The Smith's of Western North Carolina

Christmas Day Dinner

2011-12-25T13:46:00.001-08:00

Gloucester Cathedral Choir - In the Bleak Midwinter

2011-12-19T15:30:00.000-08:00

If this does not reach you -- then you are unreachable!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRobryliBLQ&feature=player_embedded

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,
Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels fall before,
The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

Celebrating Freedom

2011-12-19T09:45:00.000-08:00

My first book published on blurb.com was a book containing photos of fireworks of the display by the elite Burnsville development called Mountainair. The book can be viewed in its entirety on blurb at: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/768170. Just click on the preceeding link.

Wildflowers of Wildwood Acres

2011-12-19T09:12:00.000-08:00

I recently published a 74 page book of my wildflowers. The entire book can be viewed on line at the blurb website: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2791936. A photo of the cover is shown here with the printed text as it appears on the book cover.

Old Home In The Mountains - HDR

2011-09-02T04:14:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day and I managed to find an overgrown driveway up to the house that has long been abandoned. Three shots hand-held combined tone-mapped in Photomatix and tweaked in Photoshop CS5.

Click on the image to fill your screen

Dance With Me To The End Of Love

2011-07-13T16:39:00.000-07:00

"Dance Me To The End Of Love"

Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic 'til I'm gathered safely in
Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love
Oh let me see your beauty when the witnesses are gone
Let me feel you moving like they do in Babylon
Show me slowly what I only know the limits of
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love

Dance me to the wedding now, dance me on and on
Dance me very tenderly and dance me very long
We're both of us beneath our love, we're both of us above
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love

Dance me to the children who are asking to be born
Dance me through the curtains that our kisses have outworn
Raise a tent of shelter now, though every thread is torn
Dance me to the end of love

Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic till I'm gathered safely in
Touch me with your naked hand or touch me with your glove
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love

"Dance Me To The End Of Love"

Per a request from Jewel

See Eleanor Powell Dance To The End Of Love

Birdfeeder Action

2011-07-12T05:49:00.000-07:00

More Redbellied Woodpecker On Birdfeeder

2011-07-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

I actually shot a group of ten photos while on the phone with a salesman from the NRA trying to sell me a 5 year subscription/membership. I am about to turn 79 and suffer from COPD, suck on oxygen anytime I am in motion and sleep with a CPAP machine. When he first started his sales pitch I asked him if the NRA was giving out free ammo. No they are not giving out free ammo. After I agreed to a one year membership subscription and we were about to conclude the call, I asked him to bring the free ammo suggestion up at the next sales meeting. That he agreed to do with a low chuckle in the background.
Who says gun owners don't have a sense of humor!

House Finch Feeding

2011-07-04T16:50:00.001-07:00

Just the males showed up this time. They look better in these photos than those I Googled on the web. Apparently their coloration depends on the type of food they eat. Click each image to fill your screen.

Goldfinch and Indigo Bunting Sharing With Both Male and Female House Finch

2011-06-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

It is not often that you find both these birds sharing. They are however, sharing together more so than other species that visit our bird feeders.
The second photo was captured with both the male and female House Finch's eating with the Goldfinch and Indigo Bunting. Click on each image to fill your screen.

Redbellied Woodpecker On Birdfeeder

2011-06-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

The Red-Bellied Woodpecker visited once in the last month and we were lucky to have camera in hand. It spooked easily as do the Cardinals. With camera set on continuous low I managed to get this half-decent photo. Click to enlarge.

A Colt Was Born on May 4, 2011

2011-05-21T17:34:00.001-07:00

I photographed this beautiful colt this afternoon after talking to Karen Cooper the owner. She noted that this newborn has one blue eye and the other is brown. Look closely at the colt's right eye.
It was a struggle to capture the shot because for the last two days I have had difficulty breathing. I actually had to climb up a steep slope beyond Karen's house to get both mother and child.
They kept moving and with the new Tamron 70-300 mm lens (actually 105-450mm on an APS sensor Niko D7000) it was difficult for me to fame both mother and child.
Be sure to click on the thumnail to fill your screen.

Birds On The Birdfeeders

2011-05-05T07:38:00.000-07:00

Anyone checking my postings (I have grave doubts that I am the only one checking my postings) will have to had noticed that I keep adding photos to this post. The reason I have been adding photos is do to the acquisition of a new lens -- the Tamron 70-300 mm (4.0 - 5.6). This lens mounted on the new D7000 allows it to function as a 105--450mm lens. The lens was designed as a full-frame lens for 35mm or FX digital format DSLR's. A note about the Indigo Buntings -- the first three are males and the last is the female. She actually looks a little more grungy in nature -- but I could not resist in dressing her up to compete with the male.
I will keep adding as new species of bird wildlife expose themselves to this new lens. I am especially looking for the female Cardinal to sit for a photo. Be sure to click on a photo to fill your screen. Try clicking again and be overwhelmed with the detail of the photo.

