Front Page Images

Photojournalist, Maureen Spagnolo, caught this gorgeous portrait of autumn at Deep Creek Lake in Maryland. These lines from the poem, "Autumn", by Alexandr Pushkin, came to mind:

I love (the days of autumn) -
their unassuming light, their quiet beauty.
Autumn attracts me like a neglected girl
among her sisters. And, to be quite honest,
she is the only one that warms my heart.

This gorgeous black and white shot was taken by photographer/filmmaker Caleb Austin, from Bruington, VA. He says, "While driving through the Shenandoah valley I noticed this freshly cut hay field. The hay was laid out in windrows which made for a great photograph, with the lines of grass leading up to some magnificent clouds."

Any way you look at it, this line from the Psalms of David is incredibly poetic and seems to fit this image of countryside in New Zealand. Oh, to just lie down there and be! Wow! Taken by photojournalist, Grace Brown, author of The Continuous Wander blog.

"This small lady bug was crawling up a stalk of grass when I noticed it in my backyard. I liked how the bright red bug popped out against the green grass. I used a macro lens to get right up close." This photo was taken by the just-graduated artist / musician / filmmaker, Caleb Austin. The polished, bright red lady bug seems to be driving on the grass, enjoying the pleasure of the moment. Or maybe she's looking for breakfast. Whatever she's doing (or he?), we can feel the warmth of the summer day.

"My chickens and goats seldom interact with each other, but for a moment these two had a quick staring contest. The chicken relented first and went on its way," comments eighteen year old student photographer/filmmaker, Caleb Austin, of Bruington Virginia. We love the suggestion of spring warmth in this bucolic scene.

"I had to stop to take a few shots driving past this dramatic scene of The Washington National Cathedral, Washington, DC. The sky was so gothic, the magnolia trees so full, and romantic. Plus, enough sun was filtering through to highlight the flowers," said photojournalist Maureen Spagnolo. (We think the effect is almost like a Sleeping Beauty Castle.)

"Why I like the Early Melt photo is that the young man, walking out of the frame, seems to represent spring (youth) leaving ol' man winter. The photo was taken at the end of February at Muddy Creek, Swallow Falls Park, Oakland, Md. A warm spell caused an early melt of the frozen falls, though ice covered the trails making walking impossible," says photojournalist, Maureen Spagnolo, March, 2011

Grace Brown with the Easter Island statue near Wellington Airport - given to New Zealand by Chile. (Ironic note: it is actually becoming autumn now in the Southern Hemisphere but we claim poetic license!)

Mrs. Betty Pell, aka Moose, lighting the sabbath candles and praying for everyone's good blessings.
Photo credit: Copyright Martin Yaffee 2009
taken on 9/11/09
From the Back Porch column "Reunion with Moose"

"We were at Ocean city, and I witnessed this interesting sight: a beam of light shooting straight up from the sun like a search-light. It was beautiful, and startling. I was told it had something to do with the snow in the atmosphere."
(Photo journalist, Maureen Spagnolo, caught this fantastic sunset in Ocean City, Maryland, in early January, 2011.)