Sunrise over the Wasatch Mountains

One of the things I like about the school I’m teaching at is the view of the Wasatch Mountains when I get there in the morning.  Some days it’s blah, some days it’s good, some days it’s great and then on days like this it’s spectacular. 

Back to Wheeler Farm

Old buildings, old cars and old machinery.  Yeah, I like old things (which is why I like myself so much).  I got this picture when I visited Wheeler Farm this summer.

I know someone out there has a much better idea than I do as to what this contraption did, but I was just fascinated at the complexity of it.

The Reservoir

Jordanelle Reservoir.  We live in a desert, but we get a lot of snow in the mountains.  This is why we have reservoirs all over the state, capture the water before it gets to the Great Salt Lake and is undrinkable.  This one is about 45 minutes drive from Salt Lake City, right in between Park City and Heber City.  Most winters it gets cold enough that it freezes over, enough to walk on but I wouldn’t drive my car on it like they can in Wisconsin.  I took this picture in either Jan or Feb of this year, and wanted to capture the snow covered mountains and the semi-frozen over water.

Fun with Jib Jab

What were they looking at?

So, a couple of my regular visitors (Karen and Alexia) pondered what the three figures in the derelict building were looking at out there.  Which got me to wondering the same thing.  I took a drive out to the Great Salt Lake this morning to see what I could see, and maybe what they were looking at.  Here are some of the possibilities:

Maybe they were looking out the opposite door at a pile that looks like the remains of an old water slide?

Or these eyes looking back at them from the opposite wall?

Or this sad looking guy with the pale face?

Or, (shiver), this guy who I’d hate to meet out there on a foggy day.

Though they were probably checking out all the graffiti that covered every wall inside. And did I mention that it was a foggy day out on the shore of the Great Salt Lake?

It started to clear up as I got further away from the lake, but the fog left it’s mark on these trees.You can click on any one of these pictures to get a bigger view of it, or you can take the link to the album with the rest of the pictures from today’s trip out to the shore.

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Well, I can’t tell you what they were looking at, but at least I can show you what they saw.

Clouds.

Clouds over the Wasatch Mountains. 

Derelict Building

Anyone interested in adding their favorite pictures to the group, check out the link at the bottom.  Thematic Photographic is a weekly event where a theme is presented and we all pick photos that fit the theme to show our work.  (Ga-head, click it, ya know ya want ta join in da fun.)

I got this picture of a derelict building on the shore of the Great Salt Lake the evening I was taking pictures out there of the sunset.  Utah is full of these old buildings, strewn about the countryside, left to fall apart because it’s easier to just leave them there than tear them down and there’s always room here to build somewhere else.  Thanks to the Interstate and cars that can go 300 miles on a tank of gas, these stops on the road are no longer needed.  Most of the derelict buildings I’ve seen can be identified; a gas station, motel or a roadside cafe.  Stopping places lost to our 75MPH, smooth divided highways.   Not one of the three things I mentioned, I have no idea what this building was, who used it or why it is in the middle of nowhere along an unswimmable shore.  My guess is that it had something to do with the old Saltair just a couple miles down the frontage road.

I took this picture with my 500MM telephoto lens, completely oblivious to the three silhouettes standing in the doorway until I got home and saw the picture on my full screen PC.  But I love old buildings (my home will be 100 in 2012) and pictures of them, and finding the three unknown people standing in the doorway was just a bonus.  (Click on picture to get a better view)

Intrusion

100 miles east of Salt Lake City sits the land my brothers and I own together.  3½ miles up a dirt road, the closest town is Duchesne 15 miles further east, with a population of less than 20,000.  At the land, there’s no electricity, no plumbing and we have to pack in our own water.  We go there to get away from the chaos of modern life.

Sitting in the clearing by the campfire all I can see are trees, our 16’x16’ one room cabin and the campers we sleep in.  The rest of humanity is out of sight.  That day, the sky was a beautiful blue, not a single cloud floating around.  I looked up from the book I was reading and saw the world encroaching on my solitude.  Three jet trails, criss-crossing right above me.  Made me wonder if there still was a place on this planet that you could get completely removed from civilization. 

I’m dreaming of a bright Christmas…

Christmas Day here along the Wasatch Front.  By noon it was 42°F, sunny with little snow left on the ground.  I was singing “I’m dreaming of a bright Christmas, just like the ones I used to know…” on the way to my friends house (I love to sing in the car when I’m alone, and not when anyone is around.  My (tone deaf) family may live in Utah, but the Osmonds we are not.)

Hope you all had a bright day too.

Favorite number 10

Hopefully you’re not bored yet.  This one was taken at the dance the last day before the break.  It’s a total case of being in the right place at the right time, and being smart enough to always carry my camera with me.  Although I rarely photoshop my photos (especially since I use Macromedia Fireworks), I did make one adjustment to this picture, I softened the background people.  Unfortunately I had only one chance at this photo, and didn’t have the time to play with the aperture to get that good a focal point.

So here’s #10.  We’ve got a week and a half to go.

Merry Christmas

Two men and a baby.

I got this picture just as these two boys got done changing the baby’s diaper (the boy in the red is the “father”, the other one just a friend.  I’d get fired if I didn’t make it clear that this pair are not supposed to be a same-sex couple).  As soon as I saw them together with the baby the title Two Men and a Baby popped in my head, from the 1987 movie “Three Men and a Baby”.  I regret that I didn’t notice the photo-op soon enough to get a picture of them actually changing the baby, but I still like the picture.

“Physician, heal thyself” and other odds and ends from this week.

As far as I know, it’s illegal to drive without cleaning the snow off your back window.  I may be wrong, but I do know that the Highway Patrol and other safety agencies often remind people to do it.  And it just makes sense.  On the way home from school the other day I got this picture of a UTA Transit officer driving around with his back window covered with snow.  Not a good way to lead by example.

The other day we (the Chevron) had one of the paper towel dispensers at the gas pumps stolen.  First time in all the time I’ve worked there and I just had to wonder what kind of home decor would that look good in?

Note to cab drivers:  If you need to take a 40 minute snooze, don’t do it in the parking spot right at the front doors.   There aren’t that many and the customers that come would really appreciate not having to park at the other end of the lot.

And finally, a couple of friends and I have been meeting at a bar/restaurant in Sugarhouse about once a week for the last 6 months.  We used to go to a different place every week, but decided we wanted to become ‘regulars’ at this place.  (Inspired by the 80’s series “Cheers”)   This week we made it.  I was there before the other two, got seated and when the waitress showed with our waters and asked me if I wanted something to drink, the diet Pepsi with lemon slice was already on her tray.  Score!  We’re not to the point, yet, where everyone yells “STEVE” when I walk in the door, but maybe in a couple more years?

Sepia revisited.

I decided to do this one in Sepia because, except for the sprinkler head in the middle of the field, this could have been taken in the 1800’s.  I took this picture on Wheeler Farm, a historic farm in the middle of the Salt Lake Valley.

 

 

First day of my holiday break.