This weekend I was able to go out with the Piedmont Photography Club to the Doughton Park Ice Wall. The field trip was led by Terry Hill. I think 15 people attended this years trip to the wall.

It was a warm day reaching into the upper 50s. That made it very comfortable however very slippery with the water freezing to black ice on the road.

Once we finished there we went to a waterfall in Daughton Park. There we spent about an hour looking for interesting subjects to artistically document. I think we found a few.

Finally towards the end of the afternoon while on our way out of the park we found a few curious deer to photograph. They were very young and for the most part not very afraid of humans.

We finished the day off by eating at the Basin Creek General Store in Elkin.

Chad

For Christmas, Chad and I traveled to Florida to spend time with my parents.

We arrived in Tampa at the airport on Monday a few days before Christmas and my parents were there waiting. It was great to see them. Mom had planned a bunch of activities for us for the week and our first stop was at a shopping center called Wiregrass which was about 30 minutes away from their home.

The Wiregrass shopping center was neat with many popular stores to see. The shopping center contained many narrow streets decorated for Christmas with music playing at every other light post. In the center were many large Christmas trees all lit up and a mini train for children to ride. Mom mentioned she wished I was small again as an excuse so she could ride with me!

After looking around for a while, we went to an American grill for dinner. Dad and I got some great steaks which we both bragged on and told Mom and Chad we had the better meal. It was also happy hour at the restaurant, so we all were able to get drinks half price!

After eating, we watched a light show at the big Christmas trees where the lights were in tuned with the music. Chad took some pictures while we watched from the side. It was great to see.

When we got back to my parents place, we checked out their new home. Back in May, Mom and Dad bought a small house in a golf community. I think they like the warm winters in Florida!

Not sure what their plans will be next, but they like to move a lot and travel. I guess that is why I like to travel too.

On Tuesday, we went to a nature park where you could see all the animals native to Florida. We saw many animals some of which were manatees, alligators, turtles, pelicans, owls, a river otter, and the most popular…a hippopotamus called Lu. Lu is an honorary member of the park because he is originally from California. Lu was the main attraction especially when he was fed his routine meal of melons!

Later on, we had a late lunch at Crackers in Crystal River which is Mom’s favorite place. It was nice with a patio on the back right on the water. We took a few pictures, enjoyed the view, and had another good meal.

Wednesday, we drove down to Tarpon Springs which is the Sponge Capital of the World. It’s a Greek community with lots of small shops and Greek restaurants right on the gulf. Mom and I found us both a t-shirt that’s black and white, but in the sun it becomes very colorful. I also bought some spicy mayo at a spice store which is a favorite of mine these days. Chad bought some cigars at a small booth. Hopefully he will get to enjoy one of them once we get back home. We had lunch at a Greek restaurant call Mama’s. They served tons of food and it was very good.

To watch the sunset that evening, we went to a beech nearby. Chad got some great photos!

On Christmas Day, we woke up and the first thing we did was open presents. It’s a tradition in my family that we open gifts based on age…youngest to oldest, so I got to go first! I received everything I wanted and more. Mom and Dad got me a gravy bowl and plate that matches my china set. The items in my stocking were: warm cozy socks, Mickey Mouse snow globe which will remind me of my time in Florida and a snowman that Dad picked out that you wind up and it wobbles across the table. They also got me a snowman pillow, an IFR flight book which I will enjoy reading and $50 that is a special tradition for Dad to give! Chad bought me some black angle boots which fit perfect. Pat and Chris gave me a beautiful sweater poncho handmade by Pat and Grandma gave me a nice red scarf that she also made herself! These last two items will come in handy in Feb. for sure while I am working in Sweden.

Chad got a cigar ashtray which he has been wanting for a while, a blue shirt, a small camera backpack, socks, lens cloth cleaner, and $50!

Mom and Dad received two framed funny golf pictures, two books, and a golf ornament.

Overall, it was an excellent Christmas!  We had some great food and enjoyed the whole day. That evening we went back to see the sunset! While Chad took some more excellent pictures, Mom and I built a castle in the sand! Later on, we played some 42! Mom and I were partners for the night and we won! I remember last year Chad and Dad were the champions, so Mom and I got some revenge.

