The monkeys seem willing to strike up the tune

Hitting the charts today, 11/30, back in 1974: "Bungle In The Jungle" by Jethro Tull. Bungle peaked at #12. Even though I like Jethro Tull, I awlays thought this particular song was kinda stupid. But it's got some great flute in it.....

Forest Abstract

Another special effects / digital darkroom image. Started with 1/4 second exposure, while walking in the woods. Added a variety of digital effects. Artsy, huh?

POTM at Photography Unlimited!!

I won "Best Picture Of The Month" for November over at Photography Unlimited!! Way cool, huh?

Inner Visions - Digital Art

Sit A Spell....

On the hiking trail at Silver Lake Park, a quiet spot to relax and watch the water… .

Skynyrd Gets their Due

Just saw this news report that Lynyrd Skynyrd is among this years inductees to the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame. Yay! "What Song is It You Wanna Hear?" Kind of interesting, the press relaease only mentions the pre-crash members of the band..... I agree that the 70's line-up is what makes them worthy of the hall (though I still like the newer stuff), but can they do that??? I guess the current lineup won't be playing at the ceremony!! It's too bad Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Leon Wilkeson and Steve Gaines can't be there.

Little Criminal?

Happy Birthday to Randy Newman, born this day (11/28) in 1943. From writing "Mama Told Me Not To Come" through his performance peak of "Short People" to his work with movies as diverse as "Monsters Inc" and "Seabiscuit", Randy Newman keeps churning out great stuff...

Never heard of 'Em....

Or at least I don't remember. During the entire decade of the 70's, only 3 songs made their Top 40 debut on 11/28. All in 1970:

Andy Kim - Be My Baby (A remake of the old Shirells song, peaked at #17)
Tom Jones - Can't Stop Loving You (Peaked at #25)
Flaming Ember - I'm Not My Brother's Keeper

OK, I've heard of Andy Kim (who would strike gold with "Rock Me Baby" in 1974). And I know the Shirelles version of "Be My Baby"... Of course, Tom Jones is (sadly) known to me, but I don't THINK I know this song. Flaming Ember, on the other hand is completely unheard of (by me)..........

Leaf #25

One of my many leaf shots, this was Picture Of the Day at Digital Image Café yesterday….

POTD at Digital Image Cafe

"Leaf #25" won "Photo Of The Day" today, in the Digital-Art category!! Yay!

This one hasn't made it onto the blog, yet. I need to fix that!

I can feel it in the air, it's there everywhere....

On this date (11/27) in 1971, Rod Stewart hit the Top 40 with his cover of the Temptations' "I Know I'm Losing You". Back when Rod didn't suck, this one made it to #24...

Motley

Wet leaves on a grey autumn day… .

Second Place!!

BetterPhoto.com has (finally) announced the winners for their October contest! I got my First Second Place!! As in, my first time to get a second place winner!! Yee Ha! Alos had a Finalist, not a bad month!

Lucky Jess.....

This proclamation was on the side of a Caboose, on display at our local park. I thought it was an interesting response to a previous picture “Jess Loves Becky”…. . The 2 shots were taken almost 200 miles apart, and 14 months difference.

Sanctuary

Some extreme playing with “Digital Darkroom”. In the beginning is was a water drop clinging to the bottom of a branch .

Psycho Killer, Qu'est-ce que c'est?

Happy Birthday to Tina Weymouth, bassist with the Talking Heads (11/22/1950)
"I hate people when they're not polite"

Sweet!!

11/22/1975, "Fox On The Run", by Sweet, hits the Billboard charts. This fun little ditty would make it all the way to #5.

Drops

Some macro experimentation, taken in the front yard on a recent rainy day.

Bare Trees, Grey Light

Music Theme day over at BetterPhoto.com. This month’s band is Fleetwood Mac. My first thought was “Oh Well”, from the Peter Green days, but then I came up with this shot, which fits rather well with Bare Trees. Bare Trees is the only Fleetwood Mac album I ever bought on vinyl, though I acquired the mega-popular mid 70’s albums when I got married...

Apples & Oranges......

I had to do some internet research to figure out what these green balls are called. Hedgeapples it is. Although the “aka” of Osage-Oranges might fit better for the IL/MO area…… .

