Nostalgia & Small Towns

This past weekend I went to a horse show in a small city close by and photographed one of the contestants. I walked around the stalls and noticed a pair of boots, well worn, and laying nonchalantly with the riders things. The abundance of dust tells me that the owner spends a lot of time with his horse and doesn't really care about how he looks. 

These boots caught my eye too. The horse trainer came over for a chat. She kept moving her feet around until the spur lay on top of her other boot.  I thought how odd it was that someone would stand for a period of time like this. 

The love of old cars is the dream of many. As I was driving home I saw this car and was taken back to my childhood.  The cars were large and roomy inside. The steering wheel was as big as a pizza and the radio had knobs that you turned to find the music that you love. The only way to cool off was by rolling the window down. 

Those old cars needed gas. When I saw this old gas pump I was very excited and felt like I had really gone back in time.  It was a James Dean moment. Even though I was a child of the 60's, I really appreciate living now with all of the luxuries that we have. That is, except for those people who have their cell phones stuck under their noses all of the time. They get on my nerves. 

A new lens, ice skating, and horses

A few weeks ago, I invested in a new lens.  It was quite expensive, actually cost twice as much as my camera, but purchased it for half the amount of retail and it was still more expensive than my camera.  It is an "L" series, which is more along the professional line for Canon. I went to the ice skating rink and played around with the settings on the camera.  

I captured some lovely pictures such as the one above that I called Concentration or the one below of a man with lovely blue eyes.  

Then there is the beauty with her hair in a bun wondering why I was taking a picture of her. (below)

But today I went to the country to do a little shopping and on the way back home I stopped at an Amish farm and took pictures of the horses.

The beauty of a horse is hard to surpass.  All of my life I have admired these beautiful creatures.

Their strength is daunting to a weakling like me. 

Then there is the kiss that made me laugh.  The horses stood there cuddling for a long time.  

To me it is capturing these special moments that makes life seem tender and sweet. I think this lens is a keeper because I didn't have to work so hard to get lovely pictures.