More Little River
This little bubbling river turned out to be a family favorite. My girls weren’t quite ready for the heavier hikes, especially after falling on their faces in the first five minutes on a short walk up to one of the picnic grounds. To the top of a staircase has been their most uphill experience they’ve had as Louisiana natives. But they were able to get out to these areas and mess around in the water and climb on the rocks. The last one of this series was taken earlier in the day with a NDF filter, when the light was in a starker contrast. I ended up liking it a great deal with the skylight type of highlights falling on the water.
Setting Some Free
I planned on working through all my photos from my recent trip to the Smoky Mountains, process them tediously, and then post them. But that might take a long time, given my propensity to obsess. Processing is where I usually get lost in the weeds, and sometimes, it’s just a matter of setting them free—where they often don’t look much different from the originals once the five alternate versions are deleted.
This is—and this is what I’m terrible about—somewhere in the Smoky Mountains 
Is that good? It was in the National Park in east Tennessee on the way to Cades Cove. The first was taken before dawn and with some NDFs as it was still pretty dark at that time. The second is obviously when the sun broke and the last is zoomed clip taken about 10 minutes after the sun broke. Enjoy, and will have some more up soon.
Just Say No To Photo Credit!
Your photos have value, STOP GIVING THEM AWAY!
Recently I was contacted by a design company working for the Chamber Of Commerce for -insert name of city here-, putting together a "digest style brochure for tourists and people relocating to -insert name of city here, again-."
Would you be willing to "donate a few of your -same city…
All at once
A happy birthday to my oldest who turns seven in about an hour. I took her out this evening to do her annual “birthday” photo. Not the most technically sound photo from the shoot but I preferred this buggy, summer hazy capture the most.
Out For Summer
Was there nothing better than getting off the bus on the last day of school knowing in front of you was three months of up-to-no-good?
Here’s Looking at You, Kid
My oldest daughter hanging out after her first tap dance recital. Where does it go–really–the time? A sudden heap that is unaccounted for on one hand, and then with a little digging, all is remembered. Thank god for the cues that come from photography. One minute you’re eighteen and it’s protest songs, black flags, and drinking to a rising sun, and the next you’re thirty and it’s making sure daughters don’t dirty their dresses before performing in front a sea of parents bathed in an electric blue glow because they are documenting everything to send to people they know, and quite often, don’t know at all. *Sigh* On a less cynical note, recitals and end of school years mark my favorite time–vacation time–and I’m off to the Smoky Mountains for a week, a week that I’m hoping is scant on technology and robust in the quietude of nature. Take care.
Turn of Season
Here, we are starting to turn to summer. So naturally, I’ve just begun to look at spring photos. A few jackdaw pickings I feel signal the season.
First, the longer days with that tangerine evening light and new grass in the fields.
And then the wildflowers (red clover here) on the road side.
And of course, all the birds nesting anywhere possible around the house.
Crawfish boils.
Water at the dam
So it’s been a while since I’ve posted any new material on my photoblog. No real reason unless laziness counts. With being absent so long it’s been a challenge to find an entry point into the blog. Spring is full on here but there is still a heap of stuff from the winter I haven’t messed with yet. The photo above was taken one morning in early spring. A friend and I went to this old decrepit dam, a dam that has been dry for several years—or at least the dozen times I’ve dropped by over the years. Since I wasn’t expecting water, I didn’t have any of my neutral density filters with me. Luckily an overcast fell heavy, and with just a polarizer and the lens stopped all the way down, I was able to catch one of those frothy shots.
One reason we drop by the dam is because all the concrete is painted with bright graffiti and makes a fun color photo. But apparently, the concrete artists have been slacking and the graffiti was a bit subdued. So without that element, I went with a more subdued processing in the tones to put the emphasis and contrast on the white waves and murky water spilling out the dam..
