Turtle Power!

On Monday, i went searching for some wild art and found turtles sitting on a log in Lake Herrick at the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga. (Thankfully the parking garage thats being built was not in my background)



I went back to the car for the 300 & teleconverter - I really need that 80-400/5.6 - and when i moved, one turtle jumped off.



Three turtles.



Reoriented my position and then there was two.




The last one finally had enough of me being within eyeshot and jumped in, leaving one brave turtle.

Stone Mountain

The skyline of Atlana, noontime. (Okay, I hit Autolevels in Photoshop and got this. Sunshine white balance at about a stop underexposed. Talk about haze)

I've been thinking a lot about this blog post/entry. Since I've grown up living in Northern Virginia, I've grown up around the larger Civil War sites. I drove every day for 3 years through Manassas Battlefield. I've been to Gettysburg to see both lines as well as the small rocks that comprise Little Round Top; those same rocks that held the Union together and gave us the America we know today.

Now what I've never seen is a stone carving of Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and (someone else) in a 1600ft tall giant bubble of granite.



The view on the way up.



Thats the carving.




Apparently Robert E. Lee (center) is related to the people at Easter Island.



I liked the gondolas except they arent air conditioned and we're all put in like cattle.






The breeze was very nice 1600 feet up. Several people were flying kites.



Gratuitous Dropkick Murphys advertising.

Bicycle Ride Across Georgia

Cyclist Diane Crenshaw, center, is photographed by her friend Adam Shumaker, left, at Watson Mill State Park in Comer as riders with the 2009 Bicycle Ride Across Georgia leave the Athens area as part of their 381-mile trek across the state on Thursday, June 11, 2009.

Well since Le Tour isn't hiring me anytime soon, I spend 2 of the past 3 days photographing the Bicycle Ride Across Georgia since it passed through town. Its an interesting eclectic mix of casual and professional riders all mixed into one big pot of 1400 riders.

Its a lot of fun but I understand why cycling photographer work off on motorcycles.

I tried mainly to work on features and just aim for pretty pictures. All in all, a fun time had by all.








Blair Farley of Brimingham, Ala., sleeps on the bleachers of Clarke Middle School after cycling 65 miles from Mt. Airy as the 2009 Bicycle Ride Across Georgia comes through Athens on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 in Athens, Ga. The 381-mile ride started in Hiawassee and ends at Clarks Hill Lake on Saturday June 13th.





Cary Cupkan, of Greenville, SC., stops to help fix the seat of a fellow rider along Jefferson River Road as the 2009 Bicycle Ride Across Georgia comes through Athens on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 in Athens, Ga. The 381-mile ride started in Hiawassee and ends at Clarks Hill Lake on Saturday June 13th.

Sunroof Camera

From the remote camera department: I mounted my work D2X w/14mm out the sunroof with two magic arms as to try and make a time-lapse video as part of a larger project.

Safety cabled the crap out of that. Held great at highway speeds but made a LOT of noise.

Set the camera's intervolemeter to 1 frame every 2 seconds and a max of 999 frames. (Thats 30 frames a minute or 33 minutes, 20 seconds of elapsed time). The video was 2 frames a picture at 30 fps. Looks pretty frantic and hectic. Should make for fun later.




(.....And yet somehow watching my own driving made me ill after watching it in 1080p 3 times in a row.)

Vacation: Test Track

This is the (currently GM sponsored) Test Track attraction at Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Generally i don't look at on-attraction photos as anything more than simple vacation-photos that anyone can take. But not everyone uses a 14mm on a D3. (Damm dirty sensor; this is all at f/11)

So this time around, i decided to play around and try and show some motion of the car and the sensations that you're getting in the nice 10AM light. (Thanks Michelle and Dan!) My only criticism is that there isn't enough of the car in the shots. But i love the streaked light.



After the seat-belt check as you go up the hill.



Entering the "corrosion" chamber.




Its a "happy accident" if you ask me.



The barrier-test, either about 1/4th a second earlier than i wanted to fire it or just too damm wide.

Vacation: Universal Edition

The fountain outside outside the Hard Rock Hotel at the Universal Resort in Orlando, Fla. (Its a rock'n'roll themed fountain. The front side looked so much better in the light but the repairman and his damm pickup truck was in the way and he just wouldn't go away)

For those Disney-enthusiasts that read this, the Hard-Rock Hotel is much like the All-Stars Resort, only with a nicer pool. Room service was good but that was about it. $10/day for internet? $15/day to park my car? I've stayed at some very nice hotels in my life like MGM's Mirage, the Westin in Boston and the Sanctuary at Kiawah Island and those are places where you get the money you pay for. Lowes' Hard Rock just didn't cut it for me. (Call me crazy but i expect my room to maid up EVERY day. And frankly if you're going to compete with Disney, give Disney service.)



At least there was a nice view out the window. (I brought a 14mm to use and experiment on a D3 that i borrowed. D3 is a fantastic camera, it only needs the self-cleaning sensor that the D700 has) I didn't expose for the sky and its a tad blown out.



This nice gentleman had a trick flame wallet at the Ice Cream shop downstairs. Had to crop it to death as i still just had the 14 on.



My sundae. (Generally hot-fudge sundae's come with hot-fudge and not cold Hershey's syrup.)




The Elvis display in the Lobby. Best part of the Resort.



Spanish Moss hanging from a tree by the car.

I'm on Vacation Part 1

Thats my dog Teddy. If only we could all frolic across the back yard like that. Photographing the dog running is more difficult then watching a 40-yard out pattern to the far corner.

I'm on vacation and trying to refresh myself photographically as well as mentally.