"Blue Shoe Photography!"






After a long searching period, last month I finally came up with
"the" name for my photography business...

See, I've long felt that traditional names like "______'s Photography"
were just too normal, too mainstream, for my personal randomosity.
So, after much deliberation, I decided that my addiction to blue shoes
warranted a company named "Blue Shoe".

A few days ago, I got a call from my web designer, telling me that he
was nearly finished with my new "uber professional" site...


http://www.BlueShoePhotography.com






What do you think?!?!

Blessings to you all, I've got to get back to work!
(Even though it's after 5:00AM)

P.S. How do you like the new name?
I've got a new watermark, and logo in the works

To The Beach!!

After being back here in Florida for nearly 2 months,
I finally made time to make the long drive to the beach...
And let me tell you, that mile was a doozy!

I've been working well over 100 hours a week, on a couple
of major project for clients, and myself, so what little time
I've had to myself, I've spent sleeping, or catching up with
the multitude of things I've had to let slide.

(Like talking to my lovely Julie, of course )


In fact, I was finally having a meaningful conversation
with her Saturday evening (after another full day's work),
when I decided to head away from home, and toward the
elusive beach.

It was stunning, invigorating, and fantastic... It even inspired
me to grab my phone, and call a realtor... Before I even made
it back to the car!


Without further ado, here are the obligatory pictures...



"Wave Upon Wave"





"Rip It"




And then, the same image...


"Cropped"




I need longer glass!
Sigma makes a beautiful 300-800mm F5.6 that would be lovely...
Any one want to buy me one? Merely $6,034!

Buy it for me in the next 18 hours, and I could
be playing with it by Tuesday!


And then my last shot at the beach (for tonight)...



"Harnessing True Power"





I REALLY want to go kite surfing... As soon as my knee heals
up a bit more, I'm going to go buy a board and wing... It's SO cool to watch!

As I walked back down the road towards my car, I spotted these
parking meters, and immediately thought to myself:


"One Of These Things Doesn't Look Like The Other"




Something to keep in mind, in this area, is simply that these
meters may well be underwater (again) during the next hurricane.
It's a wild concept, even for me, as a native Floridian.

I need to cut this short, as I have a long day in the office tomorrow,
but I'll go ahead an attach a few more shots from the past few weeks


I completely spaced on the eclipse that took place, right up
to the end... When I finally remembered it, and dashed out
to the deck to catch the tail end of it.


"Eclipse"




This is the home office where I've been practically living...




And this is what happens when you try to document the
results of working for 3 days straight... No, I don't normally
have bags under my eyes, that are THAT big.

Red Bull Gives You...


"More Than Wings"




It was 3:00AM when I took that, playing with a few
different lighting set ups.. I like this one!


And just to placate my inner-narcissist, here's another shot of
me... This one taken a while back, by my buddy Tim, with my
new 50mm 1.8F




I know, I know... I've still got the bags there, too... But it
was the morning after my 21st birthday party, I have an excuse!


HUNDREDS more photos to sort through, lots of big news, and
quite a bit of new technology to share with all of you...

Will do my best to update soon!


Let me know how I can be praying for you, I could use
Wisdom, and lots of favor!

Goodnight Moon....





P.S. Which was your favorite photo?!?!

Of "Fortunate" Events...



...Have landed me back in my home state of Florida!
I'm now living just North of Miami, about 3 miles from the beach.
Now for the fun part...

I still haven't SEEN the beach!!

Of course, I grew up here in Florida so I've seen it many times,
but in the month that I've been down here, I've averaged 112 hours
a week in the office and that's left me with ZERO time to run down
and take some pictures of THIS beach.

Sad, isn't it?

I mentioned the hours in the office, but I've also been shooting at least
one night a week, for concerts, wedding party's and live events...
It's been insane!

I'll go ahead and post a few pictures from the past month below,
and I promise that I'll get out to the beach to shoot some
"traditional" Florida pictures as soon as I can


Story Time...

On the 8th of February I left Atlanta for the long drive South...
I stopped by to see my family for an overnight visit, then left the next
afternoon for an extra 3 hour jaunt to Fort Lauderdale.

