" A Late Night Walk "

This is an image I shot last night at the Marietta Cemetary. It is an old, old cemetary in downtown Marietta. It sits adjacent to the Confederate Memorial Cemetary. I was walking through and shooting some long hand held exposures when I saw the cracks in the old road. They really looked spooky along with the headstones. I shot 3 or 4 images and this was the best. They were shot by streetlight, hence the orangy light. I stayed for about an hour and shot some really cool images. I will post some more this week. Hope you enjoy!!

" Winter Dreams "

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and hope you have a great New Year. Here is a little hope for the future, especially with the bleak cold weather we are having in the good old USA. Maybe this will give everyone something to look forward too. I shot this in 2007 and boy was the weathwer nice this summer day. Hope we get lots like it in 2009. Hope you enjoy and think positive!!

" Merry Christmas "

" MERRY CHRISTMAS " to all and hope everyone has a great and loving holiday season. I will be back on Friday the 26th, hope to see everyone then.

" Despair "

This image was shot after a reception at the Cobb/Marietta Museum of Art. I met with some members of the Paulding Photography Club to shoot some night shots around the square in Marietta, GA. The image was taken by street light at a church off the square. The shot was set up to show someone in despair and worked quite well.

The image was shot at with my Canon 5D, Canon 24-70mm 2.8 at 38mm, 2 sec. at f9.5, ISO 400. The subject had to be very still, I shot about three exposures and this was the best. I used Lightroom for some exposure tweaks, no white balance changes were made. Hope you enjoy!!

" The Oldest Cemetary In Brunswick, GA "

These images were made on one of my many trips to the coast of Georgia. This was the first cemetary in Brunswick and has some plots from the 1700's. I just loved the old live oaks covered with moss. There were quite a few confederate graves and most had flags from Memorial Day. The light on this one was really spectacular. The wind allowed for the motion to show on the moss.

The other image was from the grave of Eula Brown, wife of Harry F. Dunwoody. Born in 1862 and died in 1890, only 28 years old. The headstone was very unique and I shot quite a few images, this was the best. The city of Brunswick still maintains the cemetary today. Hope you enjoy!!

" Helena, GA Courthouse "

A beautiful early morning shot of the Helena, GA courthouse. It has been abandoned for quite some time, but was a great shot just after sunrise. Helena is located on the Golden Isles Parkway outside Macon, GA on my way to Brunswick, GA. It is a very small town, very interesting with lots of old shops and buildings. Stop by if you get a chance, the photo ops are well worth the stop. Hope you enjoy.

" Hiram Christmas "

"Merry Christmas from Hiram, GA. This image is my Christmas card for 2008. It was taken last year at the lighting of the Hiram Christmas tree. I spent most of the night photographing the lights and the people. I was there for about an hour and a half and saw about 10 trains come by. Hiram has a switch track for trains to pull over and let others pass. I was about to leave when this idea crossed my mind with the train going by and the tree in the back. This shot has won a couple of competitions with a Christmas theme. Hope you enjoyed!!

" Country Christmas "

Just a little Christmas spirit for all. This is a scene I have seen for quite a few years and just never stopped to shoot. It is an old country barn near my daughter's home, they have decorated it for years. I thought it was very unique since they don't decorate their home. In case anyone in the Dallas, GA area would like to see it, it is off Hwy. 120 on R. C. Thompson Road. Hope you enjoy.

" Cave Springs School "

This is a shot I took back in February of 2008, I shot an HDR group and waited until recently to process the images. This is an old abandoned school in Cave Springs, GA. I have a lot of images from the morning I was there, this being the only HDR.

This is the last of the HDR week images for a while, but they will be back. I hope everyone enjoyed the images for this week and I hope you all give Photomatix Pro 3.1 a try. It is an amazing program and relatively easy to learn. I still have a ways to go, myself.

Their website, where you can get a free trial version is www.hdrsoft.com .

" The Piano "

The last image from the abandoned home outside McRae, GA. This shot is my favorite of all the images I shot while inside the house. I have a thing for pianos in old homes. They are hard to find and are always really cool. I have some images from an old home in Dallas, GA where I live that I will post next week.

