My First Story at Exposure.co
I've seen several photographer's stories on Exposure.co and some of them have been really great. I've wanted to try it, so I decided to use some of my Old Car City images for my first Exposure.co story.
You can see the story and photos at this link... Click here.
I hope you'll check out the photos and, please, leave a comment and let me know what you think! Thanks!!
Pistons Are Pumpin' at Old Car City!
Have you ever seen an old car going down the road and thought to yourself how interesting it might be to know the history of where the car has been during its life? If you could relive history like this, it certainly could make for an interesting trip down memory lane.
1930's Ford Fire Engine
Recently, I had the opportunity to do something similar. I visited Old Car City which is located about 50 miles from Atlanta, Georgia. Old Car City has over 4,000 American cars, 1972 and older. To some, Old Car City would be nothing more than a junkyard...to others it’s an Americana trip down memory lane...to a photographer - it’s Paradise!
1956 Studebaker Clipper
1956 Ford Fairlane
1937 DeSoto
I had been told at least three days were needed to adequately explore and photograph all the interesting old cars at Old Car City. Unfortunately, I only had a day and a half. So, instead of trying to rush and see everything, I stayed on the main trails and concentrated on doing close-up and macro photos.
1950s Cadillac hood ornament
As I walked the paths, I saw car after car in various states of rust and decay. Many had obviously been in an accident or damaged in one way or another before finding their final home here. It wasn’t hard to see one photo opportunity after another. I really enjoyed all the old hood ornaments, emblems, side panel trim, grills, etc.
1950s Chevy Bel Air
All of these images were shot on tripod and I carried three lenses with me...16-35mm, 24-70mm, and the 105mm micro. I used HDR processing on a few images but most are single images, edited with Lightroom, Photoshop, Nik Color Efex Pro, and/or OnOne's Perfect B&W. If you'd like to see more photos, see the link below.
If you love old cars and you're near Atlanta, I highly recommend a visit to Old Car City. Just remember, while you're walking around don't stray off the main path...there might be a mountain varmint!
It's Spring Break...Let's Go To The Beach!
Otter Cliff, Acadia National Park
Spring Break is here again and it's time for folks to make their annual pilgrimage to their favorite beach. I'm sure everyone has a favorite beach, some like beaches with lots of sand and others don't. For me, sand tends to be a little boring.
The main reason I like going to the beach is "I'm not at work!"
These two photos of Otter Cliff were taken at sunrise. The beach here is a bit rocky but that's ok with me.
Otter Cliff, Acadia National Park
One day, Janell and I took a short hike to Hunter's Beach. She sat and entertained herself on a big log and took a few iPhone photos while I tried to catch the perfect wave. It was nice to have Hunter's Beach to ourselves.
Too bad some goober with a tripod messed up Janell's perfect shot! :-)
Hunter's Beach, Acadia National Park
Since it was an overcast day when we went to Hunter's Beach, it seemed like a great time to shoot some black & white. I used OnOne's Perfect B&W for the conversion to black and white.
I hope you can catch the perfect wave while at the beach!!
What time is it? It's Cherry Blossom time!!
One of the largest tourist attractions in Washington DC is the annual bloom of the Cherry Blossom trees. For those who don't know, beginning in the early 1900's Japan gave the United States several thousand Japanese Cherry Trees. Every year, there is a two-week Cherry Blossom festival to commemorate the bloom. This year, the bloom was a couple weeks late due to the extra cold winter in the area.
This year's peak bloom was three days ago and I made my annual sunset trip to the Tidal Basin in hopes of getting some nice photos. The blossoms can be very fragile and weather can have a big impact on them. Despite the fact that I was limited on time, I considered myself fortunate as the weather cooperated and we got to see a nice sunrise.
When doing photos like this, partial clouds are ideal. This gives the sunlight something to bounce off of and create some nice colors. If there was just a clear blue sky, the photos wouldn't be nearly as interesting.
This year I wanted to see how some of the cherry blossom photos would look in black and white. These two photos are from the same original image. I used OnOne's Perfect B&W for the black and white conversion.
The two photos below are also the same image. This one was taken about 30 minutes later than the one above and you can see a significantly different look from the sunlight.
The next time you consider coming to Washington DC, think about planning your trip for late March or early April. If you're lucky, you'll be here for the Cherry Blossoms.
I'd like to hear your opinion on which version of the photos you like best...color or b&w!
Some things look better in Black & White...
The Stone Bridge crosses Bull Run at the eastern entrance of Manassas Battlefield Park. On July 21, 1861 it was destroyed during the First Battle of Bull Run, the first major land battle of the Civil War. The Stone Bridge was rebuilt in 1884.
I visited the Stone Bridge recently with someone who told me they thought it might make for a nice black & white photo. Today, we had a day off work (again) due to a few inches of snow. So, I seized the opportunity and went back to the bridge.
The above image is the color version prior to converting to black and white.
This is the final black & white image. I used OnOne's Perfect B&W for the black & white conversion. I also used a 10-stop neutral density filter to blur the water.
The Wild, Wild West!
During a recent trip to California, I had the opportunity to visit Bodie. It's been a place I’ve wanted to go for quite some time. Unfortunately, Bodie isn’t a place where you might take a wrong turn and find yourself there; it has to be a planned excursion.
Bodie is a ghost town in the Sierra Nevada Mountains about 75 miles south of Lake Tahoe.
The elevation is approximately 8400 feet and the drive is 13 miles off the main highway, the last few miles being unpaved…yes, in case you’re wondering, it makes for a really nice, and sometimes bumpy, ride!
Thru the years, I've seen numerous photos taken in Bodie and I was really looking forward to seeing the town and taking a few shots of my own.
Bodie began as a mining camp in 1859 after the discovery of gold. Eventually, Bodie boomed and by 1879 the mines in town were producing large amounts of gold and Bodie had become one of the largest cities in California. Over the years, it is believed Bodie produced gold valued as much as $34 Million. Eventually, the gold rush slowed and the town started to dwindle. The last residents left Bodie in the early 1940’s and Bodie is now an authentic Wild West ghost town.
Bodie is a bucket list destination for many photographers. It would be awesome to be able to plan a trip there for a period of time so you have multiple opportunities to shoot at different times of day and, hopefully, in perfect light. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for my visit. I was in the area and was able to spend part of a day in Bodie. It was the wrong time of day, no clouds, etc., I had to take what I could get…but I was glad to be there.
As I walked around town, I was surprised at how large the town was even though many structures are gone. The buildings have been left in a state of decay and appear as though folks just closed the doors and left everything behind.
As far as the photography goes, there is nothing special here, just basic tourist photos shot hand-held, in aperture priority mode. My main concern was trying to do the best I could with the harsh, mid-day light. All the enhancements were done in photoshop.
I've never been the superstitious type but legend has it that there is a "Curse of Bodie." It's believed that anyone taking home any souvenirs will be cursed with bad luck. I left everything as it was and tried to imagine what it would've been like to live during the gold rush and to live in the Wild, Wild West.