Sunrise Photo Shot With New Nikon D7000

2011-04-23T16:21:00.000-07:00

This photograph was edited using both Camera Raw and Topaz new plug-in bundle that is free for one month. With discounts from NAPP you can purchase the whole suite for about $149.oo.

I used the noise program and the Adjust filter and this is the result. Click on the thumbnail to fill your screen. Enjoy!

Suzy & Mom

2011-03-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

This photograph was taken hand held with the ISO set at 2000. Lesson learned: Check your camera settings.

It was shot with the Nikon D90 that has since been replaced with the Nikon D7000.

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge.

Deck View Due East In HDR

2011-02-14T10:43:00.001-08:00

This photo was taken with the Sony A100 using three bracket exposure +/- 2 stops and one shot using the the camera determined correct photo. Click on the photo to fill your screen.

Blessing The Animals

2011-01-29T05:27:00.000-08:00

The Rev Vance Mann, rector at St Thomas Episcopal Church, Burnsville, NC blessing David Johnson's pet Scotty at the service held on Octber 3, 2010.

Click this link to view the animals that were blessed SLIDESHOW .

Spectacular Sunrise Rendered In Hand-held HDR

2011-01-20T12:45:00.000-08:00

Caroline was walking our dog Patch when she called me to look out the office window. The sun was rising rapidly so I grabbed the D90 and rushed out onto the deck and started clicking away. About 15 shots later I realized that this needed HDR treatment.
Because I noted that the shutter speed was very low for taking three photos at the ISO of 200 in aperture mode, I increased it to 800 and set the aperture to f6.5. I then concentrated on a particular cloud to capture the three photos necessary for processing in Photomatix. Yes, I am still using the program to process my HDR photos.
Note that there is still snow on the distant mountains. Be sure to click the thumbnail to fill your screen.

Our Christmas Tree Rendered In HDR

2010-12-23T12:51:00.000-08:00

This tree was selected by Caroline from Billy Wilson's tree farm. You can view his farm in HDR in an earlier post. I actually traded for the tree by presenting him with a printed 19x13 copy of the rendered photos that I took in mid October. He actually offered me a few more trees if I wanted them.
This photo took some work but it was worth it -- you do not have to make the journey to the mountains to view its beauty -- just click on the thumbnail to fill your screen.

Caroline's Digital Photo Course Results

2010-11-27T04:27:00.000-08:00

These three photos were taken with our Nikon S51 Point-N-Shoot by Caroline during our attendance at a digital photography course this past June conducted at the Mayland Community Collage. I assembled a collage of her photos entitled "Bugs, Butterfly's and Flowers" and and gave it to the instructor for his classroom display. Click on each photo to fill your screen.

HDR Using Our Sony A100

2010-10-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

Having devoted a majority of my posts to HDR using the Nikon D90, it got me to thinking about how you could accomplish getting the required minimum exposures on the Sony A100.

A little Google search provided the answer. This is how the photo was exposed:

1. I set the exposure mode (metering mode to multiple segment)
2. Attached my shutter release cable.
3. Set the Mode to "P" for program mode -- some refer this to Professional Mode.
4. Note the Aperture called for by the "P" mode.
5. Switch the Mode setting to "A" for aperture and set the aperture to the value noted in 4.
6. Press the A100 AV button on the top rear of the camera and set the AV to -2.0.
7. On a tripod of course, press the shutter button (in my case the shutter release cable).
8. Press the AV button again and set the AV value to 0.0.
9. Press the shutter release button to expose the second photo.
10. Press the AV button again and set the AV value to +2.0.
11. Press the shutter release button to expose the third and final exposure photo.

Now what do you do with these three photos?

I use Photomatix Pro 3.2 to combine the photos into a "tone-mapped image". There are other programs that will perform that function and the new Adobe Photoshop CS5 will do this function too. But my experience with CS5 has been that to achieve the results that I get with Photomatix takes too long and slider settings are not easily interperted. None of CS5's default settings are of interest to me.

My approach to HDR is to increase the camera's ability to see detail in the shadows and the highlights -- and not to try to turn the photo into a "Starwars" image.

There are some impressive "Starwar Images" that I have viewed but it is not for me.

For more information on Photomatix Pro go here: Photomatix Pro.

Click on the photo to fill your screen.

Hand-Held HDR Photographs

2010-10-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

Both these buildings are located on Hwy 197s heading to Pensacola, NC. I photographed the buildings in HDR hand-held. Both photos consisted of three individual photographs exposed at +/- two stops and an individual photo expose to what the camera computed to be the ideal aperture. Both sets of photos were then processed using Photomatix Pro and then adjusted in Photoshop CS5. The building on the top was an antique outlet that we frequented when the proprietor was still alive. Click on each photo to fill your screen.

