Playing Around with Images

On a Cold Winter evening, what is a poor fellow to do?

Play with PhotoShop!

The Sluisgracht

The Sluisgracht passing through the Chesapeake Bay

We enjoy watching the big ships pass by while fishing the Chesapeake. We must always keep a close lookout for them as they are traveling much faster than they appear at first glance. The best indicator of their speed is size of the wave thrown up by the bow

However nice they are to see, it is always wise give them a wide berth!

Tubby Time

What better way for a little fellow to get clean than to splash around in a wash tub on a warm summer day!

Snapshots like these become more precious to us as the years pass. My Big Brother certainly has changed since Mom captured this moment back in 1951

Dino

When my wife viewed this image she saw a dinosaur butting a tree with his head. What do you see?

Great Granddad's Barn

Although it has been out of the family for over forty years my Great-Grandfathers barn remains in great condition. Good construction and timely maintenance have kept this structure looking good for well over one hundred years.

With the light dusting of snow and a partly cloudy sky creating a spotlight effect, Saturday morning was the perfect time to photograph the old barn.

Winter Sunrise

Finally, winter has come to Pennsylvania at last. Heavy snow flurries pass through overnight leaving a fine white covering. The sunrise this morning cast its warm glow across the new fallen snow.

I nearly missed this sunrise as the sky became a glorious red/orange while I was still a couple of miles from my vantage point. Within minutes of my arrival the beautiful sunrise was only a memory and a photograph.

Projects

Winter projects help to pass the time when the weather is unsuitable to get out much. My wife and I have been working on a scrapbook project that has been two years in the making. It is a photo history of our families. Another winter project is remodeling our workshop/shed. This photo is a “Tool Shot” I made while photo-documenting the project.

David Byron Shatzer

My wife and I have been working on collecting old family photographs for over two years now. We have contacted many extended family members and have been very pleased with their willingness to share. We have scanned hundreds of old photos and attempted to identify as many of the individuals as possible. As a reward for their help we always give a CD of our collection. Finding photographs of people with no way of identifying them is very common. Genealogical data bases are very helpful with names, dates and relationships but they cannot positively identify old photographs

At times a photograph will lead one on an interesting mystery; such is the story of this photo. We located it in a small leather bound album from the collection of one of my wife’s aunts. The album contained twenty five photographs mostly taken by studios in Chambersburg, Shippensburg, and Greencastle Pennsylvania. No one had taken the time to record any information on the page provided.

This one photograph though was identified by the following writing on the back side. David Byron Shatzer, photographed Chattanooga Tennessee, Army of the Cumberland.

A search of Civil War Military records revealed that he enlisted as a private August 27th 1861 at Chambersburg Pa. and was discharged August 13th 1865 at Philadelphia. He was twenty six years old 5’ 8 ½“in height at enlistment. His residence is listed as Franklin County Pa. It is also noted that he reenlisted at Portsmouth Va. November 18th 1863.

One day while my wife and I were searching for her ancestors in the Cashtown Cemetery, near Chambersburg Pa., I happened upon his grave. From this chance encounter we learned that he was born July 26th 1830 and passed away March 26th 1910.

We have not been able to establish any family ties to David and have no idea of how his photograph came to be among our family keepsakes. If anyone who views this happens to have any additional information I can be contacted at chesyrock@hotmail.com

Auto Art

Shortly after the purchase of our latest “new” used car, my wife took it out for a photo shoot spin. The above photo is the finished product. She was so pleased with the outcome that this collage quickly found its way into one of her many scrapbooks

Always Vigilant

With the major deer seasons behind them our deer have relaxed somewhat but are still on guard for when danger threatens. I encountered this doe while taking one of my evening strolls. As I rounded the top of a particularly steep ridge I noticed her and others bedded below. While positioning the camera she noticed and stood to attention, conscious of the risk that I may present. The last rays of the evening sun provided beautiful light for her photograph.