A New Web Site

For past few weeks I've been in the process of setting up a new web site to display my images. Several factors were considered before I decided to make the move, but one of the primary reasons is because I receive several requests for prints of my images and the new web site will allow me to sell my images directly from my web site. Once an order is placed the prints are printed at a professional lab and shipped directly to the buyer. The new site also provides me several more options as I administer the site. There are additional viewing, sharing and commenting features for the viewer as well. In fact, there are so many options for this web site that it can be a little overwhelming. I'm still trying to navigate through and learn them all myself.

The new addresss is http://www.shawnjenningsphoto.com/.

Our State October Issue

If you happen to pick up the current issue of North Carolina's Our State magazine, take a look at the fall mountain images on pages 98, 99 & 102/103. They are using three of my images this month for their photo essay. If you don't have access to the magazine, they can also be seen at my web site: http://www.shawnjenningsphoto.com/Travel/Blue-Ridge-Parkway/18665779_PDv8Dj#1487816976_STcqXMV

Tim & Julie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have some friends that are celebrating 10 years of marriage this summer. (Again, where does the time go?) Tim had an evening full of surprises planned for Julie which began with a limo ride to the church they were married in and a photo session to celebrate their anniversary. Trying not to hold them up too long, I quickly took several pictures of them and then they were on their way to celebrate. Below are a few of the images, but more can be seen at my web site http://www.shawnjenningsphoto.com/.

Randall & Karen

It's been awhile (where does the time go?) since I said I'd post some images from Randall and Karen's wedding, but here they are. Randall and Karen had an intimate wedding with family and friends this summer and Karen was kind enough to ask if I would take some pictures. Here are some from the wedding that I thought turned out well. A few more can be found here at my web site http://www.shawnjenningsphoto.com/.

Image of the Week

It's been a little while since I've created an entry here. I haven't photographed as much nature as I'd like these past few months, but I have been putting my camera to use. Since my last post I've assisted a friend with a couple weddings and photographed a wedding myself in addition to some portrait photography. All have been enjoyable experiences, but processing the hundreds of images afterward is a time consuming process. I plan to post a couple blog entries of some of the images soon, but until then here's an image from one of the weddings.

This is Karen, a friend from work, whose wedding I photographed this summer.

Image of the Week

Moss covered rocks, cool, clear mountain water, fresh air and the sounds of nature. Spring time in the Smoky Mountains is a great place to be.

This image was taken at Roaring Fork. F/16, for 5 seconds.

Image of the Week

Each year the various types of birds in our area build nests in the trees around my home. We always have Robins in our area, so I can usually count on at least one nest by them. This year they built a nest low enough in one of the trees that I could climb up and take a picture of the eggs. So, when I saw that the momma bird was away I climbed up to take a peak. She had four blue robin eggs in the nest. She returned before I could get a good picture, so I decided not to upset her anymore than she already was and climbed out of the tree. I tried to get a decent picture again the next day and found that there were only three eggs in the nest. I don't know what happened to the fourth and couldn't find it anywhere in the area. I snapped a few quick pictures and climbed out of the tree, so not to upset Mrs. Robin too much again. Of all the years that birds have built nests around my house this is the first time that I actually photographed them.

Image of the Week

They say April showers bring May flowers. Well, we've certainly had several showers this April, so the flowers are coming along nicely. But we don't always have to wait for May when we can make a trip to the local home and garden center, like I did for these African Daisies. When I photographed these flowers I wanted only the flower in the center to be in focus with the rest of them blurred or out of focus. To do this I selected a larger aperture (f/4) for a narrow depth of field, moved in close and focused the lens on the one flower I wanted to be in focus. To add some additional color to the image I made sure to include some green grass in the background. The result is a springtime floral image.

Image of the Week

Water - another of my favorite subjects to photograph. Be it water in a lake, river, creek, waterfall or just about anywhere else, I like to photograph water. Something about it can bring life to an image.

For this type of image I always use a tripod, a slow shutter speed and a circular polarizer filter. The tripod keeps the camera steady since I'm using a long shutter speed. The long shutter speed gives the water the soft "veiled" look; and the polarizer filter allows me to eliminate any reflections coming off the water that I don't want in the image. And one more thing - water images I take like this are taken on an overcast day or in a shaded area. Those lighting conditions provide a soft even light on the water which allows me to get a correct exposure for these results. This image was taken near Grotto Falls in the Smoky Mountains.