Pensacola, NC Grocery Store in HDR

2010-10-12T17:22:00.000-07:00

I could not resist the opportunity to photograph the local grocery store in downtown Pensecola, NC -- especially with the suggestion that you should vote conservative. We know some of those listed and plan take their suggestion. Don't forget to click on the photo to fill your screen.

Fall Foliage in Western North Carolina

2010-10-12T17:00:00.001-07:00

This is Billy Wilson's spread located on Hwy 197s on the way to Asheville over the mountains. This photo was shot in HDR with +/- two stops plus the one the camera says is the correct exposure. The exposures were blended using Photomatix and fine tuned in Photoshop.

It was a beautiful day and with the color changes rapidity it was necessary to forgo a nap to capture the beauty that surrounds us. We are entering the peak of the fall foliage and with forecast winds and rain due the next few days it is essential to keep your camera at the ready. Click to fill your screen.

Early Fall Sunrise Over The Blue Ridge in HDR

2010-10-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

I tried tone mapping the three images used for this HDR using the new HDR Pro that is part of PS CS5 but was unable to duplicate the result shown here using Photmatix Pro. The effort required to achieve the result show is much less with Photomatix. Trust me -- take my word for it! Don't forget to click on the image to fill your screen

Fun With HDR and Blend Modes

2010-08-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

This was fun. I only wish I could remember the HDR settings that I used when I took the original photo show in an earlier post. If I could remember then I could reproduce the images shown in this post.

All I can say is that when, shown to others, there are definite likes and dislikes. Me, I love them all -- after all, they are my creations. (do not forget to click on each image to fill your screen).

Two-tailed Tiger Swallowtail On Joe Pye Weed

2010-08-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

Just happened to be riding our mountain roads and came upon this wonderful photo opportunity.
Major correction was to the white balance in Camera Raw, a small levels adjustment, a small saturation adjustment and a little sharpening.
No nuke science involved in the digital darkroom.
Be sure to fill your screen by clicking on the image.

Fixing Another Rick Hunter Photograph

2010-07-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

Ric has to learn how to retouch photos. It is essential for someone who snaps a photo in the heat of the moment and finds later that while the composition was somewhat satisfactory, that the shadows cast on the subject distracts.

The edited photo is the result of testing and trying different techniques in eliminating the excessive shadow that is present below the eagle's eye to the right and downward.

Ric, I suggest you become a member of COSTCO -- they have Adobe Photoshop Essentials ver. 8.0 for $90.00. Everything that was accomplished in PSCS5 could have easily been accomplished in Essentials 8.0.

I have many tutorials that are available that will train you, as an able Air Force Officer to be able to depend less on a US Army Officer to fix your photos.

Click on each photo to fill your screen.

Sunset Over The Blue Ridge Mountains

2010-07-25T03:35:00.000-07:00

We do not often have spectacular sunsets because our home is below a mountain ridge located due west.

This is a view looking east of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

We often get grand sunrises -- see my star-bright sunrise posted in March.

Goldfinch On Our Birdbath

2010-07-24T16:06:00.000-07:00

This is the real thing -- not a composite image as I did in a previous post using Rick Sammon's urgings to make a picture.

In this image I actually shot through the pickets of our deck railing that are spaced 4.5 inches apart.

The photo was shot with the trusty 18-200mm general purpose lens at 200mm (300 mm on a 35 mm film camera).
Note that the bird has a shadow cast onto the birdbath. While it is easy to create a shadow in Photoshop, I have not done this in this photo.

Be sure to fill the screen by clicking on the thumbnail.

Goldfinch On Our Birdfeeder

2010-07-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

I set the camera to four frames per second and shot over 100 images.

Increasing the ISO helped with the shutter speed. I shot in aperture mode at f8 or higher so that I had a decent depth of field.

Don't forget to click on the image to fill your screen. Click again to view a closeup of the bird.

Turks Cap Lily

2010-07-17T05:37:00.001-07:00

The number of plants dotting Wildwood Acres has increased considerably this year.

The wildflower blooms July and August in this mountain region.

Capturing the bloom with a butterfly increases the beauty of the photograph.

Be sure to click on the photo to fill your screen.

Potoshop CS5 Content Repair

2010-06-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

The top photo is from Ric Hunter, taken in Florida on a recent trip to escape from Burnsville, NC while his wife was in Italy.
I have to specify that Ric lacks timing. I would have waited until he could have taken a photo without the gator dragging the distracting stick on its nose.
Having performed editing miracles for Rick on some of his previous wildlife photos, this was a piece-of-cake for Photoshop CS5's content aware repair capabilities.
The challenge was to remove the stick and other distracting elements from the photograph. Other enhancements not evident were added, i.e. sharpening, white balance, and adding a sparkle to the visible right eye of the gator

Mission accomplished!

