There’s nothing like fresh. Fresh rain. Fresh vegetable. Fresh fruit. Fresh idea. Fresh wife.

I found a few fresh things at the farmers market last Saturday. I enjoyed the company, the conversations, the visuals, the atmosphere. Just a really refreshing morning.

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I was inspired. We’ll see if my inspiration actually leads to anything. If it does, you’ll see it here at a later date.

- Kyle

My grandfather’s brother is still in the business. He farms the original Dreier farm in Central Kansas. One late afternoon my dad and I took the boys to get a small taste of farm life.

My uncle talks of using GPS to steer tractors while we look at one of his huge tractors then we venture over to the side of the barn to see the remnants of an innovative device he and my grandfather built 60 years ago.

Blake, Jacob and Matthew where having more fun than if we’d let them loose in a Toys-R-Us. I was, too. The history. The visuals. The open air. But, I admit, I’m pretty ignorant to the hard work it takes to run a farm.

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Only 30k miles. Original tires. Still in service.

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Old equipment my grandfather and Nelson built.

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“There’s Frank!” the harvester.
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A lesson in separating wheat.

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Barrel full of things.

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Ready for the ascent.

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My dad and Nelson. Dad is 6′3″. Those are big tires!

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$1,200 to fill ‘er up.

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So, now I sit here and wonder how to engage my own desire and the curiosity of my boys like that day at the farm from here in a subdivision with 2,200 homes on one quarter of the land that my great-uncle farms.

-Kyle

Rather than me go into a long-winded diatribe about the poisoning of our children with TV and video/computer games I’ll simple let these photos tell the story and make my case.

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A special thanks to Jaden and Colsen for their tender friendship and to cousin Brad and Rose for their burlap gifts.

Here’s to more backyard fun for all!

-Kyle

(aka Mr. Critical)

It all started at 5:30 am with my alarm clock. By 6:15 I was on the grounds where the 66th Iroquois Steeplechase would take place – me and a handful of volunteers. The rains from the day before had created a moody fog for the early hours of the day, but the forecast prevailed and you couldn’t have asked for better weather.

I shot close to 1,000 shots. I’m usually happy with about 1 out of 10 and of those pics I’d say 1 out of 5 are publishable. Do the math and I’ve got about 20 images. Of those maybe 6 or 7 are portfolio worthy. I’m about one half done with my edits and thought I’d put up a few images, somewhat of a primer to a photo essay I’ll post at a later date.

My approach for the day was to try and capture the day in a documentary “day in the life” concept. Here is a small sample.

Pre-race, and pre-people.

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Hats are an important part of the outfit.

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The Winner of the Final Race.

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Stay tuned for the photo essay which will likely be posted at dreier.com.

Unti then …

-Kyle

This past weekend I was involved in showing some of my photography at an arts festival at church. You can see my art at www.dreier.com. During the weekend there was a dance program as well. I figured it’d be a typical dance recital … cute but no real depth to the program. Boy was I surprised. Not only was it really cute, but it was a fantastically executed production. And, aside from the wonder technical aspect it was incredibly worshipful. I was not prepared for that. There was a narrative throughout and the dancers were from 3 to 60 years old.

The 2 hour program was just beyond any words. Even watching it later on DVD didn’t do it justice. I was fortunate to be there with camera in hand. I took nearly 350 photos. I’ve pulled these 5 just for the motion and mystery they convey. I was very moved by the program, the message and the visual color and motion. I hope these convey a little of that to you.

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Thank you Fellowship School of Dance for a very moving program. I have a whole new respect for this art.

- Kyle Dreier

Spring seems to have come early this year as evidenced by the number of weeds in our yard, and the early bloom of tulips in our yard. Today was a nice light rain to add a little interest to my impromptu photo shoot in the front yard with my macro lens … and PJs. I’m looking forward to seeing how these look as a super large print.

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I wonder what beautiful greatness the rest of Spring will bring.

-Kyle Dreier

I’m just now thinking that when I think of “Broadway” I think of entertainment and until now didn’t really think of Broadway in Nashville as such. Well, even on a Wednesday night Broadway in downtown Nashville was full of entertainment. Music was lofting from one venue after another as I walked down the street. There was also a fair amount of music coming from various performers along the side walk. What a cultural shift from where I reside just 20 minutes south of Broadway.

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It’s pretty easy to see why they call this “Music City USA.”

- Kyle Dreier

Another fun Wednesday night out. This time with David, a friend from our church community group, to do some camera geek talk. I could ramble on for hours about f-stops and ISO and … but I won’t bore you. Sitting in the Sportsman Grill was a good test for low-light photography.

Meet David … professional photographer in the making.

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David contemplating the menu and me shooting my water with no ice.

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I think next time I’ll get what David had.

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Wise choice David. Tortilla Soup.

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Still playing with his camera while his soup approaches room temperature.

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All I can think of is a line from Fletch. “You know that look.”

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That pretty much wrapped up our evening. Good food. Good company. Poor lighting. Always good shooting.

- Kyle Dreier