4 TO 5 LUG WHEEL ADAPTER

Day 5 of 365: "Dad's Shed"

Yesterday when I stopped at my parents' place to borrow a shovel, I noticed how dark the old shed has always been. Although there's an overhead light in it, I've almost only ever been in there during the sunlight hours with the three large garage doors blasting sunlight into it. Even then, it's always felt dark. I never liked that place.

As soon as I was reminded of all the stuff he has stored in there, most of it with a purpose (although some things, like my old 10-speed or an old tractor that was there when we moved in 1979, should have been tossed out decades ago), I realized this would be an incredible type of portrait of my father - or at least some of his things, many which say a lot about him. He spends more time on that old John Deere lawn mower than anybody I know. He loves tinkering with seeds and watching birds. He saves aluminum and strips copper for side money. He spends a lot of time in that work shed.

I decided to combine this "portrait" of my dad with a long exposure test to capture the darkness of this place. The entire scene is lit only with natural light creeping in from under those garage door or sneaking through the cracks in the roof and siding. In the end, this is a 2 minute, 23 second exposure. I was standing there in this dark place that I really don't like as I experimented with different exposures and settings until I got it right. Dad's dog knew I was in there and kept barking the entire time. This truly was a test of patience, which seemed to reflect a lot of what probably happens in Dad's shed while he's doing his work. (10/16/11)

And then there were the lawn tractor races.

These weren't your average lawn mowers or yard toters. These machines were custom built for racing. You might be able to see how the green John Deere's wheels are angled outward for stability, and the seat was canted to the left to allow the driver to lean into the curves. All contestants wore helmets. And yes, there was a checkered flag, along with a yellow caution flag (because sometimes the tractors skidded into the hay bales).