Sunrise in Whitestone, VA

2010-06-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

This is an HDR image taken on the front lawn of our dear friends, Clyde and Hazel Lee Kizer during our visit last October (2009). My wife, Caroline alerted me to the sunrise that was revealing itself.
Luckily, I happened to be cleaning my D90, 18-200 mm lens and getting my tripod attachment onto the camera.
I have since added the photo matte using colors selected for the inner and outer matte directly from the photo. Click on the photo to fill your screen.

Just Don't Take A Picture - Make A Picture

2010-05-07T06:13:00.001-07:00

Rick Sammon implores his students to make a picture. So I took his advice and took this photo yesterday while the sun had moved west and the wild Flaming Azaleas were at peak bloom. I thought that getting a photo of the bird bath and azalea plant with scattered ground cover blossoms in the periwinkle would comply with Rick's dictum.

But I noted that the bird bath was lacking a bird. I use a free stock photo exchange called Stock.xchng and typed Gold Finch into the search window. I selected two photos and made selection that I copied to their own layers. I tried placing both photos on the bird bath but decided two was one too many. Don't forget to click on the photo to fill your screen.

My Oldest Daughter's Quest For Her Ancestry

2010-04-27T16:25:00.000-07:00

Tracy is my oldest daughter and is here pictured with her younger sister, Leslie with their great-grandmother, Mary Szuch on September 23, 1962. Mary Szuch was born in Hungry on June 25, 1894. She died in 1982.

I remember clearly that she would articulate that this was the last time she would see us -- no matter how many times we would see her. She attended every family event including my two graduations from the University of Alabama in 1955 and again in 1967.

Tracy is really into tracing her ancestry with ancestry.com. And since I have in my possession our journey through life recorded photographically since about 1933 - the year after my birth, it makes it possible with modern technology to preserve, in digital form, our unique family history. The website ancestry.com provides the tools to access world-wide data that allow integration into a historical family record.

Tracy has made significant progress in tracing my mothers side of the family. She has become somewhat obsessed and a bit driven in her quest to answer the question: "Who am I, and where did I originate from?"

I personally wish her success so that when she finds the answer to her question she will have also answered the same question for me.

I love her dearly.

Red-bud Apple Tree and Dogwood In Full Bloom

2010-04-19T16:00:00.000-07:00

Another HDR image to capture the full bloom of the Red-buds, Apple Tree and Dogwood trees in full bloom.

Until someone suggests that I stop with the HDR photography - I will continue.

What beauty there is within our sight - just look around you and have with you the best camera you have, i.e. the one in your hand and record what you see and share with me.

Remember to click on the photo to see it full screen.

Patch Our Wonderful Dog

2010-04-19T11:45:00.000-07:00

Patch, our 5.5 year old mixed breed female (fixed), is never far away if we are out and around our property. Caroline was photographing our newly planted pink dogwood.

Apparently, something caught Patch's eye. She loves running the 2 miles of gravel roadways in our Wildwood Acres development.

Oddly, we have yet to see any ground squirrels or rabbits that are normally numerous in the area at this time of year. We have seen a normal population of tree squirrels that attract Patch's attention. Of course she trees them immediately and foolishly stares at them expecting that they will return to ground level.

Caroline is responsible for the photo while I did the Photoshop work.

Click the image for a larger view

Butterfly's on an Azalea Bush

2010-04-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

Two butterfly's on an azalea bush in full bloom. Caroline is responsible for the photograph using a Sony A100 DSLR that was our first mid entry level camera.

Because it was both windy and the butterfly's were flapping their wings I set the camera to shutter priority 1/250 and increased the ISO to 200.

Click on the photo to enlarge.

St Thomas Episcopal Church In HDR Revisited

2010-04-18T16:11:00.000-07:00

Dr. David Johnson and I went "birding" this past Friday. It was a long arduous journey that eventually got us to the Blue Ridge Parkway with a pit stop at Mt Mitchell (about 6200 ft +). Last year David agreed to help me photograph our church by providing his pickup truck bed for my tripod.

If you look at my earlier posts you will find my first attempt at HDR for the our church gave the church a Star Wars look -- that was not well received by one of my favorite upper echelon parishioners. Only 80% of those reviewing way-out HDR extremes like it -- the other 20% do not find it appealing at all and my favorite parishioner especially did not find it appealing.

My hope is that this photograph will assist her to forgive me my transgressions.

Friday was a warm sunny day and since David and I did not find any appealing photogenic birds, we decided to attempt another HDR photo-shoot of St Thomas. This, of course, was after descending the Blue Ridge Highway via Hwy 80 where we stopped to have lunch at Hillbilly Ted's (Highly recommended) besto.

Don't forget to click once and sometimes twice to view the new HDR depiction of St Thomas in Burnsville, NC.

More Art by Johnny Thacker The Blacksmith

2010-04-17T16:02:00.000-07:00

Johnny Thacker is an artist and an outstanding neighbor and friend. He is an expert in repairing my tractor scraping blade that I continually misuse in working on our gravel roads.