My weekend plans were to attend a business conference, then head back
North to Atlanta... On the last night of the conference, those plans ended
up being seriously amended  (for the better!), and aside from a quick
trip back to Atlanta to surprise Julie, I've been here ever since!

Because of my rush on the 15 hour drive South, I didn't  have a chance
to stop and shoot anything worth while, so the first images I have from
my journey were actually at the seminar itself...

"Open Minds, Filled Wallets"

While there, I met a gentleman who one of the best rowers in England.
Upon seeing my camera, he promptly whipped off his shirt and demanded
to have his photo taken...

Okay, so that's a little off, but I'm close


"Champion"



After the conference, as I got settled here in Delray Beach, I had
the opportunity to start shooting for a couple of local bands...

Here's the lead singer of "The Ultraviolet Society".



"Coyote Ugly-Er?"






This photo, I like a lot... It's a bass player doing exactly what he
finds to be fulfilling... I titled it simply "Fulfillment" though there
are a lot of thoughts behind the shot, in my head...

It makes me wonder at the very ideas that make up fulfillment to each person,
and at how incredibly vast the chasm between one persons ideas of the
concept, and another's.


"Fulfillment"





Then it was over to an Irish Pub that asked me to shoot some promo photos,
I took several hundred but I don't have time to edit them now... So here's one
I thought was cool.


"Shark"





After two weeks in Florida, I made a mad overnight dash back up
to Atlanta to surprise Julie... After 14 hours in the car, I woke her up.
I think she might still be in shock at least a little .

The next morning, after attempting to sleep off some of my exhaustion
we hurried off to Church so that I'd make it in time to shoot Sonicflood
as they led worship.

(I shoot our Church's promo photos when I'm in town, see their website
at: www.hishandschurch.com)



"Full House"






"All Together Now"
(Sonicflood)





"Through Christ I Am _____!"


*Photo Geek Stuff*
This was shot at 300mm from the back of the room...
Definitely an unconventional approach, but I like the feel it gives


Then, I snuck behind the screens you saw in the first image,
and belly crawled up to capture this shot:



"A Unique Perspective"




Well worth the challenge!


I'm about to head off to bed, as this post is wearing on like they
so often do, and I have to get up again and work in the morning!

Before I go though, I bought a new lens back in January:




(Taken at F1.8)

The bokeh on this lens is awesome!!


Here's a shot I took with it at Julie's school
during my last visit to Atlanta.


"Don't Tread On Me"




Idea credit for this shot goes to Julie... I never would have seen it!


With that, I must bid you all goodnight.
If you would, I beg of you to please be praying
for me, and for Julie... I need Wisdom, and to have
doors swung open for me in ways that I know which
I should walk through, and Julie and I could both use
even more motivation and vision!

Let  me know how I can be praying for you, I hope to post again soon!

Ethan and Anna's Wedding!!





To continue with my recent trend of hodge podge

updating, I thought I'd reveal my take on Ethan and

Anna's wedding from way back in December



Even though it's been months, I haven't taken the

hours to edit them until recently when I just couldn't

keep myself from holding off any longer.





So without further ado, let me take you back in time

a few months to the lovely, but chilly month of December.





We all met in beautiful Athens, Georgia at the botanical
gardens for the rehearsal and subsequent wedding ceremony.



And there was much rejoicing.





The rehearsal went well, and the following images are from

our time spent hanging out there.







"___________"
(Help me with a title for this one!)









"Thoughtful Bride"

"Aviators"

Of course, because I was IN the wedding party, I wasn't able to

shoot as much as I would have liked, and we soon headed back

to the hotel. After moving into our rooms, a group of us headed

"out on the town" to see the sights of Athens.

As we began our walk, we spotted this sign at the hotel's entrance:

Our little excursion took us all over downtown Athens,

until we ended up beside what I believe was city hall.

"Take A Hike"

I put away my camera for the rehearsal dinner, and the

card games that followed, but I resumed my shooting

early the next afternoon as we all prepared for the ceremony.