Bark!

Tree, through leaves…..… .

Seems Like A Dream, Got Me Hypnotized.....

"Because there’s no explaining what your imagination can make you see and feel”..... From the Fleetwood Mac song “Hypnotized”

Just Shoot Me #924

On this date in 1974, Neil Sedaka hit the Top 40 with the insipid little ditty "Laughter In The Rain". This eventual #1 started Sedeka's comeback. It was his first hit since the 60's, and started a string of 7 top 40's in less than 2 years. Then he (mercifully) faded away. I have little tolerance for Neil Sedaka, other than as the writer for several Monkees songs, including "When Love Comes Knocking At Your Door"

Still Waters

I’ve been in a bit of a B&W groove lately…… .

Rainy Days and Mondays....

Yesterday was a gray, rainy Monday. And raindrops were clinging to the bare trees.

Gonna cause Talk And Suspicion.......

35 years ago today (11/14/1970), Eric Clapton had his first top 40 hit as a solo artist, as his cover of J.J. Cale's "After Midnight" entered to charts. The song peaked at #18. I remember listening to this one in the car as a 10 year old, shortly before we moved from West Virginia....

Into the flow

This is the last from my "intentional camera movement" experiments. I liked the feeling of "Flow" on this one. This one actually has a significant bit of Digital Darkroom. A big crop, lots of Buzz, and (most importantly) a hue shift from gree (treetops) to blue (to look like water, I hope).

Leaf #26

I had yesterday off, for Veteran’s day, and I managed to get out for a hike at Silver Lake. I did the whole 4.5 mile trek, the first time I’ve made time to do the whole thing. It was really nice just being outside for a couple of hours, and I even snagged a few shots. This leaf was on a fallen log. .

Just Shoot Me #571

Making its chart debut today (11/11), back in 1978: YMCA by the Village People. This one probably wouldn't be so bad, if it had had it's run as a novelty Disco song, and then gone away. But more than 25 years later, it lingers on, and has become a standard of dreaded events like wedding receptions... Ugh.

Transitioning

From Summer to Autumn, from hill to flat, from shore to lake….. whatever. .

Seeing you, Or seeing anything as much as I do you...

On this date (11/10) back in 1973, Todd Rundgren's hit "Hello It's Me" made its Top 40 debut. This is one of those songs that really strikes me, a near perfect chunk of a song. TR's top charting single (of the 70's).

Wind On the Water

The wind was causing whitecaps out on the main part of the lake, but only swells in this protected area .

Bad Luck Sprouting Like Weeds In A Garden.....

reposted from last year on this date:

Another old house in need of help. This one is a bit outside of Maryville, TN, with the Smokey Mountains as backdrop. Anther "stopped on the side of the road" shot, but not the interstate this time, and with a chorus of "Oh DAAAAD!" from the kids.....

Roller's Show Tonight...

Repost from last year:
S - A - T-U-R - D-A-Y - NIGHT!
Ugh. On this day in 1975 (11/8), the Bay City Rollers entered the Billboard charts with their mega-hit "Saturday Night". A #1 smash, which would have me diving for the radio buttons whenever it came on. I think this one drove me over to country music. Of course, Nick Lowe's "Roller's Show" was ok.....

DANGER

Natural Gas Pipeline .

Plagerize Yourself?

On this date (11/7) in 1988, John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival is cleared in court of charges he plagiarized himself. His former label (with whom he had lng battled) thought his solo hit "Old Man Down The Road" sounded too much like CCR's "Run Through The Jungle".

Leaves Along the Water's Edge

When walking in the woods, don’t forget to look up, and look down. This is “down”, of course. .

You Make Me Feel Like Dancing........

Reposted from this date last year:
Remember 1976?? Yep, Leo Sayer was the rage, and it sure made me mad. His #1 song "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" debuted on the the Billboard charts today, in 1976. Kinda makes me feel like smashing his head against the wall....

Moonlight Seems Right...

A Mock-moonlight shot, playing around with special effects in the camera… Just a dramatic underexposure, nothing really fancy. .

Happy Birthday, Linda!!

