They Assemble

Linville Falls. NC.USA.

250mm f22 1/4 ISO:200

This is Linville Falls in North Carolina. It is a three stage cascade that is breathtakingly beautiful.  It was about 30deg. today and I was bundled up pretty tight for the 1 mile hike to this vantage point.  It was a bit more difficult due to the 6 inch ice pack we walked to get there.  I slowed the shutter for the water flow effect and manage to capture several good shots at 1/4s... which is pretty slow for hand held.  The post hike huffing wasn't helping.  I have a pretty good "cat" story from this water fall location.  One day I'll bring it to the blog for you...

ice fingers

Boone, North Carolina, USA.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!

snow flower

Foscoe, North Carolina, USA.

I'm in the mountain of North Carolina this week and we got some 15 inches of snow.  My adventure thus far has kept me away from the camera and online access.  Hopefully I've got that to a manageable stat now and will resume regular posts.

IMG 7143-1

28mm f4.5 1/1000s ISO100

This is a high contrasted image shot in black and white.  The morning sun was two hours above the horizon and starting up it's heat machine.  The recessed tide left wet hard sand for 70 yards from powder sand to the waterline.  Maybe not a perfect exposure...  but a perfect memory just the same.

self portrait

80mm macro f5.6 1/25s ISO1600

Get a good deal

Baltimore Recolored

Inner Harbor. Baltimore, Maryland USA

28mm f6.3 1/500s ISO100

Color Enhanced, Cartooned.

This is a beautiful place to spend the day.  The bright colors enhance the fun energy all around.  The people find way to smile with every step.  I have twenty years of memories in and around this place from fantastic summer days playing in the fountain to fireworks at New Years Eve. 

Smile Baltimore.

Baltimore Harbor 03/08

Washed Out

Botany Bay Plantation. Edisto Island, South Carolina, USA

"Botany Bay Plantation, a 4,630-acre tract located on Edisto Island, is now open for public access.  The ecologically and historically significant property was privately maintained until recently by former owner, Margaret Pepper. The late Mrs. Pepper preserved the natural integrity of the land and fostered a diverse array of habitats including maritime forests, salt marsh, tidal creeks, freshwater ponds and hammock islands." -SC DNR

palmed

4.6mm f4.0 1/100s ISO100

Sometimes...  like in this one. ha ha. I apparently had the timer set active when I tried to fire the shutter.  When I realized that I started laughing because the subject I was looking at was fading away.  At the same time I saw the hood collar was loose, so I went it to tighten it down.  Now the aforementioned timer was winding down...  and voila!  I got a shot of my palm.  This is an interesting set of angles and lines and shadows and highlights.  Mr. Baldwin, my HS photo teacher, called these "happy accidents."  I suppose it all depends on the eyes of the viewer.  For me... it works.

Battery Park

Battery Park. Charleston, South Carolina, USA.

This park hangs on the edge of historic downtown Charleston lined by houses hundreds of years old.  It fronts onto the Ashley and Cooper Rivers facing toward Fort Sumter in the middle of the harbor.  Speckled on the few acres are mortar and canon placements showcasing the strategic importance on this point.  Long growing live oaks are lined deep providing immense shade patches and wonderful atmosphere.  These birds, unknown to me, have nested in the tree tops here.  It is so nice of them to share the park.  I'll have to thank them next time I am there.

better than rose colored glasses

Rainy Day Reds

I had a photo shoot scheduled tonight that just couldn't find way to happen.  This is what you get.  My friend and I had been granted permission to go topside onto the helo deck at a large hospital.  This would afford us excellent views of the city from aloft.  Bright Lights, Big City.  We were to discuss differing techniques and cross train on some new ones.  Unfortunately the rains came in early and have set in for the haul.  Low cloud cover, steady downpour and cold temperatures persuaded us to reschedule our rendezvous.  Instead I found my itchy trigger finger firing frames inside the house.  RED...  I dialed in on red and this is what you get haha.  An assortment of red items scattered and smattered within. Cheers.

Spider Nine

Heading Out

Little River, South Carolina, USA.

230mm f5.6 1/15s ISO1600

This image was a hand held capture.  I was working on location at sunset on Bird Island standing nearly on the state line between North and South Carolina.  My tripod was set up and my subject stationary.  I was killing time while the light changed a bit more.  Several recreation boaters were heading from the Atlantic Ocean into the mouth of the Little River and further into the Inter-Coastal Waterway.  Their destination unknown.  Conversely there were commercial fishing boats heading out.  Carolina shrimp boats making way to their fishing grounds.  I've included here the sunset original and a basic B&W conversion of it.  You can see that I worked over the image pretty good for my final.  I can see it hanging on the wall in a local seafood house telling the salty story of this evenings menu.

flowercage

DRAGONSKIN

This is sand. Sea water had eased from a tidal pool back into the vast ocean. The crosshatch silica is all that remains of that flow. Sand grains all over the World are different in size, shape and color.  Patterns found in some places cannot be recreated any where else in the World because of these characteristics. Large black volcanic grains of Hawaii are immensely different that the soft white powder sands of Pensacola Beach, FL. This is coastal Carolina sands from a favorite: Sullivan's Island.