Just after Julie and I pulled up to the gardens, Anna ran by,

and stopped just long enough for me to snap this photo:

"Runaway Bride?"

A short time later, Anna had found her way into her dress,
and I captured her again, as she rushed to hide from her husband
to be....




Soon, it was officially "picture time" so I did my best
to stay out of the primary photographer's way, and captured
these images.


"Dress Check"





Anna's Sister Lydia (On His Right ) Wonders:
"What IS He Doing?!?!"






"Positively Adored"






And then of course, in true Ethan fashion;

"Groom's Glee"



(He was more than a bit stoked).


Just behind him my lovely Julie had found a semi-comfortable
place to sit... So of course, I called her:


"Humpty Dumpty"





Just up the path was a lovely garden... The glare was
harsh, but I tried to do it justice with this shot:





After that, I really didn't have much time to shoot.
The sun set, and the ceremony commenced. Anna
surprised Ethan and the crowd by coming in from the
opposite side of the building, BEHIND Ethan, instead
of through the expected doors in from of him.

The exchanging of vows and the rejoicing that ensued
were as lovely as can be.



After my duties as a groomsman were taken care of,

I reclaimed my camera, and set about shooting the new

Mr. and Mrs. Ethan Demme's first dance.









I'm pretty sure that he never even stepped on her toes,

but you should probably double check



Another angle:











Of course, as I'm sure you can imagine, Ethan couldn't stop

there... So, in keeping with their tradition he grabbed hold of his new

brother-in-law and took him for a spin around the dance floor as well.










Next up was me (you'll have to ask Ethan for the

photos, I don't have a copy as yet, but I can assure

you that they're hilarious!)



After our dances, the brother-in-law led a group

of us out to Ethan's car to get him back for the

damage that had been done to his car just a few

months before (He was a newlywed, also).



6 gallons of confetti, balloons, a few tin cans, two tubes

of shoe polish, and a half dozen bananas later, we'd

done his old Mercede's justice so we headed back inside,

just in time to watch Ethan doing an astounding rendition

of the old favorite "YMCA" with his brother and cousin.











And take two (I love the look on her face!):









I've got a couple hundred more pictures that would fill in

a lot blanks, but I've been working on this post off and on

for 3 days! So, I'll fast forward quite a bit, to the point where

we were sending them off!



The looks on their faces were 100% priceless, of course,

when they saw the car they'd have to drive off to their

honeymoon and beyond:







"Shock At First Sight"










Ethan made short work of a few balloons, so there

would be space for them to get in the car, then helped

his lovely wife climb inside.











And away they went!!











That's it for me today, be blessed all of you, and if you'd like,

go and wish the newlyweds a hundred years of happiness!



Congratulations to the new Ethan and Anna Demme!











Blessings to you all, let me know how I can be praying

for you, or if you know anyone who would like me to

shoot their wedding! I like to travel, believe it or not



All my best, to you all!









P.S. Will you take 10 seconds and tell me which

was your favorite picture?

P.P.S. No, I'm not really watching "My Best Friend's
Wedding, it just fit the situation too well to pass up.
Is it any good?

Valentine's Day...




There's a girl.
And she thinks that Valentine's Day is over rated.

Of course, this is great for me, and my nutty ways,
but I couldn't let myself go without posting a
"little something" to at least let you all in on this
large part of my life (she'll might just shoot me for this).

Without further ado, I'd like to re-introduce Ms. Julie...
My best friend, and my girlfriend.

As you've been reading throughout my last few posts,
Julie and I have been spending more, and more time together
over the past 6 months, eventually entering into a "relationship"
officially sometime in early October (Thankfully for me again,
she doesn't remember dates any better than I do ).

The past months have been filled with a flurry of activities.
Many of them, you'll hear about gradually as I continue to
slowly update this page with our adventures.


And now, to answer the barrage of "standard questions"
that we all ask every couple... New, or new to us.


How We Met:
Julie and I met in Guatemala during a "Feed The Monkey's"
banana and hot air balloon rally...

