away for the weekend: district #3 - lessons learned at a one-room schoolhouse

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

district #3 - lessons learned at a one-room schoolhouse

District #3 - South Hill School
I learned some valuable lessons while taking photos of this little one-room schoolhouse.

Lesson #1 - as much as I enjoy lazy mornings on the weekends,
catching the morning light is worth getting up for.

Lesson #2 - Eagerness does not equal alertness (especially in the early morning hours).

 Lesson #3 -  always, and I mean always - check your camera settings before shooting all your photos and driving back home.
sigh...


So - please play along with me - and we will  pretend that these photos are intentionally grainy to create the proper setting for this story told to me by my grandfather.


I'm guessing many of you have been told a very similar story, as well.


"When I was a child,
I walked five miles to school every day -
each way -


in the rain and the snow -
barefoot -


uphill - both ways..."


After visiting this little rural schoolhouse - I'm thinking it's possible he was telling the truth.
Except for the barefoot part - I'm pretty sure my grandpa wore shoes.

So - a quick recap of the lessons for this week:
1) Morning light = pretty - get up and catch it!
2) Caffeine-yes! - grab that cup of coffee on your way out the door.
3) When in doubt - use a cheat sheet.


Class dismissed - have a great day!


Rurality Blog Hop #7

31 comments:

  1. LOL. I have done that before! ;)

    And I have heard that same story...except the no shoes part. My grandpa wore shoes in the winter, just not the summer :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. My late papaw used to tell me similar stories. Wow they had some backbone on thjose days didnt' they??

    And yes the morning light is always worth getting up for :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovely photography and great post ~ Enjoy ^_^ ~ Love the schoolhouse!

    ReplyDelete
  4. you made me laugh. great lesson. i guess it shows what kind of photographer i am - because i enjoyed them & find not a bit wrong. but to the experts they may think otherwise. oh well, to each his own. ha. ha! ( :

    happy spring!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes, I've heard that story many times. :0) Great lesson and pictures this morning. Fun post.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful! I LOVE,LOVE old school houses. Love the light peeking through the trees.

    ReplyDelete
  7. 2a. Or at least make sure your trusty driver has coffee!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love the lighting and shadows of the trees on the schoolhouse in the first photo especially. I had to laugh at your reminder tag (Check ISO!) because I have a habit of not switching my camera settings back to something "neutral" before I pick it up to use it again. :)

    ~Lynne @ a "new" Jersey Girl, just hopping by from the Rurality Blog Hop
    www.rickandlynne.com/lynne

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think your pictures are very nice anyway. The setting is so lovely. Have a nice day! Twyla

    ReplyDelete
  10. lol...good lesson...as good as I got when I didn't charge my battery before heading out on a road trip. I haven't forgotten that lesson yet! Love the pictures. I think they are great...and my dad and your grandfather must have gone to the same school...I heard the same story!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh, I've learned that lesson too :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Karen, such a lovely ole schoolhouse! And I'm learning from your mistake - when I get at DSRL I'll check the light adjustments!

    ReplyDelete
  13. My kids get upset when i tell them the same thing. I also added that the snow was waist deep. It was...I was only 3 feet high at the time. My old schoolhouse was torn down and the land was built up with a condo. :-{

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have got to get better at getting up this year for that morning golden hour. I like the idea of grabbing a coffee on the way. Too bad about the ISO, that has definitely happened to me before.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Haha, I think the grain is perfect for the feeling you're trying to capture! So it was a happy accident :)

    I love love love those shots with the sunlight peeking through. So gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love the way you incorporated the story into the schoolhouse and lessons learned....very clever.....

    And yes I was told the same story by my mother.....

    I went to a park one day and stared clucking away only to find out I didn't have a card in my camera......hard lesson to learn....but we do learn don't we.....

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great post and I enjoyed your pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  18. it's a great story, i've heard it 1,000 times but still laughed today!!

    are your pictures "grainy"?? they look great to me. i wonder how many "grainy" pictures i've posted....i don't even know what iso is. the light is beautiful but i have turned in to a non-morning person. too many years of rising early!!

    very fun entry!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh I loved this post I have had similar forgetting settings problems but like you they turned out not as bad as you thought.
    Love the story and yes I have heard it before. Early mornings have the best shots. :) B

    ReplyDelete
  20. Too funny- and yes, my dad said he did that- uphill, both ways...

    ReplyDelete
  21. Great post...now, tell me what do I do with the ISO? Just got a camera and help!!!...:)JP

    ReplyDelete
  22. Yes these yarns are common. I went to a one room school for nine years. I could tell many stories but not these. I like the rural school house pictures as much as the barns.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Nice to include the school story and a lesson learned, Karen. Also, you seem to be out of that blog slump you mentioned earlier.

    ReplyDelete
  24. The light is lovely! I'm never up early enough to get ready and get out. :)
    I've taken pics and then realized what I've done and just let out a long sigh. I guess we've all been there.
    My husband used to have to walk out to catch the school bus. Believe me he lived in the middle of nowhere. He's taken me and shown me - I think I'd have dropped out!
    Looking at all the snow around this one I was trying to imagine going to school after walking there and it being heated with only a wood stove. Brrr....

    ReplyDelete
  25. Very lovely! Worth making the extra effort to get up early! Oh, that little schoolhouse is so sweet and well taken care of. I love how it is nestled in the forest with the beautiful hills in the background. Your story of how Grandfather walked to school made me smile. :) I would have never known the photos weren't perfect. They look perfect to me! xx

    ReplyDelete
  26. Quite a fun post. This one-room school looks very well kept. I had at the privilege of attending two different one-room schools. Although I wore shoes to school, I mostly chose to walk home barefoot on the dirt roads. I loved it!
    Your photos barely look grainy, I wouldn't have noticed if your didn't mention it.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Haha! These are great lessons! I totally agree about the morning light. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Yes, getting up early is definitely worth it! Loved your stories your grandfather told...and they do sound familiar. Do we share a grandfather, lol?

    ReplyDelete
  29. uh oh! so sorry! I really love all the different views, beautiful place =)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Your photos are gorgeous at any ISO!!

    ReplyDelete

I am always happy to hear from you -
Your comments make me smile!