Edwards FreeLance Photography

Springtime in the South

It's springtime across the South and the sudden rise in near record setting temperatures, has caused a eruption of brilliant colors as flowers and trees begin to come to life. Gone are the dreary days of winter, daylight savings time has kicked in and it's time to dust off the camera and get out to capture the beauty that nature sprouts during this time of year.

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be visiting several of the South's most favorite and unique floral and botanical gardens, sharing those visits with you as we explore how best to capture the images nature provides. So let's get started. Make sure you've got your tripod, off camera flash and if you've got allergies, your favorite med.

Our first stop is Jasmine Hill Garden and Outdoor Museum, just south of Wetumpka, Alabama about a mile off highway 231, brings a little bit of Greece to the South. The main pathway is awash in pink and purple azaleas and Dogwood trees. As you meander throughout the garden, you'll come across various statues of Greek goddesses, wrestlers and urns covered with ivy.

The middle of this unique garden opens up to pavilion, complete with pillars of concrete and should you get a little tired while perusing the area you'll find plenty of benches to rest your feet or better yet take a moment to celebrate as Barbara and Polly were doing.

Now let's talk a little about photographing in the various conditions that will occur. Trees and shrubs will cast shadows where you not might want them to appear. You can counteract these shadows by using a flash. Use off camera flash when you can, as the pop up flash can and will cause hots spots. The add-on flash will give you the ability to bounce or redirect the light providing better results.

Everyone loves close-ups of flowers. You'll need to get up close and personal to get these shots. A tripod is a necessity here and I like to use a remote control trigger, that way you can reduce camera vibration, creating a sharper image. As you compose the shot, remember your DOF, do your want a blurring effect or do you want everything in focus.

As always, the rule of thirds is important, what are you trying to draw the eye to? Everything does not have to be centered, in fact some of the most interesting images are a little off kilter.

For more images of Jasmine Hill Garden and Outdoor Museum>

Have fun, watch out for ever lurking bumble bee, and happy photography.

The Smoky Mountain Pilgrimage

The definition of a pilgrimage according to Encarta is “a journey to a place with special significance”. Well if there were ever such an event this time of year, it would be the annual trek to the Smoky Mountains that tens of thousands of people make to view the autumn foliage spectacular that occurs every fall in the Tennessee and North Carolina Mountains.

When the conditions have been right, the trees begin evolve into a crescendo of brilliant reds, bright orange and golden yellow reaching their peak in mid-October. The caravans of cars, motorhomes and motorcycles begin the winding drive up the Great Smoky Mountain Parkway towards Gatlinburg from the south or to Cherokee coming from the North. Nearly every spot where a vehicle can pull off fills with folks wanting to capture the moment. During prime time, it can take hours to drive this 40 some odd mile parkway and should any wildlife appear, all bets are off and the traffic comes to a complete stop.

Clingmans Dome (6,643 ft.), Tennessee’s highest point, can provide spectacular views at sunrise and sunset and on clear days the view can cover over a 100 miles.

Be sure to save some time to take to the loop drive at Cades Cove or take one of the numerous hikes along the parkway. You’ll find some very interesting and beautiful views.

 



Not to outdone, the Blue Ridge Parkway also gets more than its fair share of onlookers. Its winding road, meanders for 469 miles from North Carolina to the Virginia’s.

So take your time and enjoy the ride. This years event has come and gone, start planning next years visit to the Smoky Mountain area to take in the fall foliage

For more images from this years Autumn spectacular

Murray 

 

August Special on Photography Products

Man is it hot, almost too hot!!

So, I thought since it's so hot, I'd offer a month long special - a 10% discount on image products with the exception of our limited edition prints.

Simply enter the coupon code "Aug2011" at checkout and you'll recieve a 10% discount on image downloads and other photographic products for the entire month.

STAY COOL!

Click here to view our image galleries

 

 

 

It's in the Lighting - Road Trip Day Two

It's in the Lighting - Day Two Road Trip

Well, day two started as day one ended, raining. Though it messed the start of my day, the bright side is the area needs rain badly, so I'll suffer through a little inconvenience. My plans had been to be in Vicksburg, hoping to catch the sun as it rose over the Mississippi River bridge, get some shots in the historic area and to just roam around little for potential other subject matter. Not to be, the morning is shot, might as well head for my next destination, Canton Texas. Maybe I can catch something of interest as the sun as it sets in the west.

