Wait For It

This weekend we "Fall Back" and starting Sunday morning, sunrise will be an hour earlier than this week.  June suggested we take advantage of this last week and go see a sunrise somewhere.  We decided on Wednesday afternoon to take off the next day and go to the Smokies for a day trip.  Being retired is nice that way.

It's a good idea to plan to be to the sunrise spot 30 minutes before the sunrise, which meant we had to be at the Oconaluftee Valley Overlook by 7:20.  Even with the late sunrise, we had to get up at 4 AM, eat a quick breakfast and head on down the road. The thing about sunrises is you never know what you will get when you start out.  But if you don't get up and go, you'll never get a great sunrise photo.

The Oconaluftee Valley Overlook is on the Newfound Gap Highway just south of the Newfound Gap parking area.  It's a great spot for sunrise and we found several other photographers already there when we arrived a little after 7.  As the sky started to lighten, we were disappointed to see solid clouds in all directions, from horizon to horizon.

7:35 AM

By 7:35 it really looked like we should have stayed in bed.  The sun was to come up in 15 minutes just about in the V in the mountains.  We decided to stick it out.

Right at sunrise, there was a small break in the clouds off to the south.  We could see through that small opening a little of what was happening on the other side of the clouds.

7:52 AM

That was pretty much all we saw for a while, then the clouds started to break up off to the east where the sun was hiding.  At 15 minutes after sunrise, the sun was well above the horizon by this time, but things were starting to happen.

8:07 AM

 Then it happened!  The clouds parted and the sun broke through 20 minutes after sunrise.

8:10 AM

If we had given up and headed off to find other places to shoot, we would have missed one of the best sunrises we've seen this year.  We didn't get to see the Elk at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center this trip, but we saw God's Glory in the sunrise.

8:12 AM

Sunrises and sunsets are photographer's favorites.  The drama of the of brilliant warm colors in the clouds and God beams shining down on the landscape is hard to beat.  The skies don't always cooperate and we might think it's not worth going or waiting around.  Other times we might be tempted to leave right after the sunrise or sunset. Many times I will have my tripod still set up while I watch other photographers pack up and leave. My experience says wait and see what is in store.  Don't give into temptation and leave early.  Sometimes the best part is 15 - 30 minutes after sunset, or in this case, after sunrise.

Continuing With My 2016 Favorites - Colors Of Nature

Before there were photographers or painters creating beautiful works of art, there were beautiful works of art in nature. Since the beginning of time, God has been creating beautiful art in the natural world.  Every day when the sun breaks the horizon there are brilliant sunrises happening all around the world.  We may not see it where we are that day but it is happening.  Sometimes the edge between night and day is defined by bright orange and yellows. Other times it is more pastel pinks and purples that paint the sky. Below the sky, every color can be found in the leaves, flowers, and grasses. Most of the earth is covered with water, which reflects and sometimes intensifies the colors of nature. The photos for today capture the color of nature that is all around us. Color in nature is one of my favorite subjects.

In October, June and I took a day trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway to see the brilliant colors that are painted across the hills and valleys each fall.  We started our day enjoying a sunrise from the Parkway near Boone NC.  While others were looking east to the rising sun, I walked up the road a bit to capture a photo of the winding parkway leading over a hill to the clouds lit by the low sun.  By looking north instead of east, I found a beautiful scene that others missed.   Nature's beauty is all around in every direction.  We just need to look around.

Blue Ridge Sunrise

Click on the images for a larger view.

From a sunrise in the mountains of North Carolina, we travel to a sunset on the shores of Lake Michigan. This photo may not appear that impressive. The sun had gone down 45 minutes earlier and the sunset colors had become more soft and soothing. The lighthouse is not an impressive structure. You might wonder why I picked this as a favorite.

I'm proud of this photo because it was made under very difficult photography conditions. It was after 10 PM and there was very little available light, which meant I had to had to push the camera to get a reasonably fast shutter speed. The shutter speed was important because the photo was taken from a moving boat without the benefit of a tripod. Too slow and everything would be blurry and the photo would have been sent to the bit-bucket. With a shutter speed of just 1/9 of a second, the lights in the distance are blurred but the people hanging out on the pier are not.  This was one of those situations where the odds were against me and I might not have bothered to take the shot.  I'm glad I did.

