# Prevent Bloody Revolution! Patriots Arm Thyselves!



## Flower Child (Nov 28, 2009)

With Truth and Resolve! Fascists Rule the Land!

In this old school house near Camp 42 in the southeast corner of Kansas lived a very interesting man who was a political extremist and proud member the NRA. He always wore a pistol in plain sight in the top pocket of his overalls and kept his political whirlygig spinning in his front yard throughout his life.

Its a shame because he died about a year or so ago, and I would have loved to have gotten him and his pistol standing up on his porch in my picture.

c&c appreciated.


----------



## PatrickHMS (Nov 28, 2009)

Interesting photo, reminds me of a man near here, in Kennesaw, Ga., who runs an old collectible / junk store. Sells all kinds of stuff, there are politically incorrect signs all over the place. Makes no bones about his personal beliefs.

Kennesaw is one of those cities where it mandates that all residences have a gun.

You ought to see this little old guy, unkempt, unshaven, often wears denim shorts and sandals, with any number of sidearms in either holsters, shoulder holsters, or both at the same time. Well armed for sure, against what, don't know for sure....

What an interesting old guy, someone you would definitely call a character.

Afraid if I shot his picture, he might shoot back...lol


----------



## Flower Child (Nov 28, 2009)

PatrickHMS said:


> Interesting photo, reminds me of a man near here, in Kennesaw, Ga., who runs an old collectible / junk store. Sells all kinds of stuff, there are politically incorrect signs all over the place. Makes no bones about his personal beliefs.
> 
> Kennesaw is one of those cities where it mandates that all residences have a gun.
> 
> ...


 
Thanks for taking a look! By the sounds of it, I think the old guy who owned this house and the junk collector around your area are two peas on a pod. Something tells me they would have gotten along just fine...but look out if they wouldn't have!  

I would highly, highly suggest you to take his picture when you have the chance. I'm just sick about being a year late with this guy. Its hard telling how he would react, maybe if you thoroughly explained what you were doing he may not care (who am I kiddin, he'll definitely shoot you). haha

Thanks again for stopping by.


----------



## Flower Child (Dec 9, 2009)

Any more comments or criticism for me would be very much appreciated


----------



## wescobts (Dec 9, 2009)

I really like the image, great texture, contrast. :thumbup:


----------



## Pugs (Dec 9, 2009)

I like the image.  It has a story and I really like that.  I also like dilapidated buildings so it gets a bonus point from me there, too.  On my monitor, it looks a little over-exposed.  I like my black and whites to have the full range from DEEP blacks to BRIGHT whites.


----------



## Rekd (Dec 9, 2009)

The only thing I'd do different is get the whirlyboby thingy in the sun to highlight the intent more. The composure is good and tells a great story. Do all sides of this thing show the entire saying or did you do that? 

As an aside, how ironic that a person with a name like Flower Child would find this such a fascinating shot, which it truly is. Just curious what your views on firearms is, being a flower child and all, that would prompt you to visualize the power of this shot. (You can't tell by my avatar, but my hair goes almost to the crack of my ass  )

Patrick, I'd be interested to know what the crime rate is there in Kennesaw. An armed society really is a polite society.


----------



## jbylake (Dec 11, 2009)

Flower, subject matter is right up my alley. Seems just a little overexposed?
Overall, cool catch.

J:mrgreen:


----------



## Flower Child (Dec 15, 2009)

wescobts said:


> I really like the image, great texture, contrast. :thumbup:


Well, many thanks, kind sir. :thumbup:



Pugs said:


> I like the image.  It has a story and I really like that.  I also like dilapidated buildings so it gets a bonus point from me there, too.  On my monitor, it looks a little over-exposed.  I like my black and whites to have the full range from DEEP blacks to BRIGHT whites.



Hey pugs, I'm glad you like the message and subject matter. My favorite things to shoot are the things that have seen a many moons in their day. Quite a few people have been mentioning its overexposed so I thank you for your advice. I'll tone it down a tad when I get the chance. Usually I run a little underexposed on my photos. haha. And I think you're right. A bit of contrast boost might give it an extra punch.



