"Across the hall"...

You're standing in the hallway at Carden Bottom school, built in the 1930's. Age, weather and vandalism has taken it's toll on this abandoned school. The doors still stand strong on the hinges they were built upon, yet are missing the knobs that the children once used on a daily basis. And old chair lives another day across the hall. You can see the paint has flaked from the walls. Leaves litter the hallway floor where the hardwood floors once shined. You can almost hear the hustle and energy from the children as they scoured these hallways between classes.

Location: Carden Bottom, Arkansas, Jan, 2013. Comments welcomed.
Photo # KS2_7542-48h2.
(c) Kelly Shipp Photography.

"Life under Water"

According to scientists, we are losing biodiversity at a rate that is 1,000 times faster than it should be. Studies estimate that there are over 700,000 underwater creatures that remain to be discovered.

Location: Lake Maumelle, Arkansas, 2013.
Photo # IM3_4409cbws.

Lean on me...

Sometimes when we remove color, we see the simplicity and power of nature. Color can easily be a metaphor for other things in your life such as unnecessary drama or stress. Look beyond the colors in your life and look to the simple things in your life that give you happiness and strength. - Kelly Shipp

Photo # DSC_0018bws. March, 2005.
Location: UCA Campus, Conway, AR.
(c) Kelly Shipp Photography.

Waiting...

Lake Beaverfork, Conway, Arkansas. Jan/2012.
Photo # KS1_5768a.

"Posing Mid-Air"

"Posing Mid-Air"
In all of my experience, I've never had a bird pose for me in mid-flight. This Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) looks as though she has stopped mid-air and decided to pose for me. The background is a mix of ice-covered branches and trees. I think she was actually changing her flight direction and realized she couldn't do it gracefully. (ha) The quality of this photograph isn't great, but this moment in time is hilarious!

Photo # KS4_2231a.
(c) Kelly Shipp Photography

"Clouded Energy"

As many of you know, waterfalls and related have been a favorite subject of my photography for several decades. What attracted me to this composition was the frays of light reflecting in movement toward you (ie: energy). Seemingly opposing is the 'clouded' shape and movement of water flow over the rocks in the background. The title could also describe the unknown and untapped energy we have yet to obtain from our planet's natural resources.
Comments welcome.
Location: Woolly Hollow State Park, Arkansas. October, 2009.
Photo # _KS10106bw.

Cedar Falls, 1993.

I've photographed this waterfall for well over 25 years. It's hard to believe I shot this photograph over 20 years ago. I shot this with my all-time favorite film camera, the Nikon F4s using Kodachrome 64. I converted the slide scan to b&w.
Cedar Falls, Petit Jean State Park, April, 1993.
Photo # PJSP26:2.

Stopped...

There's something oddly poetic about this photograph. Arguably all the lights are red, the cab appears to be stopped and the man walking the dog looks poetically posed. The first building on the left is the Flatiron Building, completed in 1902, it was one of the tallest buildings in New York City.

Fifth Avenue, New York City, 2011.
Photo # KS1_1842c2.
(c) Kelly Shipp Photography.

"Life is a delicate balance of holding on and letting go..."

"Life is a delicate balance of holding on and letting go..."
A piece of down clings to a reed, in the middle of a field. Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas.
Photo # KS4_0563.

"Best friends"...

"Best friends"
Best friends since they were 5 years old, these two cousins are sitting on a front porch swing where they and family members had spent many hours. The guy on the left just happens to be my father. This was an impromptu, candid portrait of these two. If I had asked ahead of time, they would have likely declined the offer. I asked them if they could fit on the swing, laughing they replied, 'Of course we can'.

Location: Mitchell's homestead, near Hope, Arkansas. 12/2013.
Photo # IM3_5709_716h2bws2.

Cardinal in flight during heavy snow...

Cardinal in flight during heavy snow, 2010.

Photo # _ks20043b.

Grace in small packages...

Weighing less than 1oz, and only about 5" long, this Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) is banking in sun-lit flight.
Photo # KS3_6953cbws.

"Doorway to the Past"...

You are standing in the center of a hallway of a home built in 1917 and had been lived in until just a few years ago. The room you are looking into is the family room, of which condition is arguably preserved from the 1950's. I turned off all the lights, so the only light is the sun coming through the windows. You are standing in a hallway that has 12-foot ceilings and is approx. 10 feet wide. This hallway includes double-doors at each end, giving it the "dogtrot" (breezeway) style of house. Nothing was moved for this photograph. I found the juxtaposition of natural light, position of the chair and doorway very captivating. Imagine the stories you could hear from this hallway. Each of the five rooms, including the front porch, led to this hallway.

Backstory: My father is very close to the generations of family that lived here.
Location: Mitchell's homestead, near Hope, Arkansas.
Related photos: Photo # IM3_5361h4 is the front porch of this home.

Photo # IM3_5684-90h2bw3.
I welcome comments.