Lighthouse at Sunset

We're now moving into the darkest part of the night when the sky is painted by billions of stars. June and I were again out taking photos with our friend Lynn from Dallas. This time we were at Clingmans Dome in the Smoky Mountains. We had gone there for the sunset and waited around for another hour and a half for the stars to come out. Because it was still summer, the Milky Way was still visible in the sky.

Milky Way

Due to light pollution, most people in the US rarely see the Milky Way.  You have to travel to a place with a dark sky, far from city lights, with clear air.  When it's not shrouded in clouds, Clingmans Dome can be a great place to see the Milky Way.  I've gotten more interested in night sky photography and this is one of my favorite Milky Way shots.

Fall in the Smoky Mountains and Blue Ridge can provide the photographer with the most brilliant colors of the year. For a few short weeks, entire mountainsides turn to gold, red, and green.

For most of the summer and fall our area suffered through an extended drought. This made the water in the Bald River low enough that we could easily walk out on rocks that are normally underwater. The low water flow also made the river surface smooth as a mirror, reflecting and intensifying the fall colors. These are unusual conditions that came together to make one of my favorite fall photos.

Bald River

Water is something I enjoy photographing.  I like mirrored reflections such as the Bald River photo above. Waterfalls are probably my favorite subject and I almost always use a slower shutter speed to make the falling water appear silky and soft. A technique I have tried a few times involves very long shutter speeds to change moving water into a fog.

Waves or Clouds

Today's final photo was taken on a beach where waves were breaking over old coral formations. This was taken well after sunrise on a bright sunny morning. With that much light, it's difficult to get the slow shutter speed I wanted. I used something called a neutral density filter to block much of that light.  It is basically sunglasses for a camera lens. With that filter and a small aperture (f/22) I was able to slow the shutter speed down to 2 1/2 seconds. This made the waves appear like clouds. It's an artsy kind of effect that I like and will try to do more of.

Those are my favorite photos of nature's colors. I have 5 more favorite photos to share.  Come back again to see the finalists.

Patience

This has been a good weekend.   I got to spend most of it with June and taking pictures.

On Saturday June and I spent a few hours taking sunrise photos in downtown Kingsport, eating breakfast at The Bagel Exchange, and then making photos of the pianos that have been painted and placed around downtown.

Downtown is not a place I would have thought to go for sunrise.  We were there to drop my car off for service while we photographed the pianos.  Wanting to get close to the front of the line we dropped the car off before sunrise.  It was too early to eat so we wandered around trying to find a good vantage spot to see the sunrise.

The sunrise colors were spectacular and we did find some nice shots before breakfast.

The pianos turned out to be more fun that I ever imagined.  I made a lot of shots and spent most of Saturday editing.

I'm planning to take my favorite piano photos and make a slide show.  For now, here's a couple for you to preview.

I almost missed the photo below.  We had seen this piano earlier and passed it up because we were on our way to breakfast.  It was much later when June reminded me we hadn't gone back to this one.   I wasn't real excited because I hadn't seen any compelling compositions the first time around.  It was still a beautiful morning and we were enjoying our time too much to cut it short so why not walk back and see if there were any shots hiding there.

What a shot we found!   The glass panels reflected the brightly painted piano, creating what I call a Pianorama.   This was a fun photo to make.  The hardest thing was finding a composition where I wasn't also reflected in the glass.

Day two of our weekend.   Again we got up before sunrise and this time we headed down the road to Warrior's Path State Park to see if we could catch another sunrise and fall colors.   No sunrise today, but the overcast skies made the fall colors pop right out of the photo.

There were many photo opportunities, such as the Blue Heron across the lake posing among the fall colors.

Near the end of our morning in the park the smooth reflections in the lake were disturbed by a couple fishermen in a big hurry to get to their favorite spot in the lake.   Because I was set up to take long exposure landscape shots from a tripod I wasn't set up to photograph a fast moving boat.  I did the best I could in a couple seconds and got an OK shot.  

I little later another boater arrived and unloaded his boat into the lake about 50 years away.   I was hoping he would come across in front of me like the last guy so I set up my camera for an action shot and waited.   He took his time and I about gave up when he started his motor and took off in the opposite direction!  This time I wanted a boat to come by and disturb the smooth surface and he goes the other way.