This brings up another topic. I've been asked on a many of occasions, why not just shoot all day long, what's so important about getting up at sunrise or waiting until the sun sets. Simply put, its all about the lighting the sun creates during two times of the day - the first couple of hours at sunrise and the last hour or so at sunset. Most of us call this the "Golden Hours", when the shadows begin to dance, the colors begin to change and "The Shot" in landscape and nature photography normally occurs. Any other time of day the sunlight is just to harsh. Spend the rest of the day sightseeing or scoping out locations that might be of interest when to light gets right.

Canton Texas, home of Trade Days, with the typical small town square surrounded by locally owned restaurants and shops. And just outside town, rolling farm land with pastures filled with cattle, horses and barns.

It's getting late in the day, the sun is beginning to go down and then there it is, a half fallen tree with spindly limbs and behind it, the sun is a fireball of brilliant orange. I stop and quickly mount the camera to the tripod and wait. Just as the sun starts to hit the top of the distant tree line, I push the wireless shutter release.

Day 2 covers some 450 miles and a handful of shots. Think I'm going to take it easy on Wednesday morning and wait for the afternoon sun again.

Day One - Road Trip

Road trip - Day 1

Well, day one came to a un-eventful close. Monday started at around 5:30AM, slamming down breakfast then hitting the road for Vicksburg. Decided to take U.S. Highway 80 westward, then hitting the I59/I20 interstate at the Alabama/Mississippi state line to make up some time.

I always try to travel some of the rural routes during a road trip, the people and locations can almost always provide you with some interest subject matter. Like visiting the first site of first state capital of Alabama along the Cahaba River, west of Selma or the Red Church located near Demopolis. Then just west of Demopolis, the rains came, fortunately, the clouds parted and sun began to shine - but that was only for a short while.

While driving across the Magnolia State, off in the distance you can see the storms building, a sudden change of plans is in my not so distant future.

Arriving in Vicksburg, pretty much on schedule, rain on the horizon, I head down to the historic area in hopes of capturing a few images. Well, greater plans of mice and men have been changed by Mother Nature. In her wisdom, there would no photography down this afternoon.

It's Tuesday morning, and you guessed it, rain. Oh well, can't let that get you down, on to my next stop on this road trip.

On day one, we covered 375 miles and didn't get a chance to take a single photograph.

Time to Pack -a Week on the Road

Well, it's time to stop procrastinating and get packed for week. First what's to take in the camera bag. Here's the list of equipment that I normally carry along on most road trips.

2 Nikon D300 camera bodies.
3 lenses a Nikon 60mm F1:2.8, Sigma 28mm F1.8 in the bag and a Nikon VR80-400mm packed in it's carrying case, just on the premise that I'm going to need to get up close and personal with something along the way.
A 1.5 multiplier
8 Memory modules varying in size from 2GB to 8GB.
4 Nikon Batteries.
Various filters for the each lens.
Cleaning kit.
Battery charger.
A wireless shutter release.
And a few other little odds and ends.

There's a Manfrotto lightweight tripod along with a monopod with interchangeable heads packed in the back of my 2 1/2 year old H3 with 112,000 miles. Along with a DC to AC inverter. A small tent in case I want decide to rough it a little, a pair of binoculars along so I can scope out the area and of course cooler full of water and snacks to carry me over from each destination.

Normally, I would be carrying along a laptop for file transfers, but since this a self assignment, there's no urgent need to send the images to a client so that's one less item to lug around. I do carry, what has quickly become one of favorites items, a IPAD.

The IPAD allows me do a quick review of the images and is loaded down with applications that allow me to hook up to my system back at home base, transfer images up into the Cloud for backup and my favorite, a mobile property and model release application. I no longer have the need to carry paper pocket releases and folks seems to think it's cool to sign their names on the IPAD.

It's been rather hot and humid down here in the south, so I'll be packing plenty of comfortable cool clothes, a couple of hats, hiking boots and hiking tennis shoes. Rain gear is always a must, especially since I do, on occasion like to chase a few storms.

So there you have it, we're packed up and ready to head out. This road trip will cover some 1600 miles, with several planned stops along the way, not including any unexpected side trips.

Elmore and Tallapoosa Tornado Damage

The tornado outbreak that hit Alabama on April 27^th will go down in history as the most deadly and destructive day that most have seen or will see in their lifetime. Although the tornadoes that hit Elmore and Tallapoosa counties did not cause the massive loss of life and near complete annihilation of neighborhoods and communities, ten people lost their lives and much destruction did occur.

