Never forget ...

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I took this photo yesterday afternoon: Veterans Day 2017. I am so thankful for the men and women that serve our nation. Freedom is so fragile. I am free to take photos like this, and to write my thoughts and share them openly because of the men and women that have served or currently serve our nation. Let us honor those that ‘put it all on the line’ for freedom. Many paid the ultimate sacrifice. Let us never forget! 

~ Rick

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. They are stunning and you can purchase them for a wall at home. Click the link or the ‘prints and such’ tab.

©2017 Rick Cartwright

It’s not how far you travel ...

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You don’t have to travel far to capture nature’s beauty. I took this while on a short walk in Piqua. I was standing at Lock 9 park, looking out over the Great Miami River. It was sunrise, and the water was perfectly still, giving way to a reflection of the sun and clouds. A special moment. You really don’t have to travel to exotic or far away places to experience nature at it’s best. 

~ Rick

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. They are stunning and you can purchase them for a wall at home. Click the link or the ‘prints and such’ tab.

©2017 Rick Cartwright

A second spring?

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." - Albert Camus 

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." - Albert Camus 

I took this picture while hiking last Saturday. The light cloud cover and beautiful blue sky combine with the red, yellow and greens to make this such a beautiful scene. Photos like this take my mind back to a time when things were less complex and not as busy. It’s good to just take a few minutes each day to relax, breath and see the beauty around us.

My recommendation: Unplug for a few minutes, and take a walk outdoors. Perhaps you can go to a local park, or a nature preserve. Find a place where you can soak in the beauty and let your mind go.  Enjoy nature, the cooler weather, and most of all, the second spring!  

 ~ Rick

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. They are stunning and you can purchase them for a wall at home. Click the link or the ‘prints and such’ tab. 

Just take the picture ..

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We took a car ride and then a long walk yesterday. Fall colors are gaining momentum, but it’s moving slow. Teresa took the photo above, and I took the other shot. We took these on North Rangeline Road, north of route 36 and west of Covington, Ohio. I’m sure we looked funny, stoping the car and trying to frame a good shot.

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When you are trying to photograph animals, you don’t always have time to setup the perfect picture. Prior to taking these photos, while we were walking, we saw this beautiful male cardinal. Perhaps the largest one I have seen. He was  gorgeous. We tried for a long time to get a picture of him. He was not going to let that happen, so we moved on.

While taking pictures of these horses, I caught myself saying to Teresa, “Take the shot, we can fix it in post.” Driving home, then early this morning, I came back to these words. Sometime we find ourselves waiting for the ‘perfect’ time to make a change, or to take some action. We ‘waited’ and didn’t get any shots of the cardinal. Teresa took the shot and while we didn’t get a perfect picture, but we did get a meaniful, beautiful picture of the horse. There is value in patience, but sometimes you need to ‘take the shot’ and move on. 

Something to think about.

~ Rick

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. They are stunning and you can purchase them for a wall at home. Click the link or the ‘prints and such’ tab. 

Where is that cat?

Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)

Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)

Pictures this: You are walking a trail through the woods, listening to the sounds of nature. The birds singing, an occasional rustle of the leaves as a squirrel scrambles across the trail. As you continue your walk, you are startled to hear a kitten .. she sounds lost. You search for the lost kitten, but all you see is this gray mockingbird .. grey with some cool black markings, and a touch of red. You don’t see a kitten anywhere, but that cool looking bird sure sounds funny.  

That’s not exactly how this photo happened, but this is an amazing bird. It’s most common ‘call’ is a raspy mew, which sounds like a cat. A bypasser would swear that there is a lost kitten nearby. This is the Gray Catbird. Mother Nature certainly has a sense of humor! 

I took this picture near Eaton, Ohio. My first encounter with a Catbird. What a beautiful and amazing creature.  

Totally off topic: When I was writing this, my mind rushed back to my childhood and the cartoon characters Sylvester and Tweety. Who remembers this line, “Awww, the poor kitty cat” or sometimes the more frendly reference, the “puddy-tat”.

 ~ Rick

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. They are stunning and you can purchase them for a wall at home. Click the link or the ‘prints and such’ tab.