As a small measure of my appreciation for his efforts, I photograph his art. Next Saturday the local Smith's are having a show in Spruce Pine, the next town north of us and I plan to be there with oxygen and my D90.

Caroline just had to have the first candlestick and it is now stationed upon our dinning room table in prominent view. Don't forget to click to enlarge the photos.

Woody The Woodpecker

2010-04-17T15:43:00.000-07:00

We have many tree stumps on our lots and we never considered the necessity of having them removed. Why should we? We have Woody who has found a great source of food on our property. He or she visits almost on a daily basis.

Caroline was standing on the deck looking at our newly planted pink dogwood when she heard Woody pecking away. I actually took 130 photographs with the camera set to four exposures per second - had to set shutter priority because his head was moving so fast.

Be sure to click on the photo twice to fill your screen.

Closer Look at the Red Buds

2010-04-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

A closer look at the Red Bud trees blooming photographed in HDR. Waiting for the clouds to fill the frame helps while I catch my breath with oxygen. The real fun in digital photography is making the picture.

This one took some lens correction to make sure that the house was depicted as horizontal.

The colors of the Red Bud trees are breathtaking. Come visit and see for yourself.

Click on the photo twice to fill you screen.

More Springtime Depicted in HDR

2010-04-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

This is a HDR photo looking on the rear of our home from a road that winds its way up the mountain. Note that the Red Bud are in bloom. Although unseen are the buds on our Gala apple tree.

Click on the photo twice to fill your screen.

A Beautiful Spring Day in HDR

2010-04-13T05:48:00.000-07:00

I tried creating this image using nine different exposures. I then used the first three exposures consisting of the normal exposure and two (+/-) stops. The latter exposure turned out better than the nine exposure version.

I conclude that more pixels is not necessarily better for the photograph.

John Thacker Blacksmith

2010-04-07T13:15:00.000-07:00

I am ethically required to post my failures as a photographer so that I can assess my enthusiasm for the medium and correct my mistakes on future photo shoots that I volunteer.

Johnny is not only a dear neighbor but a most helpful friend when I screw up something on my tractor.

My major error was to not evaluate the ambient lighting that existed in his dinning room/living room at the time (9:30 am). The black backdrop that I brought with me was not dense enough to prevent back lighting the set. Click on the image to enlarge.

In addition, I should have used a back drop that provided contrast to the table so that a selection of the table could have been easily made. I could have then placed a good selection of the table onto any background that I desired.

Meet Desiree

2010-03-28T14:25:00.000-07:00

Meet Desiree -- the hostess with the mostess at the Best Western Motel in McKinney, TX. Never leave home without the ability to light a beautiful subject like Desiree.

We had driven to McKinney to visit with our beautiful granddaughters, Caroline and Catherine who were on spring-break. Luckily we drove so that I took an umbrella and reflectors and a tripod to hold the umbrella and an Nikon SB800 flash. I used wife Caroline to hold the reflector.
Compare Desiree's eyes in both photos and note that her eyes are slightly larger in the photo on the right. Thanks to the liquefy filter in Photoshop CS4. Remember never leave home without a portable studio and the best camera available -- the one you have with you.

Starbrights Sans - Filter

2010-03-08T13:20:00.000-08:00

I have learned by study of Digital Photography Vol 3 by Scott Kelby that you do not have to spend money for a specialized filter that will turn dusk and nighttime photos into "Starbrights". He recommends setting your aperture to f22. My ISO was set to 200 as recommended by Nikon.

I experimented this morning by setting the Nikon D90 to aperture priority and snapping photos off our deck looking due east at the Blue Ridge Mountains as the sun started to rise over the ridge. I placed the focus point directly on the rising sun and noted the shutter speed was at least 1/20 of a second.

A little editing in Camera Raw and some additional tweaking in PSCS4 resulted in the photo. Click on the image to fill your screen.

High Dynamic Range - HDR

2010-03-07T03:31:00.000-08:00

Another example of HDR. This photo was exposed as stated in the previous post. The photo is a view looking due east at the Blue Ridge Mountain range in between snow storms.

Click on the photo for an expanded view.

High Dynamic Range Photography - HDR

2010-03-06T17:50:00.001-08:00

It has been a long cold winter -- the coldest that we have ever experienced here in Western North Carolina in the 12 years we have been this part of the Universe. It all started on 12/18/2009 when the global warming crowd dumped 19 to 20 inches of snow on us. Every other few days additional snow was dumped.

Every now and then I had an opportunity to photograph the surroundings in HDR. Each of the photos consist of three photos photographed with the correct exposure and two additional photos consisting of 2-stops over exposed and 2-stops under exposed. My camera - Nikon D90 allows me to setup the shots using the bracketing function. All three shots were hand-held using multiple exposure function. It's not that difficult. Of course I use some software that automatically blends the three images into a tonemapped image that is further processed in Photoshop CS4.