In the end my patience paid off and I got a different shot that also tells a story.

No matter how much we plan, there are things out of our control and we end up in situations where we didn't expect to be.   Be patient, make the best of it, know that someone else greater than us is in control, and His plans are even better!

21,016 Gifts

Recently spent a couple days with some great friends in the Smoky Mountains taking photos and enjoying each other's company.  The day before I got there they were treated to a spectacular sunrise from the Foothills Parkway.  

Sunrise by Miles Smith

You can see they were blessed by spectacular colors, light, and God Beams shooting through the clouds.  I wasn't able to be there because I couldn't take the time off from work.

The next day Mike Roberts and I went to the same spot at the same time hoping to see something just as spectacular.

As you can see, the conditions were not the same for Mike and I.  I could gripe and complain that we deserved to have conditions just as beautiful as the others.  All that griping would do is make me unhappy.

I may not have been blessed with God Beams but I have realized I was blessed to be able to open my eyes and see the new day.  That I was able to be there that weekend, have good eyesight, have a car to drive myself to the parkway, and a nice camera to take photos were blessings that I didn't even think about.  To date, I have been blessed with 21,016 sunrises that started 21,016 days, every one a gift.  

We are not promised blessings such as sunrises, We're not even promised tomorrow.   Nothing we have done or can do can earn the gift of seeing another sunrise or living another day.   Through Jesus we have been given the gift of eternal life.   None of us deserve that gift.   Jesus sacrificed to give us the gift of life.

Jim Bales Place

I've only lived long enough for 21,016 sunrises and sunsets.  The Jim Bales cabin was built in the Smokies in the late 1800's and has seen many more sunrises.  Life was hard there.  I wonder what blessings the Bales family had.  

As old as that cabin is, it's only been there a small fraction of the time since Jesus died for me.  There have been over 724,000 sunrises since Jesus sacrifice for us.

I'm thankful for each day that I can wake up, open my eyes and see.   I don't know how many more I'll have, but I'm going to enjoy every one, even the cloudy ones.

Thanks to Miles Smith for letting me use one of his beautiful photos.  I'm blessed to have such great Christian friends.

Better Than Sealing A Driveway

I had to make a choice between two options for Saturday.  The first option was putting down asphalt sealer on our driveway, which is what I had planned for Saturday.  The second option was to spend the morning with June riding bikes around the  Cades Cove loop in the Smoky Mountains.   The driveway sealer will certainly keep for a few more weeks.

On Wednesday and Saturday mornings, the loop road is closed to vehicles until 10:00 AM.  We wanted to get there close to sunrise to make the most of the time before the gate was opened and the parade of cars and trucks took to the one lane road through one of the parks most beautiful areas.  It's a two and one-half hour drive from home to the gate and the sun rises is at 6:15.  Do the math to figure out how dedicated (crazy) we are.

It was foggy all the way from home to the park and we got there a little later than we hoped, but it was still a great morning.  The fog that slowed our drive was spectacular in the early morning "magic hour" light.

Loop Road Panorama

Deer and Butterfly

Click any photo for a larger view or go to my Online Gallery for more photos.

A lot of heavy photo gear is not fun to deal with on a bike.  I only took the camera and two lenses with me on the bike - my go to 24-105mm and a 300mm prime telephoto.  I had to go sans-tripod this morning.  I found that you can make stitched panoramas and hdr photos without a tripod. The Loop Road Panorama is 10 vertical shots stitched together in Adobe Lightroom CC.

Sunrise is prime time for wildlife and I took the 300mm hoping to get some bear, coyote, deer, turkey and other wildlife.   The wildlife was scarce today, but I did manage to get a deer and butterfly in one shot.

The only people on the road are bicyclists, walkers and some people running the 11 mile loop.   We started out with one group and played tortoise and hare passing each other all morning long.  

Running The Loop Road

Running Into The Sun

We stopped when we saw the sunlight streaming through the trees and fog, creating awesome sunbeams.  While we were stopped they passed us again.   I think they may have won the race, but we got the photos!

We enjoyed the morning ride enough that we cut down Sparkes Lane and went around to Hyatt Lane and back for a total of 17 miles.

There are more photos from the morning at http://www.thesiggins.com/AllWorks/Earth-Sea-and-Sky/Cades-Cove-June-2015/

Field In The Fog

Looking Good After 17 miles.

