Fall Sunset on Pilot Mountain

Fall Sunset on Pilot Mountain

There are only 2 other places on this planet that I have gotten to experience a sunset from atop a mountain - Alaska and "The Grand Canyon" in Arizona. Ask me where those photos are and I might as well shrug my shoulders at you. The memory is certainly still in my mind. Watching a sunset from a high vantage point offers one of the most spectacular experiences. This past weekend's evening visit to Pilot Mountain was no different. Mix in a cold snap and some colorful leaves and I am instantly reminded that Florida is nowhere nearby.




A tree full of colorful leaves creates the perfect canopy for this park bench.









These young tourists made me a bit nervous as they scurried wrecklessly over this large rock. I guess I was no different as a kid. They were facing an already golden sun which was casting a nice warm color.




I found the multi-colored leaves on this tree to be unique from most any other trees seen around here in the fall.






All of these colorful trees made the scene felt as if I were walking through someone's oil painting.








This is a view of Pilot Mountain to the southwest.







The sun begins to race for the horizon. Pinecones hanging from a nearby wintergreen allude to the coming of winter.







The fall has come and is quickly going. Bring on the winter. I hope you have enjoyed this last segment of photos. Every weekend provides new oppotunity to get out and photograph. I encourage you to do the same.

Until next time - emc

The Grape Harvest

The Grape Harvest

I am told of the many amazing things that happen in the spring in North Carolina. For those that have not gotten out to experience everything that fall has to offer, I would have to challenge their perspective of the other great seasons here. Otherwise, it would be a matter of preference.

If there was any other place on Earth that offers a more harmonic changing of seasons than North Carolina, I would love to visit and photograph their region.

In the springtime the cool slowly turns to warm. Stuff starts growing. Life is reaffirmed. In the fall stuff starts to die. (Stuff...you like that?!) Colder air starts prompting people to do things like pick all of those grapes and make some wine before the first snow hits the ground.

In the past few weeks I think I have sampled more wine at tasting events than I have ever consumed at dinner events in years. I would not dare even think of myself as a connoisseur, but the fermented grape concoction has certainly grown on me. I think it's a great past time to enjoy a glass of wine in the company of family or friends or even with a nice home cooked dinner. If you ask me, I am more interested in the serene landscapes, fall colors, and ambience a winery offers. Now that fall is upon us and a chill is in the air it's all the more reason to get out, enjoy the wineries, and celebrate the grape harvest.


A small front loading tractor collects stems from freshly picked grapes.

Through odd fate and the coincidence of having a somewhat rare last name, I received an awesome phone call from my brother a few weeks ago. Apparently, the co-owner of one of the local wineries matched our last names because of some pictures she had seen in the local magazine I work for. She had expressed interest in possibly having me come out and photograph their winery and also take advantage of the upcoming grape harvest. Although we never formalized any agreement in terms of usage, I still enjoyed the visit and took advantage of an opportunity to capture this moment in a winery's annual harvest.



A colorful butterfly blends in and enjoys the sweetness of freshly picked grapes.




Since moving to the Piedmont Triad I have had the opportunity to visit eight different wineries, sample numerous varieties of wines developed here, and collected well over a dozen wine glasses representing various wineries. With the exception of The Biltmore Estate, each of the seven wineries I have visited is no more than a 45 minute drive from Winston Salem. (Wayne - if you're out there and reading this, you seriously need to consider a ROAD TRIP!) If you are ambitious enough and have access to a designated driver, there is a good possibility you could visit all of them in one day. Along one of our stops we spoke with an elderly couple that had visited TWELVE in one day! Overall, I believe there are over 21 wineries in the North Carolina winery appellation.



A small wooden sign with the type of grape being grown is handwritten and posted at the end of each row of grapes.






Just as quickly as the fall came will come winter. With the end of one grape harvest will come another season of spring flowers. I cannot wait for what photos the winter season will bring. Scenes of steam hovering over lakes, snow covered trees and frost covered barns quickly come to mind. I hope you have enjoyed this latest entry.

As always, stay tuned. I have another great photo entry this week with more great landscape views and fall colors. If you are resourceful enough, and want to sneak preview these photos before they make it on my blog, you will find these photos elsewhere. If you have made it this far and have read through this entire weblog entry, be the first one (of maybe 3 loyal readers, hehe) to Email me with the correct location of these new pictures (taken yesterday) and a reward is yours. For your diligence, I will send you a free 8x10 enlargement from my newest photos or any other photo from my online publishings of your choice.

