Category Archives: Lensbaby

I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry

There are only 3 hours left to get your picks in.

If you are a basketball fan, or are just interested in having fun, click on the link below to join my pool:

Roundball Oracles – Year 19

The rules are as follows:
Round 1 = 1 point + seed
Round 2 = 2 points + seed
Round 3 = 4 points + seed
Round 4 = 8 points + seed
Round 5 = 16 points + seed
Rounds 6 = 32 points + seed

The Play-in Games (AKA the First Four) don’t matter. You can wait for those games to complete before filling out your bracket. The deadline to fill out your bracket, is tip-off of the first game on Thursday. Roughly 11 AM.

Under special circumstances, I will allow you to turn in a paper bracket to me. So, don’t be afraid to ask.

Yes, your child can fill out a bracket. Your dog, no.

There were 37 competitors in 2023. A 1 person gain from 2022. Hopefully there is continued growth in participation this year, but I don’t know that I have 1 more friend than I did in 2023. It is possible I have gained even more friends since 2023. I might be a pretty great person.

*You have to be 14 years or older to win “The Sara”.

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Hear that lonesome whippoorwill
He sounds too blue to fly
The midnight train is whining low
I’m so lonesome I could cry

I’ve never seen a night so long
When time goes crawling by
The moon just went behind the clouds
To hide its face and cry

Did you ever see a robin weep
When leaves begin to die
That mean’s he’s lost his will to live
I’m so lonesome I could cry

The silence of a falling star
Lights up a purple sky
And as I wonder where you are
I’m so lonesome I could cry
-Written and Performed by Hank Williams

Hank Williams. The Hillbilly Shakespeare. Another American tragedy. Also the subject of what I consider to be the worst biopic ever made… I SAW THE LIGHT. Trust me, don’t watch it. It is dreadful.

However the song “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” is one of the greatest songs ever recorded. Certainly one of the greatest country songs ever recorded. It has been covered by Leon Russell. Elvis Presley. Jerry Lee Lewis. Johnny Cash. Connie Stevens. Bill Monroe. Al Green. Little Richard. Glen Campbell. Willie Nelson. Charley Pride. Waylon Jennings. Cowboy Junkies. John Waite. Keb’ Mo’. Townes Van Zandt. Me First and The Gimme Gimmes. Volbeat. Heck, even Terry Bradshaw covered it. Yes, Terry Bradshaw. The quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers covered it. Lynda Carter? Yes, even Wonder Woman has covered it.

However, Thursdays are for flowers. There aren’t many in this session. I took these flower pictures on July 23. There is a bonus picture of Naima in the mix.


Soul Expansion - 2023

Soul Expansion - 2023

Soul Expansion - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Naima

Next flowertography meetup will involve many more flower pictures. We will begin looking at flower pictures I took at the Iowa State Fair.

Are You Lonesome Tonight?

Are you lonesome tonight?
Do you miss me tonight?
Are you sorry we drifted apart?
Does your memory stray to a bright summer day
When I kissed you and called you sweetheart?

Do the chairs in your parlor seem empty and bare?
Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there?
Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again?
Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?

I wonder if you’re lonesome tonight
You know someone said that the world’s a stage and each of us must play a part
Fate had me playing in love with you as my sweetheart
Act one was where we met
I loved you at first glance
You read your lines so cleverly and never missed a cue

Then came act two, you seemed to change, you acted strange
And why I’ve never known
Honey, you lied when you said you loved me
And I had no cause to doubt you
But I’d rather go on hearing your lies
Than to go on living without you

Now the stage is bare and I’m standing there
With emptiness all around
And if you won’t come back to me
Then they can bring the curtain down

Is your heart filled with pain
Shall I come back again?
Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?

-Written by Roy Turk and Lou Handman
-Made famous by Elvis Presley

Another great Elvis song and a song with an interesting history. I think everybody knows that Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis’ manager, was a complete piece of trash. However, if he did one good thing in his life, it was to suggest to Elvis that he record this song.

From the Wiki:

In the final months of his service in the United States Army, Elvis Presley began experimenting with new material in anticipation of his return to recording. His first recording session was scheduled for March 20, 1960, and RCA’s Studio B had recently been equipped with a new three-track recorder. To improve the recording of Presley’s voice, engineer Bill Porter had Telefunken U-47 microphones installed. A follow-up session was scheduled for April.

During the selection of material for the sessions, Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, suggested “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”. The favorite song of Parker’s wife, Marie Mott (who knew the song from Gene Austin’s act, since he was also managed at the time by her husband), it was the only time he intervened in Presley’s choice of repertoire. Presley returned to the studio with his band, consisting of Scotty Moore, drummer D. J. Fontana, pianist Floyd Cramer, guitarist Hank Garland, bassist Bob Moore, percussionist Buddy Harman, and backing vocalists the Jordanaires, on April 3.