Sometimes....

Awesome Sunrise Cloudscape

After taking photos of a beautiful morning sky at sunrise, June and I stopped at theNewfound Gap Overlook for a short break.  When I left the restrooms I started running for the car.  June said "your running!", trying to figure out what was up.

What I saw was the morning sun hitting the trees on the other side of the gap making another beautiful scene.  By the time I got to the car, changed lenses and got back to the spot, the best light was gone.   That's the way nature works, sometimes the beauty only lasts a few seconds and if prepared you can capture some beautiful photographs, like the Awesome Sunrise Cloudscape.

Newfound Gap

Other times, the photo only captures the fading beauty like Newfound Gap.

For my photographer friends that are wondering, I didn't have time to think about which lens to use or grab the tripod.  I just slapped my 70-200mm zoom on the camera.  My first shots were duds because the shutter speed was too slow for hand holding the camera.  After cranking the ISO up a bit, I got one that was good enough for the web, but will never stand up to close examination.


"Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter."
Ansel Adams

Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter, but my camera is not ready.   At those times, the best thing to do may be to stop and enjoy the beauty God created for us.

The Early Bird

"Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark."

Rabindranath Tagore

Indian Poet

The best time to take photos outdoors is the hour around sunrise or sunset.   If you want to avoid other people in your photo, dawn is the perfect time.  Few people will be up and about at sunrise.   It's my favorite time to make photos.

The problem with taking photos at dawn is I have to head for my destination long before I know what the conditions will be like.  Will the sun paint the clouds with brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows or will the sky be overcast and gray?  I have found that weather forecasts will give a general idea what to expect, but often the moment the sun breaks the horizon will be very different from the forecast.   I have to get up when it's still dark and see what is in store when I get there.

Blue Heron in Morning Light

On a recent trip to visit my family in South Florida June and I got up early and left the house while everyone was still comfortably asleep.   Our destination was Wakodahatchee Wetlands.  This is a favorite place to photograph birds in a natural setting.  Boardwalks snake throughout the wetlands, making it easy to get close to birds, gators and other wildlife.  On this morning, there were fewer birds than what we had seen in the wetlands before.  Mid-December is a few weeks early for nesting activities and brilliant mating colors that present many photographic opportunities.  However, there were still enough birds to fill all our available time and the rising sun bathed the scenes in a warm soft light, like the photo above.

We don't always have the gift of sunrise colors on every outing but if we didn't get up while it is still dark we would never get to experience the beauty of a sunrise and the beautiful colors of dawn. 

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” 

Corrie ten Boom

The Preparation, Anticipation and Results

We went to Roan Highlinds along the Tennessee - North Carolina boarder for sunrise this morning.   Here's how it went.

The Preparation

1. We gathered our hiking and camera gear the night before.
2. Got up at 3:00 AM.
3. Made coffee, gathered some snacks and were on the road by 3:40.
4. Drove the 90 minutes to Carvers Gap and hiked by the light of the full moon to Round Bald.

The Anticipation

1. Found our spot, which wasn't as easy as you might expect it would be at 5:40 AM.  There were lots of other photographers who had the same idea.
2. Waited as the sky began to brighten.  We could see below us billowing clouds as far as you could see, but the sky was clear above those clouds.   We were anticipating this was going to be a great sunrise. 
3. Made several photos as we waited for the sun to burst over the clouds and turn the cloud tops to fire.   Here's what it looked like at 5:53 AM

5:53 AM

The Results

See that cloud in the center?   It was moving up the hillside and quickly blocked the sunrise.   Within 11 minutes it looked like this.

6:04 AM

After the preparation and anticipation the resulting sunrise was a dud photographically.  Later we ran into another couple who had left Spartenburg SC at 2:00 AM to get to the higher Grassy Ridge for sunrise.  Their sunrise was not blocked by the clouds and looked spectacular on the back of his camera.

It didn't take long for the fog to blow out and things improved quickly.

6:15 AM

By 6:29 we were enjoying the first rays of sunlight to hit the balds and light up the Flame Azaleas.

6:29 AM

In the end the results were not what we prepared for or anticipated but it turned out to be a great morning to hike the balds of Roan Highlands.   Today God gave us a great morning to start the weekend.  Now for a nap.

