Visualizations

Brotherton House

2012-01-20T01:35:00.001-05:00

Brotherton House, a photo by fdtate on Flickr.

A winter scene -- the Brotherton House at Chickamauga Battlefield.

Winter

2012-01-02T00:43:00.000-05:00

Hip Snowmen

2011-12-16T01:24:00.001-05:00

Hip Snowmen, a photo by fdtate on Flickr.

A men's store window display, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Christmas 2010.

BelAir

2011-12-15T00:42:00.001-05:00

BelAir, a photo by fdtate on Flickr.

Orange Glow

2011-12-14T01:26:00.001-05:00

Orange Glow, a photo by fdtate on Flickr.

Outside Looking In

2011-06-06T01:21:00.001-04:00

A shot from my newly-created Flickr set, "Dixie Youth Baseball 2010." The set is a random set of shots from last year when my grandson first started playing organized baseball.

This guy is still a little bit too young to be on the field...

A Memorial Day Photo

2011-05-28T23:39:00.000-04:00

A small little tribute to Memorial Day, this photo was taken at Holland-Watkins Memorial Park in Chickamauga, Georgia. The park was named for Sgt. Eddie Holland and Cpl. Tommy Watkins, two residents of Chickamauga who were killed in Vietnam.

Ellipsis Photo Shoot: Spring Blossoms and Flowers

2011-05-22T00:12:00.001-04:00

This week's Ellipsis Photo Shoot has to do with spring blossoms and flowers. Carly wants to see what's blooming now in our neighborhoods, so I got out today to see what I could find. I was especially looking for wildflowers. I wasn't particularly impressed with the selection or with the results. About the best thing that came out were these photos of a few roadside daisies.

Even More Tornado Damage

2011-05-18T13:32:00.000-04:00

Some more photos of the tornado damage all around me after the April outbreak...

More Photos of Tornado Damage

2011-05-17T06:09:00.000-04:00

More nearby scenes of devastation after the tornado outbreak last month:

Dani

2011-05-16T03:16:00.000-04:00

I was playing around with my new printer/scanner/copier and scanned in this photo of my daughter Danielle. I took this shot about 20 years ago, probably with a Minolta SLR, and it is one of my all-time favorite photos of her.

More Tornado Damage

2011-05-15T17:28:00.000-04:00

More photos of the wreckage left behind by the tornadoes a few weeks ago...

Ellipsis Photo Shoot: Animals

2011-05-15T03:41:00.000-04:00

My online friend Carly does a little photo shoot thing on her blog. She gives you a topic and you show off some photos. It's free and anyone can play along, which I like to do when I have a photo or two handy to fit the topic. She comes up with a new topic every Monday. This week's topic is animals, preferably something wild and exotic.

I captured this landscape/action photo after a snow storm last winter.

The Hypnotoad. This was a late night visitor at a previous address, circa 2009.

For extra credit, Carly wants to see some pets.

Dixie and Scappy. Dixie is the black and white. Scrappy is the brown. These are daughter Dani's dogs.

Mason. Son Chris's dog. My son also has a dog named Dixon.

The Tornado Outbreak

2011-05-15T01:42:00.000-04:00

The April 27 tornado outbreak throughout the Southeast is old news now, but I wasn't online at the time. There was a lot of activity and damage all around us, but we got off lucky. One big twister touched down and wrecked a nearby subdivision, then rose and passed right over us.

The following pictures were taken on my first expedition outside after the morning storm. There would be a much bigger tornado and much more damage later on that afternoon.

I'm going to post more tornado damage photos over the next several days.

Honest Charley

2011-04-10T03:46:00.000-04:00

A self-portrait of sorts, this is a reflection off of a shiny car body at the 2011 Chattanooga World of Wheels show.

Too Cool

2011-04-08T18:39:00.000-04:00

A portrait of my son Christopher, trying to look too cool for the Christmas snow.

1/100 sec. at f/8.0
ISO 400

Talking Strategy

2011-04-08T03:59:00.000-04:00

A photo of the grandson, Isaiah, talking it over with a teammate during the game.

Ellipsis Photo Shoot: Cemeteries

2010-07-24T01:01:00.001-04:00

My access to the Internet lately has been a little haphazard at best so I haven't been able to post here much in the last couple of months. I also haven't been able to participate in Carly's weekly photo shoots either, but I thought I'd give this one a try. This week's topic is Cemeteries...

CEMETERIES... Creepy? Or Peaceful? John Scalzi posed this question back when he was the host of the Monday Photo Shoot, and I thought this might be a good time to revisit the subject! By the way, CEMETERIES doesn't have to be limited to what traditionally comes to mind when we think of this subject, an auto wrecking yard might also be considered a CEMETERY. Use your imagination with this one.

She's referring back to the old AOL Journals days (my first foray into the exciting world of blogging). John Scalzi was our esteemed webmaster at the time. And I think this might have been the photo I submitted when the topic came up back then...

Yes, that weird collection of rocks sticking up out of the ground is actually a cemetery. It's the Dyer family cemetery, located in the Chickamauga Battlefield. The cemetery predates the Civil War and if there was ever any writing on the headstones it's long since faded away.

These other two photos (of a much more recent vintage) are not technically pictures of cemeteries, but headstones at the cemetery where my father- and mother-in-law are buried. I'm sure that there is a compelling story behind this one...

This might be the grave of General Andrew Jackson, but it's not the grave of the Andrew Jackson. The famous one is buried at his estate, The Hermitage, in Nashville, Tennessee, not on Sand Mountain in Alabama, where this photo was taken.

Ellipsis Photo Shoot: Ready, Set, Go!

2010-05-30T00:47:00.003-04:00

Carly's latest photo shoot at Ellipsis is action oriented...

EMPS #91: Get READY, get SET, GO! Show us something this week, that is READY, something that is SET, or something on the GO! Or, if you like, put them all together! GET READY, GET SET, GO BE PHOTOGRAPHERS!

I've mentioned before that this year marks my grandson's first foray into the exciting world of Dixie Youth Baseball. With the camera set on continuous shooting mode, here's a sequence of shots of him taking some batting practice back in March.

READY

SET

GO!