On Thursday, we went to see a movie. We decided on watching “Seven Pounds” with Will Smith. It was an interesting movie and kept you guessing the whole time. That night, we played another game 42, however this time we switched partners and Mom and Chad won! Oh well, maybe next time we will beat ‘em.

Chad and I had a wonderful time in Florida. Mom and Dad, we would like to thank you for everything.

Rhonda

Rhonda and I got to go to the Skydive Carolina Christmas party hosted at Dilworth Billiards in downtown Charlotte. Here are a few photos I took of the awards presentation. I would have taken more except my flash ran out just as Jan was receiving his Skydiver of the Year award.

See all of my photos in the gallery below.

Chad

This weekend I was fortunate enough to be able to photograph the 2008 Stokesdale Christmas Parade. My goal for this project was to make you feel like you went to the parade. At least that is what I would attempt to do.

Before I decided to photograph the parade, I wanted to check with the parade organizers to make sure it was ok with them. I found Vicki White-Lawrence, the parade chairman, on the Stokesdale web site. I sent her an email telling her about me and what I wanted to do. She quickly responded. After checking with the city, she informed me I could take pictures, but not stop the progress of the parade. That worked for me so I was now set to go.

I decided I wanted to photograph Stokesdale at sunrise before the parade. That way the streets would be empty. I wanted to see what it would be like with no one on the street compared with the whole parade later that afternoon. It was a cool morning starting around 6:30 or so. I found a few sites which conveyed to me what the empty streets felt like on this cool morning. Once I was done, I headed home to warm up and recharge the camera batteries.

Around 11:00 AM, I made my way back to town and started photographing people constructing their floats and getting ready for the parade. I ran into a large number of people. Everyone was very friendly letting me take their photograph setting up their equipment. Thinking back on this I should have had some paper and pen ready to take down names of people and the groups they were with. When I get the opportunity to do something like this again, I will make sure I don’t forget.

I met with Vicki soon after I arrived to introduce myself and say hi. She was extremely busy, but took a few moments to talk with me. After that, I spent the next 3 hours or so looking for exciting photographs.

About an hour before the parade started, Rhonda found me while I was taking a break and sitting down on some steps. I originally thought she was going to spend the day practicing flying, but she decided she could not miss a once a year parade.  So after our brief break, I headed out to the crowds to talk with them and to photograph what they were up to.

At 2 PM the parade started. The streets were filled with a large number of people. More than I imagined. It was great. Everyone from everywhere. I photographed most of the floats and groups in the parade as well as the spectators.

The first thing I noticed was all of the parade groups were throwing candy. Not just a little bit, but large amounts for all of the children in the crowds. I think it was probably better than Halloween since you just had to stand there and wait for the candy to come to you. I photographed many kids trying to catch candy flying by.

By the time the parade finished I felt I had enough for the day and headed home.

I think my goal for the next year is to photograph as many Stokesdale events as I can. I’ll also try to think of some sort of photo project I can do with Belews Lake.

I want to thank Vicki White-Lawrence the parade coordinator for her help in getting me permission to photograph the parade and identify subjects of my photographs.

See all of my photos in the gallery below.

Chad

The week of October 18th through the 24th, I was lucky enough to attend the Rocky Mountain School of Photography – Fall Color in the Appalachians at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Rhonda was able to come along and spend the week visiting Gatlinburg and Townsend as well a touring the park and attending a few of our critique sessions.

The week started on Saturday afternoon meeting together for a few hours and getting acquainted. Brenda Tharp taught the class and Eileen Kennan worked on the details of keeping all of us going and answering a large number of individual questions in the field.

This year the fall color was at about 25% and not predicted to get better for another 10 days or so. Because of this, our schedule was adjusted on a daily basis in order to give us possible opportunities for shooting the fall color as well as getting the best areas for fog, sunrises and sunsets.

The first thing I needed to do was to find someone to carpool with because Rhonda needed the car to go to town during the days. Eileen helped out by pairing us with people who were able to drive. I was lucky enough to be driven the whole time by Carolyn Andros and Bridget Ruiz riding shotgun. They were both in the Navy, very competitive, and have done very well in swimming, climbing and other sports. They traveled all over the world, found their husbands in the Navy, and squeeze in time to raise their children,. They have tons of great stories and do photography as a business and hobby.