Okay, in reality, we met through a mutual friend in
January of last year. The distinct irony of the event, is
that the day we met, was one of my first "photography"
days with my first "real" digital camera.

I was in Chattanooga for the day, and had been talking to
a couple of friends who were also in town for the day. When
we met, I discovered that Julie and Heather were there as well.
After a quick ice cream, we parted ways and added each other
as friends on myspace...

(How hilariously "Generation Y" of us, eh?)


Fast Forward to July...
So much has happened, I've been to Pennsylvania (twice) to
Florida once, planned a trip to Alaska and wrecked my bike.
I've bought another new bike, a new camera, healed up a bit,
and ridden back to Tennessee.

Only to discover that I no longer had a place to live!
With 3 weeks between our departure date and the current date,
I called on a few friends to help me out with a place to sleep
until I found a new place to call home.

Though several offered, I was able to spend most of my time
with none other than my good buddy Wesley Callihan...

The same friend who introduced Julie and I, that day in Chattanooga.

Here's Wesley in all of his glory:
(He's an up and coming movie director)


(Technical Side note... I was shooting with a Quantaray 70-300
for this and the following two shots. DON'T BUY ONE!! Terrible
lens, I was extremely unimpressed).


Now, Julie and I had barely communicated in the months

following our first meeting, but I was excited to hear that

she and Heather were coming up to visit Wesley that weekend.



And what a weekend it was!



"The Gang"











"One Last Look"

(Is that disdain I see?)







We all had a blast, both that weekend, and the following one

before Ethan and I left for our great "Bow Tie Tour" to Alaska.



The weekend after our return in September, I convinced Julie

and Heather to come back up and visit my newly re-injured self.

They were planning a trip to the Ocoee for a rafting adventure

with their Church, so of course I came along to take some pictures.








All who were involved had a great time.



So began the courtship of Julie and I... After spending

our weekends together in September, and our trip to

Savannah, I started spending a lot of time in Atlanta

with her family and friends, eventually moving there,

where I've spent the past 4 months.



Along the way, we've had some wonderful times...





In early December, Julie decided that it was the perfect time

for her to go ahead and carve up our Halloween Pumpkin.





Into The Blue... (I Fell)








Of course, as soon as she'd extricated all the seeds she wanted,

she decided that it was far too late in the year to have a Jack-O-Lantern

so she went about destroying the pumpkin in the most artistic way possible...











Did I mention what she does for a living?

Well, two things, actually... She's an artist, she hand crafts

beautiful one of a kind jewelry pieces (her new website will be

live soon, I'll get you the link) and she's an art teacher...

To kindergarten and elementary aged kids!





Hard At Work, Filing...








One last picture before I go.... Noisy as heck, but it's us!







Well, I'm exhausted, and I'm still far from completing "our" story,

nor the many others I've started telling you. As I write this, I'm a

15 hour drive from Ms. Julie, in South Florida working, and shooting.



I'm not quite sure how long I'll be down here, and I'm missing my

dear girl quite a bit... I wasn't home for Valentine's which as I told

you before, isn't a huge issue, but it got me thinking about the fact

that I still haven't had a chance to tell you all about this remarkable

new chapter in my life.



I hope you've enjoyed the introduction,

expect to see much more from us soon!





Let me know if I can be Praying for you, and if you will,

please be Praying for Wisdom and Blessings on Julie and I...



We surely could use your thoughts and prayers!



Talk Soon

Exploring!


At the end of my last post, I left you with a taste of an
exploration trip with my buddy Don. Our first stop was
the Chicamauga battlefield park... I grabbed a few shots
there that I personally found to be pretty darn cool!

Remember the image on my last post "Red Wall"?
Well, here's a shot of the building that inspired it.


"Peaceful Refuge"




A few hundred yards further down the path we came to another small
building and Don and I peeked in through the cast iron gate it had for a door.


"Curious"




I know, I know... Lens flare is evil.
Somehow though, I like the way it lends mystery to certain images.
It's also a throwback to my love of the sky I suppose.... Ties things
to reality in an odd way.


