Last of the fog picks

Here is the last few of the fog pictures from the other morning. It was a good morning for me. I really liked the opportunity to get the minimalist shots. Apart from still life settings, you don't get a lot of opportunity to take them in natural layouts.

I hope you enjoyed them. I have been taking a lot of pictures this week, so I am quite a bit behind on editing. So, keep in touch and I will get caught up as soon as possible.

And the September winner is...

Jennifer! Congratulations! Just let me know which one you would like to have. Choices are here as a reminder.

For everone else, here are a few more from yesterday morning.

before the fog...

as the fog rolled in over the dam...

By this time, the fog completely obscured the background

Preview of things to come!

I am really excited about some of the pictures that I took this morning. We had a really heavy fog, so I went down by the water (where it would be thicker). You may remember these from an earlier series. I kind of like this spot.

Anyway, I have been looking for opportunities to explore the minimalist side of photography. This is kind of a first try for me. And like the title indicates, this is just a sampling...

Watching Traffic

A forum where I belong is running a contest involving light trails. I thought I would give it a crack. I had a few ideas that I am not able to make happen at this time, but the most basic and common version involves tail lights with long exposure times.

I did take another shot while I was out. This was a different take on the ghosting images I did earlier. Since I recently picked up a  remote shutter trigger, it allowed me to time my images better. End result is this:

I hope you are doing well. Don't forget about the September Giveaway. It is running through Wednesday. Once this one closes, one random member will be able to pick the picture of their choosing!

Have a good week. I will back later in the week to share more pictures and post the winner.

September Giveaway

My how the time has flown by. I just look up and discover that we have less than a week left in this month. My apologies to everyone out there who has been waiting with baited breath...

This month, I am doing a your choice of picture and mat (11 by 14 size). Here are the pictures:

print will be without watermark

print will be without watermark

print will be without watermark

print will be without watermark

In order to enter, just share this on FB or become a follower. Don't forget to tell me when you have shared it or signed up to follow. Had a few folks last time that entered and I couldn't figure out who they were. Contest will  run through Wednesday the 28th. Good luck to all. Looking forward to hearing from everyone.

One more set of sunset panos

Ok, guys. Here is the final batch of panos from the other night.  Let me know what you think.

So I like the ones above, BUT.... I really like these last two. The first one is the one that I was hoping for when I went down to the river. The other one is the picture that almost never was. If you remember the first post of this series, I saw that scene as I was on my way home, then had to fight my way back to get a shot in on time. Enough from me already, here they are...

River Sunset Panos

Here are some of the pictures I took the other night. I was able to process a few of the singles earlier. (You can find them here) I still have a few more to get through, but this is starter set for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

Don't forget to check out the free download for this month. I actually have it as my desktop background as well.  Check it out here. Now if that one doesn't suit your fancy, I have a few more, so dig in and find the one you like. Hope to have the others processed by this weekend, so keep an eye out for them. Hope you are having a great week. I will post more as I get them done.

Enjoying the end of the day by the river...

I had planned to go to bed early. I was really not wanting to go out. The clouds looked like it was going to rain. I am glad I listened to the voice that said "Go. I want you to see something". So I ended up packing an orange, a fruit-by-the-foot and a Max Lucado book into a bag with my camera and tripod. So the bike, the bag, and the bozo (just to stay with the b's) went downtown to Walnut street bridge.

It was a good time of reading and thinking. I probably look a little crazy down by the water's edge (isn't that a Seven Mary Three song?). I like it there though. Not necessarily the water, but just being in a quiet place without folks walking by and interrupting. In fact, my only companion was a beaver that decided to swim by my sitting place.

It was truly awesome to see the sky unfold it's colors. It would be completely grey one moment and then the next would send rays of violet and pink shooting across the canvas of clouds. Then the grey would come back only to be replaced with oranges and reds.

This last picture almost never happend. I had packed up and was riding back home when I saw this view. I had to flip a couple of U-turns, back track and sit through several stop-light cycles to get back to where I saw it. Just goes to show you that you never know where you will see something amazing. Hope you like it.

Sometimes the picture just doesn't work out...

I had a vision of the scene as I wanted it. It was beautiful. It was calming. It was a picture of structure and solidity among the movement and changing. It just didn't happen...

I tried so many different things. Lower angles, hand focusing, higher angles, less light, more light... It just didn't work. Nothing I could do could make it work. No changing, no fixing, no undoing, no doing... it just didn't happen.

It was supposed to be wonderful. But it didn't happen. You can talk about best laid plans. You can say it is not the destination, but the journey. You can talk about making the best of the bad. All those nice cliche' statements that are supposed to make everyone feel better. Except that they don't do the situation justice. Sometimes you just have to admit that it is bad and nothing you can do can change it. Sometimes bad is all you have.

Not a very pretty sentiment. If that is all there was to it, quitting would be the only sensible answer. If the awful truth is all there is, why continue? What is the point?

Some people never move past that stage in life. I can imagine that this is what makes them end up bitter and angry. Others never realize that the picture in front of them is bad. They pretend it is a priceless work of art, but it is all lies. Passers-by look on with morbid fascination at the fool gawking at the bad picture. Wonderment encapsulates their thoughts. "What can I be missing that this idiot sees?"


Other people move on. They accept the bad and choose not to stay there. You can call it rising above, moving on, overcoming, or whatever you want. It doesn't really matter what the phrasing is spelled like. You can stay with the bad or seek the good.

I don't want to end it here. It feels like another "fake it till you make it" exhortation. But that is not what I am trying to say. If it is not real, then faking it is just as bad as the idiot pretending the picture is a good picture. The good picture belongs to the people whose hope is not in the present, but in the transcendent. Life is not defined as a mere moment but summation of them. Do you have that hope? That is the true question. Not whether your life is bad, but do you have hope despite the bad?

September Download

This month, I picked the recent sunset image from the Chattanooga National Cemetery. I really like the fact that it is a monument to the people who have served to protect the nation. Also, since we are coming up on the anniversary of 9/11, I wanted it to serve as a reminder of the ones no longer with us. Please share this around. I hope you like it.