As many of you know, I take pictures ... sometimes, too often according to my wife, and I reckon her opinion counts more to me than most. Regardless, I still struggle on, carrying my newest iteration of Canon camera where ever I go, and there is a reason for that.
Years ago, when I was in Myrtle Beach, I ventured out with my younger family shopping, when and where a storm, with an appropriate wall cloud, blew in producing two rare F1 tornadoes. My daughter, Meredith, had her rudimentary film camera, but my film 35 millimeter, with attachable telephoto lens, was back at the hotel. Understandably now, I am almost never without my camera bag, with all the appropriate lenses. It is an ancillary symbol of my sphere of communication, and I use it in ample, and often able, proportions.
Then there are the moments that I capture that are just fun, frivolous, the stuff my wife even likes - the closeups of nature.
The short beginning of what will become a continuing series, which I have coined as "Small Things". The initial entry of this series are a few pictures that I took over the summer of 2014 that were shot along the
Pamlico River in Washington, and then about 360 miles away in North Carolina's Mountains in Buncombe County, where Asheville is the county seat, where the Blue Ridge Parkway and the North Carolina Botanical Gardens are man-made, yet spectacularly natural attractions.
I will begin with a few of Buncombe County's Small things and then I will continue with the Beaufort County edition of Small Things" here so close to my home Downeast.
Asheville, North Carolina is an eclectic city of cross purposes that boasts large public buildings, and an array of street performers, this one juggling most proficiently: Above and below. photos by Stan Deatherage Click images to expand.
Asheville and Buncombe County, sheltered by the colossus Black Mountains of the ancient Blue Ridge Mountains, also has many small 'things' if you know where to look. Flowers with plenty of pollen on a warm summer's day are a natural home for those that drink these flowers' nourishing nectar, and transport their essential pollen.
I found these Bumble Bees enjoying the nectar of fragrant flowers just a two blocks away from the massive public buildings that house Buncombe County's Government: Above and below. photos by Stan Deatherage Click images to expand.
Just a few miles further south and west in Buncombe County's Swannanoa Valley, we visited North Carolina's Botanical Gardens for an event at dusk, which did not afford me the opportunity to make images of the flowers and their nectar seekers; however, I did get a few shots. Lord willing, I will return to these gardens when there is ample sunlight and plenty of time to do what I too often do.
The North Carolina Botanical Gardens is known as a very peaceful place - a sanctuary to relax and reflect: Above. It is also well known for its flowers: Below. photos by Stan Deatherage Click images to expand.
Pollination, by Bumble Bees and other carriers, is everywhere, and I inadvertently captured this phenomenon by keeping my camera close. But first, there must be flowers and the conditions for flowers - a healthy environment for such.
From the thirsty Bumble Bee at the North Carolina Botanical Garden (above) to this sun splashed flower along a Craggy Gardens' trail (below), flowers rule the lives of "small things". photos by Stan Deatherage Click images to expand.
In the shadows of the great Black Mountains, all things, even musicians making a big sound, appear small: Above. This hungry butterfly, of which I found a patch of them along the Blue Ridge Parkway, feeds from the copious nectar: Below. photos by Stan Deatherage Click images to expand.
You must be a fellow photographer, and if you are not, you should be.
It is in your heart; all you need you now need is a serviceable camera and a steady hand.
I really like what you said there; it spoke to me as a photographer, with much study ahead of him.