Click on each image to fill your screen with a view of these magnificent mountains.

My Winning Photo For Burnsville, NC Worldwide Photowalk

2009-08-17T12:51:00.001-07:00

The Worldwide Photo Walk took place on July 18, 2009. The walk consisted of over 32,600 photographers from all over the world in over 900 cities. I did not get the top prize (Nikon D700 Full Frame DLSR worth over $3,000) but I did win a copy of Scott Kelby's new book for digital photographers. So maybe I should study his new book and improve my skills as a photographer so that I can have a better chance at winning next year. The title of the photo that I submitted is "Hitch Hiking on a Mural" (Scroll down to the 15th photo to read Scott Kelby's comments).

The gal in the photo is Zoe - she took some neat pictures too.

Click on the photo to enlarge.

I just found this comment and response by Scott Kelby. It is kind of overwhelming to picked our for a positive comment by the likes of a Scott Kelby.

I am truly humbled by the very thought that my photograph was in contention for a prize -- let alone a positive comment of recognition.

I will photo-walk anytime with all who want to participate.

Bill Stevenson says:

August 18, 2009 at 9:00 am

Wow! That is all I can say. If these are the shots that didn’t make the cut, it most have been incredibly inspiring to go through all 900. I feel like a couple of these shots could have one the grand prize themselves. Again it makes me realize how hard this must have been for you Scott. Great job and thanks for including this second post of pictures!

Scott says:

August 18, 2009 at 10:22 am

Hi Bill:
I feel the same way—-you could make a case for all of these to be prize winners (in fact, these were all in the running at one point in my judging). The quality of the entries made this an impossible job, and that’s why I felt they needed to be recognized.

Thanks for the kind words, and for being a part of the Photo Walk.

-Scott

Tracy Victoria Grant Portrait

2009-08-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

Click on the photo to enlarge.

Celebrating Independence Day Slide Show

2009-07-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

This slide show contains a selection of a few of the 84 photographic images taken of the Mountain Air Country Club fireworks display. The country club is located on the same mountain as our home in Burnsville, NC.

The Fireworks Slide Show can be accessed by clicking on the link.

I have a 60 page book of the photographs taken during the fireworks display. A preview of the book can be seen at the BLURB web site. Just click on the link.

Wild Geranium

2009-05-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

Took this photo on one of the few days that the sun was shining. It did not take a lot of Photoshop effort to bring out the beauty of this jewel.

I have added a Tilt Slide Show of recent photos of spring and early summer wildflowers that depicts the variety of plants in the mountains of Western North Carolina. To view the slide show click on the link "Tilt Slide Show".

Trillium -- A Mountain Wildflower

2009-05-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

Wildflowers come in numerous varieties in these mountains. Each month brings additions that keep my memory card full and my hard drive over flowing with outstanding photographs.

Looking forward to October when the mountain trails break out into bloom with many more varities.

The Rain In NC Falls Mainly On Top Of Us

2009-05-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

There have been very few days where the sun has shown its face to us. We may get a few days with some sunshine this coming week -- we are hopeful.

This is a picture of a branch consisting of approximately five or more springs that feed into the branch above our main property. It has been flowing as indicated for three months or more.

Just last year our neighbor's spring ran dry and they were without water. The property owner spent over $20,000 to drill a well that went over 1,000 feet deep. It delivered less than a gallon and a half per minute for a few months before it too went dry.

We are lucky -- our well is only 245 feet and delivers 20 gallons per minute. Best tasting water we have ever tasted.

Rhododendron In Bloom

2009-05-09T15:52:00.000-07:00

This rhododendron bloomed this morning just in time for Mother's Day.

It actually bloomed in honor of Anita, the mother of our grandchildren, Caroline and Catherine who are pictured at other posts on this blog.

It has been a very wet and cool spring this year but the rain has brought forth a beauty that surrounds us and gives us hope for the future. Click on the photo to enlarge. Enjoy!

Revitalized Downdtown McKinney, Texas

2009-04-07T13:02:00.001-07:00

Annie Royer McKinney, TX Artist

2009-04-07T12:22:00.000-07:00

This Annie Royer of McKinney, Texas whom we met at the Spoons Cafe located on the recently revitalized downtown square in Early March.

Annie is an artist and has her own web sites:

Here: Annie Royer, Artist

And here: McKinney Art & Design Studio

Check out these sights -- I am impressed!

Anita - My New Model -- Tilt Slideshow

2009-02-24T04:13:00.000-08:00

This is Anita, the beautiful Anita, that adopted Caroline and me as her foster parents. She has a lovely mother but she needs more family support and chose us to help her through some trying times.

She agreed to let me photograph her in my new studio and some of the photographic results can be viewed at this link: Anita Tilt Sideshow.

