You Looking At Me?

Last year I was reading a magazine for nature photographers.  Part of that issue was a survey asking the photographers about their favorite place to photograph.  It was fun to read and see how many of the top places we've been to, including Canadian Rockies, Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Arches, Zion, and Acadia.  One of the top spots is in our own back yard -- The Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  June and I decided we have been neglecting our park and we need to spend more time in the GSMNP.  As a result, my Smokies Gallery is now the largest on my website.

Last weekend we took another get away trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  It was a great weekend to spend time together and recharge our batteries in the woods.  As John Muir said

Forney Ridge Trail to Andrews Bald

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energies, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."

We hiked to Hen Wallow Falls, Biked the Cades Cove Loop at sunrise, spent at least 30 minutes waiting for a mother bear and her three cubs to move so we could continue our ride, hiked to Andrews Bald after a rain, caught a great sunrise at Clingman's Dome, and another great sunrise from the Foothills Parkway outside Townsend.  Believe it or not, there are still wildflowers blooming in August.

In addition to the black bears, there were numerous white tailed deer, including several bucks.   This one wasn't too sure about the photographer in the high weeds.

You Looking At Me?

We were blessed with peace and quiet on our trip to The Smokies.  Yes, you can find peace in the park if you get away from Gatlinburg, start early, leave the main roads and explore the trails deep into the woods.

There are 17 new photos from this trip in the Smoky Mountain Gallery for you to enjoy.  Check them out and enjoy some of the beauty of our park.

His Light Shines

I took this photo this morning off the Foothills Parkway near Townsend Tennessee.   It's a place I've been for sunrise multiple times and each time it's different.  There has always been some fog in the valley below the Parkway and this morning it was staying low, allowing the hills to peak out.   There was also something special in the image -- a glow of light in the fog.  I'm assuming it was a street light, security light or something similar strong enough to cut through the fog.   Looking at a map I think it may have been Millers Cove Church.

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. - 2 Corinthians 4:6

It was still very dark when I took this - 30 seconds, f/5.6, ISO 400.   This morning the light was shining out of the darkness and we could see it on the hillside above the valley.

Storms Coming to Rich Valley

I spent last Sunday taking photos around Smyth County Virginia.   My first stop was the Visitor's Center in Chilhowie to get some suggestions for places to shoot.   The folks there were very helpful, giving me enough ideas to last for days.  One suggestion was the Rich Valley Overlook on northern boarder of Hungry Mother State Park.  This is not a marked spot and is easily missed.  In fact I drove about a mile down the other side of the mountain before I found a place to turn around and head back up to the top where there was the only pull off I saw for miles.   You couldn't see the valley from the pull off so I was standing on the edge of the road against the guard rail hoping a car didn't come by and send me and my gear over the edge.

It had been thundering for a while and I knew from the weather map on my phone that an afternoon thunderstorm was going to hit about the time I got to my spot.  Just before and after a storm is some of the best times to get dramatic lighting on the landscape so I knew I had to try.  I had just enough time to set up and fire off several shots before the rains hit and chased me back inside my car.   You can see the rain coming up the valley on the left side of this photo.

Be sure to click this image for a larger view

To capture the entire range of light I took bracketed shots at -2EV, 0EV and +2EV.  I used Nik HDR Efex Pro to merge them together, then a little Lightroom adjustments to lighten the trees, increase the vibrance, cut some of the noise, and add a little vignette.

Thinking Outside The Frame

We're told "thinking outside the box" is a good thing.  It opens our mind to consider new ideas beyond the way it's always been done.  What about when we edit our digital photos?   What's the box that might constrain our thinking when we are using Photoshop, Lightroom, or Picasa?   The cropping feature that is built into these tools can tend to keep us within the standards for picture frames.

