...sailor take warning. An old adage but one very appropriate as I looked at the red horizon this morning. The temperature reading in our back yard says 47 degrees and the forecast calls for highs in the 60s but the unseasonably warm days come to an end soon. Rain moves in on Thursday followed by plummeting temperatures on Friday. Hello winter.
You've been warned. I miss the mountains. That might seem a little odd considering I’m writing this sitting in the Appalachians as I write this, but I miss the Cascades. Fortunately for me, Jan at CascadeExposures is on th case with posts like this and this. Not quite where I grew up, but it looks like it.
I miss the mountains. That might seem a little odd considering I’m writing this sitting in the Appalachians as I write this, but I miss the Cascades. Fortunately for me, Jan at CascadeExposures is on th case with posts like this and this. Not quite where I grew up, but it looks like it.
Sorry. Couldn't help it. One more moon photo.
I've been watching this crescent moon for a couple of days now and finally found the shot I wanted. 
An abandoned, tree-line road off Bethlehem Church Road in Floyd County, VA. November. 2006.
There was a time when you hardly ever saw a wild turkey out and about. They were tough to spot and even tougher to shoot if you were hunting them. Now they seem to be everywhere. This flock was spotted alongside U.S. 221.
This is very, very clever. The linked photo version is just genius.
Then I came across Richard Rutter’s CSS Image Fades page last week.
Cool, I thought. If I can fade from an image to a background, why stop there?
This is very, very clever. The linked photo version is just genius.
Then I came across Richard Rutter’s CSS Image Fades page last week.
Cool, I thought. If I can fade from an image to a background, why stop there?
Came across this buck along Mt. Pleasant road in Montgomery County Sunday while driving back from Christiansburg. Rifle season began Saturday and hunters are out in force so I surprised to see such a prime target close to the road. From the looks of him, he's already received one wound so I suspect his days are numbered.
Like most photographers, I love light and the effect of light on our surroundings. Found this effect while on my morning walk along Harvestwood Road near our home.
The fire of the morning sun highlights the leafless trees of autumn along Sandy Flats Road near the intersection of Harvestwood in Floyd County.
With Thursday's rain hard rain dumping anywhere from three to five inches of rain on Floyd County, we might have wondered what today would bring. No worry. The sun did come out tomorrow, although this photo, taken on the Blue Ridge Parkway near the North Carolina state line, was shot a few weeks ago. Fauxtography: How mad are your skills? Allahpundit got:
Nine out of ten, baby. Nine. Out of. Ten.
Nine out of ten for me too. I’m curious how my photographer readers do… Leave your score in my comments please.
Fauxtography: How mad are your skills? Allahpundit got:
Nine out of ten, baby. Nine. Out of. Ten.
Nine out of ten for me too. I’m curious how my photographer readers do… Leave your score in my comments please.
Fauxtography: How mad are your skills? Allahpundit got:
Nine out of ten, baby. Nine. Out of. Ten.
Nine out of ten for me too. I’m curious how my photographer readers do… Leave your score in my comments please.
A surrealistic view of the morning sun through the trees of our backyard, an effect created by moving the camera slightly on the tripod while shooting at a slow shutter speed. 
Rain headed back into the area Wednesday with these clouds along a ridgeline near Christiansburg Pike in Floyd County. Forecast say as much as two inches may fall before this storm ends.
Like many photographers of my generation, I started shooting in black and white: Trusty but grainy 400 ASA Tri-X Pan in a 4x5 Speed Graphic and later Tri-X and the detail and tone rich Plus-X in a 35mm Nikon F.
Tri-X and its speed served me well in the 60s and 70s but photojournalism began its shift to color in the late 70s and I went along with the trend. By the time digital SLRs became the norm in 2000, I was shooting nothing but color.
Lately, however, I have rediscovered the joys of black and white photography. I can choose to shoot in greyscale mode with my Canon EOS digital SLRs or shoot in color and then convert to grayscal in Photoshop. This shot, taken along Virginia Rte. 8 while on my way to Christiansburg for a meeting, was shot in black and white mode.
I'm often asked: "What makes a good photograph?"
Not an easy answer. Photography, like other forms of art, is subjective and judgment of the quality lies in the eye of the beholder.
It's easy to stand in front of subjects and take snapshots. That's the trap that many photographers, both accomplished and wannabes, fall into. The trick is to find an unusual angle or unique point-of-view to express what you are trying to say in a photograph.
This photo, for example, is shot from the inside of an abandoned house not far from where we live in Floyd County. I was looking for something to portray the grayness of a late fall day when cold weather moved back into the area over the weekend. I shot it in color but coverted it to grayscale in Photoshop and added some grain for effect. While it is not an accurate portrayal of the way the scene looked to the human eye it is an accurate rendition of the potential I saw in the photograph.
Photography is a window into two worlds: The one that is and the one that we see. The two are not always the same.
Is this a good photograph? That depends on your point of view. I like it and that's the point of view that counts most to me.