An Aimless Wander

A beautiful day - temperature in the 70s, dry, and a nice refreshing breeze out of the northwest. I had no agenda today; I just went out the door and let my feet go where they wanted. Here's what we found on the way.

The tiny park next to The Widow Piper's Tavern, a historic building

The Sunflower patch behind the Church of the Nazarene

A broken window in an abandoned building on Neff Ave.

An ivy-covered garage on Neff Ave.

Part of the garden around the local Presbyterian Church

And home again, looking across the street at the gazebo park

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Here and There

Today was errands day, and I kept my eye out for interesting things while I was out running them. Tomorrow I'll have some more Nature shots as I'll have the day free and it'll be snowing again. I love taking shots in the snow!

I've been meaning to get a shot of this shed window on Lutz Ave. for a while. I finally got around to it.

This car on Fort Rd. obviously hasn't been moved in a while

This window on Burd St. is still decorated for Winter

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Hodgepodge

Today's post is a hodgepodge of pictures still in my camera when I sat down at the computer. Three are from the walk up to my brother's place for the Thanksgiving feast and "Jurassic Park" marathon, and the last two were taken today while running errands. As you can see from the difference between the two days, we already lost all the snow we got last Wednesday. Oh well...

A scene along Possum Hollow Rd.

The old abandoned shack near the end of my brother's driveway on Possum Hollow Rd.

The Mennonite farm across the road from my brother's place

Branch Creek at King St.

An interesting entryway on Ridge Ave.

© 2014 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Another Rainy Day Off

Two days off, and it's raining on the first one. I had no choice but to be out in it ; I've been having some health issues lately, and had a doctor's appointment and prescriptions to get at the pharmacy. So I took advantage of having to be out and got some shots of Fall foliage in the rain while I was out and about. Heh, heh! Those trees always look so much brighter on a gloomy day.

Walnut St. scene

Looking east down Neff Ave.

Richwalter St. at the end of Neff Ave.

Episcopal Square, N. Prince St.

© 2014 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Random Shots

A day off, but a single, so it's errands day. While running said errands I just shot anything that caught my eye. These are the ones that worked.

A house on North Prince St. whose color scheme and front garden catch my eye every time I walk by it

A window in the old Hoffman Mills complex on Burd St.

Antique fire engine at the Cumberland Valley Hose Co. #2 on West King St.

Peekaboo! A cat on a porch on Ridge Ave.

© 2014 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Double Vision

I'm off today and tomorrow, but there don't look to be any long walks involved this time. The weather is atrocious; it's not really hot yet but the humidity is horrendous, the air wet enough to wring out like a wet washcloth, which around here means the constant threat of pop-up showers and thunderstorms. Not to mention getting wringing wet just from the minimal effort of walking down the street. Plus my own problems with breathing in air this thick. So today I took about an hour's walk around town looking for good shots. What I got were three scenes which looked good both in color and black & white. So for this post you get both. See what you think.

The roofscape along King St. at Prince St.

A little stone stairway down the bank of Branch Creek

A brick shed in a backyard along Martin Ave.

© 2014 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Spring in Full Bloom on King St.

I'm off this weekend, and while doing my usual errands I noticed that Spring looks to be just about in full bloom downtown. The Flowering Cleveland Pears along King St. are full, the trees around McLean House are almost there (that Redbud off to the right has yet to bloom), and even God's Acre cemetery around the corner on Prince St. has some lovely blossoms to provide contrast with the stones. Enjoy!

McLean House in bloom

The Flowering Cleveland Pears along King St. downtown

A Weeping Cherry in God's Acre cemetery

Spring blossoms frame two graves in God's Acre cemetery

© 2014 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Spring Peeks at Downtown

I took a stroll along King St. this morning, noting that Spring has started to appear downtown. Mostly it's flowers in gardens, Forsythia, Flowering Cleveland Pears along the street, and the always early Magnolias. The Ornamental Cherries and other dramatic bloomers are still just budding at this point. Maybe next week. But here's the scene now.

Branch Creek at King St. is starting to green up a little

Part of the garden in the little park next to Widow Piper's Tavern

The clock in front of Orrstown Bank with a Flowering Cleveland Pear

McLean House is starting to get some blooms and leaves

A small Weeping Cherry and the sculpture in the gazebo park across the street

Govardhana Hill, at Morris and King Streets, is starting to bloom

© 2014 by A. Roy Hilbinger

This 'n' That Around Town

Some shots taken with the cell phone walking home from work the last couple of days. Two of then I messed with in Photoshop to convey the mood those particular places create for me. Enjoy!

A bright patch of flowers on Orange St.

The new home of Vigilant Hose Company #1

The old home of Vigilant Hose Company, a building which was originally the town hall. I "antiqued" it in Photoshop™ because I always get an "old" feeling from this building

Creamer Ave. looking up from Neff Ave. The buildings on this back alley are shabby and peeling, so I gave the shot an antique look.

© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Cellphone B&W

Another singleton day off, so pictures were taken while on the way to and from errands. I decided to play with the Samsung Galaxy S4's camera some more. Today went a long way toward getting a feel for its limits. Basically, I've determined that distance shots are not its forte; it doesn't shoot in anything but 72ppi, while print standard these days is a minimum of 150 ppi. Yes, I know; web standard is 72 ppi, but I think web standards for a lot of things - graphics, movies, music - pretty much suck anyhow. 72 ppi doesn't allow room for nuance, and you lose a lot of detail the further away from the lens surface you get. That's okay for the average person just posting snapshots, but for a photographer that's just not acceptable. But for closer subjects this camera does a very good job. So I'll leave the landscapes of mountains and fields for my regular camera.

The Samsung is also pretty good at black & white, as I discovered today. After the first shot of the day in the laundromat I decided to play with b&w. The four shots posted below are the best of the lot. Enjoy!

It's laundry day again. I try to get in before the crowd builds.

God's Acre cemetery on Prince St.

Back streets - a view of the back side of King St. from Neff Ave.

Another back street - looking down Creamer Ave. from Orange St.

© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger

To and From

Here are some pictures taken on the way to and from work yesterday and today. Yesterday morning I managed to get some shots of the Super Moon. This one below worked best:

Coming home today I decided to walk back along Neff Avenue, one of Shippensburg's back alleys. The following two shots are of a vegetable garden growing behind the Church of the Nazarene.

And then a little farther down Neff Ave. was this ivy-covered barn.

Yup, there are sights to see along my everyday routes.

© 2013 by A. Roy Hilbinger