Thursday, June 7, 2018

Daddy's Little Girl ...


“And you’re daddy’s little girl
You’re the end of the rainbow
My pot of gold
You’re daddy’s little girl to have and hold
A precious gem is what you are
You’re mommy’s bright and shining star
You’re the spirit of Christmas
My star on the tree
You’re the Easter Bunny to mommy and me
You’re sugar
You’re spice
You’re everything nice
And you’re daddy’s little girl.”
            ~ “Daddy’s Little Girl”
         ~ lyrics & music written by
          Robert Burke & Horace Gerlach
                               ~ 1906
         ~ recorded by the wonderful Al Martino
                              ~ 1967
To create this image I photographed the cover of Al Martino’s 1967 album “Daddy’s Little Girl” and blended it with “The Heart of Summer,” a photo I took a half century later in July 2017 of the heart of summer within the heart of summer … a father teaching his little girl to ride a bicycle on a gorgeous afternoon on the Saucon Rail Trail, Hellertown, Pennsylvania, such a sweet sight I was lucky to capture and showcase in sepia to enhance the nostalgic feel.

And that Al Martino album cover? I have it and the record itself, it’s something my parents played many times when I was growing up as I listened from my playpen!

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

The Candid Doe ...


“If you are not filled with overflowing love, compassion and goodwill for all creatures living wild in nature, you will never know true happiness.”
                      ~ Paul Oxton
              ~ founder & director
                of Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation
 My favorite white-tailed deer doe seems to say hello as she strikes a candid pose while seeing me walking toward her on a beautiful July evening in the park.

I’ve been blessed to photograph this doe and her fawns since 2012, and it’s a true joy to me personally and as a photographer.

Sunday, June 3, 2018

Tiger Wings ...


“Just as the bird sings and the butterfly soars, because it is his natural characteristic, so the artist works.”
                ~ Alma Gluck
                          ~ 1884-1938
Though this papillon has orange and black coloring, this is not a tiger, but an Eastern Comma Butterfly.

This beauty alights on an early June afternoon along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail) at Lehigh Gap.

In the shadow of the Kittatinny Ridge, also called Blue Mountain, the Lehigh Gap in Slatington, Pennsylvania, is a crossroads where the Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s trails connect two historic trails – the Appalachian Trail and the Delaware and the D&L Trail.

The Appalachian Trail, a foot path, follows the ridge on both sides of the Lehigh Gap, running 1,245 miles south to Georgia and 930 miles north to Maine. Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.