Bob Skelton

Wilderness Photography, My Newest Hobby

Wilderness photography is my newest hobby.

I was a bit reluctant when my son invited me to go shoot some photos on Saturday. My work week ends on Saturday morning. Frankly I am just pooped most of the day and usually collapse toward evening, sleeping anywhere from twelve to fourteen hours.

I bargained for doing it on Sunday when I could be more rested.

He wanted to watch the Vikings and offered to make some wings. We could go out after the game.

After we watched the Vikings lose, he presented me with an early birthday gift. If you read my previous blog you know that I recently purchased a new camera and I am anxious to practice my photography skills. The tripod was the next item on my to-buy list and it made me happy to receive it. I think it was somewhat of a ploy to get me over to his house to give me the tripod.

The jaunt into the wilderness

We moseyed on down to the Minnesota River where it flows just North of Jordan. The river is flowing well due to the amount of rainfall we have had recently. During the summer months it is usually dry.

We walked down the river bank, under the road bridge, while he pointed out several good subjects to shoot. We explored a bit back up river all the while I followed his suggestions for possible subjects. Some I ventured on my own and photographed just for the fun of it.

There were a number of subjects to focus on but mainly it turned out to be a practice session on composition.

I have always thought that my composition skills sucked canal water. Always, I have tried to center the subject and the resultant pictures have looked like a backyard amateur made the photo. I think his suggestions have made a noticeable difference as evidenced by these photos.

Afterward we ventured back into town and to a spillway on Sand Creek where we took more snaps.

I am grateful for a son that takes into consideration at least one of my favorite things to do. We planned to do more of these jaunts in the future and perhaps focus on a certain theme. His suggestion is to shoot some historical buildings in the town of Jordan where he lives.

by Bob Skelton Posted on November 1, 2016

Posted in Photography | Tagged Wilderness photos | 1 Comment

Who Are We Really?

I was out taking my walk this morning when I happened upon a young man with his wife and their dog. As usual when there is a dog in the mix people become very friendly. He approached me and issued a ‘good morning’ to which I replied the same. He then told me that he was a roofer, which I found quite odd. We talked for a bit and then I proceeded on my walk.

I got to thinking about it later. Why do we tend to offer our profession as our identity. I’d like to know why that is. It would seem to me that we are much more than our profession.

I happen to be a truck driver, a draftsman, a husband, a father and numerous other titles that serve as identities. I’m not just one thing. I wear many hats in this life. I am a happy-go-lucky type of guy; not wanting to cause anyone harm. I try to avoid confrontations whenever I can but I do not back down without a reason to do so. Sometimes one must keep the peace no matter the cost to one’s pride. There are too many qualities in a person to limit them to only one.

Whoever decided that society should present each of us as our profession? When did that all come about?

Could it be that in a sparse community one identified his profession in order to be accepted as a newcomer. He could merely tell others that he was a blacksmith, and that if anyone had use of his profession he was the one they could come to. It seems plausible to me.

Maybe it is a starting place. If we have a starting place we can proceed to discover more about each other. Should the starting place fail on the first attempt there is no reason to go any farther.

Conclusion
Just maybe this guy was new to the area and used a starting place to get to know more about our community. I’m not sure.

Just thinking out loud. ;o)

Until next time…

by Bob Skelton Posted on October 16, 2016

Posted in Thoughts, Walking | Leave a comment

It’s Good To Be Home

Squrrel on log — Making this little guy nervous

It’s good to be home and back into familiar surroundings. We have been on a mini-vacation on the North Shore above Duluth. I took a week from work on Thursday last week then up north on Friday until Tuesday. I have today then back to work tomorrow night.

It was a much welcomed break especially for Wink. She stays cooped up in the apartment most of the time until we need to go to the doctor or some other event. I was glad to get her out of here for a little while.

I bought a new camera a few weeks ago especially for this trip to capture images without using my cell phone. It seems to me that a cell phone just can’t compete with a real camera. I could be wrong but that is just how I think.

Scott and Tammy came up Sunday and we celebrated his birthday. He, Tammy and I took a walk that afternoon and shot some pics. We all went to one of our favorite restaurants for supper for a very enjoyable meal. That night they taught us a couple of new (to us) games. We laughed and joked and had a tremendous time until about one-thirty in the morning.

We went to breakfast with them on Monday morning ( more like noon) and saw them off back to the Cities while we continued to Canal Park for some shopping. Then packed up and came home on Tuesday.

The weather was exceptional the whole trip; in the 60s and 70s. I had envisioned dreary gloomy skies and possibly some snow. It had been that cool before we left to go up. I had taken some warm weather gear and found it totally unnecessary.

It’s much cooler today at home. As I write it’s about 40 degrees and has rained through the night. I went for my walk anyway; I just put on a few more clothes. I put on about 1.5 miles this morning. That’s about average for me.

I will go back to work on Thursday night and make plans for another trip to one of our favorite places in the whole world. Maybe later in the year or I hope next year. Until next time then.

by Bob Skelton Posted on October 12, 2016

Posted in Vacation, Walking | Tagged 2016 Vacation | 1 Comment

Are You Committed To Walking

When I developed diabetes a few months ago my doctor told me I needed to get some exercise. With a very few exceptions now, I take a walk every day. I usually feel more energized afterward and look forward to the next day of walking.

Today I took what I considered to be a rather long walk because of not being able to walk yesterday due to a previous engagement. I have an app on my iPhone that records my walking/running distance (not that I would ever run, Heaven forbid) and the number of steps taken.

Charlie's restaurant building

But when I viewed the app the distance was not much more than previous walks. It recorded almost 5600 steps as opposed to somewhere in the vicinity of 4400 steps but only logged about one half mile longer.

I took a circuitous route, one that I had only taken partially before. It led to a restaurant on the lake nearby. I had walked to the restaurant previously but had turned and retraced my steps. Today I found a different way to get home.

I did manage to take my new camera with and got some snaps of the area. Notice in the last picture the two ducks sleeping in the sun on the dock.

I rather enjoyed the adventure.

by Bob Skelton Posted on September 25, 2016

Posted in Walking | Tagged my walk | Leave a comment

Walk in the woods

I live in a large apartment complex.The apartments, along with numerous single family dwellings, are carved out of a thick wooded area next to a rather large lake. The woods serve to hide each area from the other and provide a sense of privacy for the human dwellers.

The woods appear old; vines drape themselves throughout. It’s as if it has been left to its own devices to grow and decay. There are small trees that have succumbed to disease and lie rotting on the ground. Those that have been broken in storms lie close by. The impression is of a dark, damp primitive forest.

A creek meanders through the woods providing water for thirsty animals and a place for the woods to exist. At either end of the creek are ponds, scummy now in late summer, where waterfowl survive. Squirrels and birds and probably raccoons, though I didn’t see any, make their homes in the woods as I would guess do other wildlife. I saw no evidence to the contrary.

I took a walk behind the complex just to explore what was back there. I saw fast food bags and containers, beer cans and other debris littered along the edges of this seemingly prehistoric woods giving the illusion of a counterfeit setting staged for some unknown effect. One could tell the animals had enjoyed the remnants of what had been left in the bags, which were ripped and torn asunder; their contents strewn not far from where they lie. I wasn’t too surprised though. Humans try to hide the behavior that’s not permitted and it ends up ruining our planet.

by Bob Skelton Posted on September 29, 2014

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