Here is another quick shot form the Worldwide Photowalk in Mooresville, AL this past Saturday.  This was an old sap bucket hanging from a fence post.  I knew I had to use my Lensbaby Composer with Soft Focus Optic on it, so that’s what I did.

Enjoy!

Lensbaby Composer with Soft Focus Optic, F/4 aperture disc, ISO 100, 1/20th

This past Saturday, I participated in the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk.  There was a walk in the Huntsville area in the small town of Mooresville that I participated in.  I had a great time hanging out with other photographers in this quint little town.

I thought this was a pretty good opportunity to photograph Mooresville.  It is rumored that Mooresville typically makes you purchase a “photo permit” before you can take photos of the town, so I thought I’d use this photowalk as a way to get around that “photo permit” thing.

Unfortunately, for me, I felt totally uninspired Saturday.  I think we’ve all had those days where, for some reason or another, we get stumped creatively.  For me, that day was this past Saturday.

I’m sharing a photo with you that didn’t really turn out like I had envisioned, but it was one of my favorites from the day.  This is simply a front porch of an old house.  I just liked the pews on the porch and it screamed black and white to me.  So, here’s what I came up with….I processed this photo as normal in Lightroom, then took it to Photoshop where I ran the Topaz Adjust plugin on the photo.  I choose the “spicify” preset in the Topaz Adjust plugin.  Next I converted it to black and white using the Nik Silver Efex Pro plugin and used the “hard sepia” preset there.

ISO 100, F/16 @ 1/4 sec and 30mm

Here’s a shot I took a month or so ago at one of my favorite waterfalls, Rutledge Falls in Manchester, TN.  I can’t even begin to tall you how tranquil and relaxing this place is at the end of the day.  To capture this image I had to get in the water.  I didn’t mind at all.  The water in the creek is spring fed and is very cold!  Perfect for a June in the South…or July, or August.  I collapsed my Vanguard Alta Pro 283CT to it’s lowest position to get my camera “eye level” with the cascade in the foreground to capture this unique point of view.  I also used my B+W Circular Polarizer to eliminate sheen from the water’s surface. foliage and rocks.  A cable release was also used to reduced camera shake.  The release is a pretty essential tool in my bag, I use it almost every time I use my camera.  Once I had my camera setup for the composition I wanted, I dialed in my polarizer, adjusted the camera settings (ISO 100, F/16 @ 3.2 seconds) and fired the shutter via camera release…about 3 seconds later this is what I got.

I hope you enjoy!  Looking at this picture again makes me want to drive back up there right now.

This past weekend I got to take a pretty amazing trip to Birmingham, AL to visit the Alabama Theatre.  This was an extra special trip because due to a friend that knew a friend that works with a guy…you know those kind…we got an all access, behind the scenes tour of everything we could in 2 hours.  We met a guy named Tom Cronier there, who let us in and showed us all the good stuff.  He was a great tour guide.  Not only did he offer to turn on/off any lights we requested, he knew pretty much everything there was to know about the place!  I learned a bunch!  Tom is also passionate about the organ in the theatre, so we got to learn a lot about the organ and how it works.

I only took a total of about 11 pictures, however they were all HDR, so I took several pictures to make up those 11.  Here are just a few from the trip.  I still can’t tell you how cool it was!

I hope I was able to capture the ambiance of this place and the history you feel just by walking in the place.

This is a shot from the balcony looking back to the stage.  5 shot HDR processed in Photomatix Pro.

This is a shot from the hallway, looking up the stairs. 

This turned out to be one of my favorite shots from the day (it is hard to pick one though).  Another 5 shot HDR processed in Photomatix Pro.