After the eight songs Parker needed for Elvis Is Back! were recorded, Presley moved on to his manager’s request. At 4 am on April 4, the singer began recording “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”, accompanied by acoustic guitar, drums, bass, and the backup group. He asked everyone else in the studio to leave the session, told Chet Atkins to turn the lights out, and performed the song with the spoken bridge. After the second take, Presley said to producer Steve Sholes, “Throw that tune out; I can’t do it justice”. Sholes told engineer Bill Porter to ignore Presley’s order and asked the singer to do a new take, explaining that the Jordanaires had bumped into their microphone stand while recording in the dark. As a result, Presley performed the song once more, and that take became the master for the single.

But Thursdays are for flowers! This flowertography session was taken in my yard with a Lensbaby Velvet lens. I think it lends a lonesome effect to the images:


Oh But Still... - 2023

Nature's Amen - 2023

Nature's Amen - 2023

Through Dirt - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

The next flowertography session will probably still be from my yard.

I Fall to Pieces

I fall to pieces
Each time I see you again
I fall to pieces
How can I be just your friend?

You want me to act like we’ve never kissed
You want me to forget (to forget)
Pretend we’ve never met (never met)

And I’ve tried and I’ve tried
But I haven’t yet
You walk by and I fall to pieces

I fall to pieces
Each time someone speaks your name (speaks your name)
I fall to pieces
Time only adds to the flame

You tell me to find someone else to love
Someone who love me too (love me too)
The way you used to do (used to do)
But each time I go out with someone new
You walk by and I fall to pieces
You walk by and I fall to pieces
-Written by Hank Cochran & Harlan Howard
-Made Famous by Patsy Cline

I do love the song “Crazy” but “I Fall to Pieces” is really my favorite Patsy Cline song.

But Thursdays are for flowers. And most of this flowertography session took place in my yard, but there are some bonus pictures (including one of Naima) that I took at Dickcissel.


Happy Things - 2023

Happy Things - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

A Yellow Flower

Dickcissel Park

Dickcissel Park

Dickcissel Park

The next flowertography collection will be less experimental. A bit more macro.

I Hope That I Don’t Fall in Love with You

One, two, three, four

Well, I hope that I don’t fall in love with you

‘Cause falling in love just makes me blue
Well, the music plays and you display your heart for me to see
I had a beer and now I hear you calling out for me
And I hope that I don’t fall in love with you

Well, the room is crowded, people everywhere

And I wonder, should I offer you a chair?
Well, if you sit down with this old clown, take that frown and break it
Before the evening’s gone away, I think that we could make it
And I hope that I don’t fall in love with you

Well, the night does funny things inside a man

These old tomcat feelings you don’t understand

Well, I turn around to look at you, you light a cigarette
I wish I had the guts to bum one, but we’ve never met
And I hope that I don’t fall in love with you

I can see that you are lonesome just like me

And it being late, you’d like some company
Well, I turn around to look at you, and you look back at me
The guy you’re with, he’s up and split, the chair next to you’s free

And I hope that you don’t fall in love with me

Now it’s closing time, the music’s fading out

Last call for drinks, I’ll have another stout

Well, I turn around to look at you, you’re nowhere to be found
I search the place for your lost face, guess I’ll have another round
And I think that I just fell in love with you
-Tom Waits

While this song was not written for a John Carney movie, it does make an appearance in his most recent move, FLORA AND SON. I thought I should make it a journal entry because it is a pretty outstanding song. Except for the part about smoking, which is obviously disgusting. But once you get past that, it is a pretty great song.

This isn’t the only song that I think I will use as a Thursday journal title from FLORA AND SON though. Probably use a Hoagy Carmichael song and an original song as well.

But Thursdays are for flowers. And… it is another collection of iris images. Probably the last iris pictures I will share that I took from last year. And… maybe I chose this song title because I have made a bit of a cottage industry of hating irises. I have a reputation for hating cats, but that is just baseless rumor. But I have legitimately disliked irises for quite sometime. But… and don’t anybody tell Jen… after going through the iris pictures I took last year… while I’m not worried I’m falling in love with irises, I think they are growing on me. Don’t alert the media! I won’t be planting any in my yard this year, but I won’t accidentally trample over them if I see them on my adventures.

Here is a small flowertography collection of irises:


Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Most of these images (probably all of them if I’m being honest) were taken with a Lensbaby lens from their Velvet series of lenses. I do love these lenses. That isn’t a rumor and it isn’t something I’m warming up to either. It is full blown. I may send them a Valentines Day card.

