I took the family camping for a night at Amicalola Falls State Park a couple weekends ago. They slept in tents while I tried out the new hammock that I’m using for my hike through the Great Smoky Mountains. Well, I decided to spend a little time shooting the stars over the campsite while I waited for a meteor shower. The hammock was too comfortable and I did not make it late enough for the meteor shower, but I did get a couple shots before crashing.
I have tried several times to grow bonsai trees. I think they are some of the coolest plants, but they are tons of work and I can’t seem to get the hang of it. So, when I get to see them, I understand what goes into growing them and have a huge respect for gardeners that can keep them up. One of the coolest collection of bonsai that I have seen was at the Smith Gilbert Gardens. They have bonsai that are decades old and even one that is centuries old. I love that the gardeners not only grow a miniature tree, but also include other plants that mimic the scale. I just wish I had a couple Lego people to put in this scene.
Architecture has a great chance to be beautiful any time of the day. I happen to think dusk is one of the best times to photograph architecture. The lighting has a tendency to accent textures of the buildings and lights are usually on. That was how I found Cedarcrest Church just before dusk fully set in. I snapped a few around the church and ended with this shot.
For the last several weeks, it seems that my timing has been off for everything. Mostly, the time I get to go out and take photos and it almost never coincides with sunrise or sunset anymore. I was able to get this one a couple of months ago. I was out just before sunset and convinced my wife that I needed to stop. I got a little quality time with the red orb in the sky.
Have you ever driven down a road and had an idea about what you would expect as you were driving? Then, finding something completely unexpected? That was what happened the other day to me. I was driving out a road looking for a quarry when I rounded a curve and found this huge horse farm. Of course, I had to stop and take some photos. This shot reminded me of a nice country drive.
Unfortunately, most of the flowers had not started blooming at the Smith Gilbert Gardens while we were there. I noticed this little bluebell along one of the trails and it was lit just right by the sun. I wish I could find a field of these in the Southeast, but I am still looking.
After church Easter Sunday, I went to West Ridge Church in Dallas Georgia to get a few family photos. In the atrium is this large cross and it had been decorated with hanging lights. Made for a good photo opportunity. By closing the aperture as tight as I could get it, I was able to make the lights turn into little stars.
The perfect spot to take a rest after hiking to the top of Amicalola Falls is the Lodge. We stopped here and had a cup of coffee in the lounge, cooled down and then set out once again… this time to the bottom. I managed to snap a few shots inside the Lodge before we left.
Several weeks ago, I made a trip to the top of Pine Mountain in the Pine Mountain Recreation area in Cartersville. After we finished that trip, we made a stop at the Etowah Indian mounds and then coffee and yogurt. I was sitting and relaxing when I looked down at my glasses on the table. Couldn’t pass up the shot.
I found this little building on a recent trip from Calhoun Georgia to Rome Georgia. I guess I had just put blinders on for all the years that I drove this road, but this is the first time that I had noticed this building. I did not have time to stop in the morning and made these shots in the afternoon. I am sure this shop has seen better days, on the other hand, I liked the way the vines were taking over the old tractor. It makes you wonder if the tractor was put there for show, or just never got fixed when the garage shut down.
