Well, as we draw 2018 to a close I thought I’d do a bit of a look back and some of the events since our last post in July!
One of the biggest things was our trip to St. Louis, MO for the baptism of my great-great nephew and sis’s great-grandson Liam, the son of Katie and Colt. Yeah, I know most folks call Colt by his given name, Faron these days, but he’s always been Colt to me and old habits are hard to break!
We all had a great time and it was good to visit and catch-up with everyone!! We were able to visit the museum there and I even got to do a little railfanning, even though I only caught one train!!
November 17, 2018 – A Union Pacific Railroad work train passes through Valley Park, MO with UP 7271 & 6000 leading, as it heads east toward Kirkwood, MO on the Jefferson City Subdivision.
Several of the kids participated in their very first parades this fall as well. Damion, Elaina, Jayden and Xaver all rode in a float during the Veterans Day Parade and also in the Christmas Parade! They all had a great time and can’t wait till next year!
Veterans Day Parade
Veterans Day Parade
Veterans Day Parade
Also, Sloane was baby Jesus this year at the Annual Return To Bethlehem presentation at the First Baptist Church, along with dad Seth and mom Melanie! Of course we all made the pilgrimage to Bethlehem to pay our respects!
On December 23 Elaina, Journey, Damion and Jayden were all in the Christmas Nativity Scene at church! The girls were both Angels and the boys were Shepherds! They all did a fantastic job!
To finish out the holiday season mostly everyone met over at Jeanne and David’s house for their annual Christmas party and a visit from jolly Saint Nick himself!
We’ll see what 2019 has in store for us!
A visit to Cane Ridge Meeting House, Paris, Kentucky
On June 23rd, 2018 Sis and I made an overnight road trip to Cane Ridge, Kentucky, which is the birthplace of the Disciples of Christ Church movement in the early 1800’s, which we belong to as do many others in our family.
It was interesting to see and walk around the grounds of the Cane Ridge Meeting house and to see how well the site has been preserved!
Below is a video I did from the morning session, I hope you all enjoy.
From left, Jim, Javid and Ryan waiting to shoot some street running action at La Grange, Ky – Photo by Adam Hill
This past weekend my good friend Ryan Scott from the Ft. Branch, Indiana area and I set-out on a day-long trip to photograph trains between Princeton, Indiana and what started out to be Louisville, Ky, but turned out to be La Grange, Ky. Our plan was to meet up with a fellow railfan friend of ours from Facebook, Javid Beykzadeh. Little did I realize that I’d end up meeting several more friends from Facebook while we were at it including, Adam Hill, Josh Kellerman, and Erik Landrum.
The railfanning community is actually fairly large, if you take in the world and that’s pretty much what Facebook does for us. I have friends who are railfans from pretty much all over the world and it’s always cool to meetup in person in our travels in search of that perfect train picture!
All my family already know my obsession with trains and photographing them whenever I can. Even, my nieces and nephews know about my love for trains, and I hope that I’m passing some of that onto them, but I digress.
As railfan trips go, this was a really good one with Ryan and I photographing 5 different railroads before the day was over. Evansville Western Railway, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Indiana Southern Railway and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. As day road trips go for me railfanning, this was a really good one!
Some of our group photographing Southbound with BNSF War Bonnet 791 at La Grange, Ky, – Photo by Jim Pearson
Other favorite photos of mine from our day-long trip are posted below.
June 9, 2018 – There’s just something about the lure of street running trains and when you throw in a BNSF War Bonnet, well, it makes it even better. Here we have a southbound CSX Q231-08 as begins to make it’s way through downtown La Grange toward Louisville, Ky.
June 9, 2018 Norfolk Southern Heritage Unit 8099, “Southern” passes the signal at milepost 209.8, at Jefferson Township, Indiana, as it makes its way west on the NS Southern-East District. This scheme is from the Southern Railway (GE) which originated as the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company in 1827. On Christmas Day, 1830, it put into service the nation’s first regularly scheduled steam passenger train, “The Best Friend of Charleston.” Southern was incorporated in 1894 from the reorganization and consolidation of numerous predecessors, and absorbed another 68 railroad companies over the next six years.