Oops! False start! It was a swing and a miss. At this point, so early in the season, he didn't really know what he was doing, but, if you click the photos to make them bigger, you can tell by the expression on his face that he was really determined.

1/1000 sec. at f/5.6
ISO: 400

Check out Ellipsis for more interpretations of this theme and the next assignment.

Round Robin Photo Challenge: Statues

2010-05-22T00:43:00.002-04:00

The latest Round Robin Photo Challenge is all about statues.

Statues - photograph a statue of some sort. It can be as large as the Sphinx in Egypt, or as small as a bowling trophy.

When I win the lottery and take my trip around the world, I'll stop off in Egypt and get some photos of the Sphinx. Until then, some photos taken a little closer to home will have to suffice.

The Gordon-Lee Mansion is in the town of Chickamauga, Georgia, south of the Civil War battlefield. Union General William Rosecrans briefly used the house as his headquarters before the Battle of Chickamauga. The statue below is from the mansion grounds.

Another Civil War statue. These figures are on the top of the New York Peace Monument at Point Park atop Lookout Mountain. It's the only Civil War monument I know of that has a statue of both a Union and Confederate soldier. They're shaking hands; a Northern gesture of conciliation.

Three statues are around the Georgia Monument at the Chickamauga battlefield, one for each branch of service -- infantry, artillery and cavalry. Here's the infantry statue in front of the state seal.

And here's some public art on Market Street in downtown Chattanooga. I guess these would qualify as statues. They're two of the three figures that make up "Pathos Sweet Lost and Found" by J. Aaron Alderman.

Check the Round Robin blog to participate in this challenge, to get in on the next challenge, or to see what the other participants have come up with.

Ellipsis Photo Shoot: Stairs

2010-04-25T00:31:00.000-04:00

The topic for this week's Ellipsis Photo Shoot is Stairs...

Going up? Coming down? Either direction is fine. This week, I simply want to see some stairs! Archived photos are fine, but as always, new photos are encouraged. If you do decide to go with an archived photo, please try to make it one we haven't seen before, or at least in the last 6 months. :)

Extra Credit: Show me some stairs of historical or cultural interest.

When I first saw this assignment, I immediately thought of the Stairs to Nowhere in front of the Tennessee Aquarium in downtown Chattanooga. Since I couldn't get downtown this week, to the archives we go.

This is a very old photo taken many years ago with my trusty old point-and-shoot Olympus showing the Stairs to Nowhere. They go up, then right back down the other side.

As you can see in this much newer (but still old photo), they're very ornamental in front of the building. I'm not too sure that they have any cultural or historical interest.

Ellipsis Photo Shoot: Strange or Unusual Sights

2010-04-19T00:24:00.000-04:00

I'm very late on this assignment -- I completely forgot about the deadline until I started seeing some of the other photographers' posts showing up on my feed reader. Carly is pretty understanding though, so I'm posting it now.

The assignment is to post a photo of a strange or unusual sight...

EMPS #85: Strange or Unusual Sights.
This week, I want you to show me the STRANGE or UNUSUAL! Let your imagination out to play and WOW me with your photography! Archived photos are acceptable for this assignment, but you know how much I enjoy seeing new photos. :)

It doesn't get any stranger or any more unusual than this Pinto motorcycle...

Ellipsis Photo Shoot: In the Forefront

2010-04-11T00:21:00.001-04:00

This week's Ellipsis Photo Shoot is fairly straightforward...

EMPS #84: In The Forefront.
Ok photographers, grab your cameras and show me a photograph of an object specifically in the FOREFRONT. The purpose of this week's assignment is to make us more aware of not just what's in front of us, but the backgrounds of our photos as well. I want to see some photography that captures the imagination. Any subject will do, it's all up to you, but this week... NO ARCHIVES! Get out in the air, and find your subject! Concentrate on both the FOREFRONT and the background, but make the FOREFRONT the star of the show!

This year marks my grandson's first foray into the exciting world of Dixie Youth Baseball so that has been the subject of most of my recent photography. I don't know if this is exactly what Carly is looking for -- not much depth of field -- but a lot of foreground stars.

Round Robin Challenge: An Almost Photo

2010-04-10T00:17:00.001-04:00

If I understand the point of this Round Robin Challenge, the idea is to post a photo (or several) that didn't turn out exactly as you planned them. That's pretty much the opposite of my usual routine -- to throw out all the photos that didn't work and show you the good ones -- but here goes...

This photo was a timing problem. It was my first (and so far, only) trip to a NASCAR race. I was trying to take a photo of the cars as they passed my seat in Turn Three lined up for the start of the race. At the exact moment I went to snap the photo, the lady sitting in front of me suddenly threw up her banner. Not too bad of a photo, but not exactly what I was going for. Think she might be a Jeff Gordon fan?

This photo was taken in Chickamauga Battlefield not long after I purchased my camera. I was still trying to work out all of the controls and settings. I was set up to take landscape photos when we (my wife, my grandson and I) suddenly came upon a herd of deer in an open field to the right. Before I could change lenses and settings the deer were spooked by our presence and took off, running through the field and crossing the road far in front of us to get to the safety of the woods. I snapped what I could get, but it wasn't quite good enough.

Most of my photo mistakes are due to lighting problems. Here I was trying to get a photo of this cannon at Point Park on Lookout Mountain overlooking Chattanooga. The cannon was in the shade and the the city below was in bright sunshine. To get the cannon properly exposed the city below was severely washed out.

And finally another photo ruined because I didn't know what I was doing with my new camera and another bad lighting problem -- it was nighttime.

Check out the Round Robin blog for this and other challenges and play along with us. Check out the linking list to see what all the other Round Robins came up with this week.

Ellipsis Photo Shoot: Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring

2010-03-28T00:13:00.001-04:00

Carly's assignment for the week is Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring...

It's a pretty simple one for this week folks... just grab your camera and say GOODBYE WINTER or HELLO SPRING! Show us what you enjoy the most about either season, or maybe even show us a picture that you feel accuately illustrates the changing seasons.

This pretty much sums it up...