Next Thursday’s flowertography session will involve flowers from my yard, including what I think of as my miracle flower.

2024 Photography 139 Calendar Rejects: The Beginning

Time to share the final image for the 2024 Photography 139 Calendar. The December image. It is an image of an abandoned (methinks) church I found in northeast Iowa on a THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT road trip:


2024 Calendar - December
DECEMBER

I chose this image for December because I usually like to either use a cold picture or some religious imagery for the December image. This picture might not scream “Christ is born!” but it is of a church. Not a lines are straight.

TECHNICAL DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony ILCE-7M4
DATE: August 20, 2022 – 12:34 PM
LENS: 28-75 f/2.8
FOCAL LENGTH: 28mm
EXPOSURE TIME: 1/5000
ISO: 100

It was converted to black & white in Photoshop.

That is it, that is the final image for the 2024 Photography 139 Calendar. But while those 13 images were selected for the calendar, they weren’t the only ones considered. Not by a long shot. There were 73 other images considered and not included. But I would like to give them some love.

Here is the first collection of reject images:


2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

2024 Calendar Reject

There still another 36 images that didn’t make the cut. That doesn’t mean that won’t make the cut next year. The cover image for the 2024 Calendar was rejected for the 2023 calendar. Share the rest on Tuesday. Maybe Wednesday.

To Find You

Time to share the September image from the 2024 Photography 139 Calendar. It is a picture of grass taken at Ledges.


2024 Calendar - September
SEPTEMBER

I selected this picture for September because it suggests fall.

CAMERA DETALS
CAMERA: SONY ILCE-7M4
DATE: OCTOBER 15, 2023 – 5:08 PM
LENS: 17-28mm f/2.8
FOCAL LENGTH: 20mm
APERTURE: f/8
EXPOSURE: 1/1000
ISO: 100

Tomorrow I will share the October image!

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You were staring at your bedroom wall
With only ghosts beside you
Somewhere out where the wind was calling
I was on my way to find you
I was on my way to find you

And you were racing like a cannonball
And roller skates and sky blue
Or in the backseat watchin’ the slow rain falling
I was on my way to find you

Gotta find out who I’m meant to be
I don’t believe in destiny
But with every word you swear to me
All my beliefs start caving in
Then I feel something’s
About to change

So bring the lightning
Bring the fire, bring the fall
I know I’ll get my heart through
Got miles to go but from the day I started crawlin’

I was on my way to find you
I was on my way to find you
I was on my way every day
I was on my way to find you

-Written by Gary Clark
Performed by Sing Street

This is the 3rd song from a John Carney movie to be used as a journal entry title. It comes from the movie SING STREET. I think this is the weakest of the John Carney movies, but it is still pretty great.

The plot of the movie follows Conor who starts a band to impress Raphina, a girl he barely knows. A common theme. Dudes getting into art to impress chicks.

I won’t cover the rest of the movie. But I highly recommend it to anybody that loves music from the 80s.

But Thursdays are for flowers. This flowertography session is dedicated to irises:


Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Mad with Joy - 2023

Next Thursday will involve more irises!

Throwing Good After Bad

I know you’re leavin’ me
I know I’m not your home
You want a movie dancer
You want blood from a stone
But I’m on to you
And you will pour your heart into
Any shimmering fad
Throwin’ good after bad

People get addicted to
The rush, the chase, the new
Just hopin’ that all that chaos
Will lead to somethin’ like this
I’ll get over you
But you won’t be whole until you do
You won’t find what you had
Throwin’ good after bad

And I’ll always feel a little left behind
But that lyin’ wind that calls your name
Will leave you flyin’ blind

I know you loved me once
You were somethin’ to prove
I was an unfinished song
You were nothin’ to lose
I’m a dandelion
And when my color suited you
You allowed me to grow
But you know when you know
And now the party’s over
And you’re dancin’ alone
You’ve been spinnin’ ’round for hours
The band have all gone home

And you’re fantasizin’
You’re takin’ us for granted
I know you’re bored
You always say I’m heavy handed
You got a beautiful mind
And the soul of a coyote
Hunger drivin’ you mad
Throwin’ good after bad
Hunger drivin’ you mad
Throwin’ good after bad
Hunger drivin’ you mad
Throwin’ good after bad
-Brandi Carlile

This is the final Brandi Carlile song (for now) that I’m going to use as title for our little flowertography sessions. I have plans for the future journal entry titles. Going to just walk down the road of some of the greatest romance songs of all-time. But next week’s theme will still have a Brandi Carlile twist to it.

