End of Summer

By the time you're reading this, we will have moved from Summer to Fall here in the mountains of Pennsylvania. The photos on this week's blog were shot in the last few weeks of summer. This post brings us up-to-date on the area happenings.

Right off of the midway at the Cambria County Fair are a bunch of food concession stands that are operated every year by the same family or organization. The food is good and the prices aren't too bad.

More than a few people were upset this year at the fair because they didn't think it was right to pay $8 for entrance to the grounds and find flea-market type stands set up for sales.

As the sun slowly sinks in the west, and the lights come on, the fairgrounds take on a whole different atmosphere.

A kids dragon roller coaster, hand held shot with available light.

Unfortunately, I don't know the name of most of the rides that I shot at the Cambria County Fair this year. It's not the ride that I'm interested in. It's the riders.

Looks like the grand kids will get a little something from the fair this year.

Chair swing, sometime around 7 in the evening.


Toss the ring, take home the bling.

With every ring on the knife, there is a winner.

Study in color and form.

Reflections on the Fun Slide.

The first home football game of the Red Flash from Saint Francis University was played on Saturday, September 12, 2009.

The new and IMPROVED mascot, Saint Francis University, Frankie the Friar.

This new team mascot was making it's debut at the Saint Francis vs. Morehead State home football game on Saturday, 12 September 2009.

An even better event that occurred at that same game was A WIN! The first after last years 0-10 season.

I was back on campus on Friday, 18 September to shoot the memorial benches and trees and took the following shots for use here on the blog.

Yes, this does look a little Halloweenish. But, I was having fun in PhotoShop with this picture inviting faculty, staff and students of the University to donate blood at the JFK Student Center on Wednesday, 16 Sept 2009. This shot was taken on Friday, 18 Sept 2009.

Memorial bench on the campus of Saint Francis University.

Schwab Hall with the Peace Pole in the foreground on the campus of Saint Francis University.

Benches in front of St. Francis Hall, Student Residence building on the campus of Saint Francis University.

From the University to High School...Later on Friday, I was at the Cambria Heights High School homecoming and football game. However you'll only find pictures of the homecoming. I ran out of time this week because of other commitments.

Haley Nedock, Erica Finet, Lacey Vallery, and Devin Hayostek pose before the Homecoming ceremonies begin at the high school football field in Patton, PA.

Devin Hayostek and Erica Finet....just friends.

Haley Nedock pins a carnation on Travis Born.

Josh Selfridge warms up prior to the game.

The local studio photographer has assistants check the placement of the homecoming balloon arch prior to the evening's ceremonies.

Color guard march past the homecoming arch during the opening ceremonies.

Twirler and Pipers.

I figured I would need at least one wide angled shot to show all the students on the field.

The Homecoming King and Queen for the 2009-10 school year at Cambria Heights High School, Patton, PA are Kyle Cunningham and Lacey Vallery.

Back to the Present

As we get ready to publish this weeks blog, and most of the home improvements are finally done, it's time to get back to reality. So, here are some of the shots I haven't had a chance to post while we were doing our three week retrospective postings.

You can't imagine the surprise we got when my wife brought home our weekly box of fresh veggies from the co-op and found this strange looking Romanesco Cauliflower laying there. It was a shame to eat it, but we did and it was delicious!

I tried to find this spider in my book but couldn't. This web is built on our satellite dish.

Kids 3-wheeler sitting in front of an old warehouse at the former Rich Hill mine in Slickport, PA.

Looking for a different kind of birdbath? Try this out.

Finding beauty in a back yard.

I shot an aerial back in 2006 showing this truck sitting in the same place, just as it sits now without all of the trees growing up around it. A few more years and you'll never see it again as the trees and weeds reclaim the land.

Me and an alley cat, eye-to-eye.

The first day of school dawned, as usual here in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania, with the sun trying to shine through the slowly thinning fog.

Sunrise over Slickport, Cambria County, Pennsylvania.
31 August 2009 ; 07:21:21 a.m.

Twins.
Waiting for the bus, first day of school 2009.

With a little encouragement from big brother, it's time to board the bus. Five years ago I had a similar assignment for the Star-Courier newspaper and I photographed big brother on his first day of school. To say the least, Mom was really excited when I happened upon the younger boys this year. What are the odds?

Old barn in Susquehanna Township, Cambria County, Pennsylvania.

Same barn from about 1/4 mile or so down the road.

The morning fog lifts over Northern Cambria, PA.

Now a graphics company, the old Mount Carmel Church stands out as the morning fog starts to burn off.

Making sure he has no stow-aways on board, this school bus driver checked the name of the students as they boarded the bus on the first day of school in Northern Cambria, Cambria County, Pennsylvania.

One picture was not enough for this mother as she met the school bus at the school building so she could get the whole experience of her daughter's first day of school on film. Every story deserves an end to a beginning.




Tree rings. Ala Photoshop

There are a few really nice gardens in the town of Northern Cambria, and this is one of my favorites.

It just doesn't get much fresher than this!

I shot this while driving down Route 219 towards Ebensburg, PA.

Talk about having your home re-possessed in these rough economic times!

I shot the following 7 frames while walking around the Cambria City part of Johnstown over Labor Day weekend.

Yard Sale Goods -- Barbie and Raggedy Ann.

Makes you wonder if this gutter still works when it rains, don't it?

A budding photographer in front of a stained glass window at VOMO (Venue of Merging Arts) in the former St. George's Serbian Orthodox Church, 305 Chestnut Street, Cambria City.

What drew my eye to this picture of these items sitting in a window was the fly sitting on the owl's face, it looked like a tear at first.

Salt and Pepper shakers. Same place, different window.

This painting on the wall marks the high water level of the 1889 Johnstown Flood in Cambria City.

City Living. It's amazing what you can see if you would only look up once in a while instead of straight ahead.

I shot this thru a small gap in a fence of an inner-city garden while walking down a street in Cambria City.

Sitting in the Patton Community Park, this 1929 Ford looks really pretty.