Rekd said:


> The only thing I'd do different is get the whirlyboby thingy in the sun to highlight the intent more. The composure is good and tells a great story. Do all sides of this thing show the entire saying or did you do that?
> 
> As an aside, how ironic that a person with a name like Flower Child would find this such a fascinating shot, which it truly is. Just curious what your views on firearms is, being a flower child and all, that would prompt you to visualize the power of this shot. (You can't tell by my avatar, but my hair goes almost to the crack of my ass  )
> 
> Patrick, I'd be interested to know what the crime rate is there in Kennesaw. An armed society really is a polite society.



Hey good buddy, thanks for your help and taking a look at my shot! I completely agree with you on getting the sun to highlight the sign. I was fully planning on that happening, but as you can see, there is a shadow cast right through there by my dad's propane truck (you see I was attempting a "drive by" shooting  ) and the road was fairly busy and my dad was all BAH hurry up dammit grumble grumble, so I tried my best to rid of the shadow in gimp (free photoshop). I plan on going back there as soon as possible in the evening when the light is a little better and I'm going to actually get out and compose my shot the way I want with no annoying shadows protruding through the middle of it.

And yeah thats what the rest of the sign says on the other barrels spinning around. I found that Prevent Bloody Revolution summed up the sign the best so I picked it to be showing.

And as for my self proclaimed Flower Child username :mrgreen:, I find politically charged things (like this photo) very interesting whether I agree with them or not. Personally, I'm scared to death of guns, but as far as the government restricting our right and _freedom_ to bare arms (which is in the Constitution for christ sake) I don't believe it should happen. 

p.s. Wear your hair with pride my friend. :thumbup: I've finally got mine to the middle of my back.



jbylake said:


> Flower, subject matter is right up my alley. Seems just a little overexposed?
> Overall, cool catch.
> 
> J:mrgreen:



Thanks man. Yeah, a few people have noticed that it is overexposed. I'll get that taken care of asap.


----------



## c.cloudwalker (Dec 15, 2009)

I find your attitude much more fascinating than the photo. Not to say that the photo is bad, it is not although you may have some blown areas. It is a very neat photo but it is the kind of photo that, to me, requires less explaining. I feel the more you say about it, the less interesting it gets.

Photos are supposed to stand on their own. This is a perfect case of how the photographer, once he/she has taken the photo should just stand back and let people get whatever they want out of it.

For example, I would have never known that the shadow was from your dad's truck. I would also never have known about the man who once lived there. By telling us about it you are making us look at the image differently. What if...

Know what I mean?


----------



## T-town photographer (Dec 15, 2009)

I really like the shot.  What part of Kansas was this take in.  I live in Tulsa and I am a little familer with that area.

Michael


----------



## Flower Child (Dec 16, 2009)

c.cloudwalker said:


> I find your attitude much more fascinating than the photo. Not to say that the photo is bad, it is not although you may have some blown areas. It is a very neat photo but it is the kind of photo that, to me, requires less explaining. I feel the more you say about it, the less interesting it gets.
> 
> Photos are supposed to stand on their own. This is a perfect case of how the photographer, once he/she has taken the photo should just stand back and let people get whatever they want out of it.
> 
> ...


Hey, cloudwalker, thanks for taking the time to comment!
First of all, I completely understand what you are saying. I definitely see from your point of view how it might ruin the mystery and wonder for some of the people looking at it. But as the photographer of the shot, I personally feel that knowing a bit of the background behind the sign/house intensifies the atmosphere of the shot and makes it just a little more special. I suppose I _wanted_ you to look at the image differently because it _was _different.

As for telling people about the shadow, I only did it because someone was giving me advice on the photo and thought it would be better with the sun on it, and I was simply explaining why the sun wasn't on the sign like I wanted, not as background info on the photo.