The next morning we were out at about 6:45 shooting waterfalls on Tremont road just outside Cades Cove. It turned out to be a fairly good way to get into shooting and especially for Brenda and Eileen to be able to understand everyone’s skill levels and helping them get started.

After everyone returned from the field by 10:30 or so we worked on processing our photos and getting 10 of our own photos from our portfolio turned in for critique and also to show Brenda and Eileen what we were capable of doing. After lunch we spent the afternoon going through everyone’s photos. At that point I was concerned I had a lot of catching up with the group in terms of their understanding of photography and quality of photos. Eventually Brenda critiqued my 10 best photos and she did a very good job. The two photos she did not have much to improve on were the two photos which received recognition at my photography clubs competitions. She judged them perfectly in line with what other judges were seeing. It was good to get new ideas on how to improve my images.

That evening we went out to the end of Tremont road and took more photos of waterfalls and reflected light. While climbing down a steep bank, crawling over trees, getting poked by a thorn bush or two we found some great photos. Along the way Brenda caught up with us to see how were were doing. Afterwords she hiked to another area. While walking under a very low broken down tree, her backpack got caught on the tree and she fell backwards onto a very sharp rock. She hit hard. At that point I thought we were in trouble. I was concerned she had broken a bone. After a few minutes of regaining herself, she kept on going. I was surprised and relieved at the same time. I made a note to be a lot more careful while crawling around the banks. Once it starts getting dark, it can be difficult traversing the sides. Once this shoot was finished, we were allowed to go home, eat, and edit our photos for 3 critiques the next day.

The next morning we were up around 6:40 for Sparks Lane in Cades Cove. There we found no wind, an early morning fog, a bit of frost, and some good first light. We spent about 3 hours in the area doing our best to get some good ones.

After Sparks Lane we met in the classroom for our first critiques. It was amazing to watch the photos coming up for review in front of the class. Everyone saw something different even though we took our photos in about 2000 feet of shore line at each area. Along the way I learned some great ideas for future outings.

Later that evening we shot another river in the park near Chimney Tops. I chose one particular area that was a little bright and later on, learned it had too large of a leaf on the falls. Brenda eventually found me and made some great suggestions. She removed the large yellow leaf on my falls and replaced it with a better one. After a few more tries on exposure I got this.

After Chimney Tops we went to an area near Newfound Gap to photograph the sunset. Here we experimented with our neutral density filters and for a short time our polarizers.

The next morning we were up very early to see the sunrise in the parking lot of Clingmans Dome. We arrived to find very thick fog, very cold (Why didn’t I wear my underarmor????? Be prepared! It’s easier to peel off clothes than to freeze.) and winds from 10 to 25 mph. It was extremely challenging to find some great images, but we found a few in the early hours.

We met after lunch to go over critiques. After that we had the option of going out on our own to photograph. I was tired from the early excursions and late evening going over my photos so I decided to stay home, edit my photos and eat dinner with Rhonda. Even though I missed one evening, that turned out to be a good decision. I was very rested and ready to go for the next day.

The following morning we went to Clingmans Dome again to photograph the sunrise. Carolyn was driving Bridget and I as usual. Along the way we noticed the gas gauge was basically on empty. So, us three geniuses were trying to figure out if we should get out of line and go to Gatlinburg to get gas or take a chance and try to make it to the dome. We decided to go to the city. That turned out to be the correct decision. Once we turned towards Gatlinburg at Sugarland crossing, the gas warning light and sound went on. We quickly made it to a gas station across town. The first pump we tried was so slow. We could count the pennys of gas going into the tank. The irony was thick. We were in an extreme hurry to catch up with our classmates. Eventually we switched to a different pump and got half a tank and made our way to the dome. We got there just in time as everyone else was set up and just getting going. This turned out to be the best morning for a firey red sunrise and a light fog over the valley.

Once the sunrise was finished we made our way further south past the turn to Clingmans done. I tried to take some good photos in the brighter morning light, but it did not work out too well for me that morning. I showed Rhonda what I had done and her question was “Why?”. Ok, I left those out. Remember a great photographer only show you their best. (While Rhonda was away I did sneak one in on my painterly tries for critique and Rhonda was right. I should have used another, but I just had to find out.)