Image of the Week

In celebration of the Resurrection this week....

The Legend of the Dogwood

In Jesus' time, the dogwood grew,
To a stately size and a lovely hue.

'Twas strong and firm, it's branches interwoven.
For the cross of Christ, its timbers were chosen.

Seeing the distress at the use of this wood,
Christ made a promise which still holds good.

Never again shall the dogwood grow,
To be a large tree, to be used as so.

Slender and twisted, it shall always be,
With cross shaped blossoms for all who will see.

The petals shall have bloodstains, marked in brown,
And in the blossom's center, a thorny crown.

All who see it will remember Me.
Nailed to the cross from the dogwood tree.

Protected and cherished this tree shall be,
A reminder to all of My agony.

Image of the Week

A familiar scene for anyone who's visited Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains - Spark's Lane. I've visited this spot and taken many pictures over the years, yet each time I visit it's one of those places that I just have to photograph again with each visit. This image was taken this month, early spring, just after sunrise.

Image of the Week

I made a trip up to the Great Smoky Mountains last weekend and found winter still holding on at the higher elevations of the park. A storm had just passed through leaving behind what looks like snow capped mountains, but is actually a coating of hoar frost that commonly forms on the mountain tops here during the winter months. It's really beautiful and has a different look to it than snow. This image was taken at Clingman's Dome, the highest peak in the Smoky Mountains and the second highest peak east of the Mississippi, at an elevation of 6643 feet and runs along the North Carolina/Tennessee state line. The bare trees are Hemlocks that have been infested with the woolley adele insect that has eaten away at the trees leaving behind a graveyard of trees.

Image of the Week

Dogwoods are blooming everywhere here. A sure sign of spring even though the temperatures have turned frigid again. Most dogwoods have white flowers, but here and there the pink blooms can be found. This pink dogwood was found at Memorial Gardens in Concord. You ever heard the legend of the dogwood tree?

Image of the Week

We have a new building that was added to the Charlotte skyline last year, so I wanted to get an updated image to include the new building. I got up early to drive downtown to begin taking images before sunrise. Facing west, I was able to capture the early light in the sky behind me as it reflected of the buildings with an azure sky in the background.

Image of the Week

Often this time of year, in anticipation of spring, I will buy flowers from the grocery store and take pictures of them in my kitchen. I usually just play around with my macro lens and various camera settings to see what I come up with. My love of photographing flowers began several years ago when I wanted to learn how the different camera settings effected the image. I would practice photography by photographing flowers at home. Since then some of my favorite subjects to photograph are flowers. This particular image is a close-up (macro) of a tulip.

Image of the Week

Looks like Punxsutawney Phil was right with his weather forecast this year. We have an early spring here in the South with early blooming trees and flowers already in full bloom. Right now, I have two Bradford Pear trees in my yard that are full of beautiful little white flowers. These little flowers are usually the first images of spring that I make each year. Beauty can be deceiving though - these little flowers are beautiful, but they give off a horrible scent. It's funny to see someone not familiar with the tree look around and wonder what that smell is.

Image of the Week

Spring has sprung here in the south, but I have several images I've taken during the snow storms we had this way and I wanted to get one in before moving on into spring. It's hard to believe we had several inches of snow on the ground just a few weeks ago when this shot was taken. The snow was coming down outside, so I had my camera set up near my kitchen window photographing the birds visiting the bird feeders outside. I have a few branches set up around the feeders for the birds to land on as they wait their turn at the feeder, and so I can take pictures of them in a natural setting without seeing the bird feeders just a few inches away. This is a Dark Eyed Junco, a very simple, but I think, pretty bird. We've had several of them visit this winter.

Image of the Week

I'm going to try something new.... for me....

I'm terrible at keeping this blog and my Facebook photography page updated because there just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done, and writing up something for these sites always gets pushed off to the side. I've seen some other photographers post an "Image of the Week", and I like that idea, so I'm going to try to do something like that. The goal will be to work on a recent image and maybe post a little something about it, without making it a long and drawn out article - though that may happen from time to time. :) I work better with a routine, so hopefully this will help me get in the habit of posting something here.

Never know until I try, right?

365 Black & White Slideshow

I created a slideshow of some of my favorite images I made for the 365 Days of Black & White Photography project that I just finished up. I'm glad to have a break from it, but I'm kinda missing it as well. I hope you enjoy!