Round Robin Challenge: Up to Five Miles Away

2010-03-27T00:10:00.000-04:00

The latest Round Robin Photo Challenge is Up to Five Miles Away...

The idea is to get in your car, or if you prefer a bike or your own two feet, and show us something in any direction you choose, up to 5 miles from your home. For a little added fun, tell us when you sign up for the challenge, in which direction you plan to go. Let's see which direction gets the most attention.

Just a few days before this challenge was posted I had ventured just east of my home to take some photos of the old abandoned rock quarry. The quarry was in operation when I was a kid and I could occasionally catch a glimpse of the hole they were digging and could see the trucks coming and going. As the years went by, I realized that this hole was getting mighty deep. Too deep as it turns out. Not too long ago they finally dug down to the water table and the hole quickly filled with water, creating a mighty deep lake.

I could always catch glimpses of the quarry from the highway, through the fence and the trees. Finally, after ignoring a few "no trespassing" signs, I saw the quarry up-close and personal...

Here's a swampy mess that is also on the quarry property...

Here are a couple of older pics of things within five miles of my home. A birdhouse...

...and a view of Lookout Mountain.

Check out the Round Robin Challenge blog for more information on this challenge and a list of links to the other participants' entries.

Missionary Ridge -- a Picasa Web Album

2010-03-22T00:04:00.001-04:00

Missionary Ridge: A Picasa Web Album

A collection of photographs centered on Missionary Ridge which runs through Chattanooga and into north Georgia. Missionary Ridge was a Civil War battlefield, the site of the climactic Union victory in the Battles for Chattanooga, and contains many National Park Service reservations surrounded by prime Chattanooga real estate.

Click on the photo below to enter the web album...

Missionary Ridge

Cross-posted at my Civil War blog, Civil War Meanderings

The New York Peace Monument

2010-03-21T23:57:00.000-04:00

This year marks the 100th anniversary of a Lookout Mountain landmark, the New York Peace Monument, located at Point Park near Chattanooga. The monument was dedicated on Nov. 15, 1910 to commemorate the Civil War's "Battle Above the Clouds." The real battle took place on the slopes below.

Conciliation was a major theme and the statue on top of the monument is the only one I know of that has a Union soldier and a Confederate soldier shaking hands.

Here's a view of the whole thing.

Several hundred veterans of both armies attended the dedication and the notorious Daniel Sickles was a featured speaker.

Cross-posted at my Civil War blog, Civil War Meanderings

Round Robin Challenge: Look Up/Look Down

2010-03-13T23:33:00.000-05:00

The Round Robin Group's latest photo challenge is pretty straightforward: Look Up/Look Down. Apparently, the perspective is up to me...

Look Up

Look Down

Visit the Round Robin blog to participate and to see the entries of the other participants.

Racing Through Turn Three

2010-03-12T23:28:00.000-05:00

I attended Sunday's Sprint Cup race, the Kobalt Tools 500, at Atlanta Motor Speedway. I finally managed to go through my photos and add a set of 34 of them to Flickr. Here's a sample...

This was the first NASCAR race I ever saw in person and was my second trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway -- I saw an IROC race there many, many years ago. I had a great time and would recommend attending a race to anyone who is even the slightest bit interested in NASCAR. It's a vastly different experience from watching on TV.

The biggest problem was finding a good place to take photos. My sight lines were obstructed by the catch fence and there was no place to get around it without breaking a few rules and getting thrown out of the joint.

Bloggers' Community Photo Challenge: Trees

2010-03-01T23:25:00.000-05:00

"This month's challenge is TREE or TREES, whether it is one unique tree or a small grouping, find an image that includes trees. The tree or trees should be the main subject."

The Tivoli

2010-02-25T23:01:00.000-05:00

The historic Tivoli Theatre. Chattanooga, Tn.

Ellipsis Photo Shoot: Houses of Worship

2010-01-31T04:53:00.001-05:00

Here are a couple of photos I held back from Friday's snowy photo excursion so that they would be fresh for this week's edition of Carly's Ellipsis Photo Shoot. The topic this week is Houses of Worship...

EMPS #74: HOUSES OF WORSHIP
The art of Architecture fascinates me, and some of the most beautiful examples of that art seem to be HOUSES OF WORSHIP. So, for this week's assignment, please show me the HOUSES OF WORSHIP in your area. From simple country churches, to big city cathedrals, to mosques, or temples ... it's all good. And yes, feel free to show me an archived photo this week, but please make sure it's one you haven't previously displayed in at least 6 months or so.

Extra Credit: Show me a Stained Glass Window.

I don't think the architecture of this particular church is what Carly was looking for. It's actually quite plain and that breezeway off to the left connects to an ugly, generic, gymnasium-type building that I couldn't bring myself to include in the picture. There are many more architecturally interesting churches around the area, but, sadly, this was the only one along my route Friday.

I got the extra credit. You can see more detail of the stained glass window by clicking the photos and going large.

A Winter Storm Slideshow

2010-01-29T04:43:00.001-05:00

This afternoon I went on a long photo excursion/hike to see what Mother Nature unleashed here in the Chattanooga area (actually just south of the border around Rossville, Georgia). This slideshow is what I came up with.

To take it one photo at a time, visit the Picasa web album.

Ellipsis Photo Shoot: The Best of 2009

2010-01-02T04:38:00.000-05:00

At Ellipsis, Carly wants to see a gallery of our best 2009 photos...

EMPS #70: YOUR 2009 GALLERY.
New Year's is upon us, so, let's take a look back at what we all did this last year, as far as our photography went. This week's photo shoot assignment is to create a gallery of your best photography from 2009. Best in this case doesn't necessarily mean the photos you thought were perfect, best can also mean the ones you simply enjoyed taking the most. How you choose the photos for your gallery is completely up to you. You can choose a special gallery, such as florals, or landscapes, or maybe you will choose to highlight your best portraits. It's all up to you, but the photos you choose MUST be from 2009, and of course, your photos can be previously published.

EXTRA CREDIT: Caption the photos you choose for your gallery.

I got my Nikon D40, my first digital SLR camera, back in late January 2009. I've tried to spend the past year learning how to use it. I'm still learning, but here's a Picasa Web Album charting my progress. I've posted most of these before, but a few are new. Click the picture below to enter my 2009 gallery.