June 9, 2018 – Here we find a crew getting NS Heritage 8099, Southern Unit, ready for pickup by an, Duke Energy coal train, at the NS Yard Office in Princeton, Indiana, after storms passed through the area. We got lots of great photographs, which you’ll see over the days to come and also met-up with several fellow railfans in person that we’ve been friends with on Facebook for sometime!
June 9, 2018 Norfolk Southern Heritage Unit 8099, “Southern” passes the signal at milepost 209.8, at Jefferson Township, Indiana, as it makes its way west on the NS Southern-East District. This scheme is from the Southern Railway (GE) which originated as the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company in 1827. On Christmas Day, 1830, it put into service the nation’s first regularly scheduled steam passenger train, “The Best Friend of Charleston.” Southern was incorporated in 1894 from the reorganization and consolidation of numerous predecessors, and absorbed another 68 railroad companies over the next six years.
Chrystal, myself and sister April enjoy some Chicago Style Pizza at a local place a few blocks from her apartment. Good stuff, but way too much for the three of us to eat!!
Well, as always, we’ve both been behind on doing our blog posts here!! It’s not that we haven’t been on roadtrips since September, but haven’t taken the time to write about them, so this post will cover a bit!!
My sister April and I both love to travel and even though we’ve been cutting back lately as we’re trying to save up for a trip to Europe in 2019 to visit with my nephew Brad and his family, who’s stationed in the Air Force in Germany. I lived in the Frankfurt, Germany area for 3 years when I was in the Air Force and made many, many more trips back to Europe on photo assignments after I left, until I retired from the Air Force in 1995. I haven’t been back since then and really looking forward to a return trip to some of my old stomping grounds, plus a few new spots I didn’t make it to, such as Ireland!
However, this post is about catching up so here goes!!!
Fall Photography Weekend at Pennyrile and Shutterbug Kids
Jayden was all smiles after picking up his “Best of Show” trophy for the Kids Division at Pennyrile Forest’s Fall Photography Weekend.
In October we took my nephew Jayden (5-year-old Shutterbug Jayden) with us to the Fall Photography Weekend at Pennyrile Resort Park in Dawson Springs, Ky so he could participate in his first photography competition. Sis and I normally go every spring and fall and this year we’ve started taking one of the older kids; the fall was Jayden’s turn and he did outstanding in the kids division! There were about 10 or so kids this fall and one of his pictures won “Best in Show” for the division, and he also picked up a first and second place! We all were so proud of him!
The category he won Best in Show with was “Water,” where he shot a photograph of canoes being reflected in the water at the boat dock. His 2nd place winner was in the “Close-Up” category with a flower being eaten by bugs. We all had a great time, but I think he had the best, especially when they presented him with his “Best of Show” Trophy.
Next up will be Xavier when we attend the Spring Photography weekend in a few months.
Water Reflections Best of Show and 1st Place by Shutterbug Jayden
Second Place, Close-up by Shutterbug Jayden
Chicago Trip to visit Chrystal
Our ride to Chicago, Illinois!
Our next trip was via Amtrak to visit my niece and my sisters daughter, Chrystal. She works for the EPA there and we like to visit as often as we can. We took the train up, which of course is a favorite mode of travel in my book. The trip was pretty much centered around a concert by the group “Celtic Thunder” which we all three like a lot. We did a bit of other things such as the Christmas Market in downtown, but they both indulged me and my obsession for trains! The concert was great as was the market and other sights, but I enjoyed photographing and riding the trains of course.
Station stop at Mattoon, Illnios
Me on the subway. – Photo by Chrystal Brantley
Chrystal and Sis as we head downtown.
Trains at night in downtown Chicago.
Railfan trips of Course
Other than the trips above, I’ve been out and about photographing trains of course! I usually try to get out at least once or twice a week somewhere in the tri-state area! Sometimes I link up with fellow railfans such as Ryan Scott or William Crupper, but more often as not it’s me, the scanner and my cameras! Sis doesn’t usually ride along when I’m out chasing trains! She puts up with my obsession on trips, but that’s about it!
