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On our way to my sister-in-law's wedding in St. Louis, I whipped to the shoulder of the freeway for this shot.  I think we were somewhere in Illinois.

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 Trick or Treat!

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 A long time ago I chopped up an antique air duct cover and hung it on my wall.  My wife thought I was crazy  but they're still there.  (I had very little time for photography this evening)

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She's a fairy.

He's Link, the elf from the Zelda video games.  NOT Zelda, she's the princess.  

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More small town wandering.

This is what all the shops look like downtown.

Seriously

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I started the day hitting Neshannock Falls, neslted outside Volant, PA.

Then on to Hell's Hollow trail which is the southern end of McConnell's Mill State Park following the smaller Hell's Run on it's way to meet Slippery Rock Creek.  The weather wasn't as kind today with full sun creating harsh shadows but I did my best.  The hike was quiet and beautiful.  It was easy going until I continued past the "main attraction", Hell's Hollow Falls, off-trail where the rough terrain yielded much more appealing scenes further down Hell's Run. 

Quite appropriate for a place called Hell's Hollow.

5 frame panorama

more acorns

lime kiln

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...and I followed this home.

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McConnell's Mill State Park is a gorgeous place.  I'll likely go back tomorrow.

those are acorns

Grindstone

Grindstone

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I took an evening walk through my little town.

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It sort of tried to snow today.

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I had to turn off all the fans and hold my breath.

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I love this house.  I know I've shot it before but I was driving by this evening and it called to me.

If I had a large amount of disposable income I would buy this and all my other favorite abandoned properties so I could have total access to them without the hassle of sneaking or looking like a creep.  I wouldn't think about restoring them but they would definitely become photography studios.  I can only imagine what this place looks like inside.

Previously, I tried a "Jeff Brouws" style shot with this house and didn't really come close.  He's amazing and I won't begin to compare my work to his but I think this first shot is closer.  When looking at his images I'm inspired by the way he frames his scenes, the dual frames and where they're slightly incongruent,and the subjects he chooses.
I'm really struggling to create more compelling images and find my own style.  I know a lot of my photographs don't really express that but, hey, you try to shoot a groundbreaking photo every single day.  ;)

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Whipped the car over and nabbed this on the way out to dinner.  Lake LeBouf in Waterford, PA.
Still no power to my laptop (don't get me started), thus only minimal post processing.  I used my trusty Cokin grad ND to cut down on the bright sky.

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There's a small herd of little men terrorizing my home.

Our son is 12...already

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I ran so far awaaay

On the way home from work there as an enormous flock of seagulls covering nearly the entire eastern sky. It was awesome.  After sifting through many blah shots, I found this frame.  The birds were circling and drafting so fast that I was just snapping away.  I love random accidental shots like this.