2009

Almost Christmas Lights

2009-12-24T04:34:00.000-05:00

Today's email brought the latest email update from the New York Institute of Photography. This latest monthly newletter has a great article on taking photos of Christmas lights. They could have sent this a few weeks earlier, but it's great info and the lights will be around for a while longer.

Here's a shot of some Christmas lights. No, actually it's a shot of the reflection of some Christmas lights. There aren't actually any trees in this lobby.

Ornamental

2009-12-23T04:32:00.000-05:00

Ellipsis Photo Shoot: People and Places

2009-12-13T04:28:00.001-05:00

After weeks of procrastination and other obstacles, I'm finally participating in another Ellipsis Photo Shoot. This week Carly wants to see crowds...

EMPS # 67: PEOPLE AND PLACES.

Let's have a little fun this week, by getting lost in a crowd! Grab your cameras and show me PEOPLE AND PLACES! Anywhere you see a people will do. Parks. Malls. Church. Concerts. Art Galleries. Museums. You get the idea. Photographing a crowd is be good, but it can be a crowd of as few as 2. And yes, archived photos are fine, but, as always, I would enjoy seeing something brand new as well! Also, please tell us a little about the place you found the people for your photographs.

I haven't been in very many crowds lately so I'm turning to the archives. Maybe these pictures from last June will warm you up a little bit. Anytime during the summer months you can find a crowd at Coolidge Park in downtown Chattanooga at the north end of the Walnut Street Bridge. The biggest crowd is always around the fountain. Just walk right up and water shoots out all around you; it's a great way to stay cool...

First Snow

2009-12-09T04:25:00.000-05:00

The first snow of the winter of 2009-10
Taken December 5, 2009
Rossville, Georgia

Photo Manipulation

2009-10-24T03:07:00.000-04:00

I receive a monthly email newsletter from the New York Institute of Photography. This month's issue, along with tips on taking Halloween and fall photos, has an interesting article on the acceptability of digital photo manipulation. Within that article is a link to an article by a professor at Cambridge University on photo tampering throughout history, in which we discover that the practice of altering photographs has been with us almost as long as photography itself.

Three of the photos date from the Civil War. One is an iconic photo of Abraham Lincoln -- with Lincoln's head pasted on the body of John C. Calhoun. Another photo is supposed to show Ulysses S. Grant in front of his troops, but was actually made from three photos -- Grant's head on Alexander McCook's body using a background shot of Confederate prisoners of war. The third, a photo by Matthew Brady showing William T. Sherman with his subordinates, has a general that was added to the photo later.

There's a lot of interesting stuff here, including some dictators who had subordinates airbrushed out of existence, some political shenanigans, and plenty of minor manipulations that were done for editorial or artistic purposes. One of those is the famous photo from Kent State that shows Mary Ann Vecchio screaming over the body of Jeremy Miller. That photo was altered to remove a fence post in the background that appeared to be growing out of Ms. Vecchio's head. The webpage even includes the latest kerfuffle, the Ralph Lauren ad that has been manipulated to the point where the model's head is bigger than her waist.

I consider myself more of a photographer than a photo editor, but I'm not a snob about it. I usually give my photos a little touch up with a simple editing program, usually Picasa. For example, the latest photo I posted, "Looking West," was touched up a little. I took the photo at the Lookout Mountain Flight Park. After an hour or two of taking shots of hang gliders, I was heading back to the car, camera in hand, when I saw the man on the launch ramp. I raised the camera, made a quick adjustment, took a quick shot and continued walking. I posted it to flickr, then used flickr's editing program, Picnic, to straighten the horizon a bit and play around with the color.

I've never owned or used Photoshop, but I love some of the artistic things you can do with it. It's more of a monetary issue with me; that's a damned expensive program. I downloaded Gimp and played around with it a bit, but couldn't figure out how to do too much with it. If there was some sort of step-by-step guide around, I might play around with it a little more. At this point though, I think I'd be better served to spend more time learning how to use my camera than learning how to edit. I would welcome other view on the matter though.

So where's the line? I'm sure there's a line there somewhere. I believe that any manipulation, except correcting for exposure and color, is unacceptable in the field of photo journalism. Even if your subject has a fence post growing out of her head. Manipulation seems quite acceptable in most other photo fields. It just drives me crazy when they get too carried away with it.

Looking West

2009-10-21T02:38:00.001-04:00

Ellipsis Photo Shoot: One Subject, Four Perspectives

2009-10-17T02:28:00.000-04:00

Carly's photo shoot at Ellipsis this week is to take four shots at capturing the same subject...

EMPS #59: 1 Subject 4 Perspectives.
Just as the above photograph illustrates, choose 1 SUBJECT out in the world, any subject, and show me 4 DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES. Use lighting, or time of day, or color, or anything you can think of to help us see your subject in 4 distinctly different ways. Archived photos are fine for this one, but brand new is even better!

Here's a collage of four shots of my favorite subject, my grandson Isaiah. The photos (going clockwise) include the very first shot I took with my new camera back in January, a jaunt up to Point Park, a photo with my wife, and dressed as the Cat in the Hat.

Ellipsis Photo Shoot: Bridges

2009-10-11T04:58:00.001-04:00

At Ellipsis, Carly wants to see photos of bridges and walkways...

EMPS #58: Bridges and Walkways.
Let's go for a walk... shall we? Ok photographers, you know what to do, go out and find me some BRIDGES and WALKWAYS. Autumn, for most of us, is in full swing, so show me something like that, or feel free to dip into your archives and wow me with something you haven't displayed before. Lets cross the BRIDGE together... shall we?

On a little walk through Coolidge Park in Chattanooga back during the heat of the summer, I snapped a few pictures of a couple of the bridges that span the Tennessee River. Here's a sample...

This is a view of the Walnut Street Bridge. It was built in 1890 and closed in 1978. After sitting idle for more than a decade, it was refurbished and opened as a pedestrian bridge/walkway.

The bridge comes off of a high bluff on the south side of the Tennessee River. To reach land at a comparable elevation on the north side, the bridge has to pass over a bit of flat land. This is a view from underneath.