That afternoon we had more critiques and later on headed to photograph the churches in Cades Cove. After photographing the Methodist Church we took Hayatt Lane and headed to the Dan Lawson Place. While there Bridget learned how to photograph a deer jumping a fence. Unfortunately, neither of us had our cameras ready. I missed the shot and she at least got the focus working, but did not have time to take the camera off of manual. She did get a dark shot of the deer in mid air over the fence. Next time we’ll be more ready for drive by shootings.

At the Lawson place I took my infamous shot of the corner of a log cabin. Rhonda said don’t turn that in for critique, but I could not help myself. I needed to know. During critique Brenda was kind enough to say, “nice exercise”, but at that moment I learned I made a mistake. It reminded me of a bunch of years ago when a world champion skydiving instructor kindly said I had “issues” in front of my girlfriend at the time, Rhonda, and her to teammates Nicole and Lauris….after saying they had done great…

The next morning we shot Cades Cove in the Cable Mill area. Before getting into the park we had time to take some photos of the stars. Brenda taught us some ways to figure out exposure and a few of us got some great ones.

At the mill I found a few shots of the mill and then for about 40 minutes I worked with Eileen on getting one of a wagon in a barn using a fill flash. My experience with fill flash was zero and she had to try to teach me a lot. We tried hard, but my images did not turn out good enough to show. At least I now have the idea and with a lot more practice I think I will be able to use fill flash properly in the future.

That afternoon we had predictions of rain so we ended up taking the Foothills Parkway that afternoon and doing close up/macro photography. Brenda showed me what it takes to make a great photo after working with me for an hour on one tree.

The next morning we had a session on equipment and a short slide show of our best photos including face photos Eileen took of us during the week.

It was a great learning experience and I’m looking forward to my next workshop. See my photos in thegallery below.

Chad

Here are some of Chad’s photos from our trip to Fall Creek Cabins near Boone, NC on Sept. 6th.

Photos of Chad’s trip to Dubois, WY.

After visiting my nephews for the first time in 2 years we went fishing at Brooks Lake West of Dubois Wyoming. It is an amazing beautiful lake with many many fish. The ice was not yet cleared off of the lake in one corner. The water was 38 degrees and extremely cold. The fish were biting. Very slow to react. We tried fly fishing without much luck. Turned to worms and artifical bait while letting it sit on the bottom. Rainbows and Browns for a while and then the Lake trout started hitting. After about 5 hours 2 other boats showed up and a bunch of fly fisherman. The wind started picking up and we decided to call it a day with a very successful catch. Maybe next time we’ll hike up to the Lower and Upper Jade lakes. Here are a few of the photos.

Chad

Rhonda: Well, for our last weekend in Europe, we decided to visit Stavanger, Norway which is located in the southwest part of the country. We have heard how beautiful the fjords are in Norway, so this is what we wanted to see. This was a definitely a different type of trip from our previous trips because we wanted to view the country side instead of touring the city.

We left Gothenburg at 2:30PM Thursday afternoon and drove to Oslo for our flight to Stavanger. The drive was not easy because there was construction for more than half way. It was a 3 ½ hour drive and for a good 2 hours, we had to go through construction. When we arrived in Norway, customs stopped us and pulled us aside…I think only because we spoke English, since they didn’t stop the cars in front of us. Oh well, no problem. We just had to answer several questions and then we were back on the road.

The airport in Oslo, I think, is the most efficient airport in the world. We checked in, went through security, all within about 5 minutes! There were no lines. One thing to mention though is their medal detector is very sensitive. Chad’s billfold set it off with only credit cards in it. (Chad: I love the Oslo airport. The airport makes it worth traveling on a airplane.)

Rhonda: After arriving in Stavanger at 9:15 PM, we took a bus to our hotel. I think I will mention now, our hotel (Rica Forum) was the worst hotel that we have stayed in during the last 3 months. It’s unfortunate because I had hoped it would be a good one with the only down side being it was outside the city center. When I booked our hotel, my selection was limited because everything was totally booked! Very few hotels had rooms available. So with that mentioned, when we checked into our hotel, the first incident (out of 4) that happened was that they had us down for a single room which was not what I had booked. For us to have a double room, we would have to take a smoking room. “Ok”, I said, since there was nothing else available.

