Painting with light.

There are two basic types of painting with light photography. One of the uses a light that is moved in different directions to create swirls, circles, lines etc. The other type is created by using a subject at night and taking multiple shots while lighting up different areas of the subject. Those photos are then layered to give a dramatic effect. I've done both and I really love the second type that was mentioned here. This take a lot of work but well worth it. Here is a sample of both. As always you can see more pictures by clicking the button to the right of this page.

This was created by moving the camera instead of the light source.

This is my first try at the second style I mentioned. In the future I'll have better pictures like this to share and hopefully they will continue to get better as we go.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the post.

Off topic of photography today.

What happened to the old was?

This country has had it's great accomplishments and it's great failures, But the foundation has been so badly destroyed.
Our ancestors cared for each other, for their neighbors and their community. People helped one another in times of need and were charitable for the greater good of all.
Families took care of their own. They took responsibility for their children and disciplined them, guided them and raised them to be responsible people. Families took care of their grandparents not throw them into a retirement home. Everyone worked for the greater good of their family.
Children did as they were told by their parents. They grew up to show respect for their family and others they would meet. They worked hard like the rest of the family and earned what they had.
The government controlled the military to protect the people. The politicians listened to the community and worked for them. The government officials served a term and then went back to their own businesses. Government officials served their term speaking for the people and not their own personal gain or power over those whom they were suppose to answer too.

Today is a different day and it is a bleak one.   

Families send their elderly off to homes so someone else can care for them. They send their children to daycare and school expecting them to raise them so as not to be burdened with their own child. The children do not listen to their parents and speak to them as if they were dogs. If a parent disciplines their child, they are charged with child abuse.
Neighbors no longer care about each other and charity towards others has become a rare thing. The people now expect government to care for those in need instead of the community. People needing help are looked down upon because of all the people that don't want to work are taking the money meant for those who can't.
Our government officials no longer want to listen to the people that elect them. they have turned their political positions into life long careers, which has put them out of touch with the people. People now elect politician because of their party and not their record or ability. Politicians now look out for themselves and punish those who work hard to get ahead in life. Political correctness has taken the place of open conversation and debate.

I could go on but this little bit gets the view across. I wonder where we went wrong? I wonder if we can ever fix the mistakes that are being made or if we are destine to repeat history and fall from the grace of God as a country. As long as people bury their heads in the sand we will fall, and it won't take long.

This has been off topic of this site, but it had to be brought up. Peace and love to all.

2013 Chalk walk

Well the 2013 dogwood arts festival chalk walk was finally here. Last year I thought that there was the best street chalk work that could ever be done. I was wrong! this year there were some of the same artist and a lot of new ones. The artist weren't the only ones there because they had live bands playing and the same piano that was there last year. It sat in the middle of the square and anyone that wanted to play could. A few of the street vendors from last year were there and many new ones as well. I wasn't able to stay as long this year as I did last year. But I took full advantage of the photo ops. Normally I'll post one or two here for you and refer you to my flicker site. But I'll post a few more this time. If you enjoy these please click on my photo link on the right to see many more.

On the mountain.

  Well it's been quite a while since I've been here and there has been so much going on. We all made it threw the new year without any problems and I see that I was able to get some pictures posted back in December. I really haven't taken a lot since then but have take a few. If you are one of the people that follow this post I am sorry that it's been so long.

  The winter here has been just rainy and cold. Outside has just been wet, cold, windy and muddy out. we did manage to get one ice over and a couple times it snowed but melted within a couple hours. So no great snow pictures either. Well I can't blame it all on the weather to be honest with you. Even when the sun was out and the temp was above 45 degrees I stayed at the house indoors.

  We got out a couple time and that is where the title comes from. My son and I had looked at a couple of pieces of property after the first of the year and finally picked out one that we are happy with. Our intension was a little land for hunting and camping. One lot was 80 acres and all hillside. It took us a good 2 1/2 hours to get there and it was rough to walk and had been logged within the past 8 years or so. Because of that there wasn't a good canopy from the trees which gave way to a heavy undergrowth. We finally found a smaller 43 acres and were pretty happy with that area and now can go whenever we want. My daughter is already planning out some summer camping there and I am hoping to get up and catch some photos of the wildlife there. For those of you following my flicker site you have seen some of that area and for those who haven't I'll put a couple up here for you to get a idea of how pretty it is there at this time of the year. Enjoy these photos and please view the rest of them from my link on the right.