T-town photographer said:


> I really like the shot.  What part of Kansas was this take in.  I live in Tulsa and I am a little familer with that area.
> 
> Michael



Hi, Michael thanks! It was taken in between Columbus and Scammon Kansas so not too insanely far from Tulsa. I actually go to Tulsa quite often :thumbup: Thanks for taking a look.


----------



## c.cloudwalker (Dec 17, 2009)

Flower Child said:


> c.cloudwalker said:
> 
> 
> > I find your attitude much more fascinating than the photo. Not to say that the photo is bad, it is not although you may have some blown areas. It is a very neat photo but it is the kind of photo that, to me, requires less explaining. I feel the more you say about it, the less interesting it gets.
> ...



I guess I like your photo enough to want it to stand on its own. It tells an interesting story as it is, why add to it? Probably a result of working as an artist only for about the last 10 years.

In the arts, we usually don't get to say much about a piece except through the title. Unless, that is, the piece or the artist become famous and then, of course, everybody wants to know everything about both... lol.

The part of the story that is not told in your photo is also quite interesting and, as the author of the image, it is your decision what gets included. Right now I am working on a series of portraits of people in my city. They include words. 1/2 of the piece is a photo and the other 1/2 is words. Their story about the city.

The photos do stand on their own as photos but, tbh, I am more interested in the stories myself. I can already see the book. A portrait on the left page and a great story on the right. Of course, this book will probably never come out in print... lol.

I know we are on a forum and that is why you explained the shadow of the truck. I was just trying to make you aware that it sometimes is better to not say too much.

Cheers.


----------



## Rekd (Dec 17, 2009)

Flower Child said:


> my dad was all BAH hurry up dammit grumble grumble,



:lmao:

I'm like that with my wife. Back in the day it was all with film and we'd come home with 20 to 30 rolls each trip. Boxes and boxes and boxes of pictures. And that's just the ones she kept!

Can't tell you how many times I was all about "grumble grumble" having to stop, or worse, back up, so she could get her shot. It was always worth it after they were developed, but dayum! I felt like I drove backwards half way through Washington and Oregon!

I remember our trip from San Diego up to Canada in the back of our Toyota pickup truck. We went out of our way, waayyyy out of our way, to get shots of all the light-houses we could find. (Trust me, there's a lot!). I bit my tongue and went where she wanted because I know she's got a much better eye than I, and I was rarely disappointed when all was said and done. 

I guess the bottom line is, your pop should be proud that you have the ability to frame a good shot in your mind and have it presented like you have. My wife is my inspiration and she doesn't know it, but I aspire to be as good as she is, even though she doesn't shoot much any more. :thumbup:


----------



## c.cloudwalker (Dec 17, 2009)

Rekd said:


> Flower Child said:
> 
> 
> > my dad was all BAH hurry up dammit grumble grumble,
> ...



Wish I could say something that nice about my wife!   :lmao::lmao:


----------



## Rekd (Dec 17, 2009)

c.cloudwalker said:


> Rekd said:
> 
> 
> > Flower Child said:
> ...



Funny! 

I've got (almost) nothing but good things to say about her. Been in love/lust with her since I was in high school. Literally. Got married to her when I was 30. I'm 45 now and we've got 4 and 7 year old boys. 

To this day I still leave stupid little things laying around to tell her how I feel. I even took some of my hair and made a heart on the shower wall last week! (She said I was "such a dork", but that's ok.) :hug:: (Hmm, photo idea...)


----------



## c.cloudwalker (Dec 17, 2009)

Yes, you're a dork... LOL!

But it's better than being on a second divorce like me... 

Keep being a dork.


----------



## Rekd (Dec 17, 2009)

I'm ok with being a dork. Especially if it means not getting divorced! I just couldn't imagine.


----------



## c.cloudwalker (Dec 17, 2009)

Rekd said:


> I'm ok with being a dork. Especially if it means not getting divorced! I just couldn't imagine.



:thumbup:


----------