January 13, 2018 – CSX intermodal Q029-13 (Chicago, IL – Atlanta, GA) makes its way through the Red River Cut, just north of Adams, Tennessee, with fresh snow lining the walls and the track.
January 12, 2018 – In near whiteout conditions, a northbound CSX hot intermodal Q028-12 prepares to pass local J724-12 in the siding at the south end of Slaughters, Ky, on the Henderson Subdivision.
January 17, 2018 – Steam from the Alcoa plant at Yankeetown Dock in Newburgh, IN seems to come from Norfolk Southern’s 8105, Interstate, Heritage Unit as, it sits tied down with NS 7243 in the snow.
January 13, 2018 – Deer hoofprints in the snow disappear into the distance, as CSXT 3303 and 85, lead CSX intermodal Q028-13 through the new, yet to be activated, Nortonville Interlocking, as it heads north on the Henderson Subdivision on a beautiful winter afternoon.
iPhone Black and White Photography Challenge
January 13, 2018 – Day 75 – iPhone Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Ties and Trees – This stack of railroad ties with the row of interesting trees in the background make for an interesting photograph! When out, always keep an eye out for things that make for good contrasting scenes!! I got the extra width in this photo by taking the picture while I was in video mode with the camera! That’s what that little silver button is for!!!
Another project I’ve been doing is a daily challenge where I shoot and post a black and white photo daily on my website and Facebook. Theme is pretty much anything I feel makes a good picture, which a lot of the time it ends up being the kids! I started this project as part of the week-long black and white challenge that was going around on Facebook this fall.
I enjoy doing something along these lines from time to time as it forces be to think outside the box and to keep looking for something that makes for what I feel is a good photograph in black and white. I really enjoy black and white photography and while I do one daily as part of my routine for posting train photos, I wanted something different. I think these days black and white photography kinda has been taking a backseat to photography. It seems that the world has been consumed more by color with the advent of the smart phones. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still other folks shooting black and white, but I don’t think there’s as many as there used to be.
January 11, 2018 – Day 73 – iPhone Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Cookie!!! – Journey is one of our resident Cookie Monsters!!! I caught her here with a mouth full and two waiting in the hand!! Photographing kids doing the things they love is always a good bet for a nice picture!
January 12, 2018 – Day 74 – iPhone Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Powder Ball!! – Damion hits me with what should have been a snowball, but ended up as a powder ball instead! It was a first snowfall of the season and it was a bit of a dry snowfall. Didn’t deter him however!!! Kids and snow always make for good pictures! Keep your iPhone handy!!
December 17, 2017 – Day 48 – iPhone Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Elaina’s Eyes – The eyes can make the picture!! When photographing a portrait or closeup of someone, always do you best to make the eyes sharp!!
Upcoming Trips
This March sis and I are back to Chicago for another concert and to visit Chrystal. This time we’re going to listen to a group called “The High Kings” at the City Winery Chicago. Again we are going up on the train and I’m looking forward to going up in a bit nicer weather than our December trip!
Then in May I’ll be headed to Monticello Railway Museum in Monticello, Illinois with fellow railfans Ryan Scott and Bryan Burton for Southern Rail Productions photography charter with Southern Railway No. 401. This should be a fun trip and we all three are looking forward to the trip.
As I was strapping Damion into his booster seat he did his normal thing and grabbed my reading glasses from my pocket and put them on! I was also quick on the draw with my iPhone to catch this moment with him!
September 17, 2017 – Sunday we loaded Damion and Elaina into my RAV4, after a great day at church, and headed to our favorite after church place to eat, which is Silver Star. As I pulled out onto Main Street I could hear Damion singing, “Jesus Loves Me…” softly from the back seat! A moment that lifted my heart for sure. He and Elaina are in their second year of kids choir at church and their cousins Jayden and Journey started going this year. Nothing sweeter than the sound of a young child singing in my book!!! I just hope that they all continue to do so!!