Seasonal Lights

It's that time of year again when the lights go up all around town. I get out and take a different view of the lights then most people do. When you visit the photos posted on my photos you will see what happens when I twist my brain. Twisting my camera while taking those photos of the lights is just as crazy. So for my December post I'll share some of those for you and if you enjoy these, please follow the link to my Flickr page and get a view of some others. The abstract once are made by using a slow shutter speed and putting a little motion to the camera. Try some up and down, circular motion or even a little zig zag. Take a look and maybe they will get you thinking about reaching out and being more creative. Enjoy the photos and please get out and experiment some.

Fall is here.

Fall has hit and the weather is showing it. This is one of my favorite times of year with the cooler weather and the spectacular colors of the foliage. I was able to get away and take a trip up to the Great Smoky Mountains. On this trip we didn't actually go into the national park, but rather in Gatlinburg along the edge of the park. Gatlinburg Tennessee is considered the gateway to the Smoky's and if you have never been there I highly recommend you visit there when you're in east Tennessee. Though the many years that I have lived here I never get tired of visiting there. The place has changed so much in the years but you can still walk the streets and visit the many shops or watch fresh taffy being pulled or pick up some one of a kind wood carvings. Take a ride on a ski lift chair or take the tram all the way to Ober Gatlinburg where you can enjoy the ice skating rink or visit the bear exhibit outside. As always I'll give you a few photos of Gatlinburg and you can see those and many more on the flickr site by clicking on the link to the right under my photos.

Was Great

San Diego was great while I was there. I was able to spend lots of time with my family and do some great things with them. Kayaking in the bay and at the Imperial dam, going to the car museum, botanical garden and zoo. I got to take my mom out for her birthday along with my brothers. It's so hard to explain how great it was but it was and now I'm back to Knoxville. Was able to get lots of good photos while there and met a lot of people along the way. As normal I posted some pix on the flickr page for you all to enjoy, but here are a couple for a preview.

San Diego's Sea World fireworks.

Have been visiting family in San Diego and managed to get down to Mission bay to view the fireworks from Sea World. I'm making this post a little different then the past by adding a video of the fireworks instead of the usual photos. So this one is short and I want to let you get right to the video. Just click on the attached youtube link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp7SYwqCku4

Car shows

  I made it to another car show today and posted 55 of them on Flickr, you can get there by clicking on My Photos on the right side of the page. As always I will post just a couple of them on my post. This year has offered a lot of car shows and I enjoyed going to each and every one of them. Cars are another one of my passions (second to photography). I think of automobiles as art within themselves. When you meet the owners of the cars, you car see the love they have for their cars. These people have years of work put into their cars. When you go to most shows you will always find a couple of cars for sale. When you talk to them, they will usually tell you that they had so much enjoyment building it that they want to start on another. Just like art, you can buy them if the price is right. Now that is what I call a true passion for cars. As you can tell by the post. (I would love to build one for myself. So before I bore you all, here is a few of the cars from today.

This is only four of the cars, and as I mentioned there are fifty five of them posted. I recommend you view them, not just for the cars but for the variety of photography styles used. For those of you that have a passion for photography, you should take a look and even get some ideas for your next shoot.

Counting down

  Well it's about four more weeks and I'll be out on the west coast again, and I am getting more excited every day as it gets closer. You would think that it isn't that big of a deal since I grew up there and I've been going back out there every year for at least a month at a time. But it is still so nice to spend time with my Mom and Brothers out there, of course it also gives me a chance to take some good photographs in another location other then east Tennessee. Don't get me wrong, there is so many different things that go on out here, I'll never run out things and places to take photos. Being in California for only a month at a time, there will always be something new to shot. Last year I managed to get many Christmas light and decoration shots. this August and September there will be all new opportunities. That's what you can look forward to seeing on this post in a couple of weeks. For now here are a couple photos that have recently been taken.

Don't forget to go to the flicker site and see many more new photos that have been recently added.

