Few more from the middle of the road...

I kind of liked the way these turned out the other day and I thought I would put a few more up today. Hope you like...

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.

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.

April Photo Give-away!

Alright people! It is that time again. Last month was a huge success, so I am hoping for a repeat this month. Go ahead and limber  up your fingers and get ready to do some typing! :-)

This month, you can choose any size up to an 8 by 12 of one of the following:

Downtown Chattanooga

Hunter Art Museum and Walnut Street Bridge

Spring Redbud Tree

It will be same rules as the last one. You can enter by sharing this link on Facebook, by becoming a follower, or by subscribing via Feedburner. Just like last time, when you do any of the above, email me (damoncorwine@gmail.com) or comment on this post so I can get your name in the drawing. This will run through April 23rd, so there is lots of time to get in on this. On the 24th, I will have my kids pick a random number and that person will be the winner.

I am pretty excited about these! Can't wait to see how it goes. So without further ado... Contest officially started!

Which do you like better? A or B?

A

B

Same picture, treated two different ways. Which one do you like better?

Don't forget the free download here. I have received good feedback so far about it, so I am thinking this will become a more regular occurrence. I have seen it down like I did it this last time. Another guy does it with a monthly Calendar in the corner. Not so attached to either, just kind of wondering if there are any preferences out there. Let me know.

Free Download!!!

Hey guys! This is another one of the images from last night. I wanted to put it out there as a FREE DOWNLOAD! That's right. Just right click on the file above for a free full resolution copy of the picture. Just my way of saying thanks for sticking around. Copy it, print it, share it. It is yours to do with as you will. Just let me ask you this... Who loves ya, baby?!?!?

Just a quick note on the technical. This is a standard 4 by 6 format, so it will print in a 4x6 or 8x12 without any cutting or cropping. If you want a 5 by 7 or 8 by 10, you will lose some of the edges. Should be ready to roll for a desktop background though... If you choose to get it printed, I recommend using a reputable printer. Most Walmart or Walgreen's do a fine job for snapshots, but colors get a little wonky on jobs like this...

And the winner for March is...

...Kelly! Congratulations! She has won her choice of panorama print from the following pictures.

Downtown Chattanooga

Hunter Art Museum

Walnut Street Bridge

This was by far a huge success. Thank you for all of you who participated. I am looking forward to doing it again. I have a few ideas to pursue along these lines, but I am curious to see what everyone else thinks.

Do you have any suggestions? Anything that you would llike to see? If so, leave me a comment or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks again!

Photo Give-Away!

Hey guys, I have seen this tried on other blogs, so I wanted to give it a try here. I am hoping that it will be a good way to interact with some of the people that have followed me from the beginning and maybe some new ones as well.

This will be a drawing. At the end of this week, I will have one of my kids pick a random number and that person will be the one who gets the picture. They will be able to choose from one of the following:

Downtown Chattanooga, 6" tall

Hunter Art Museum, 6" tall

Walnut Street Bridge, 6" tall

There will be three ways to enter the contest. One way will be to share this post to your Facebook or Twitter account. I have the option at the top right side of this post to share it using those buttons. Another way to enter will be to subscribe via the Feedburner link just below the FB and Twitter links. Feedburner is a service that will automatically send updates to your email account without spam or having to manually check for updates. The final way to enter will be to just become a "follower". That is toward the bottom right corner of the page. Just sign in using a google account and it will let you add this blog to any others you currently follow.

Of course, after you have done one of the above (or all three!) comment here, or shoot me an email (damoncorwine@gmail.com) so I know to put your name on the list. I am excited to see what comes of this. Looking forward to seeing what some of you guys have to say!

Revisiting some older shots...

Hey guys, just wanted to check in. I am preparing to  move this weekend so this will more than likely be my last post until sometime next week. No, I am not dropping off the radar... Just a few days to get stuff in boxes to another location and back out of boxes.

Anyway, with that being said, I wanted to visit a few of my other photos that I had taken and may not have shared (and definitely have not shared here).

This one was taken at sunset on the levy that runs through Chattanooga. I had been out walking for about 2 hours trying to get some bird pictures. At this point in the evening, my feet hurt and I just wanted to get back to my car. As I was walking along, I look over and see the sun filtered behind the trees and, being that my temperament is bent toward curiosity, I wonder how the camera would react to a full frontal sun shot in those conditions. Obviously, the camera performed superbly. I think the part that I like the most is that bird in the tree. I didn't know it was there at the time, but I think it adds quite a bit to the shot.

This is one of my first attempts at a panoramic image. It was stitched together from three different shots. This was also during the same time frame that I learned the Orton effect and also basic layering principles. Some of you may recognize the scenery. The bridge in front is the Walnut Street bridge. I have been told that it is the longest walking bridge in America. Please feel free to let me know if this is not the case.

This last shot is one of my later panoramic images. It was shot in the wee hours of the morning in downtown Chattanooga. This was a 30 second timed exposure with a narrow aperture. Three different takes were put together to form this one. One of the things that I like about this one is that you can still see all the colored lights reflected in the water. This was taken right after Christmas, so the city had not yet removed it's decorations from the landing in front of the aquarium. The bridge on the left is Market Street. The bridge on the right is Hwy 27. The angled roof directly in the center is the Chattanooga aquarium.

Hope you like these. I promise to check in soon after I get settled into my new place. But until then, Au revoir, Mon Ami!

The Guitar Man

Some of you may remember this picture from last year. It is one of my favorites. I spent about 4 hours with this guy last 4th of July. He had an amazing radio voice. I could just close my eyes and imagine riding down the road in the middle of the night listening to him talk. The tone and timber were incredibly soothing and relaxing.

I find that I have been thinking about him from time to time. I am kind of curious to see if he will be back in Chattanooga. I wonder how the winter weather treated him. I wonder if he decided that he had enough of being on the street. I doubt it though. He was a retired Marine Sergeant, so I can't imagine him being anywhere he didn't already want to be.

We had a good time together that afternoon. He sat on the bridge entertaining passers-by. He would sing a standard country tune, but always managed to work in details about someone who happened to be ignoring him. One lady had her whole wardrobe critiqued before she realized everyone was staring at her.

Last year, he asked if I would take a picture and send it to his mom. I naively said yes and then gave him a business card to get in touch with me. I am still kicking myself for that. Why didn't I just take the picture then and there? Maybe it is still some of my naivete, but I would like to be able to rectify that some day. Until then, I guess I just need to be more conscious of the moment.

Some call it Carpe Diem. Some call it living in the moment. I don't know if those are quite right or not. To me, it was an opportunity missed.