Calendar Chronicles - Footprints In The Sand

We have made it through February and started into March.  Spring will arrive soon in East Tennessee.  It can't come soon enough for me and never lasts long enough.   There is beauty in the winter season, but after a few months of cold, gray, brown, and bare trees it is time for some color and new growth.   Next month's photo is all about spring but the March photo is all about warmth.

Nothing says warmth like a sunrise or sunset at the beach.   While visiting my family in West Palm Beach Florida June and I got up early and drove down to the beach to see what the sunrise had in store.   We started out at Lake Worth Beach hoping to get some pictures of the sunrise behind the pier.  The parking lot was closed and we couldn't get down to the beach.   We headed north up the coast stopping at a public beach access, which was also closed due to beach erosion.  After driving past the classic mansions of Palm Beach we finally stopped at the public beach in Palm Beach.  It's always a good idea to allow plenty of time for sunrise photography because you never know what obstacles you'll run into and time, tide and sunrises wait for no man.

Click on any image to see larger versions.

There is a story behind this photo.   When we arrived there was a young lady paddle boarding by.  I wanted to get a photo of her on her board with the sunrise behind her and took off running down the beach to catch up with her.   She probably wondered about the old guy on the beach chasing her.  I wasn't able to get the shot but my run did create footprints in the sand.   It's these footprints that make this photo.  They lead the viewer down the beach.

The paddle boarder did return later and I was able to take the shot I tried to get earlier.   I wasn't thinking clearly and didn't set my camera up for a fast enough shutter speed.  The 1/15 of a second exposure was way too slow and she is blurred in this photo.   This is why practice is so important.  You have to be able to quickly adjust your camera to rapidly changing conditions.   I can't go back and try this shot again but hopefully I'll remember my mistake and not make it again.

 

There is one other person in this photo that I didn't see until I got home and was editing the photo.  There was a snorkeler swimming by her when I took the photo.

We were blessed with a beautiful sunrise and interesting clouds.  It was a great way to start the day.

Let Heaven and Earth Praise Him!

The Sunrise That Goes On and On

June and I spent last weekend at Pine Mountain State Park in Kentucky.  June went with me for a photo workshop that the park puts on to bring people in during the winter.   I was hoping for a foot of snow because winter in the mountains without snow can be a bit blah.  What we got instead was a beautiful sunrise that just went on and on.

A good sunrise has enough clouds to pick up the reds, oranges, and yellows but not so many that you can't see the sunrise.  Many times we have gotten up long before the sunrise to drive to a spot and wait to see what God does with the break of day only to find the sky completely overcast or no clouds at all.  We never know what we will see when we head out.  

On Saturday morning we went to what I thought was the best spot for sunrise.  When we got there we found my friends Bill Harris and Roddy Addington from Wise VA already in place and set up waiting on the sunrise.  As time went on other photographers began to show up.   It was cold up on the mountain that morning but we all hung in there waiting.  We were not disappointed.

Before the sun rose above the mountains to the east the undersides of the clouds were brilliantly lit with oranges, reds and yellows.  There was even a sunbeam shining up from behind the mountains in the photo below.  The valley was still dark but the fog reflected the warm light from the sky contrasting with the cool purple of the shadows.

As the sun rose above the mountains a layer of clouds formed just above the ridge.  I was able to catch the sun shining between the two and radiating upward out in all directions.

As the sun rose above the cloud bank above the ridge the colors turned from red and orange to yellow.  I shot this picture just as the sun was peaking over the clouds.   A small aperture of f/22 produced the cool sunstar effect.

The cloud cover was moving and changing as the sun rose, constantly changing the scene.   When the sun was high enough to shine down on the fog in the valley it burst out radiating golden "God Beams" down across the valley.

We were blessed with thirty minutes from the first photo to this last one, which is a long time for a sunrise.   After this last shot the clouds closed in and the morning became overcast and rainy.  Saturday's sunrise was over and it was time for breakfast.

The next day we went back to the same spot.  This day the sunrise was completely different with no clouds and less fog in the valley.   The sky just got brighter as the sun came up with very little color.   The interesting subject this morning was the valley and the fog that was slowly burning off.   I used my 400mm telephoto lens to zoom in on this community and church in the valley while capturing the fog in the hills and valleys.  You couldn't see these buildings at all on Saturday morning because they were completely fogged in.