And as I'm already thinking whimsically, let me give you a brief intro
on my friend Don... In all honesty, he's one of the main reasons I am
where I am today in photography. In April of last year, he helped buy
me my first digital SLR, in exchange for my old camera and old laptop.

A steller deal for me, I'll tell you, and one of many that he's blessed me
with. Though I have lots of friends, he has persistently done his best to
be there for me, and to stand by while I've run all over the continent and
made many changes in my life over the past 2.5 years we've been friends,
he continues to remain one of my most trust worthy friends.

Don's a highschool teacher from North TN, who after watching a man die
on a motorcycle, took it upon himself to do his best to equip riders with the
safety gear that could save their lives. We met after he offered to give me a
set of boots that I desperately needed, but couldn't afford to buy anywhere
else. I told him that he was my "new best friend" and I suppose it stuck
pretty well. Any way, I know he'll be reading this, so thank you again Don!


If you want, go check out his semi-new blog and encourage him to post more!
He has some hilarious stories to tell, and some excellent photography that I
know you would all enjoy.

http://www.xanga.com/dghamby



Back to my tale.

At the same stop, I caught this image of a re-created wooden fence.

"Wooden Fortress"




Remember, all of these were taken at the end of October,
so the Fall colors were in full effect! Look for more of
them later in this post.

Let's fast forward a couple more stops.
In the distance, Don and I could see a really cool monument
that looked far too much like a chess piece to not photograph.
A few careful turns and we were in it's shadow.


"Chess Anyone?"

In looking at that image again, it looks a bit like it's listing to the left.
Ahh well, too many images to edit!

Let me do a little two step on you, and take ya' back a few hours...
On the drive down from my loft in Dayton, we passed a couple of
insanely cool spots that warrented turning around and capturing.
The first one is this:

"Fallen Driveway"

I just couldn't resist the light and colors...

*Side note on this image... Here's a perfect representation of
a shot that was totally screwed up, then fixed by photoshop.
I took this one with my white balance improperly set... A warm up
filter in PS quickly set that right, then some selective curves were
played with to show what I saw on that cool October day.*

After I jumped back in the truck I discovered my mistake, rectified
it and hopped out again less than a mile later to shoot a building that
I'd seen countless times but had never taken the time to stop and capture.

"Overgrown"

I just love that little shed/ home... Each time I drive past it,
it's one step further towards falling down, yet somehow it's
beauty grows with it's distress.

From the battlefield, we drove South into Georgia.
After a fairly long drive we made our way into
"Cloudland Canyon State Park".

If you've never been, I HIGHLY recommend it, it's gorgeous!

Me at Cloudland:

I gave my film SLR to my friend Heather the month before,
so Don let me borrow his Pentax to play with along with
my D-SLR... Fun stuff.

A moment after that shot was taken, another photographer took my
place... He was equipped with not one, but TWO Canon 5D's so I
knew that this was the kind of guy I had to talk to.

Turns out that he and his wife shoot stock photography all over
the East coast. Their work has even been featured in National Geographic!
We exchanged emails a few times, and I hope to meet up with them the
next time they make the commute from Virginia.

Photographer at Cloudland:

I'll have to check through my email box to find their photo album
addres... Their work is gorgeous!

As we walked back through the parking lot, I captured this image
of a picnic spot with a serious chimney!

Gosh, I love Fall colors.

The next stop for us was the "Lookout Mountain Hang Glider Park"

As soon as we arrived, I spotted this guy, looking across the horizon,
seemingly planning his next flight.

"Lookout"

A quick look to the left or right revealed a plethora of gliders
and their pilots all awaiting their next launch.

Gosh, even just looking at these pictures is making
me miss hang gliding!

The only thing in the air while we were there was a group of
these RC gliders... They were awesome to watch!

Perhaps the highlight of this stop was chatting with a guy on a
motorcycle and discovering that he knew a lot of the people from the
hang glider park that I used to fly out of , and that he'd even flown into
my old airport!

Such a small world.

It's now 3:15 AM, it's time to hit the sack.
Will do my best to finish this post tomorrow.

