Ogle Cabin View

Here's an example where HDR photography really allows you to capture the highlights and shadows of your scene.  This was taken inside an old cabin in the Smokies looking out a window towards another cabin.  If this was taken with one exposure you would only be able to properly expose for either the bright outside or the darker inside the cabin, but not both.

Tis the Season!

Living in SoCal I haven't really had much opportunity to make photographs of the classic winter Christmas scenes.  You know, the ones that have a couple riding in a sleigh, being pulled by a horse all decorated for the season, going down a snow covered road, heading towards a small country town with the white steepled church.  So I thought for today's blog photo I would keep it simple by just going for the colors of Christmas.  Technically, this is not a great shot.  There's no clear subject and the composition is blah, but I liked the patterns of color.  So accept it as my lame approach to capture a little bit of the Christmas spirit via the colors red and green.  I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and have the opportunity to be with the ones who are the most important to you.

A Solitary Tree

Saw this scene on a foggy morning in the Smokies.  I had stopped along the road to observe three wild turkeys strolling by and when I looked to my left this solitary tree called out to me to take its portrait.  This is such a typical scene found in the Smokies as there are quite a few solitary trees located in the valleys there.

Sparks Lane, Smokey Mountain National Park

This is one of my favorite spots in the Smokies.  It is a small lane off of the main loop road that goes through Cades Cove.  This was taken at sunrise on our first morning in the park.  In the pastures on both sides of the lane you will often see wildlife foraging for food.  On different occasions I have seen wild turkey, deer, woodpeckers and the occasional bear.  The views are spectacular in every direction.

More Fall Color From Tennessee

Here are a few more photos that were taken in the Smokies.  The above photo was taken in Cades Cove where the color was just starting to change when we were there.  The size of the tree next to the old house really caught my attention here.

This next photo is of an old grist mill that we found on the way to North Carolina.  There were a lot of people wandering about so I had to be patient in order to find the opportunity to make the picture without any humans in it.

Here's a shot of part of the road through Cades Cove.  It was early and a little misty this morning so there weren't a lot of cars on the road.  Nevertheless, it took me about 5 minutes to finally be able to set up and capture this image between having to move out of the way of many cars that were driving through.

This last shot was taken in the Greenbriar area of Smokey Mountain N.P.  I liked the large rock with the leaves on it in the foreground and then the river leading your eye to the trees in the background.  It really captured the Fall season for me.  What do you think?

I've still got more pictures from Tennessee to come.  I'm processing them little by little.  Thanks for visiting and comments are welcome.  Until next time...

Fall Color and our week in Tennessee

My wife Vicky and I just returned from spending a week in Tennessee visiting our daughter Sandy.  We had a great time exploring Nashville and the Smokey Mountain National Park.  There was some beautiful Fall Color to see in the Smokies, particularly at the higher elevations and over on the North Carolina side.  I've included a couple of photos (above) that show off some of the fall leaf color we saw.

The Biltmore Estate

In addition to the Smokies, we visited the Biltmore Estate (photo above) in Asheville, we saw a beautiful glass art exhibit by Chihuly at the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens outside of Nashville and we spent an evening of wine tasting and music at a winery owned by Kik Brooks of Brooks & Dunn fame.  All in all it was a relaxing week of getting to visit our daughter and having some beautiful photographic opportunities. 

Chihuly Glass Art

Nashville and Fall Color

My wife and I are getting ready to travel to Nashville to visit our daughter this coming weekend.  We have been looking forward to this trip for some time now.  Tennessee is a beautiful state with plenty of opportunities for some good landscape photography.  Not to mention the fact that Nashville is a fun city to visit.  I am also really looking forward to a 4 day side trip over to the Smokey Mountains.  It looks like we might be a tad early for peak Fall color, but we'll make the most of it.  It's always a gorgeous area for photography.  I am hopeful to get a few good shots that I can post right here.

As you probably know the top picture is of downtown Nashville.  It was taken about 20 minutes after sundown using a long exposure (about 10 seconds).  That makes the water in the river look smooth and silky.  The other photo is of a river in the Smokey Mountains in the springtime.  As you can probably tell, it also was taken using a longer exposure to make the water look smoother.  I am hopeful that I can get some photos like this but with some Fall color in them.  We'll see. As always, I encourage you to post any comments you may have.  Thanks.