This is another Chattanooga bridge. Everyone calls it the Market Street Bridge, but its official name is the John Ross Bridge. It is a bascule bridge, meaning that it has a section that opens up to allow river traffic to pass underneath. Those are big counterweights on either side of the section that opens. The Tennessee Aquarium can be seen across the river. The Walnut Street Bridge can be seen in the background, underneath the bridge.

Round Robin Photo Challenge: In Motion

2009-10-03T04:53:00.001-04:00

This is my first Round Robin Photo Challenge in quite a while. The topic this time around is motion...

Let's capture objects in motion, whether it means moving the camera to keep up, or capturing the blur of movement against a static background.

This wasn't too hard. Just go out by a nearby highway and practice panning until you get the shot(s). I set the shutter speed fairly low (about 1/30 of a second) and got these two shots. Because it was getting late in the evening, I had to do some basic fixes to the photos, mainly adding a little more fill light...

A complete linking list for all the participants is at the Round Robin Photo Challenge blog. Check out the other entrants and play along, if you'd like.

Flooded

2009-09-20T04:48:00.001-04:00

The South has been getting drenched for the last week or so. Today was particularly bad. My hometown, Rossville, Georgia, has gotten 4 1/2 inches of rain today, about equal to the average rainfall for the entire month of September. When that happens, the Chattanooga Creek tends to jump out of its banks. Here are a few pics from the neighborhood...

Ellipsis Photo Shoot: Bugs

2009-09-19T04:44:00.001-04:00

The topic of the latest Ellipsis Photo Shoot is Bugs...

EMPS #55: BUGS.
Ants, Cockroaches, Beetles, Sow Bugs, Earwigs, Pincher Bugs, Bees, Wasps, Fire Flies, Snails, Slugs, Banana Slugs, Spiders, Scorpions... no matter who you are, one of these things probably BUGS you. So, grab your cameras this week, and photograph the BUG and share it with us!

This week's photo shoot comes at an inopportune time. I had just removed a wasp nest from the old homeplace and stupidly didn't think to take any shots of it before the removal. And while bugs are always around, I didn't really find any interesting bugs to work with this week. So as much as I hate to do it, it's back to the old archives for these pictures of butterflies. Interestingly (or maybe not), these pictures come from the same trip to the Tennessee Aquarium as the last Ellipsis Photo Shoot . Yes, they do have a Butterfly Garden there.

Ellipsis Photo Shoot: Archived Photos

2009-09-09T04:29:00.001-04:00

At Ellipsis Carly wants to see archived photos...

EMPS #54: Archived Photos.
I have a super easy assignment for you this week... ARCHIVED PHOTOS. Here's what I want you to do. Climb into your ARCHIVES and choose a photo which you haven't displayed before and share it with us. Any subject will do, as long as it is family friendly. The only condition is that it has to be older then a month, and has not been displayed.

Extra Credit: Tell us about the photo. Where did you take it? Why did you take it? Was there something difficult about the experience?

Here's a trio of photos taken at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga back in April...

This picture of a shark swimming amongst a school of little fish seems a little odd. I don't know why it turned out like it did, but it's got sort of a cool quality to it.

I think this guy is a weedy seadragon, a close relative of the seahorse. (At least I remember them being displayed together in the same area.) Yes, this is actually a fish. He makes good use of camouflage to avoid being eaten. Let's just hope he doesn't run into a vegetarian-type fish because he looks like a floating salad.

This guy here is just too cool. You have to be when you're pink and black.

Taking pictures of fish at an aquarium is not an easy task. You're in the dark, shooting through glass. It is very hard to avoid big flash spots in your photos -- a task I failed to accomplish in the first two photos.

Lightning

2009-08-31T04:24:00.001-04:00

"Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst." – Henri Cartier-Bresson

The first couple of thousand you take with a new camera usually suck too. Case in point, the photo below. Nothing about it is particularly good, but it is a milestone. It's the first time in years I've been able to capture lightning...

Jumping Off a Mountain

2009-08-27T05:44:00.001-04:00

I once spent the better part of an afternoon watching people jump off the side of a mountain...

Photos taken at Lookout Mountain Flight Park

Round Robin Photo Challenge: The Old Place

2009-03-21T05:38:00.001-04:00

The latest Round Robin Photo Challenge is The Old Place.

Show us someplace that's been around a long time, preferably 50 years or more. It can be an interior or exterior or both. The spooky Victorian mansion on the corner is fair game, or the abandoned amusement park. Or go for someplace that's really been around a long time, such as Stonehenge, a canyon or a mountain range.

This is the John Ross House, located in my hometown, Rossville, Georgia.

Although only one-eighth Cherokee, John Ross was the first elected chief of the Cherokees and fought vigorously against their removal on the Trail of Tears. The home was built along the Old Federal Road by his maternal grandfather John McDonald in 1797. In 1962 it was dismantled and rebuilt a couple of hundred yards away from its original location in this small park.

John Ross left with the Cherokees and the house became the property of a Reverend Scales. Thomas G. McFarland bought the house in 1835 and lived there with his family when the Civil War began. General Gordon Granger used the house as his headquarters before the Battle of Chickamauga. General George Thomas used it as his headquarters after the battle.

Update: In comments Carly wants to get a bit closer. Okay...

Once upon a time there was no fence, and you could walk all around the house as much as you wanted. They kept the house locked except for rare times when it was opened for tours, but you could walk through the middle and all around it. It's been a long time since I've seen it open. I'm going to have to find out who is responsible for that and when it's going to be open again.

One little tidbit about the house: It has what they call a spirit room, a room with no windows and doors. Also, while dismantling it to move it down the road, they discovered a passage that didn't seem to go anywhere. I have a theory that in those days, living on the frontier and never knowing when you might be threatened, that it might have been a good idea to have a room that no one but you knew how to get into. But it's just a theory.

Ellipsis Photo Shoot: Black & White Photography

2009-03-15T05:32:00.001-04:00

Over at Ellipsis, Carly has the weekly photo shoot. This week the topic is B&W...

