or perhaps to some lost, tormented soul.
The photo was taken somewhere in West or Southwest Philadelphia, a very poor neighborhood in a very poor city. The population is primarily African American, and they have generally been treated badly for many many years. As you can see, there is trash on the street, and the pavement looks like it’s been in disrepair for a long time [narrator: “A very very very long time”]. So the sign can also be read as a rejoinder: “maybe this city doesn’t care about how we are treated, but God does—and maybe you should spent some time reading up on what God has to say about people who don’t care.”
So there’s that context too. When I originally posted this on Instagram, I titled it “Debatable,” and that’s another way to look at it.
Almost reminds me of the sorts of signs I see at a church in one of the poverty-stricken areas in my city (itself a poor city in a poor state) – I drive by that church quite a bit when making grocery runs (although those are far less frequent now). Excellent photo. Interesting perspective. I can see what you are saying about its multiple layers of meaning. You really captured something here. Thanks for sharing this.
The wind was ferocious yesterday in Southeast Pennsylvania. One result was the cherry blossom storm you see in this picture.