I have grown to love night photography over the years. Some of my favorite subjects are in the night sky on clear cool nights. Tonight was a perfect night to enjoy a full moon. I picked the best photo out of the bunch below. I hope you enjoy.
20211020 | 11:51 pm | 1/4000, 200mm, f/2.8 ISO 100 | Canon EOS 90D | EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM |
The Natchez Trace Parkway snakes from Nashville, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi. On its way the Trace runs right through the northwest corner of Alabama. It is a beautiful place to go if you feel like slowing down and stepping back in time.
Today my dad and I decided to head out to the Trace in an effort to scope out a spot to view the upcoming “Christmas Star” which will be at it’s peak on December 21, 2020. This celestial event is a created when Jupiter and Saturn are in a close enough alignment in relation to Earth that it appears to be a large star hence the name “Christmas Star”.
We were trying to find a good viewing spot that was free of light pollution so we could get the best view possible. My dad knew of a spot called Freedom Hills which has a neat overlook that he thought might be a good spot for the event. Unfortunately we found that the direction was not what we expected and will not be great for the December 21st viewing but we did get a few shots of our view.
If you would like to know more about the Natchez Trace Parkway visit https://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm . The Natchez Trace Parkway is a neat place to visit for anyone who enjoys history and scenic drives.
One of my favorite things to do is hiking and unfortunately I have not done much of that over the past several years. My dad and I have decided to do more hiking and camping this season and we did a dry run to test our old bones today to see if we were still up to it. I have always loved sharing outdoor adventures with my dad and I wanted to share some of the photos from our Sunday afternoon trek.
Location: Sipsey Wilderness area of the Bankhead National Forest / North Alabama
Trail: Thompson Creek Trail Head (206) to Ship Rock / Needles Eye
Traveling and photography are two things I love. If I can combine those two things that is even better.
At the moment I am looking out my hotel window at ski slopes above Jackson Hole, Wyoming. My family and I have been traveling for the last four days in Yellowstone National Park and also took a short ride through the Grand Teton National Park today on our way to Jackson. I wanted to capture my experience as best I could during our time and I felt that the best way for me to do that would be through photography. I also wanted it to be easy to share my experiences with others and photography seems to work great. I hope by sharing my photos it will inspire other people to get out and experience different places.
Back in 2003 my grandparents, mom, sister, and myself took a two week vacation out west visiting as many places as possible including Yellowstone. Being that I was in middle school I didn’t remember as much about Yellowstone as I wish I would have and I was glad to have the chance to go back again and capture the experience.
In today’s digital world most people tend to use their phones and tablets to take photos and share them immediately to social media. That’s what I have noticed during this trip. I am the kind of person that loves the technical side of photography and what each aspect of a camera does. Most people however only want “good enough” and will never print their photos and might not even ever download their photos off their phones. I love spending time composing shots and trying to get the best results possible which sometimes drives my family crazy.
I took this love of the technical aspects of photography to another level on this trip by taking an early 1980’s Minolta X-700 film camera with me and shooting a couple rolls of black and white film. I love film because it slows you down and makes you be more precise about what photos you shoot. It also doesn’t let you know what you shoot until you get your film developed. I was worried that since the film had technically expired in 2015 that I would not have any photos to show. For this reason for every frame of black and white film I shot I also captured the digital color equivalent just in case the film photos did'n’t turn out. I was happy to find that the film and digital photos turned out GREAT!!!
I have compiled some of my favorite shots from our trip below. I hope you especially enjoy the black and white film photos as much as I do. It just creates a totally different experience for me. It is almost like it removes time and can take you back to a simpler time.
November 13, 2018
…Let me begin by saying that I love Beech trees. This is most likely due to the love that my dad has for them which he developed when he was a young boy. I have heard tales of a small forgotten corner of Cherokee, Alabama that once was home to some of the most beautiful Beech trees in that part of the world and coincidentally some of the best squirrel hunting as well. That stand of smooth gray barked Beech trees have been all but erased from memory by younger generations of owners who cut them for timber but there was still a young boy who remembered them and grew up to pass on his love and respect for them to his own son. My dad will have to tell his story another day.
I have never been to Michigan except for once while passing through the Detroit airport on the way to another destination. I have always had an interest in history and had recently listened to Donald Rumsfeld’s book “When the Center Held” about the 38th President of the United States Gerald R. Ford. Ford grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and The Gerald R. Ford Museum is also located in Grand Rapids and so is Ford’s resting place. Naturally when I had the opportunity to join my dad on one of his regular trips to Grand Rapids I jumped at the chance.
Obviously my main interest in going was to visit the Ford Presidential Museum but I am always open to other adventures. On our first day in town only minutes after getting to our hotel room inside the Prince Conference Center on the Calvin College campus we were deciding how to spend our afternoon and my dad looks out the window of the hotel room, overlooking a green lawn despite the fact that the afternoon was gray and windswept with snow flakes beginning to fall and be carried away with the piercing cold wind of the afternoon, and points to a trail leading into the woods behind the property. He said that the trail circles through the woods and back to the same entrance and we decide to take a stroll. He had been there before and explained that there were some beautiful Beech trees that he had photographed during a past trip at a different time of year when the leaves were a tender green compared to the stark site of this winter afternoon which left the trees looking gray except for the few leaves that hang onto Beech trees just a little longer than most other trees and are a brilliant orange in a sea of gray. The photos below capture what I find most captivating about Beech Trees.
After our afternoon of exploration in the woods behind the Prince Conference Center we ventured into town via my first Lyft ride and had dinner at The Green Well where we spent too much money on some very enjoyable food.