The tornado that hit the area began to wrap up near the Wetumpka, Alabama airport and by the time it touched down just north of the Santuck area, it was already creating a debris ball on radar.

 
The destruction began at a local garden center and trapped members of the Sides family as their mobile home was destroyed.

 
It then traveled into the Eclectic area, slammed into a mobile home community where several people unfortunately lost their lives. It wasn't finished yet; the path took it towards the Lake Martin area where numerous homes and businesses were destroyed. The smell of pine sap filled the air after the storm snapped and twisted pine trees at the Maxwell/Gunter campground.

 
When it touched down just south of Dadeville, Alabama the homes of the Cain's was severely damaged, while his neighbor's home was completely flattened. B.J. Harper just stared at his project car "This is the worse day of my life, my grandfather's home is destroyed, my project car has been demolished and I can't find my dog!" as the emotions began flow.

 
Patricia Harper's home had the roof lifted off the frame as sixteen people crammed into their home to ride out the storm. Ms. Harper stated that the she covered her 72 year old bedridden father with her body and prayed.

At one time during the evening nearly every major road in the area was impassable due to the fallen trees and power lines that covered the roads.

 Elmore Tallapoosa Tornado Images

Tornado Damage Boone's Chapel Alabama

 

As the sun rose, the devastation became apparent in the small community of Boone’s Chapel in central Alabama. Friday evening at around 11:30pm an estimated EF3 tornado, according to the director of the Alabama National Weather Service, slammed into this small rural community.

The Boone’s Chapel Baptist Church was ripped apart as winds in excess of 140mph, destroying the sanctuary, yet amazing leaving many of the church’s pews in place. Church members gathered together on this bright sunny Saturday morning to begin the cleanup and to gather in prayer for those spared by the storm.

Many stated that they had gone to bed prior to the storms arrival, as an earlier tornado warning for the same area had expired. Joy Simpson a church member stated “We thought the worse was over”,  a few minutes later the tornado touched down.

Two mobile homes in the community were completely destroyed, leading to the death of three members of the Hollon family, father Willard Hollon and his two children. The Hollon’s mobile home had been lifted from its foundation, the twisted metal frame from the body of the mobile home was found near the parking area of church.

Governor Robert Bentley arrived at 12:15pm to inspect and speak to the members of the community stating that he had instructed the EMA office to do whatever it took to assist in their cleanup efforts.

The total loss of life due to the severe weather outbreak on Friday evening led the death of seven individuals.

For more images from Boone's Chapel

Stock Artist Alliance Shuts Down

Such a shame that a voice for the photographers working in the business of providing stock images is closing.Sadly as a former member, the differenting opinions and the dramatic change in the business over the years has finally taken it's toll. The SAA attempted to be a voice to address the concerns faced by those of us who attempt to make a living providing stock images.

 

From the Bristish Journal of Photography:

In an open letter to the photographic community, five of  Stock Artist Alliance's former directors state that "the last few years have seen dramatic and wrenching changes in the stock photography industry. Photographers' and agencies' traditional business models are under tremendous competitive pressures."

To read the complete article:

 

Savannah's St. Patrick's Day Parade

There’s nothing else like it in the South. Early in the morning the crowds begin to gather to claim their strategic spot. Throughout the area many businesses close for short while as people wearing out outrageous outfits take over. No, it’s not Mardi Gras in New Orleans – It’s St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah Georgia. Where else would a young woman smile from ear to ear wearing a bright green mustache or anyone wearing green wig be considered the height of fashion?

For 187 years people have gathered along the streets and squares to celebrate, partake of green beer and other adult beverages and watch as members of fire departments, police departments, bagpipe playing bands from throughout the country - and of course, the pride of the United States, members of our Arm Forces.  As they pass, women and children run to catch a member to give them a hug or kiss on the cheek or to place a string of beads around their neck.

 
That’s how it goes for hours as the crowds scream, wave and dance to the music. But all good things come to an end, the last float passages by or the last marching band beats a drum - off in the distance you can hear the wail of the bagpipes.

Slowly as the stream of people clear out along Bay Street or line up to catch the ferry back across the river, the city of Savannah starts to get back to normal.  By 10:00 PM the streets are nearly clean, most of the bleachers and tents are down and had you not known that just hours before a mass celebration had just occurred, it’s business as normal – or is it?

You’ll have to plan a trip down to Savannah for the 188^th version of St. Patty’s Day celebration to discover what else occurs. After all I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise.

2011 St. Patrick's Day Savannah Georgia - Images by Murray Edwards