Have fun. Get out and photograph.

PS - I am thrilled to let my fellow readership know that as of yesterday I am now a member of the Associated Artists of Winston Salem. Ok, so it doesn't take talent to become a member - just a membership donation. :) I do, however, plan on making the most of the membership and getting my photography exposed to as many people as possible. Thank you for your continued encouragement and visitation to my weblog.

A year and a lifetime ago

A year and a lifetime ago


If you had asked me how long ago I thought this picture had been taken I might have possibly scratched my head and responded with a confused answer: "Two years ago? Three years? I don't think I remember." That is exactly what it feels like having lived under three different roofs spanning over a few short months. That is exactly how far removed I am from the out of body terrific experiences I had working with a hometown NFL franchise.

By trade I am a computer guy. By desire I carry a camera and create imagery. In my dreams I will get to experience things that will forever start long conversations that stir the retelling of fantastic stories. Working for the team I got to hear our sportscasters berate as a kid is now just a dreamy haze.

It was my desire to carry a camera in October of 2005 when our "Pewter Pirates" flew north to New Jersey - bringing me along for the ride - where our team would face the Jets. For my first trip, we were ironically be beaten by "Vinny" - a quarterback who started his career with the creamsicle orange and red Bucs that I remember growing up watching. I didn't care. I was out of my skin and probably out of my mind for toting my pocket sized point and shoot; but, to this day I cannot thank myself enough for taking that chance. I remember running on and off of the field and riding in a bus next to an athlete whose leg was bigger than my torso. I remember helping our equipment crew peel jerseys from game soaked shoulder pads. My memories are now tangible. That year ago is now yesterday. In my retirement it will have been a few years ago. Perhaps the kids I might someday raise will remind me of what a lifetime ago was.

Tampa, Florida - what a great city that was to grow up in and experience as an adult. Life could not be more fitting to have given me an opportunity to work for a team that represented the one city where I created the fondest lifetime memories. I couldn't be more thankful for the opportunity.

Finding Fall - Hanging Rock Park, NC

Finding Fall - Hanging Rock Park, NC

The above panoramic of the lake at the Hanging Rock recreational area was created from 4 images and "stitched" together on the computer.

Larry and I were up and at it again early this morning in search of fall foliage. I suggested a trip to the Hanging Rock Park where I hoped to find the colors of the changing season. If you search my blog for "Hanging Rock" you will find a trip report and photos from other visits, so I will keep the documentary write up short and just share some photos.

Today's visit was strictly photo fun. Larry is a native of this area, and despite many visits to Hanging Rock Park throughout his youth, he had never actually taken any of the hikes. Hike is exactly what we did.

The temperatures this morning were will under 50 degrees. After a breakfast at Biscuitville, we headed north on a short 40 minute ride to the park's entrance. Shortly after arriving, we hit the visitor's center and decided on a hike to the actual "hanging rock." When I asked Larry why he had never hiked any of the trails "back in the day," he honestly admitted that "laziness" had gotten the best of him. I have to hand him some credit - we both hiked with our heavy Bogen/Manfrotto tripods all the way to the peak. It's a long hike and after a while camera gear and tripods can really get heavy. We didn't do so bad. A nice stop every now and again to closely photograph the leaves and other scenery made for opportunities to regain our breath and shed some fleece sweaters. Regardless, I still have to give him some flak for not exploring the surrounding attractions.


Being the Florida boy that I am, I truly enjoyed every bit of color displayed in the forests. The locals here swear that it's still to early to really enjoy the fall, but from what I gathered today the colors are well on their way. I cannot imagine what full fall colors will look like. Next weekend will probably be another repeat trip out to the mountains. Hopefully I can continue to offer some nice photos for your review.

This couple took in the views and enjoyed a snack while perched on the edge of Hanging Rock.

Larry sets up for a photo near a ledge offering a great lookout









In addition to the golds and greens was the fiery red foliage.

Mayberry Mill - Blue Ridge Parkway

Mayberry Mill - Blue Ridge Parkway


























As you can see by the amounts of updates and images this past week, I have been a very busy bee snapping away at everything in sight. All of the images - with the exception of the jeans - are a result of a full 10 hour day long trip last weekend with my good friend and associate through work, Larry Watson.


