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.