January 2000

Normally when you are shooting a scene with a foreground object, you want the nearest point of the foreground object to be in sharpest focus.  This time I was trying to find the hyperfocal depth-of-field distance such that the Clark Tower in the background would be in fairly good focus.  I backed up and used a 200mm telephoto lens.  The result was that the most distant berries are in best focus but I like the effect because the eye is lead into the maze of berries to the focused ones and then finds the building nested there among the focused berries.

To get the exposure right for both the foreground and for the background on this shot, I should have used a neutral density graduated filter, but I did not have it with me.  I bracketed the shot by taking two pictures: one exposed for the leaves in the foreground and the other exposed for the sky and sunset.  Since the camera was firmly mounted on a tripod, the objects in the shots lined up perfectly.  I used Photoshop to blend the top half of one shot with the bottom half of the other shot and this is the result.  I think this technique is better than using the graduated filter.

The shape of this tree is pleasing to the eye.  I noticed how the branches and general shape flows from top left to lower right.  The main branch has an S curve to it.

This was the only thing I could find that made what I would call a landscape photograph on this day.  Everything else was just snapshots.

The different heights of the clouds make for very different highlights.  

If you look closely, you can see a plane in the very top of this picture.

I like the elements in this picture.  The grass, the diminishing bank posts, and the curve of the bank into the distance.  All of these add up to give this photo a lot of depth leading you on a walk around the lake. I sat on the ground to get this perspective. 

This was taken on cold, early morning shooting session.  You can see the thin layer of ice at the lake's edge.

I kept thinking how cold the horses hooves would get as they were walking through the water and breaking the ice.

The ice crystals formed on everything around the perimeter of the lake on this freezing morning.  So delicate and beautiful.  I believe it is called "hoarfrost."

This is just a twig, but the Ice crystals look like some sort of white needles growing from the twig.  I wish I understood how this ice formation occurs. Perhaps the tiny dew drops become the seed for the crystal and as the moisture keeps collecting and freezing into these crystalline formations.  How can they get so long and narrow?  These are nearly 1/2 inch long.

Mundane things become interesting in the right light and weather.  This is a barbecue grill grate with frozen ice particles in the early morning light.

I like the long shadows and the contrast between shadow and highlight. 

This scene reminds me of an early morning golf course.

I keep coming back to this location to get this image.  The stillness of the water and the deep blue attracted me this time.

I have many different shots of this pier in different kinds of lighting and weather conditions.

David Coombs and I were in Gatlinburg and had taken a walk down one of the quiet walkways. It was very nice but we decided to get a little more adventurous and began to scramble up the side of a mountain off the trail.  We discovered that it was a lot easier to climb up than to go back down so we decided to keep moving up the ridge and came across the paved trail to Laurel Falls.  It was getting close to sunset so we hiked on to the falls and were rewarded with this view. (Coolpix 950)

It was getting close to sunset and since the light levels were fairly low in the forest, I was able to get a decent exposure using a 1/4 second shutter speed with my Nikon Coolpix 950.

This lonesome tree is a frequent subject of mine.  I liked the foreboding dark clouds with the hint of a pink sunrise and peeking blue sky giving the scene some hope.

Winter colors are drab but this lake scene has enough lines to make it pleasing to me.

The frost on top of this post, the soft early morning shadows and the geometry of the growth rings make for an interesting abstract.

I was sitting my car waiting for the girls to finish shopping when I began to examine the single rose my daughter had received on her birthday.  I took my Coolpix 950 out of the glove box and got this picture handheld.

Moe and Joe

Toby and I love to walk at Shelby Farms.