EMPS #28: BLACK & WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY.
Ok everybody, grab your camera, fire up your imagination, and show me some BLACK & WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY. The subject matter is completely up to you. Do something a little Silly, Fascinating, Spooky, Gothic, or Artsy Noir... it's completely up to you! Just make it BLACK & WHITE.

Extra Credit: Write a little about what it was like to for you to take a BLACK & WHITE photo as opposed to color.

I had intended to do more. I especially wanted to take some photos using my camera's B&W setting, but a rainy, cool weekend kept me close to home, so I've cheated a bit and applied a B&W effect to an existing color photo.

I didn't cheat much because the original photo didn't have much color, just a few hints of blue amongst the gray clouds.

This photo shows a weather change in the Chattanooga area. It's a beautiful, blue-skied, sunny day when suddenly a line of clouds comes pouring over Lookout Mountain and the weather takes a turn for the worse.

Bloggers Community Photo Challenge: Birdhouses

2009-03-07T05:28:00.001-05:00

This is my first-ever entry in the Bloggers Community Photo Challenge. The current topic is "Birdhouses."

A local metro Chattanooga tourist attraction, Rock City, used to advertise almost exclusively by painting "See Rock City" and other slogans on barns throughout the South. Somewhere along the line, they introduced the Rock City birdhouse to spread the word.

The photo below was taken on Lookout Mountain near the upper station for the Incline Railroad, just a couple of miles or so from Rock City. The neighborhood of St. Elmo is seen in the background, down below in the valley.

Ellipsis Photo Shoot: Hit Me with Your Best Shot

2009-03-01T05:22:00.001-05:00

Over at Ellipsis, Carly has the weekly photo shoot...

EMPS #26: HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT!
Ok, now it is your time to shine! We photographers might tackle a lot of subjects, but we all have one type of photography that is our very favorite. Landscapes, Still Life, Night photography, Portraits, Pet photography, Seascapes, Sunsets, Macro photography... it's all good. For this assignment you are welcome to look in your archives and post your best photo, or you can set the scene sometime within this week, and show off the type of photography you feel you excel at. If you do go with a shot from your archive, try to make it one you haven't posted before, I am really interested in seeing something new if possible. HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT!

Extra Credit: Write a little about your personal style as a photographer. Why do you like a particular subject? What is the most challenging aspect of photography for you?

Hmmm! After being without a camera for so long, I don't think I qualify as a "photographer" yet. And I'm far from having a "style." But I like to take photos of the natural beauty around Chattanooga. So put me down for "landscapes."

Carly wants our best shot, but something we've never posted before. A couple of weeks ago, I took a jaunt to the top of Lookout Mountain to Point Park. It was a hot, hazy day -- more appropriate for late spring or early summer than February -- leaving this photo looking washed out. But there's something about it I like...

I probably could have "fixed" it with Photoshop, but I prefer not to mess with it. I like to leave photos "as is" as much as possible. I've taken better photos with my new camera, but I've posted them before -- a sunset and Napoleons. The latter was taken during this same jaunt to Point Park.

Working with a new DSLR, the most challenging aspect is trying to figure out all the different settings to use to make the photo look right -- ISO, exposure, shutter speed, aperture, white balance, flash mode, etc., etc., etc. I'm still trying to sort it all out. I can usually take a better picture by just using a point-and-shoot mode than I can by trying to adjust everything. Hopefully that will change as time goes by.

Chattanooga Public Art

2009-02-24T05:18:00.001-05:00

This is "Pathos Sweet Lost and Found" by J. Aaron Alderman of Brevard, North Carolina. It's located in downtown Chattanooga near the Market Street Bridge.

Round Robin Photo Challenge: Light Moves

2009-02-22T05:14:00.001-05:00

Oops! I was excited about finally being able to participate in a Round Robin Photo Challenge again. And it was an easy subject: Light Moves -- Take a picture that shows the quality of the light. By that I mean the hues of a sunset, water reflected on water, refracted light, something interesting with light. What could be easier? After all, photography is just using aperture and shutter speed to harness, control or manipulate light. Any interesting photo should have something to say about the quality of light.

But I digest. I was excited, but you're supposed to post your photo(s) for the Round Robin Photo Challenge on a certain day. I was thinking it was Sunday, but no, it was supposed to be posted before Sunday. Sorry, but in the spirit that it's still Saturday somewhere, here's my entry. Don't laugh, it's the first time in many, many years that I've had a camera that was capable of some night photography...

This is a couple of shots taken from Missionary Ridge. You can see I-24 to the left as it curves up through the gap in the ridge. Chattanooga comprises most of the other lights you see. Lookout Mountain can be detected in the background.

This is a more realistic shot -- maybe a little darker than how it really looked...

Lookout Mountain -- A Picasa Web Album

2009-02-11T05:03:00.002-05:00

A new Picasa Web Album, Lookout Mountain...

Lookout Mountain

Also added a couple of new photos to my Chickamauga Battlefield album.

Ellipsis Photo Shoot: RED

2009-02-11T04:58:00.001-05:00

Now that I've finally got a new camera and am a photographer again, I'm able to participate in Carly's weekly photo shoots at Ellipsis again. This week's topic is red. I've mulled it over and this advertisement for Coca-Cola is all I've got for now, but I'll think about it some more...

This is the red part of my beverage bottle and can collection. This is about a third of the complete collection. It started out as a Coke collection, but has grown into a collection of assorted beverages. It's nothing fancy, mostly just items I've picked up at the local convenience store. I look for "special" items and put them up instead of just drinking them like most people.

Coca-Cola has the market on red in the beverage industry. On the back row are bottles and cans from the Beijing Olympics. There are five cans and nine bottles each featuring a different country. In the front row on both sides are assorted Coke Christmas bottles and cans. In the middle is a set of Coke Olympics nesting "cans" and a couple of Olympics pins.

Also up there somewhere are some NASCAR tie-ins, two Coke mugs and pill boxes, two Budweiser items (a bottle and a can) and a Mountain Dew. Oh, and a tomahawk. It's a homemade (in someone else's home) Braves tomahawk. I put it up there because it had a red A on the ax part, then absent-mindedly covered that part of it up. All you can see is the curved brown handle.