St Thomas Episcopal Church in HDR

2009-02-22T15:49:00.000-08:00

This photograph of St Thomas, Burnsville, NC is an example of a modified HDR (High Dynamic Range) technique that seems to be the rage in digital photography editing.

This photo consists of six stills taken on a tripod that are -2,0,+2 and -1,0,+1 exposures where the 0-snap is the correct exposure and the - and + exposures represents 2-stops above and below and the 1-stop represents 1-stop above and below the correct exposure.

The six photos are processed in Photomatix 3.0 to blend all six photos to produce the final HDR rendering.

To add additional punch the resulting HDR rendering was called up into Photoshop CS4 and a copy was added (Ctrl-J). The blend mode was then changed to Vivid Light. The resulting image is loved by about 80% of the population and dispised by the remaining 20%. Those that dispise should seek viewing the web in other places.

I just love the image!!

Raven and Jennifer Baptized

2009-02-22T12:55:00.000-08:00

This is a photo of Raven, and her mother, Jennifer who were baptized at our beautiful church, St Thomas here in Burnsville, NC.

The service was conducted by Bishop Taylor of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina.

We welcome them to the commitment to Jesus Christ, the savior of all humanity.

Adobe PHotoshop CS4 Photomerg

2009-02-11T05:43:00.000-08:00

This is a panorama consisting of two wide angle photos of a new home being constructed in Wildwood Acres, Burnsville, NC. The two photos were taken hand-held and were "photomerged" in Photoshop CS4. The photo depicts the beautiful stone work and the installation of pavers to form a finished deck below the first floor pressure treated wooden deck.

Catherine, Caroline and Charlie the Dragon

2009-02-09T02:51:00.000-08:00

This is Catherine (on the left) and an unnamed dragon (I call Charlie) that was cropped from a larger image shown in all three types of slide shows in my previous post. The distracting background was blurred with the lens blur filter in Photoshop after making a selection of the distracting background. This image focuses on the two main characters - Catherine and Charlie. I have subsequently added Caroline and Charlie to this post. It was accomplished by making a selection of Caroline from another photo from the slide show shown in the previous post. I then copied the selection of Caroline and pasted it in to the photo of Catherine and Charlie. Minor resizing of Caroline's image was necessary to cover Catherine completely. Having fun with CS4.

Chinese New Year Celebration Plano, Texas

2009-02-04T12:17:00.000-08:00

I have added three slide shows of the Chinese New Year Celebration held in Plano, TX this past week. Anita sent me four pictures of the event and I created three different types of slide shows: Postcard Slide Show, Simple Slide Show and Tilt Slide Show. Click on each one to see the different variations on the slide show theme.

Amaryllis In Bloom

2009-01-19T05:51:00.000-08:00

This Photo was taken with the Nikon D90 in manual mode at 1/60, f5.6 using the SB-800 off camera through a 32 inch translucent umbrella. Picture control was set to Vivid with sharpening set to 9 and and hue and saturation set to zero.

High Dynamic Range

2009-01-15T16:00:00.000-08:00

It is about time that I returned to the purpose of this blog by posting something that has to do with photography. I have now used my Christmas gifts up to the year 2042 by acquiring the new Nikon D90 DLSR -- truly a magnificent camera. I take courses given my Scott Kelby at (www.kelbytraining.com).

A new class on High Dynamic Range (HDR) given by a terrific photographer and teacher, Matt Kloskowski teaches how to take a photograph (actually three are required) that captures image detail that would be lost (blown out) normally. The technique requires three exposures, one for the shadows that blows out the bright part (high-lights) of the image, one for the bright part of the image that hides the details contained in the shadows and one in the middle.

As you can see in this image of our living room, the clouds through the window are clear and well defined while the interior of the room is well lighted and balanced with the view through the large window looking due east to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The procedure is somewhat complicated, at least for me a new-be to digital photography, that actually requires three programs to execute with satisfactory results.

The first program called upon is Photomatrix that merges the three digital images into a "tiff" file that can be opened with Photoshop and a noise reduction program. I use Neatimage to reduce the noise in the HDR tiff file.

The last step is to do post processing in the noise reduced merged HRD file. It is here that I correct for lens distortion, white balance, sharpening and other filters and adjustments that are readily applied in Photoshop.

You have to agree -- it is a terrific view, one that is not available in Texas.

And that is why we remain here for the duration.

Grandma and Pop-Pop on Christmas Day

2008-12-26T13:37:00.000-08:00

A Note to Anita and Suzy

2008-12-19T04:11:00.000-08:00

Dear adopted daughters,

You have been kept in the dark long enough. I was going through some of your mom’s old photos and discovered this with a press release stating that Caroline (last name was blurred out – and that is the reason I suspect that your mom is hiding something) was on the set of a Sky King movie production in a semi starring role at Malibu Beach, CA. It must have been an important role because; as you can plainly see, she has her name on her beach chair.

