October Winner!!!!

Tamara!!! You are the lucky one!!! You have won a matted picture of your choice. Just let me know which one you want.

And for everyone else, fear not! I have some pictures for your enjoyment as well.  This first one is a re-edit of the carousel picture from the night in the park. It is a wee bit darker with a fair amount more conrtrast. Take a look...

These last two were somewhat of a surprise to me. While they didn't turn out the way I had envisioned, I was fascinated by them anyway. The scene was a little girl twirling a glow-in-the-dark hula-hoop surrounded by other families and couples. Various bric-a-brac littered the foreground. I was hoping to get only the little girl in focal range, but that is not what I got. It still kind of works for me though...

Searching for my muse...

Spent some time at Coolidge Park with some friends the other night. Took my camera with me but really didn't feel like using it. I spent most of the night wishing something would grab my attention. I kind of think that I have maxed out the whole night time image, but I lack another topic to move to. So I took some more night time pictures...

And as usual... I took some weird shots. Here they are. I think they could be the background shots for a commercial or something like that. Maybe call them "Seeing the Right Things Clearly". Don't forget to check out the October Giveaway. I will pick the winner on Wednesday.

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.

Nightfall in Downtown Chattanooga

Through the summer, Chattanooga sponsors an open air, evening concert series called "Nightfall". I didn't go down for the music, but I happened by just after and decided to take some pictures. Similar to the pictures of the Terminal, I used long exposure to highlight structure and focal pieces while people swirl around them. Since motorcycles are the only ones allowed past the roadblock, they definitely factor in people conversations. What do you guys think of them?

Also had spent some time down by the Choo Choo. Most of you will recognize the name from the song even if you have never seen it in real life. 

I think this is my favorite of the night

The Terminal

Newer restaurant and bar in downtown Chattanooga. I loved the contrast of the lights and structures being motionless and sharp, while all the motions swirls past like water. You will probably see more of this type of picture in the future. As I improve, I realize more and more just how much I love the effect that only time and delay can bring to the photograph. You are never quite sure what it will turn out like. So many intricacies are only highlighted when viewed in composite with other movements around it. Anyway... enough from me. Hope you like them as much as I do.

Spending time downtown... again...

Revisited one my "old faithful" spots yesterday along with scouting some new locations. On the way back to the truck, I got this picture that I am super excited about. I just had to go ahead and share it. Hope you ike it. Don't forget about the August Giveaway. There is still a little over a day left to enter.

The last of the chiminea pics

These are the last of the pictures from the other night. Since they are also 30 second exposures, you can see how little or how much activity was really happening.You have the obvious static objects in stark clarity (house, chairs, tree, etc)  next to the blurry, animated objects (people, fire). Hope you like. If you haven't seen the first set, you can still check out them out here.

Can you say Chiminea?

Before meeting my friend, my answer would have been "Huh?" It is an outdoor fire bowl with a chimney pipe on the top of it. I have to say, I really like it.

The theme of these pictures were long exposures. They were all 30 seconds long. One of the effects is that motion is translated as lines or blurs. In this case, the sparks  become trails of light. I hope you like them.

May GiveAway!!!

Ok guys, this month I am going to be giving away a 8 by 10 standout of any one of my images. This is a 3/4 inch standout that is ready to hang without framing or matting. Rules are simple. Same rules as the last couple of times, in fact. You can become a follower to this blog. Another option is that you can "burn" a subscription via Feedburner. The final option is sharing this to your Facebook page.

Here are some of my favorites. You don't necessarily have to choose one of these, but thought I would share to give you some inspiration. Looking forward to seeing who wins and which one they choose.