The oldest item is a Coke TVA 50th anniversary bottle from 1983. The only empty item is a Mexican Coke bottle. I occasionally buy a Mexican Coke from the local bodega, but haven't saved a full bottle yet. They're made with sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup and taste quite different from an American Coke.

Yesterday's Sunset

2009-01-31T01:07:00.000-05:00

Here in the Chattanooga area, we don't have sunsets as much as we have the Sun disappearing behind mountains. The photos below, taken in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, show the Sun setting behind a section of Lookout Mountain known as Flat Top...

Giving the Economy a Little Prod

2009-01-26T23:30:00.002-05:00

Tax Season is a welcome time for poor people, especially if they have a child or two they can claim. There's no waiting for the April 15 deadline. As soon as those W-2s come in from your employer, it's off to a nearby tax preparation professional to get 'em done. You're looking for someone who can get you some money as quickly as possible in the form of a refund anticipation loan. This usually means paying outrageous preparation fees for filling in some numbers that you could do yourself and paying usurious interest payments on that RAL, but you can usually have your money within a day or two.

For poor people, tax season is a godsend. It's a time to catch up on whatever big bill you've been putting off paying or it's a time to make a big purchase that you could otherwise never be able to afford. You see, if you have a child or two to claim and are poor enough, you qualify for the Earned Income Credit and a Child Care Credit, which means that you get back whatever money you've paid in through the year plus a significant amount extra.

So there I was with money in my pocket for the first time in a while. Instead of doing something sensible like putting it away for the many rainy days that lie ahead, I've been doing my part to stimulate the economy. It was time for the major purchase I've been putting off for a long, long time, a purchase I would not be able to make without some kind of financial windfall. It was finally time to buy a new camera.

When the New Year began, we (the wife and I) began browsing and comparing. I had a film SLR many moons ago, then purchased a digital point-and-shoot camera when digital cameras were still a new technology (and I was not so painfully underemployed.) My trusty Olympus was with me for many years through thick and thin before finally dying on me a while back. We thought about a nice digital point-and-shoot camera, but finally decided that now was the time to move on up to a digital SLR. The Nikon D40 seemed to be the basic jumping in point. We looked at kits and finally found two stores that were carrying the D40 with two lenses and a few other extras. The price between the two stores was three cents.

But we started the day at another store. Circuit City is going out of business and advertising big savings. Don't bother. They haven't gotten serious about liquidating yet. The basic Nikon D40, which has been listed at around $450 at several stores, was listed at $500 at Circuit City. Subtract their 10% liquidation discount and the camera was the same price there as everywhere else. No kits available -- no extra lens, no extra anything. Just a store full of customers wondering where all the discounts were. We went to one of the two stores with the deal we were looking for and laid the money down.

After spending Saturday night charging up the battery and beginning the slow process of deciphering the owner's manual, I awoke Sunday morning to the news that the same camera package was listed in the sale papers at the same store for $50 less. It somehow slipped the friendly salesperson's mind to let us know that they were about to mark it down. So Day One with my new camera was spent returning to the store to get some money back and delivering a few more minor prods to the economy. I haven't had a chance to do much except figure out all the camera's point-and-shoot modes and play around with them a little, but below are a few of the first photos with my new purchase. Many, many more to come...

Downtown Chattanooga: A Picasa Web Album

2008-12-27T23:04:00.001-05:00

Downtown Chattanooga -- A Picasa Web Album

Downtown Chattanooga

Round Robin Challenge: Landmarks

2008-01-26T19:11:00.000-05:00

The Round Robin Photo Challenge this time around comes from Carly...

Again, let's take an opportunity to show off our hometowns. I live in the Bay Area, so I have no real shortage of recognizable landmarks, so what I would do is try to show those landmarks in an interesting lighting circumstance, such as a sunset, or under special lighting conditions. But I want to see other places, and the landmarks that make those places so special. A beautifully designed building, an incredible bridge, or a monument of some sort, or maybe even an unusual road sign. It's all good!

Here in Chattanooga, one of the most recognizable landmarks is Lookout Mountain. It is visible almost anywhere in the Chattanooga Valley, and with one look at it you can pretty much figure out where you are. Here's what it looks like from across the valley on Missionary Ridge.

Here's another view from Missionary Ridge. In this one, you can see I-24 as it passes through the ridge on it's way toward downtown Chattanooga.

Here's a view of Lookout Mountain from downtown. This picture was taken on the Walnut Street Bridge over the Tennessee River. Another newer landmark is visible to the right. It's the Tennessee Aquarium, the anchor to Chattanooga's riverfront development.

Here's a view of the Tennessee Aquarium from street level -- Broad Street, to be exact.

Round Robin Challenge: Railroads

2008-01-12T19:01:00.000-05:00

I haven't participated in a Round Robin Photo Challenge in quite a while. I'm hoping to do it more often as soon as I can come up with some new equipment (hopefully soon), but I couldn't pass up the topic of "Railroads."

Chattanooga, of course, is home to the Chattanooga Choo Choo, made popular through the old Glenn Miller song. This building, the Terminal Station, is otherwise known as the Chattanooga Choo Choo. It's now part of the Holiday Inn chain and you can sleep in railroad sleeper cars that have been converted into hotel rooms.

Then again, this may be the Chattanooga Choo Choo. On March 5, 1880, the first major public transportation linkage of the north and south was opened. The Cincinnati Southern Railroad, America's first municipal railroad system, began operations to Chattanooga. After a while, the trains on this run began to be called the "Chattanooga Choo-Choo."

There are several brick "sculptures" spread throughout downtown Chattanooga. There's even one at the airport. Here's a brick building. It's a model of the old Railway Boarding House.

Here's an old railroad marker that's seen better days.

I'd hoped to have more. I wish I'd had time to visit the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum...or the Incline...or just get some random pictures of trains, but these will have to do for now.