Larry's brand new blog: Larry's Blog

Left: Larry gets in close to capture some of the weathering on the painted brick wall.


Larry recently purchased a new Nikon D50 D-SLR and had all sorts of questions for me regarding camera operation and photography in general. It wasn't too long ago that I was bugging a co-worker of mine that just so happened to be a pro-shooter with many of the same questions Larry had for me. I am no expert by any means, having only started a little over a year ago, but I could quickly see that Larry appreciated what knowledge I had to share. I told Larry that the best way to start learning - a piece of advice Matt May offered me when I first started out - is to get out and shoot. So, shoot is what we did.

Our day trip consisted of an early 7am start - which we later regretted not starting sooner - with breakfast at the local Biscuitville followed by an hour and fifteen minute drive through Mt. Airy and to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Along the Parkway we stopped at an abandoned bed and breakfast. (See image above.) Larry and I spent well over an hour scavenging for great shots. The bed and breakfast had its own water wheel in the front. Just behind the main office and rooms were some cabins on the mountainside that had been invaded by the elements and creeping vines.


The mid-day sun left many of my daytime shots unusable due to the high contrasty light coming straight down on everything. Larry and I left the mill later in the mid-day and headed back out off of the Parkway and back towards Mt. Airy. Before exiting, we stopped at a great lookout of Pilot Mountain. I stacked my ND Grad. and .6 ND filters to cut out a lot of the daylight glare. The yellow wildflowers in the foreground made for a great experiment in macro photography. There were all sorts of bees, wasps, and other little bugs crawling along and hanging on for dear life as the wind batted them around.


We finished our day in Mt. Airy with some great pizza at a local Italian restaurant and discussed the day's events. We were both fairly tired from being in the sun and having a camera tug at the neck all day. Overall we both had an enjoyable time. Larry learned a lot as did I. I'm looking forward to another outing where we can do nothing but take in the day's great weather and capture more great imagery.

Stay tuned as I am on a photo blitz. Today (later this morning) I will be joining my brother, his wife, and a group of our friends for a day of winery hopping and a chicken stew benefit dinner in the evening.

Thanks for stopping by! - emc

Straight Fit

Straight Fit

Just in case "the Gap" ever needs my services... :) Now that would be nice. Actually, this is the end result of facilitating the need to test photography techniques in ones own home. This idea hit me a while back when I was in a dressing room trying on these jeans just before I bought 'em.

Have you ever been in a Gap and noticed how much flourescent light they flood those dressing rooms with? How about the store? Did you notice how evenly distributed the light looks in there? Why is it that those red jackets are conveniently hung next to the yellow ones with maybe some jeans on shelves just below? Ok, maybe just me - but, the fact is that those jeans look good fairly decent on that rack. Once outside they just never quite look the same. It's akin to buying a piece of glass artwork from a table of dozens of other similar pieces. Once you have that one special purchase at home it just doesn't look as attractive sitting on your own shelf under some dingy yellow bulbs.














In this particular setup I wanted to 1) attempt to reproduce what the jeans looked like hanging on the wall in the dressing room - don't ask me why, and 2) try some long exposure "light painting." The top image is fairly straight forward minus the duotone tweak during post production. The cool blue image was made with my cell phone. Cell phones have all sorts of neat blue buttons and built in lamps to project all sorts of interesting light. The 3rd image was made with a lighter. At near 30 seconds of exposure, my fingers felt the heat quickly. I only made 2 attempts at this "gap" light-writing. I kept the first image over the second. If the last photo (below) makes you a little dizzy, well, maybe I accomplished the effect. A slight twist of the lens barrel during the exposure gives this image a somewhat drunken effect.

Overall, it was a quick and easy way to experiment with the camera without having to get in the car to find images. Our local fair is in town. Hopefully I can make it before it ends on Sunday. Stay tuned!
















PS - Thank you for visiting my photoblog to check out my latest toyings with photography. You people - the 3 or 4 of you that visit regularly make it worthwhile.

Green 'Stang

Green 'Stang

Ride the Parkway

Ride the Parkway

The Reds - Stairs. Door. Cinema.

The Reds - Stairs. Door. Cinema.

Blue Sign

"Blue Sign" - Mt. Airy

Blue Car

"Blue Car" - Mt. Airy

Blue Door

"Blue Door" - Mt. Airy