Two Inches of Snow

Two inches of snow and a glaze of second guessing turned Atlanta, Georgia into a giant, helpless parking lot. School children stranded in schools, commuters sleeping in cars on the Interstate, and ill-prepared politicians ducking for cover. The snow of 2014. Snowmageddon. Snowpocalypse.

Southerners tend to panic when there's a threat of snow and ice. We can't drive in it. It causes the power to go out. And the paranoia it causes can only be salved by copious amounts of bread and milk.

While the interstate highways around Atlanta were gridlocked with drivers who seemingly had no idea that it might snow and the governor was hastily scheduling a press conference to contend that he was not responsible, I was taking photos. Not great photos. It's difficult to take too many shots in the dark while your Nikon is getting wet with snowflakes.

Boredom with Legos

Sometimes all you need is opportunity. Boredom is a good lubricant for creativity. Despite spending an afternoon walking on the beach, complete with sailboats, brooding clouds, and scores of windblown sea oats, it was a stack of Legos and the need to escape from holiday festivities that brought inspiration tonight.

I've always thought that photography should tell a story or convey an emotion. Seeking a unique composition and creative lighting turn a snapshot into something more significant. Composition doesn't always come easy to some, but Nikon's creative lighting system makes putting speedlights in the right place and controlling them with ease.

So one D610, one 105mm macro, two SB800s, one eleven year old pretending to be a light stand, one Christmas tree, one foil wrapped package, and a pile of Star Wars Legos later, you've managed to avoid meaningful conversation and create an interesting shot. For you camera nerds out there, it's f2.8 @ 1/80th, 105mm, ISO 400.

Almost Hiking Cochran's Falls

A couple of weeks ago, I got the chance to hike a few trails in the North Georgia Mountains. The last trip was an attempt to reach the top of Cochran's Falls, which is near Amicalola State Park. It's the second highest waterfall in the state of Georgia. What was once a one mile hike has become 2.3 miles after forestry officials blocked a long stretch of road and attempted to make this waterfall much more difficult to reach after hikers/climbers fell some thirty feet into the creek.

Despite a four plus mile hike through a very muddy, bug infested trail and a resolve not to be denied a chance to photograph this fall, I was forced to turn around when the trail vanished into a slippery rock face with no handholds.

Not to be completely denied, I was able to work my way out into the creek and photograph a couple of very pretty smaller cascades below the main falls. One of these days, I will make it back to Cochran's Falls, perhaps from the private property above the falls. Until then, I'll have to be content with some nice shots of the lower sections.