I hope you enjoy this series of sunrise shots from Pine Mountain Kentucky.  These photos are available for purchase in my Pine Mountain Gallery.

Rediscovered, Revisited and Revised

Back in November 2009, June, her brother Jerry, and I went to Fall Creek Falls for a couple days.   We weren't there for photography but of course I had my camera and went out early one morning for sunrise over the lake.  There weren't many clouds in the sky that day but there was a nice fog around the lake which made for some nice soft scenes.  It took several photos, edited some when we got home, then didn't do any more with them.   They were forgotten until I was looking for something else and rediscovered these photos.

There was one photo I decided to see what I could do with over two years later.   Would it be better?  Worse?  Would it come out the same?   My experience tells me any of these outcomes were possible.  I've decided to share what I did and let you decide.

Here's the original "as shot" image, straight out of the camera.

You can click on any of these photos to get a larger view.

The sky was over exposed on the right side.  The cloudy white balance gave it a nice warm feel but the blues in the sky were almost unnoticeable.  The camera was slightly tilted to the right.  Other than that, not a bad shot.

Here's what I did back in 2009.

1. Changed the white balance to daylight, giving it a more bluish tint.
2. Dialed in +31 on the recovery slider, bringing back the blown out highlights on the right side.
3. Turned the brightness down from the default +50 to +18, darkening the photo.
4. Increased the clarity (+14) and vibrance (+12) making the orange clouds stand out a bit more against the blue sky.
5. Increased the contrast using the Tone Curve

This is a much more interesting photo than what came out of the camera.   That's where I left it back in 2009.

This time I decided to start back with the raw image as before and use some of the Nik software filters in addition to Lightroom.

I decided the right side was not the most interesting area of the photo and cropped it to a vertical format, removing most of the right side.  In addition to the tree there is an interesting curving path along the lake shore that you just don't see in the version above.  I want to bring that out to add the s-curve to the composition.   I could use the Lightroom tone curve or fill light slider to lighten the dark areas, but I've found the Detail Enhancer filter in Nik Color Efex pro to do a great job bringing the details out of dark areas.

Before editing in Color Efex 4, I first ran the image through the Nik Define 2.0 to remove any noise.  It's always a good idea to do this first because many adjustments can magnify noise (static) in a digital photo.  Here's the cropped photo after removing noise.

I then opened the photo in Nik Color Efex 4.   Applying the Detail Enhancer filter to the entire image really messed with the soft fog, water and skies.   I used control points (which is the coolest part of the Nik software) to only pull out the details in the shoreline and a little in the trees.   The Brilliance/Warmth filter and the Skylight filter added a little saturation to the orange clouds and blue sky bringing back the colors of sunrise that were lost in the original as-shot photo.

Another cool artistic Nik filter is Glamor Glow.  Sounds like something designed for portraits, but it can  be very effective at creating a moody feel in a landscape photo like this one to emphasize the fog on the lake.  Again I used some control points to not add glow to the shore line or the tree in the upper left so I wouldn't lose those details.

Finally, I used the Darken/Lighten Center to add a nice vignette around the outside, drawing the viewers attention to the tree in the center.  One thing this filter allows me to do that I can't do in Lightroom is place the center of that vignette.  By placing the center to the left side I was able to emphasize the shore line, leading the viewers eyes up to the tree.  Here's a side by side view of the photo before editing in Color Efex and after.

   When I brought the photo back in Lightroom I noticed a few dust spots in the sky that needed to be cloned out and some weeds at the bottom of the photo that were a little distracting.  I used Photoshop Elements to close out the dust spots and weeds.

Here's the final Rediscovered, Revisited and Revised Photo

 

 

Is this version better than what I did in 2009 or just different?  You'll have to decide for yourself.  I kind of like it.  In fact, I may print it to hang at home or at work.  This photo is available for purchase online here.

If you're not a photographer you may not find any of this of interest.  I hope you at least enjoy the photos.  If you found this of interest and want to learn more about Lightroom or Nik software let me know.

What I get up at 3:00 AM for....

At 3:00 AM on July 4 I got up.   Why in the world would anyone get up that early on a holiday?  Sane normal people would be enjoying a day off from work and sleeping in.   This Forth of July I got up, ate a quick breakfast, gathered my camera gear and drove to meet Harold Ross.  The two of us drove to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to be there at 6:15 for this.