Friday morning after breakfast, we took a bus to the city center. We had scheduled a boat ride at 10 AM down one of the fjords! Since we had some extra time before our tour, we found a 7-Eleven shop to buy some sandwiches and stuff for our trip. We then found the old Stavanger Cathedral. It was a beautiful old church. We walked all the way around it because I wanted to find an open door to see inside! We never found one though.

Our ferry was called “Strand” and it would take us down the entire Lysefjorden! Both Chad and I could not wait to see it. Our ferry also was a tourist ferry and had audio to describe the different sites along the way. It would take approximately 3 ½ hours one way down to the end of the fjord.

We had heard that the fjords in Norway were beautiful, but I didn’t know how beautiful until I saw one of them in person. I could not believe my eyes. It was truly amazing! The water level was as deep as 1400 feet in some areas and the mountains were as high as 3000 feet. Chad and I grabbed a seat at the front of boat so that we would have a good view. Our ferry went very slow down the fjord, which was good because it gave us a chance to see everything.

The first main site was the Pulpit Rock (Preikestolen). This rock is a huge rectangular shaped rock at the top of the mountain over looking the water. The Pulpit Rock is a popular tourist attraction for hikers. We actually hiked up to the top of the Pulpit Rock the following day which I will describe later.

Next, about half way down, our ferry made a stop in a very small area between the mountains. Our captain was definitely good at maneuvering the huge boat in tiny areas, but I guess he gets practice every day!

At the end of the fjord is a town called Lyse. It is also the location for the famous destination Kjerag. Kjerag is where there is a rock that has fallen and is wedged between two cliffs. We have seen pictures of people online standing on this rock and we heard that you have to jump onto it from the edge of the cliff. I assume it’s not a big jump because so many people have had their picture taken there, but who knows! Also, Kjerag is the perfect spot for base jumpers! Base jumpers from all over the world travel to there to jump off of the cliff. I definitely don’t blame them because this has got to be the most beautiful spot to base jump. It is 3000 feet high and there is a landing area just beside the water. The small landing area is not pleasant though due to the rocks everywhere, but if you have good accuracy skills, then you will probably do ok.

Our ferry then reached our destination of Lyse. It is the base camp for the jumpers. We had one hour to look around before we made our return trip to Stavanger. We decided to visit the base camp and have a drink. We met the owners of the bar/pub and they gave us the discounted jumper rate. It was still expensive, but we were very grateful. After hanging out there for a while, Chad and I thought we might have to make another visit to this location in the future!

We then made an uneventful trip back on the ferry to Stavanger. For dinner, we found a nice restaurant right on the water. One thing I will now mention is that Norway is THE most expensive place to live. Everything is outrageous. One beer costs about 12 dollars compared to our 3-4 dollar beers back home. And that is just one example! Basically everything is about 3-4 times the cost that it is back in the US. (Chad: Yes, Norway is the most expensive. Bring a dump truck full of money.)

Rhonda: After dinner, we took a bus back to the hotel. At this time, I can mention the second incident that occurred at our hotel. Somewhere outside of our room, there was a party going on with some very loud music. We thought it was coming from the 21st floor in the bar since we were located on the 19th floor. But when I called down to the front desk which was around 11 PM, to ask when the music would end, they told me that they thought the music was coming from a car on a street near by. Very unlikely, I thought, but oh well, I didn’t complain anymore. I finally fell asleep around 1 AM.

Ok, now for the 3rd incident at the hotel. Since we were leaving early on Saturday morning at 7 AM and would miss breakfast, we had scheduled a take-away breakfast. The front desk had taken down all the details. When we stopped by the front desk to pick up our breakfast, there was none to be found. They had forgotten about it! So, thank goodness, we had made some extra sandwiches and were able to have them for breakfast.

For Saturday, we had scheduled a hiking trip up to the top of Pulpit Rock. Chad and I were very much looking forward to it. We had to take a ferry then a bus ride to the base of where the hike began.