Liquid Limbs

80mm f5.6 1/100s ISO200

It rained all day today, dismal.  The complete overcast gray skies leaked on everything.  We are soaked.  On my patio I noticed this fine reflection atop the small round glass top table.  You know the kind with smooth top and a mottle bottom on the glass, giving it that "shower door" look.  The lens was tricked just enough by that...  I was able to focus on the tree that was reflecting on the water's surface.  But the DOF captured some of the texture hidden under the water.  This image is fluid... in layers.  The depth of the image is unique because all of it is literally in 1/3in. of water and glass.

Can you feel the movement and flow?

windbown and warm.

Sunset Beach, North Carolina, USA

80mm f5.6 1/500s ISO100

This was an assignment of sorts I gave to myself.  You've learned I like to do that.  I picked up a new old sigma lens that has macro 1:2 at 80mm function.  So what can I do with that?  While I was at the beach last weekend I worked it out a bit.  As you can see the DOF is very shallow.  There is a distinct focus range that falls off quickly.  Almost too quickly in some cases.  The detail is nice and the optics do a decent job.  The limit to f5.6 will really limit low light capture considerably for close-ups. The AF is slower than I'd prefer, but it's fine for still life work.  Anyway... knowing about the focus line can be used to advantages in the future for dialing in images.  This lens is not designed as a single purpose macro.  It is a 28-80 short zoom walk around lens and overall performance is adequate. Outside of that tech talk...

I just like the photo. :)

Cotton Was King

Dillon, South Carolina, USA.

As I was driving through Dillon County a few days ago I came across several cotton fields that had not been harvested yet.  The combines were chewing elsewhere on soybean crops.  This pasture of snowballs was huge and provided for some memories.  This is a mixed memory of sorts... I may be taking two memories and blending them together.  Somewhere is my closets I have a shoe box of raw cotton balls.  My recollection is that they were collected during some sort of field trip in the 2nd or 3rd grade while I schooled in SC.  Cotton was vital to agriculture and economy all throughout South Carolina's history.

The other memory I have is my grandfather, Papa, stopping on the side of the road.  He walked my brother and me into the edge of the field and told us a bit about cotton.  We picked a few raw pods of white fluff. It's that memory that really prompted me to stop for these photographs.  I must have been six or seven at the time.  He surely smiled down at me on Sunday afternoon as I stood there and remembered with me.

Secret Lives of Ladybugs

Sand Surfing.

Jack Links Messin'

this is for reference clarification. some people have been asking about "jacklinks" used in my last post. hopefully this video series will clarify things for you and my post may then make sense. of course... you can always just look at the pretty photos. ;)

Sunset Beach Reveals...

Bird Island. Sunset Beach, North Carolina, USA.

Last night as the sun was setting I captured the short waves in long rolls into shore.  I was mostly impressed that I caught a Sasquatch family out on the jetty.  It's a good thing I didn't have any JackLinks... or I might have done something KRAZY YO!

Sanderlings

Sullivan's Island. Charleston, South Carolina, USA.

sanderlings: tread lightly

sunset stroll

Sullivan's Island, Charleston, South Carolina.

This was yesterday afternoon.  We were walking off some Thanksgiving Day intake.  Is there a better setting for it?  The weather was cool... but perfectly beautiful.  The breeze was comfortable.  The beach was calming.  We watched the sunset over John' Island and eased our way back toward Fort Moultrie.  Forever remembered.

Thanksgiving Day 09.

Thanksgiving Day 2009.

This is the Thanksgiving feast pulled together at my mom's house this year.  For fun I pulled this together in honor for everlasting homage. YUMM.

petal me softly

She Dances

She tells her own story...

sunfire III

28mm 1/1000s f2.8 ISO100

Bright afternoon sunlight rained down on this zinnia.  The detail offered in such clarity and brilliance was not to be missed.  I worked at capturing a unique view of an everyday flower.  "Take the photograph that no one else sees."  Thats my declaration for individuality.

Step Into The Light

Brothers Sullivan

Sullivan's Island.  Charleston, South Carolina, USA.