What a remarkable discovery – don’t you agree?

I don’t know about you guys – but I think she is beautiful enough to have been in the starring role. Your mom insists that it is not her picture. So I have concluded that she must be hiding something from all of us. For instance, it looks like a coke bottle on the table – but what really is that dark stuff, half consumed? She looks as if she is giving the guy with the camera a come-on. What really intrigues me is what is in the jug! Moonshine? Bathtub Gin? I have no idea and your mom is mum.

I leave it to you gals to solve the many mysteries of your mom. In the meantime, I will be content to continue to go through her old photos – maybe I will find some other interesting aspects of her life that she has been hiding from me and you.

Love you guys,
Pop-Pop

2008-12-06T03:17:00.000-08:00

These delightful girls are Caroline, 10 and Catherine, 8 who are our only grandchildren. They both attend the Vega grammar school in McKinney, Texas and are both active in sports -- Caroline in Volleyball and Catherine in Socker. They provide us unimaginable joy. The photos are by Mom, Anita. I added a little more sparkle to their eyes but very little. We stay in touch through telephone and Skype.

2008-11-14T15:41:00.000-08:00

Well I am a tough old fart but age has imposed some severe limitations on my ability to deal with multiple demands – like when I was younger: I could handle a bad cold, severe stomach cramps and having to pee in the middle of the night. As it happened last night, nature demanded that my bladder be emptied ASAP while enduring a bad cold and severe stomach cramps. So I unplugged my CPAP mask and started toward the relief room – in the dark of course. Well nature also informed me that my stomach was hurting badly – so bad that I passed out. I did not know that I had passed out until my forehead struck the corner of the closet wall wherein I was stunned momentarily back into unconsciousness. Caroline was over me immediately crying not knowing what happened. I did with Caroline's assistance do what nature demanded. I will survive.

First Flight of the Piper Cheyenne III 05-18-1979

2008-11-08T04:05:00.000-08:00

First flight of the Piper Aircraft Cheyenne III at Lakeland, Florida on May 18, 1979. I am on the right with my co-pilot, Dave Lawrence. The flight plan to investigate numerous flying qualities of the airplane had to be abandoned due to a difficulty with the roll controls (ailerons) locking in fixed positions approximately 20 degrees left and right of neutral. The ailerons were designed with beveled edges to reduce aileron control forces of the reversible (non hydraulic boosted) system. By carefully rigging the ailerons with a droop the problem was eliminated. It took another 8 months of intensive testing to resolve other problems with the deep stall characteristics. The airplane received FAA Part 23 certification in January 1980. Approximately 80 aircraft were built in the following years and the airplane was later improved as the Cheyenne IIIA and Cheyenne IV equipped with 1000 shaft horsepower Garrett Engines. Additional photographs can be viewed at the blog links located on the lower left panel.

Caroline, Catherine and Mother, Anita

2008-11-05T16:41:00.000-08:00

The Vietnam War Memorial

2008-11-05T15:12:00.000-08:00

This photograph is a blending of two photos. The first is the panel on the memorial and the second is the image of the three combat GI's statue that was selected out of a separate photograph that included trees, people and park benches. The image of the wall was originally skewed because it was shot on an angle. Photoshop provides a method of dragging (skewing) the edges in order to align the image to the edge of the photo. The selection of the statue images was then blended with the panel depicting the names of the fallen.
Check the links on my blog list for more information concerning the wall and how each panel relates to those who sacrificed.

Your Needlepoint This Meditation for a Dark Morning

2008-11-05T05:02:00.000-08:00

William Ernest Henley. 1849–1903

Invictus

OUT of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Retouch of My Mother In Traditional Hungarian Dress

2008-11-03T06:09:00.000-08:00

This photograph is 80 years old and depicts my mother at the age of 16 dressed in a traditional Hungarian costume of the era. It takes awhile but with the tools available in Photoshop CS3 and now CS4 primarily the clone stamp, spot healing, healing and patch tools the task is a pleasant experience. After the retouching process was completed, the result was sharpened using the unsharp filter. Click on each photo to observe a magnified view of the images.

My First Photoshop Portrait Retouch

2008-11-03T01:53:00.000-08:00

Sara manages the local high-speed internet provider office in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The photograph was taken in available light with a Sony A100 DLSR with the ISO set to 100. The natural lighting provided excellent shadows. Adding the spotlight from above right gave the photograph a warm glow and complemented the available light conditions. Click on the individual photos to magnify each photograph.

Centennial of Military Aviation - Wright Flyer, Model 1908

2008-10-31T04:50:00.000-07:00

This is the Wright Flyer Model 1908 reproduction that was displayed at the centennial of the birth of military aviation. The photograph was taken in available light with a Sony A100 with the ISO set at the maximum of 1600. A duplicate of the photo was made in Photoshop and the blend mode set to color dodge. Surface blurring was added to reduce noise.