If you go to any store that sells ready made frames you'll find they are sized to hold 4x6, 5x7, 8x10 prints.   The crop tool in our editing packages often defaults to these standard sizes.   That's fine if you plan on printing your photo and using a standard frame.   Most of us don't print many of our photos any more.  They end up on a website somewhere.   Yet, we tend to use the standard crop sizes.   If the photos are going on a website they can be cropped to any width and height that works best for the photo.

Here's an example.   The first photo is not cropped at all.  This is the way I took it.

Uncropped

The next two are cropped to 8x10 and 5x7

8x10

5x7

None of these really work for me.   There is too much wasted space at the bottom and top of the photo.  This does not add anything to the photo and a good rule of thumb is to eliminate anything that doesn't add to the composition.

Here's the crop I like best.



Unconstrained Crop

 I turned off the crop lock in Lightroom and cropped according to what I thought looked best, without considering the dimensions.

If I was to print this I would have to go back and find a crop that either fits a standard size print/frame or go for a custom photo mat and/or frame.   In this case it's pretty close to a 10x20, which is a size that I can get printed.   If you're looking for a frame for a 10x20 print you may have to go somewhere besides Walmart and Hobby Lobby.   Better yet, forget the frame and print as a canvas wrap.   I've done three of those now and love them.

This photo is available for purchase online.  It's ready to print at 4x8, 5x10, 8x16, 10x20, or 12x24.   Many of these sizes are available as metal or canvas prints.

Photo/Travel Program - The Parks of The Sierra Nevada Mountains

Now, a word from the Shameless Self Promotion Department at The Siggins Photography.

The 63rd Annual Virginia Highlands Festival kicks off this Saturday July 23 and runs through August 7.   The festival began in 1949 by Robert Porterfield, founder of the Barter Theater, as a simple one-week festival to showcase Appalachian arts and crafts. Since then the festival has now grown into a two-week event offering a variety of venues.

View from Moro Rock, Sequoia National Park

This year I'll be presenting a program at the festival on The Parks of The Sierra Nevada Mountains on August 6.   I'll be showing some of my photography and talking about Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Yosemite National Parks.  I'll also take the audience to Bodie California to experience a real gold rush ghost town and to Mono Lake for out of this world landscapes and sunsets.   The Virginia Highlands guide lists my program as four hours long, which is not right.  I don't think I can talk near that long and no one would stay that long.   Instead it will be between 2 and 3 hours depending on how much discussion we get into.

The program (I don't like the word lecture) is part travel show and part photography program.  I'll talk about the places we visited and also about how I took different photos, the gear I used, etc.

The festival charges $5 for the program.  You can buy tickets online here.  It will be in the Executive Auditorium at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, in Abingdon.

There are two other programs that are worth going to.  Chris Duncan is presenting Around the World in 180 minutes on Saturday, July 30 and National Geographic Photographer Bob Krist is presenting Behind the Scenes: Real Life Misadventures of a National Geographic Photographer Saturday July 23, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m in the Grand Hall of the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center.

Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Parkway and Other Recent Work

I've added a new Recent Work gallery to my website that contains all the photos posted in the last two months.  As I post newer photos the older ones will drop off but will still be in their proper galleries.  For example, you will find the latest photos from Smoky Mountains, Wildflowers, and Charleston / Hilton Head galleries also in the Recent Work gallery.

Mossy Stream

Take a look in the Recent Work Gallery for some of the photos from my trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on July 4.  I'm very happy with some of these and hope you enjoy them.

Leather Vasevine

Until this last weekend I had convinced myself that by July the wildflower season was over and there was not much to shoot until fall.  Boy, was I wrong.  We saw Fire Pink, Bee Balm, Cone Flowers, Columbine, Fly Poison, Rhododendrons, Mountain Laurel, and others.   Of course, there was plenty of ferns and moss covered rocks in the streams.   Just goes to show we are blessed all the time, even if we don't know it.   Sometimes all we have to do is open our eyes and look around at God's Glorious Creations.

Fire Pink

Many thanks to my friend and fellow photographer Harold Ross for taking me to all these great places and helping me learn some new wildflowers.

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.