These are five random images taken on this serene beach a few weeks ago.  As I sat here tonight looking over them I remembered a story from my Navy days... "The Brothers Sullivan."  Their namesake unrelated to this island.  The story is a powerful image... more than some random photographs.

The story starts..."The five Sullivan brothers enlisted on January 3, 1942 with the stipulation that they serve together..."  

The story ends... "The Sullivan brothers were all killed in action during or shortly after the sinking of the light cruiser USS Juneau, the vessel in which they all served, on 13 November 1942 in World War II."

Please find the time to read over this one time.

The Sullivan Brothers (US NAVY)

Embrace

Come on everybody... make this interactive.

Every photograph tells a story.  What is your story here?  Leave in comments your story...  what do you see here?  What are you reading?  Thank you.  Jason.

Coloring Sticks

Lumix DMC-FZ18

4.6mm f2.8 1/30s ISO200

Contrast Adjusted & Balanced

Color Enhanced & Balanced

Oil Paint Filter Applied

First Catch Defined

Linville River. Crossnore, North Carolina, USA.

She had never been fishing.  She wanted to go for her birthday.  She had never held a fishing pole in her hands before.  She didn't know how to cast.  She didn't know how to retrieve the lure.  She didn't know anything about how to do what she wanted to do.  Somehow still the same, some fifteen minutes into it all...  she hooks up with a 19" brown trout.  She beamed.  She giggled.  She did it all again 4 minutes later with a 15" brook trout.  TWO TROPHY TROUT within twenty minutes of starting to fish for the first time in her life.  It just is not supposed to happen like that.  On this birthday the trout gods smiled down upon her.  Allison was happy.

Morning Catch

Breach Inlet. Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, USA.

Sunrise fishing as the tides change at the inlet mouth.  The manipulation and processing on this image is extreme.  Photographs don't all have to be true and realistic as captured.  Photographic images can change medium and art form with different tools, processing and presentation techniques.  Appreciation varies between the viewers, some more than others.

Wildflower Buzz

dogwood no.87

This collection of leaves was collected at the same time on the same day from the same dogwood tree.  Different areas received different sun amounts and that changed and controlled the leaf transformation.  First hand, it was bewildering and simply amazing to see.

Ida Kissed Charlotte

Tropical Storm Ida slowed to a crawl as it reached the U.S. Gulf Coast earlier this week -- but it’s been dumping plenty of rain on the Southeast, including several wet days in the Queen City.

Cheap Glass Two

I was asked for some more cheap glass, so here is another compilation.  These are glass plates, bowls and such that were sitting in an antique store.  I liked the way the cut and cast textures manipulated the light.  I set up for a shallow DOF and commenced to sorting through the four floors of the store.  Each object was held between a light source and the camera.  It was a fun project that produced some interesting results.  A venture like this encourages you to look at light distortion and shape perspective differently.  You may see something new.

Veteran's Day

Today is Veterans Day in the United States.  I am a US Navy Veteran and very proud of it.  I have seen and done things that many people could not imagine.  I've worked with some of the most of the brightest and most resourceful people in the World.  The motto for our group was "Perfectus Servitium" and that is what we did. This photo of me was during my years in the Submarine Force.  But really this post is for everyone else. The Veteran's that served "boots down" in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq and six dozen other places we made presence over the years.  These guys were "In Country" so that you and I didn't have to.  You know a Vet somewhere...  Today- tell them THANK YOU!

Captain Kirk and the Beauty Queen

Today is the official release of Joel Port's solo debut album "Captain Kirk and the Beauty Queen."  I wore several hats on this project to include Art Director, Photographer, Executive Producer and a cameo backing vocal spot ;)  This project has hundreds of man-hours invested and we are very proud of our product.  It is a challenge sometimes to bring creative ideas to fruition.  A long time coming... this day feels great.

www.joelportrock.com

Power of One

Kiawah Island, South Carolina, USA.

The life of a photograph does not always live and breathe on the faces within.  The movement, excitement, life and energy can be portrayed by other content.  Power and message can be conveyed in many ways.  You can see the story the photograph tells.  Look for it.  Feel it.  Breathe it.  Some say it's worth one thousand words.

She Swings High!

Strawberry Park. Charlotte. North Carolina. USA

With a telephoto lens you can be far away from you subject.  That coupled with a wide f-stop will provide that shallow depth of field blurring the background.  This brings the attention into your subject and isolates the visual impact for the viewers.  Another great benefit from being far away from your subject...  you're far away.  They don't notice you. You are not in their space.  Especially with kids...  they relax and do their own thing.  That is when you can capture magic.

Sunset Kiss

Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, USA.

Technicolor Wasp

Queen City

Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.

The Queen City crown lights up the nocturnal skyline.