Fall Creek Falls

Several years ago I paid a visit to beautiful Fall Creek Falls in central Tennessee, which is situated in Fall Creek Falls State Park in the heart of the Cumberland Plateau. This area is hugely popular with tourists and visitors for its many waterfalls such as Fall Creek Falls, Rock Island Falls and Cummins Falls. On this hot Summer day I captured this image of the waterfall with the slightest stream of water falling over the rocks.

I chose to repost these images after a minor adjustment I made in Lightroom which I didn't have at that time. Now with the aid of my software, with the shadows pulled back, the beautiful detail in the rocks on the side of the cliff is exposed. When photographing waterfalls, I never leave home without my tripod and with it, the clamp that holds my camera tight, but on this day it failed to make it into my camera gear. So I had to improvise by placing my camera on top of the log railing at the overlook. I wanted that feathery feel one gets with the right adjustments when photographing water. However, I settled for these images and I have to say I don't mind at all. They are just as beautiful. What is that old saying, 'when you have lemons, make lemonade.' ENJOY!

A Photo Story

Reflections, Japanese Gardens, Gibbs Gardens

I am a self taught photographer. I studied Adam Jones, a well known nature photographer here in the States, and James Archambeault, a well known Kentucky outdoor photographer, whose specialty is landscapes and historical settings. I practiced shooting the light using 35mm slide film. I was actually quite good at it to my amazement. When I switched to digital it was frightening. The best thing I did was purchase Adobe Lightroom. Lightroom brings out detail in the shadows which is one of its best features. I love detail and I especially love bold, rich color. It comes from working too many years in the advertising industry. However, I seldom tweak the color, yet at times I do tweak saturation.

I wished I could have captured a crystal clear reflection in this image, but Mother Nature was blowing wistful breezes that day at Gibbs Gardens. I was thankful for them as it was hot. I used my 200mm lens. I had stopped using it so much, but recently I have noticed I am switching back and forth from the 200 to 300mm. This is one of my favorite images from that outing. The contrast in the green foliage and trees is fantastic and the detail, I love it. I took three portraits of this setting, working more on landscape views. I didn't linger when I took the portraits, yet I did on the landscapes. Turns out I love the portrait setting best. Isn't it amazing how that happens.

I appreciate your comments from my trip to Gibbs Gardens and Old Car City, and again to Cheekwood. I do have another post on Old Car City I will share soon. Fall is upon us here in Tennessee. Have a great week. ENJOY!

Using Adobe Lightroom

When you are in love with the many petals that make up a Water Lily as I am, you envision each one in intricate detail. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to capture such detail on a bright sunny day. Here is where my Adobe Lightroom enters the picture. No pun intended. I purchased Lightroom just before Adobe converted to their fee program. I wanted access to Lightroom without paying a monthly fee for the rest of my life. I am so glad I bought it then. I seldom use it, however, it was perfect for achieving the detail I wanted in this image. I use Picasa to lighten or darken images, and occasionally I tweak the highlights. I always use it to crop and sharpen all of my images. But when I use Lightroom, it is strictly to do a tad more work. I can't say I achieved exactly what I was hoping for with this image, but I did come close.

Before I leave you today, I think it bears mentioning that I have grown thoroughly sick of the weather here in Nashville. It has rained most of the past three weeks. They say, they being the meteorologists here in Nashville, that it will be sunny tomorrow. Tomorrow, just one day, seriously. There must be some rule that states in Winter months you are not allowed more than a day of sunshine at a time. Hence, Winter's dreary days have come and I believe to stay. Dare I say it here. There are only 25 days left until Christmas. Where does the time go. ENJOY!