» Kentucky Fine Art Photography by Walt Roycraft

I happen to spend a good amount of time coming up with names for my photographs. I think names are important and have meaning. Sometimes there is a hint of humor, or irony that seems appropriate, other times a more reflective and serious tone is apropos. I have to admit, I’m not a literary giant. Don’t get me wrong, I do like reading but shy away from the titles like “War and Peace” etc. I find the Thesaurus a very helpful tool  and could not live without it.

So I found it interesting how this image “Serenity” got it’s name. I had brought the print with me to the Cherokee Park Art Fair in Louisville but left it unnamed. It is such a strong image and wanted to have it available but just couldn’t come up with a name. So there it sat, under the table with no one able to see it. During breaks I thought about the image and finally gave up, it wasn’t meant to be. And then this wonderful couple came by. They spent a lot of time deciding which print they wanted. During our conversation they mentioned that they liked the names I gave my images…As an impulse, I pulled out the nameless print and told them how I was struggling with this print. Viola! She said “Serenity” and they want that one! So I cleared my sales table and signed the print and gave it a name.

A good friend of mine, Jennifer Stanley, an artist in her own right, wrote this after viewing my barns photography.

“One hundred years ago a Kentucky man rises at 5 a.m. He does his morning chores and has breakfast before he heads out to his job. The mules are hitched to the wagon that will carry him and his tools to the site today. Today they will fall that big red oak on the north face of the mountain and his mules will pull the massive oak down to the mill where it will be sawed into pieces, some 20 feet long. There is a barn to be built… He knows the oaks are stong and will build a good barn, one that will last. He wonders about the men who will use this barn long after he has passed…
One hundred years later a Kentucky man rises at 5 a.m. He does his morning rituals and packs a light lunch to take to the site this morning. His cameras and tripods are already loaded in the truck so he can go straight to that magnificent barn just before the sun rises…he’ll have time to set up his equipment in just the right spot in order to get just the right shot, at just the right time…the sun is rising, but he still has to wait, and that gives him time to think…He wonders about the men who built this barn so long ago…”

Thanks Jen!

Last week it rained all day, and now snow. Will warn temperatures and sunshine ever get here?
Sure they will, in time. Good lesson for the landscape photographer, you must wait until the time is right.
No one likes having to wait, I want it and I want it now! This attitude will surely show up in your photographs and Photoshop is not always the answer. There are times (to many that I want to admit) that I see my image on the computer screen and say to myself, “if only I had seen that branch or object that ruins the composition” I could have moved just a foot or so to remedy it.

So, as I wait on those absolutely gorgeous days that are sure to come, I remind myself that waiting is a good thing.

From my archives, here is Ice on Water

When life gives you lemons…make lemonade! So, taking my own advice on this gloomy Monday, I decided to try out a rain coat for the camera I bought last year. It worked great, keeping my camera bone dry in this pouring rain. Thanks to K & R for the recommendation!
The first two shots are of rain dancing on my pond out back. The Goldfish were hunkered down. The third shot I caught some Daffodils taking a shower. Beautiful raindrops glistening on their bright yellow skin. The final shot is of my shed with an apparent river running behind it. This river only appears during heavy rain.

Back to working on framing prints, perfect day for it