Blessings to you all!

~Eric

...To Your Regularly Scheduled Programming.

So, last I checked I'd caught you up on most of the

happenings from October... Since then, life's been even

crazier, but let's try to make our way through it!





Somewhere along the way, Ethan informed me that he was:

"Tired"









And then moments later, he was...







"Too (2) Tired"

I know, uber blurry... But his expression is priceless, isn't it?!?

Enough hilarity... After her visit up to Dayton, it was time for me
to run Ms. Julie back down to Atlanta, in time for Church once again.
There, we were asked to shoot the worship leader Rickey Cole...
He's a WONDERFUL artist, and a better man.

"Things Are Looking Up"

Rickey is a blast to shoot, not to mention being incredibly
photogenic... Pray for his ministry and music to grow!

"The Finale"

As my relationship grew with Julie and her family, I found myself
spending more and more time down in Atlanta, 5 days a week minimum
it seemed... Great times were shared!

One day we pulled in the drive way from the grocery store and
I leapt out of the car to catch this image before the light changed.


"Purple Fire"

Took about 30 exposures to get this one, but it's exactly what I had
in mind, lens flare and all!

Somewhere along the way (I think it was in early October, actually)
my video card started going out on my iBook... Over 2 months, it made
two trips to Apple Repair, each time they got it back to me promptly
and
the second time it was fixed properly! (Go buy a Mac... You'll be glad you did).

Julie and I talked to a friend of her family's who was a tech guru, and he
said that he'd do his best to help me get my Sony Vaio back in operation,
so we agreed to meet for the afternoon. We planned to meet at Kennesaw
Mountain and then run over to his home office.

Well, they didn't show at the Mountain, but Julie and I had a great hike!

"My Perspective..."

After the hike we spent about 5 hours trying to get my Sony working,
to no avail... So, our friend gave me an old Dell to hold me over which
though slow as dirt, absolutely saved my butt for the 2 months I was Mac-less!

As the frequency and endurance of my visits increased, I started going
to a chiropractor 2-3 times a week... Many of you know that I have a
broken back, as well as advanced scoliosis, so I'm sure you can imagine
how wonderful that is for me! Best of all, he only charges $25 a week

After a quick trip to said chiropractor, Julie and I grabbed sushi at the
ever illustrious Publix.

Julie, Destroyer of Sushi...

But alas, I've left out something about Julie which is of key importance...
See, she's an art teacher... 4-10 year olds for Master's Academy thus,
when I'm in town, I inherit the position of "Teachers Assistant" a job
that I must say is a blast... Tiring as it may be.

Better still, they've asked me to shoot for their yearbook... Let me tell you,
these kids are the best models EVER!

"Blue Eyed Lass"

So beautifully eager to learn...

And now, introducing "Madison" the most precious little
girl in the world... I want one just like her!

"Poised for Practice"

And now, on to something scary...
My friend Bri is in art school and begged me (literally)
to take some pictures of my hands so that she'd have
a good reference for an upcoming project. Over time, I
finally folded and decided to be kind.

Another friend, Freya was over I asked if she'd shoot some
photos for me... She took lots of great shots, and then this
one final shot to scare away my subscribers.

Yup, that's me... Scared yet?

We're nearing the end of this adventure together, so let me leave you
with one last photo to wet your appetites for my next post. It'll begin
where this leaves off, a photo exploration with my buddy Don, through
the Chickamauga battlefield and surrounding area.

"Red Wall... Not Just for Dragons"

That's it for today folks, please let me know how I can be
praying fort you... Thank you all for your prayers, and for
your wonderful birthday wishes!

I fly back South on Saturday, and I can't wait to get "home"!

P.S. Which was your favorite shot?!

Just Beer!

We had a GREAT time up in New York City, found some real
hole in the wall pubs, and celebrated my 21st in style

I have almost 400 photos from the day, will be sharing many of
them with you soon... Perhaps tonight or tomorrow!

P.S. Praise God for public transportation!!

'Cause It's My Birthday!