I am very new to HDR images, but am enjoying it more every day. You really need to try Photomatix Pro 3.1, it is an amazing tool. Hope you enjoy!!

" Another Image From the McRae House "

Here is another image from inside the McRae house. This image is an HDR produced in Photomatix Pro also. I will be posting another on tomorrow from the same home. I really enjoy finding these old vacant homes, especially when they still have lots of stuff inside.

I have saved the best for last tomorrow, so enjoy. Everyone who is interested in HDR should go and get the free trial of Photomatix Pro 3.1 and try it before you buy it.

" Outside McRae, GA "

Another early HDR from my trip to Brunswick, GA on November 24, 2008. This was an old homeplace I spotted from the windmill and water tower in back. After photographing the exterior I decided to see what was inside. The photos today thru Thursday will all be from the interior.

This image was made from a set of 5 raw files taken from normal to -1,-2,+1,+2. They were then imported into Photomatix 3.1 Pro and then tonemapped with details enhancer. They were then opened in Photoshop CS3 and tweaked further until the resulting image. Pretty good for a beginner at this, I thought. Hope you enjoy.

" HDR Week "

This is my very first attempt at producing a High Dynamic Range photo. As you can see I chose a very safe image taken this fall at Sweetwater Creek state park in Metro Atlanta. It was a good candidate being that it was later in the morning and the best light had already passed. The area above the fall had little detail and the foreground was somewhat blown. All in all I thought it went very well for my first attempt.

I used Photomatix Pro 3.1, which is a great program to use and relatively simple to start with. It is still not simple and requires some practice. There are many coupons available for this product. NAPP is the one I used, which gives members 20% off, to bring the cost down to around $79. This is a steal for the work this program will do.

I will be posting some more HDR's the rest of this week. Hope you enjoy.

" Holiday Show at Gallery 4463 "

The Holiday Show will open tonight at 6PM at Gallery 4463 located at 4463 Cherokee Street, Acworth, GA. This show has work from over 30 local artists in a variety of mediums. Please come out and support the local artists and enjoy some great food, wine and fellowship with us.

"Sold"

What a great feeling it is to sell an image. This image was sold at my show in Brunswick, GA. It was actually shot in the upstairs portion of the Ritz Theatre where the show was held. They had begun renovations, but hadn't got to this area yet. It was one of those right place at the right time photos and only lasted about 3 minutes. Always be ready!!

" Some Locals From Brunswick, GA"

Here are a couple of images of local people from my trip to Brunswick, GA in October. The first image was an accident sort of, I stopped and parked to photograph a front porch with a hammock. When I got out I saw the girl playing on her Mom's front porch amongst the laundry hung out to dry. I thought, what a cool shot, I didn't even notice the play pistol in her hand when I shot the image, but what an addition to the image.

The second image was a group of folks sitting under some trees in their front yard plating Spades. I drove by once to scope it out, then went around the block and came back to ask if I could photograph them playing. As usual they were happy to let me. This is the only shot out of about 30 that I wanted to use. I love this shot as it seems to show all about the game.

"Clouds in the Canyon"

A couple of shots from Cloudland Canyon in N. W. Georgia. It is the most visited State Park in Georgia. These were taken before the start of our workshop on November 8, 2008. We managed to hit the fall color right on the nose. We had a great time and met a lot of wonderful people.

We spent some time here at the rim and then hiked down to both falls. It was absolutely gorgeous. We are planning another workshop in the fall of 2009, the details will be coming soon.

" A Unique Person I Met"

I was on my way to Brunswick, GA last Tuesday to get my photography exhibit and just outside McRae, GA I saw these sculptures. I noticed the location and decided I would stop on my way back. When I pulled up, no one was home. I eventually talked to the grandson and his grandfather was out getting breakfast. I was afraid I would not be able to wait. I started photographing his works and soon after he came home.

Charley has been working with metal for years and had some amazing work, most of which were motorized. His fisherman and fish was an inspiration after his grandson caught a huge fish. The horse he made to attach to the old kerosene wagon he had. Charley was an amazing personality to meet. He has recently been forced to retire at age 85 because of a pacemaker. Which won't do well with the electric welder.

If you are ever on the Golden Isles Highway, please stop by and see Charley Grimsley.

Look for the big fish and the fisherman.