Today my dear wife is the same age as I am!!! For a while, at least.....

The nearer your destination.......

Entering the Billboard charts today, 11/5/1977, "Slip Slidin' Away" by Paul Simon. This little ditty topped out at #5.
"God only knows / God Makes His plan / The information's unavailable to the common man"

More parallel lines.

Are they paralleler? Another shot of construction… .

Just Shoot Me #712

"You Don't Bring Me Flowers" , the gag-me-with-a-spoon hit from Barbara Streisand and Neil Diamond made it's Top 40 debut on this day (11/4) back in 1978. Another Whiney song at the top of the charts, and these two sing lovingly about the death of their romance. Neil Diamond was a pop force in the late 60's and early 70's, but this just sucks. And I never liked Streisand, anyway. Both were only in their late 30's when this came out, but this is a song for anybody's parents' generation, no matter how old you are.

Autumn Wind

An abstraction taken in the local park yesterday. It was really windy, and I was enjoying the sound, and the motion of the leaves (ant the whitecaps on the lake)… I decided to try and capture the mood using slow shutter speed and intentional camera movement. One of my Yahoo-Froup friends called the effect BBR, as in “Blurred But Recognizable”.

You can't plant me in your penthouse...

Elton John's song "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" made it's Top 40 debut today (11/3) back in 1973. The title track from the classic double album made it all the way to #2. Coincidentally, I recently (this week) upgraded my vinyl version of this album to digital, through the joys of I-Tunes. One of the great albums of the late 70's, and (IMHO) EJ's last good one before he got too wrapped up in being flamboyant. , Elton kind of lost me when he got to be better known for his outfits and glasses.... But GYBR is a true classic. From the opening "Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding" to the closing "Harmony", there's lots of great stuff here, and only a few misses. Ranked #91 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 best rock albums...

Non-Conformist

Another version of a funky tree I encountered. This one seems to have it's own way of going about the whole "thing" of being a tree. I did a bit more digital darkroom work on this one version than the previous… .

Beware of deer on the prowl for purposes of procreation.

I couldn't pass up this article from our local newpaper's online edition.... I think the reporter must've written it after a liquid lunch, with prose like used in the title, and this useful advice:

Deer habitually travel the same paths and those deer-crossing signs are placed there for a reason. However, be careful because deer can't read and these are not the only places they might cross the road.

Flying Mother Nature's Silver Seed To A New Home In the Sun

Neil Young never cracked the Top 40 with his classic tune "After The Gold Rush", but the acapella version by Prelude made it to #22 in 1974. Checking I-Tunes, I found several cover versions by "name" artists, including Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, KD Lang and Natilie Merchant.... hmmmm, all women, what can it mean?

Sunning....

Another from Silver Lake Park, taken last month. This little butterfly (moth?) was only about 1 inch or so wide. It basked in the sun long enough for me to snap this. If I only had a “real” macro lens!! .

Welcome Back My Friends.......

Happy Birthday to Keyboardist Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, born today (11/2) back in 1944. ELP was one of the biggies of the "progressive rock" movement. The group's biggest album is the live triple album "Welcome Back, My Friends, to the Show That Never Ends; Ladies and Gentlemen ... Emerson Lake and Palmer." It sells more than 1 million copies and reaches No. 4. I remember buying that TRIPLE live album as a teenager, in and around the same time I bought Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon. Another headphone classic!

Second Place!!

Well, I'm just pleased as punch. They announced the October winners over at PhotoShowdown, and I got a SECOND PLACE winner!! That's my best placement in the various on-line sites I frequent. If you scroll down the winner's page to the 2nd place shots, my "Arced" is in the top left corner. Whoo Hoo!! Leaf #42 also made finalist. So I'm happy!

Just Shoot Me #497

On this date (11/1) back in 1975, KC and The Sunshine Band burst on the Top 40 with "That's the Way I Like It". Uh-huh, uh-huh..... The 2nd of 5 #1's for KC and the Band, including 3 in a row. You know you secretly love this one. It's cycling through your head even as you read (uh-huh, uh-huh)...... Get in the groove and Boogie Till You Puke! (Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo....)

Lazy Day...

Silver Lake Park… .