One of my co-workers told me that the hike was easy. She said that her 80 year old grandmother made the hike with no problems and that it would take about 1 ½ hours to complete! We could not believe it. I think it was the most difficult hike we have ever been on. Unlike the hikes in NC, there was no real path. There were only boulders to walk on and the hike was uphill all the way. It was approximately 3 ½ miles one way. Older senior people were passing us like it was nothing and parents carrying small children on their back also were passing us. I could not believe it. I had thought Chad and I were in shape, but we definitely were not compared to the Norwegians. It took us 2 hours to get to the top!  But what an amazing view when we got there! We could see the entire fjord. Everyone was sitting near the edge of the rock and I even laid down in order to take a peek over the edge! We spent about an hour on the rock taking pictures and had a picnic lunch.

Chad told me later after we had finished the hike that he wasn’t sure if he could make it and was thinking about turning back just after the first fourth of a mile. I was concerned too! The hike was very steep with a rocky path.

We were so tired after the hike that we went straight back to the hotel for dinner and to turn in for the evening. We ended up going to sleep at 8:30 PM!

Chad: We were very tired after the hike and I made a decision we would shower up and eat at the hotel. After cleaning up we went to the 21st floor for dinner. We were immediately seated. After a big hike, I was hungry for a hamburger. In fact I was going to get it with cheese and bacon. I couldn’t believe they would serve such a thing at this nice restaurant. Then Rhonda warned me not to get the dressing on it and said it would not be like a hamburger from the States. Well, it’s gotta be close. What can they do different? This was a learning experience for me. I ordered it without dressing and unfortunately it came with dressing. So I just scraped it off and proceeded to eat it. The first bite was unlike any hamburger I’ve had. It was more like a burger that has been cooking on the fryer for hours and then warmed up. This was not good. However, I guess it is a standard for Europe. The lesson I learned is never order a hamburger in Europe. The meat is not good and it is not cooked like I’m used to. Plus it has every sauce on it in the book to cover up the taste. Plus when you byte it, it is difficult to tear from the main burger. Anyways, if you order a burger in Europe, just realize it is not an American style burger. It is European style and that’s the way it is. I didn’t like it, but ate as much of it as possible.

Rhonda: Ok, now for the last and most upsetting incident at the hotel. Upon checkout Sunday morning, we had an unusual conversation with the front desk clerk. He started to finalize our bill and asked us where we were from. We told him that we were from the US. He immediately mentioned that he was from Brazil and that he was a diplomat and knew many languages. Chad then asked “How did you end up in Norway”? (Chad’s intention was to find out how he ended up in such a great place.) Then I think that was all it took for this guy to go off on us. He had found out that we were from the States and now we were asking how he got there. He was all of a sudden very angry and took it out on us. He said “Well, how did you end up here”? Not meaning us specifically, but people from the US. He said “Are you here to help people? Are you here to solve our problems?” I think he was trying to tell us his opinion that the US always gets involved with other countries when they shouldn’t. I finally spoke up and said, “Excuse me, Listen, Can we just check out”? Chad and I were so upset after this had happened. If this guy was really a diplomat from Brazil, how did he end up working as a front desk clerk in this hotel?

We ended up missing our bus to the airport because we went to the wrong bus stop and had to pay $60 for a taxi which would have been a $15 bus ride.

In summary, Stavanger and the view of the fjord was one of our best trips in Europe. It ranks very high along side with our trip to Rome and Kiruna! We highly recommend this unique and beautiful place to visit and Chad and I will hopefully be able to see it again sometime.

Check out some of our great pictures in the gallery below! On a side note, our pictures don’t do the place justice. It just gives us a little reminder of what our trip to Norway was like. We took about a 1000 pictures and we have posted 89 of those we really like.

We finished our trip to Stavanger Norway this weekend and it is going to take us until around Thursday to get the final article completed. We have the bulk of the write-up done, but we took way to many pictures and we are having difficulty picking which ones to post. I ended up taking about 650 photos and Rhonda took about 250 photos. Now we have to whittle them down to about 50 to process and use.

Also, we are traveling back home this week and that will take up a lot of our time.

We hope to have everything complete by the end of the week.

Thanks,

Chad & Rhonda