Eggs Revisited

(Photograph copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

At the risk of being redundant in my blog, I am posting another image of guinea eggs from our farm. This blog is really a visual compilation of what I do both professionally and personally so redundancy is part of the equation. Photography and farming can be quite the same. On the farm things run in seasons, each year we plant and harvest the same ground and we watch the same herd of cows have babies and grow. We produce the same crops and we have the same daily chores. In photography, I often see the same subjects over and over. Do I not shoot something because I already have a photograph of it? Of course not. I try to shoot things that are visually interesting no matter how many times I've shot them before. Even though it's the same subject, I hope to produce a unique image or to improve on a previous one. And, the guineas went to the trouble of laying all these eggs and hiding them, so, the least I can do is shoot them when I find them.

Scot

(Photograph copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Portrait out-take from casual fashion shoot.

Green Beans

Green beans, snap beans, string beans, by whatever name, a staple of Southern gardens and the winter larder.

(Photographs copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

For Wolf, 1993-2010

(Photograph copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

For Wolf

Looking through his eyes was like
Staring into wilderness
Something agelessly unknown
Yet alluring to the soul.
Born with irises like snow
Swirled with arctic glaciers
He was mixed with malamute,
Husky, and a quarter Wolf.
Far from frigid northern lands
Shady pine groves proved to be
Perfect hunting grounds where he,
Faster than I, could catch me.
Evening brought him to the door
At our den. He’d lick the glass,
Beg and yelp at us until,
Laughing and smiling, we’d
Open up to give him treats.
Time would turn his icy eyes
Ocher like a darkened clay.
Though he couldn't run with me
He’d nip at me and still he’d play.

(Poetry copyright 2010 by Devin Routh. Used with permission.)

Feed Mill Fashion

(Photograph copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Commercial casual fashion illustration, Julian, North Carolina.

Tiger Swallowtail

(Copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

The caterpillars we had in our yard in Grays Chapel, North Carolina have completed their transformation. A Tiger Swallowtail works the bloom of a butterfly bush.

6:30 AM

(Photograph copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Temperatures are pushing 100 already in North Carolina, and the beans are coming in. The best time to pick them is early in the morning before the heat of the day sets in. My wife was out yesterday at 6:30 in our garden in Grays Chapel. Above is a view of her picking bowl. Sure hope the family remembers her hard work this winter as we enjoy the jars she is producing.

Commercial Workwear Images

Commercial workwear fashion photographs from recent catalog jobs.

(Photographs copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Wild Blackberry Cobbler

Saturday my wife Dedra and my daughter-in-law Christine took part in an annual ritual on our farm in Grays Chapel, North Carolina. They picked wild blackberries. These black jewels are plentiful this year and the girls were able to get enough for a fresh hot cobbler and several jars of jam. If you have never tasted a wild berry cobbler hot from the oven, you don't know what heaven is.

The Hunter

(Photograph copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Misty the farm cat stalks our pasture in Grays Chapel, North Carolina.

Student Portrait

(Photograph copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Portrait of a young female university student.

Guinea Fowl

A white guinea fowl on our farm in Grays Chapel, North Carolina. Wonderful bug eaters, their eggs are very good... if you can find them.

(Photographs copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Green Fishing Plug

(Photograph copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Still-life photograph of old green fishing plug.

Outdoor Apparel Photography

(Photograph copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Image from an outdoor apparel shoot.

Afternoon Haul

(Photograph copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Results of a couple of minutes in the cucumber rows yesterday in our garden in Grays Chapel, North Carolina.

Coming soon...pickles.

Annual Report Cover

(Photograph copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Portrait image for an annual report cover shot back in March. Occasionally things work out when you least expect them. We shot this image in the studio first, and it looked really looked good, but then we moved outside where most unexpectedly, we were getting snow squalls in Greensboro. Unplanned, but not unappreciated.

Snapshot in Passing

(Photograph copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Local establishment I pass daily on my way to work, Pleasant Garden, North Carolina.

Teacher

Out-takes from a story on Tammie Langley, a former navigator on an Air Force tanker in Afghanistan who now teaches math and science at a middle school in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Tammie is taking part in a program to bring ex-military personnel into the classroom.


(Photographs copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Balloons

(Photograph copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Detail from a local balloon festival. From the files.

Pocket Knife

(Photograph copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

B&W still-life of my Grandpa's pocket knife.

Fashion Out-Take

(Photograph copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Portrait out-take from yesterday's apparel catalog shoot.

Farm Cat

(Photograph copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Tiger the farm cat, Grays Chapel, North Carolina.

Bumblebees

We have had problems lately with our honey bees. For some unknown reason many of the local hives have died, which has had an effect on the pollination in our garden. While we are starting a new hive now, Mother Nature has risen up to try to help us out. We have a profusion of bumblebees this year. I captured several working our squash plants in the garden and the thistle in our meadow in Grays Chapel, North Carolina.



(Photographs copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)