But Thursdays are for flowers! This collection of flowertography images are from the State Center Rose Garden. This is the final collection of pictures from the State Center Rose Garden I have to share from this year:


Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Sorrow and Gladness - 2023

Next Thursday I will share more rose pictures, but those roses will come from a different rose garden.

When You’re Wrong

“Don’t go borrowing trouble”
That’s what you used to say
But we don’t keep in touch
The way we used to nowadays
Your eyes are not as bright
As I remember them to be
The light inside’s grown dim
And that’s hard for me to see

The creases on your forehead
Run like treads on a tire
The white stripe running through your bangs
A long and twisted spire
You’re sweeping up the flies
And you’ve been vacuuming the fires
And you lay down every night
Next to a goddamn liar

When the day is winding down
My heart abandons me for you
You forgot yourself so long ago
And I wish I could too
But you live inside a quiet hell
No one can pray away
Leaving would be easy
I understand why you won’t stay

You’ll be wrong if you were thinking
That we all don’t fade away
Like dew drops in the dawn
Like sunbeams through the haze
It’s a long way to be sinking
Holding tightly to the weights
Of the one who pulls you down
While you slowly waste your days

You may be here today
But tomorrow you’re a ghost
I guess the most someone can hope for
Is to find a place to lay
Someone to tell your secrets to
When the nights get long and blue
Someone strong enough to lean on
When the roses fall away

Strong enough to love you when you’re wrong
-Brandi Carlile (Although mostly written by the Hanseroth Twins

In that Stereogum interview Brandi said the following about this song:

CARLILE: This is one of those situations, without being too abstract, where I share a life with several families. And I share songwriting with the twins. I didn’t pen this one, but I mean it. I think it’s absolutely for me when I sing it. It’s about balancing intense pain and anger, which I feel like are packaged as one emotion in this song, with acceptance and empathy, which is really hard to do. When I sing this song, I am angry and really hurt by this person’s choices and their existence. And then, on the other hand, I’m accepting their decision and empathizing with the things that led them to making that decision. And that’s, I think, really important because that’s the only way to put one foot in front of the other. That’s kind of a classic… This is Al-Anon language for me, which I basically grew up marinating in. I feel really raw when I sing this song because I can understand it and fathom what’s been written in a really big way.

You believe that there are only 3 Brandi Carlile songs (sorta) to use as flowertography entry titles? Makes me sad and excited at the same time! Intense pain and anger. Acceptance and empathy. All flowing at once.

But Thursdays are for flowers. This flowertography collection was taken on June 16th. In my yard.


Unceasing Effort - 2023

Unceasing Effort - 2023

Unceasing Effort - 2023

Unceasing Effort - 2023

Just Exists - 2023

Just Exists - 2023

Last Penny - 2023
This stargazer lily blooming this year was a very nice surprise. I would almost say a much needed miracle.

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Not All Love Stories - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

On this day I also took a couple of pictures of Naima I would like to share.


When You're Wrong
Naima hadn’t been on a leash in years. And she had no problem make herself at home in Stan and Noreen’s yard.

When You're Wrong
She knew better to into the street, unless she was angling for a car ride. And she loved car rides!

I need to thank Sara yet again for the memorial ornament she gave me for Naima. It is something I definitely treasure!

Next Thursday’s flowertography journey will actually leave my yard. It will go all the way to the State Center Rose Garden!

Mama Werewolf

Your mama is a werewolf
With long sharp teeth
I’m up all night
When the world should sleep
I curse the darkness
When it’s killing time
I got a river of fear
Running through my mind

When the moon shines through
Those parting clouds
I hear the cold
And I howl out loud
I stalk the streets
Where the shadows lie
And I pray to God
That that sun will rise
But that sun don’t always rise

When I awake
And I’m reborn
My body aches
And my soul is torn
I search the void
For any clue
And I feel ashamed
For what I put you through

This curse I get
From my father’s kin
They fought the beast
I feel within
We don’t talk about it
And we don’t call it’s name
We just carry on
Hoping it’ll change
Though we know it’ll never change

If my good intentions go running wild
If I cause you pain, my own sweet child
Won’t you promise me you’ll be the one
My silver bullet in the gun
-Brandi Carlile

Thursdays are for flowers! This collection of flowertography images were taken in my yard.


Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Unceasing Effort - 2023

Unceasing Effort - 2023

Unceasing Effort - 2023

Unceasing Effort - 2023

Unceasing Effort - 2023

Unceasing Effort - 2023

Unceasing Effort - 2023

Unceasing Effort - 2023

Unceasing Effort - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

Next Thursday’s flowertography will be more flowers from my yard.