Sunrise from Newfound Gap Road, NC

I'd say it was worth missing a few hours sleep to capture a dawn of a new day in the mountains.

We spent the rest of the day driving around the park and the Blue Ridge Parkway shooting streams, waterfalls, and wildflowers.   I enjoyed spending the day with a great Christian and photographer.   I'll post a few more photos from the day soon.

Hilton Head Sunrise

Here I am on vacation getting very little sleep.  Seems when I'm on vacation I'll get up after 4 hours sleep and head out in hopes of a good sunrise.   This time we're in Hilton Head, SC staying a short walk from the beach.   After staying up to almost 1:00 I got up at 5:15 AM and walked down to the beach.   The thing about photographing sunrises is you never know what you'll get.   Sometimes I get there and the sunrise is a dud, like my recent Roan Mountain sunrise hike.   Other times I'm blessed with a beautiful dawn.

This morning I got there long before the sun.   There were very few people out that early.   By the time the sun came up there were dozens of people walking, running or walking their dogs on the beach.   It was low tide and there was probably 200' of beach.  Later today when the tide comes in there will only be about 30' of beach with people everywhere.   Early morning is the time to be on the beach on the Eastern shore.

Hilton Head Sunrise

This photo is available for purchase here


This was taken with a 17-50mm lens @ 33mm then cropped down to a wide landscape.  I used a small f/16 aperture to maximize my depth of field and manually focused on the grass in the foreground.   I also used a 2-stop and a 3-stop graduated neutral density filter stacked together to keep from blowing out the sky.   I still had to darken the sky some in Lightroom.  It's tough shooting into the sun and still being able to see the details in the darker areas of the image.

I also had to adjust the white balance.  The camera was on auto white balance and because the sky was so orange it compensated by making the photo more blue.   The sand had a distinct blue tint to it before adjusting.

Because we're on an island we also have the opportunity to shoot some sunsets as well.   I'll try a couple sunsets before the weeks is out.

If you don't go, you'll never get the photo!

This past weekend I went with my friends in the Eastman Camera Club to Charleston SC for a long weekend of photography and friendship.   This was a great trip, even if the weather didn't cooperate.  On Sunday morning we got up way early to leave the hotel at 5:30 AM for sunrise at Folly Beach.   It started raining Saturday afternoon and had been raining ever since.   When we left the hotel it was raining pretty hard without much sign of clearing.   We kept telling ourselves, "if you don't go you'll never get the photo"   Not everyone agreed it was worth trying and only half our crew got up that morning.  

When we reached the beach it was still raining but after about 15 minutes, the rain slowed down enough to get out of the cars.  At that point about 7 of use headed down the path toward the beach with no blue sky to be seen.  About 5 minutes later we walked out on the beach, the rain stopped, and the clouds started breaking up!  Our prayers were answered -- God blew the rain out and gave us a couple hours of shooting time.

Something I never saw growing up in Florida was a starfish on the beach.   This morning we saw two live ones and one that had spent too much time in the South Carolina sun.

f/8, 1/40 sec. 70mm handheld

This one reminded me of John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. 

f/8. 1/20, 100mm handheld

The landmark on Folly Beach is the lighthouse that is just off shore.   The skies were still dull grey and cloudy and the lighthouse was a bit dull itself, which does not make for dramatic photos.   To make things a little more interesting I got low and shot the starfish with the lighthouse in the background.   The sand was very wet and I didn't want my camera in the sand and I didn't want to lay down in the sand to make the shot.   I ended up resting the camera on my wallet to keep it off the sand.  

f/14, 1/80 sec, 95mm "Wallet Mount"

The wallet was my idea, but someone else suggested the composition. 

Finally, the sun came out enough to give us some good low side light on the dead trees along the beach and the lighthouse offshore.

f/16, 1/60, 50mm hand held

My friends came away with several good photos from Sunday morning.  If we had stayed in bed or went back to bed when it was raining, we never would have gotten any shots of Folly Beach.   Sometimes you have to get up at completely unreasonable times, drive with no promise of good light or even good weather, and pray that you will find something worthily of shooting.   There are no guarantees, expect "if you don't go, you'll never get the photo".