At least it will be in a few hours...
I'd post tomorrow, but I'm afraid that I'll be busy!

See, I'm on a business trip to Newark, NJ which means
that tomorrow I'll be spending my 21st birthday in the
small town of NEW YORK CITY! ...

I'm a bit jazzed.

From the flight up:

"A Sunrise Apparition"

More pictures forthcoming, to be sure...
MANY pictures from tomorrow coming as well!

I'd appreciate your Prayers on my upcoming year, as
it holds even larger happenings than the previous one

Talk to you soon,

...At The Second Week



Of October that is!

I'm In Florida right now visiting my family for Christmas.
We'll be driving "home" tomorrow just in time for me to
catch a flight to Newark, NJ for a 4 day business trip.

Suffice it to say, life is BUSY... Beautiful, brutal, and
brilliant as it may be .



But, allow me to jump back into the tale of my past few months.
My last post ended with an eye catching moment on top of Mount
Kennesaw (more of a large hill really ). To give my days justice,
I've done my best to capture as many pictures as possible... In order!

From the beginning of September, my dear friends Julie and Heather
had been driving up to Tennessee from Atlanta to visit our mutual
friend Wesley and I. After our trip to Savannah, we switched roles.
I'd had the chance to meet Julie's family, and they offered me their
couch "anytime" so I immediately started spending a large portion
of my time down there... And what a great time it was!


On one of the many 2.5 hour trips down to visit, I spotted this Italian Beauty
setting up to pass me, so I grabbed my trusty camera and shot a "quick"
image... Before he disappeared over the horizon!




Lamborghinis are gorgeous, especially the new ones!
On the 11th, I was working on a project parked outside a coffee shop,
"borrowing" their internet while I waited for Julie to get out of class
at the art school where she teaches. Across the avenue from the coffee
shop was a gorgeous park, bespeckled with the yellow and red leaves
that swirled around the air, tossed by the cool Fall breeze.


Ironically, this one blew in my window, landed on my laptop, and wasn't
even a "real" Apple leaf





After about an hour, I couldn't take it anymore so I went for
a quick stroll around the park where I found this cool plant:





Anyone have any idea what it is?


After a few days in Atlanta, Julie and I ran back up to TN for the
weekend... An eventful one at that! The following photos are from
a few of our adventures up there.

Julie's a photog as well, so she joined Emily and I on a photo-outing
one evening "on the town" in Dayton.

As we set out, we came upon the County Courthouse... Site of the
"Scopes Monkey Trial" in 1925 (cool story, cooler location) and I
decided to try the "rotating blur" trick I'd heard about.




No special effects in Photoshop, it's a 1/8th second exposure,
handheld then rotated about 15 degrees... Came out pretty well!

And then, a better angle on the Courthouse... With a message:




And then, the next morning we made our way up narrow
backroads to the top of Dayton Mountain (This one's a "real"
mountain, I promise )

Once we made it to the top, I captured a beautiful group of
wildflowers as they were swaying in the wind.




Technical note: I used a fairly small aperture [F11], in hopes of
getting more detail in the background, and I really like the way
it came out, though there is one distracting line in the bokeh...
Shot at 51mm.



From the Mountain we made our way back to Dayton where I
caught a picture of Julie stealing my coat, hat, AND magazine...

The Humanity!!





Then it was back to Atlanta with us, just in time for Church
Sunday morning at His Hands...



"Announcing..."




And in Children's Church:

"Unrivaled Joy"

Then a few days later I ran back to Dayton for some business,
and a late night shoot with my buddy Blake, up on the Bryan
College campus... It was a rainy evening, and the precipitation
made for some really cool shots



"That Way..."





Blake... "Shooting for Christ"





A Poor Man's Tripod...
Blake using a well placed lamp post.





And here's what we were shooting at...




De'Lovely.


My last picture for this post is one I took after
a great Cracker Barrel dinner with my buddy Don.


"October Sky"





More posts forthcoming, please keep me in your Prayers...
I need it, as do those I love... So pray for all of us!


Let me know how I can be praying for you, and which
photo was your favorite today!!