" 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.