Home Sweet Home

  Only 48 days left until I get back to San Diego. A photographers dream with the ocean, beaches, Mountains and desert to see and enjoy. It's going to be great to see my Mom and two brothers that still live out there. They are always active and I'll be able to join them in their activities such as luncheons with a performance each Tuesday, Kayak Fishing and camping in the desert. Along with that we will get to spend a lot of quality time together. We don't see much of each other but I have taken the time to get out there once a year. Last year I wound up going there three times the first time was a planned trip when all five brothers were there at the same time for our mothers eightieth birthday. The other two times were not for pleasure. Our youngest brother had a heart attack the day after our mothers birthday and I still had to fly back home on schedule, But I did a turnaround and flew back after one day home. I then spent another three weeks there. A month later he was back in the hospital with serious complications and I flew back as soon as I heard about it. He wound up having a six hour surgery on my birthday and all turned out well. He has now recovered and is doing better then ever. This years I am hoping for a much more relaxing trip and less traumatic. I only have two more planned photography meet ups before I leave and will get some more pictures posted within that time. So for those of you that follow my Flickr site, You will have some more shots to enjoy within the next three weeks. For those of you that only follow this page I will still post a couple of photos from each shoot.
  So you all keep on taking those photos and enjoy the passion of photography.

Car Show

Last week Evelyn and I attended another Car show. I didn't know about this one up until a week before it happened. It was by luck that I found out about this one when I decided to pick up a sandwich at Subway. While they were making my sub I noticed some passes sitting on their counter that were for this car show at Chilhowee Park in Knoxville TN. I usually know when there is a car show anywhere near here but was taken by surprise on this one. Well we made it to the show and found that this one had a super selection of vehicles from classics to race cars and monster trucks.

As usual I got lots of photos at this event and have posted many of them on my Flickr site. I'll post a couple of them here as I normally do, But you should go to my photos on the right side of this page and it will lead you to the flickr page. If you have never been there and you do have a passion for photography, Please go there and see some of my work. You'll find that I look at things differently and have a style that makes me stand out in the automotive photography area. As always I have a couple shots here to share.

Wood Carvers

I had a idea the other day to go out to Townsend and see what they had at the wood carvers. My plan was to get prices on a large chainsaw carved Wolf. Believe it or not, some of the large chainsaw carvings were less then the smaller hand tool carvings. The person working there pointed out that all the detail in the smaller ones can be a whole lot more difficult. It makes total sense. They don't only use chisels, But they use dental tolls as well both power drills and the hand held scrapers. With these tools they can make very fine details like feathers and fur. With the chainsaw the size of the carving is significant but the detail is less. They have no problem with people taking photos there and I'm thinking about going back ( and remember my DSLR camera. Here is a couple of the pictures I took with my point and shot camera. Not as fine and detailed but they do show the creativity of these craftsmen. heres a couple of photos taken. As always you can view many more shots on my Flickr site. Just click on My Photos on the right side of this page. Enjoy and go take some photos. You'll have fun doing it and have the pictures to remember the experience.

 Hand carved indian head. Looks like it was carved from cedar, could have been hickory Aprox,12x20.

This is a chainsaw carved wolf that is 4' tall and comes with a 6' tall indian holding an eagle on his outstretched arm. You can buy it for $8,000.

Relay For Life.

I managed to make it to the "Relay For Life". For those of you that don't know what that is, It is a charity to raise funds for cancer research as well as a way for people to remember those who did not win the battle with cancer. The event was held at the Maryville College in Blount county Tennessee. There was a few hundred people participating in the walk and more running booths to raise more funds for this cause. The luminaries all had the name of someone we have lost to cancer. There was a thirty minutes of silence while all there was was they people walking the path of luminaries. I was so taken by all of this that I did not get too many photos. I'll share a few that I did take below. Please think of the ones you lost or are battling this horrible thing.

 People came from all over to participate in the event. There was even a non female pageant to raise $.

 Many booths around to continue raising more donations.

 Luminaries with names of loved ones that have lost the battle with cancer.

The torches stayed lit thru the 24 hour event. God bless you all.

Awesome Trucks

Back on the 18th of May I drove out to Pigeon Forge TN, to see the "All Ford Super nationals" The focus was on Fords F100 series trucks yet there were other cars there as well. It was a warm dummy day and that helped show some of the reflections from those perfect paint jobs. I spent a few hours there and still did not see everything there was to see. As my regular readers know by now, It's all about photography for me. But, Classic cars are a fascination of mine and they always have been ever since I could walk. Well this was great for me to enjoy both of my passions at one time. It's gets even better for me because there are a couple more car shows coming up soon. Once again I'm going to share a couple of my shots with you again. But, as I always say "Please go to the My Photos link on the right and see a large variety of my work". Or Copy and paste the link. http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul-clack/