Lookout Mountain and I-24

2007-12-27T18:46:00.000-05:00

A photo of Lookout Mountain taken from Missionary Ridge. I-24 runs to the left.
Chattanooga, TN

Lookout Mountain in B&W

2007-12-21T18:29:00.001-05:00

The Round Robin photographers just recently completed an assignment to photograph a landscape in black and white. I was so inspired by their results, I decided to post this photo of Lookout Mountain taken in Flintstone, Georgia. I've posted the color photo before. I used a filtered B&W tune with a dark red setting to get the striking change.

Fungi

2007-11-20T17:23:00.000-05:00

Derelict

2007-11-14T17:19:00.001-05:00

An abandoned piece of railroad equipment being reclaimed by Mother Nature.
Flintstone, Georgia

Fishies

2007-10-24T05:50:00.001-04:00

Lookout Mountain

2007-10-19T05:34:00.001-04:00

A view of Lookout Mountain taken in the Chattanooga Valley. It's the middle of October and almost all of the trees are still green. Weird!

Public Art

2007-09-30T05:27:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I took this photo, so I'm not sure who designed this mod sculpture or what it's supposed to represent. But you can find it on the side of the road in downtown Chattanooga.

Monday Photo Shoot: Red Eye

2007-09-25T05:08:00.001-04:00

John Scalzi at By the Way has the assignment:

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Show off a recent picture that is chock full of red eye. Because there's nothing more amusing than light reflecting off of retinas (Should that be retinae, John? Just wondering.), making folks and animals look like demon spawn.

Okay, I blew the Photo Shoot. Technically, it's not Monday anymore. The photo is not that recent. And it's not chock full of red eye -- just a little glow. The effect is better if you click on the photo and get the full size.
This is my grandson at his third birthday party, over two years ago. The excitement got to be a bit much and he crashed out in the floor. This is not a trick of light reflecting off retinas (retinae?), his eyes are really turning that color. The transformation is almost complete. In mere seconds Birthday Boy will become Cranky Kid, a true demon spawn.

Reflecting

2007-09-20T04:44:00.001-04:00

The Sheraton Read House Hotel in Chattanooga as it appears reflected in a building across the street. Room 311 of the Read House is said to be haunted.

From the Shores of the Tennessee River

2007-09-18T04:20:00.000-04:00

Another view of the Walnut Street Bridge, this one with the Southern Belle riverboat passing underneath.
Chattanooga, Tn.

The Walnut Street Bridge

2007-09-17T04:10:00.001-04:00

The Walnut Street Bridge is Chattanooga's oldest surviving bridge across the Tennessee River. It was closed to motor traffic in 1978 and sat in disrepair for over a decade. It became the heart of an urban renewal project and was renovated and reopened as a pedestrian walkway in 1993.

Dark Towers

2007-09-16T04:00:00.001-04:00

A closed factory. Rossville, Georgia.

Blooms

2005-06-12T21:00:00.000-04:00

A few blooms.

Cross

2005-06-12T20:57:00.000-04:00

A church steeple. Rossville, Georgia.

Lights Out

2005-06-12T20:48:00.000-04:00

Loading dock lamp.

Graffiti

2005-06-12T20:44:00.000-04:00

Public "art."

What Is It?

2005-06-12T16:22:00.000-04:00

What do you think this might be?

What the...?

2005-06-12T16:19:00.000-04:00

I'm sorta lost on what these might be. They look like the dandelion seedballs, but they're huge - between baseball- and softball-sized. I've got the idea that they might be sunflowers, but that's just a guess. Any ideas?

The Circle of Life

2005-06-12T15:35:00.000-04:00

A bud, a couple of flowers in full bloom, and one in the background that's already come and gone.

443

2005-06-05T15:33:00.000-04:00

Good ol' 443.

Spotlight

2005-06-05T15:27:00.000-04:00

A sunbeam spotlights some of the forest foliage.

Going Nowhere

2005-06-05T15:21:00.000-04:00

Looks like a road to nowhere, but the railroad tracks continue around a curve just up ahead.

Idle Hands

2005-06-05T15:18:00.000-04:00

A closed factory. Rossville, Georgia.

Krazy about Kudzu

2005-06-05T15:02:00.000-04:00

This crap will grow anywhere.

A Dark One...

2005-06-05T14:58:00.000-04:00

An unusual looking specimen of Spring foliage.

...and a Light One

2005-06-05T14:55:00.000-04:00

Either these flowers come in at least two different shades or they change colors.

Cherokee

2005-05-16T03:07:00.000-04:00

A statue of a Cherokee Indian by the Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, Tn.

Hub

2005-05-16T01:46:00.000-04:00

The hub of a wheel of a Civil War cannon, a 12-pounder Napoleon.

Bucolic

2005-05-16T01:37:00.000-04:00

I didn't like the way this photo turned out, so I started playing around with some effects (saturation, film grain, etc.) Looks kinda neat now, I think.

Spring Mix

2005-05-16T01:29:00.000-04:00

Sort of an interesting mix of colors. Looks more like autumn than spring.

Isaiah

2005-05-07T03:32:00.000-04:00

My grandson Isaiah.

Are You Talking to Me?

2005-05-02T06:56:00.000-04:00

A statue on the Illinois monument, Bragg Reservation, Missionary Ridge, Chattanooga, Tn.

Sweet Nectar

2005-05-02T06:35:00.000-04:00

I chased this bumblebee (do you see it?) around for about ten or fifteen minutes, trying to get it to hold still and smile for the camera. I was trying to get close, but didn't want to get too close.

Shadows of War

2005-05-02T06:31:00.000-04:00

A cannon, I believe this is a 12-pounder howitzer, part of Water's Alabama Battery, at Delong Reservation, Missionary Ridge, Chattanooga, Tn. The 2nd Minnesota Infantry monument is in the background.

A Self-Portrait

2005-05-02T06:16:00.000-04:00

A self-portrait.

A Quick Drink

2005-04-25T03:08:00.000-04:00

A bird pauses for a drink in a shallow pool at Miller Park in Chattanooga, Tn. The building reflected in the pool is the Federal Building.

Who Doesn't Like Spring?

2005-04-18T06:49:00.000-04:00

I'm no botanist, but I'm pretty sure these are flowers.

Sunlight and Dogwoods

2005-04-18T06:43:00.000-04:00

Sunlight streams through the leaves and blossoms of a dogwood tree.