Packaging

Dirty, old packaging.

Blue

This is one of the shots from Sunday. I like the grungy textures of the door.

Sunday Six 2.0: Week 13

It was a gorgeous weekend in Atlanta! I was able to get out and about all weekend long, which was so nice.


On Saturday, the Atlanta Braves held their annual open house. They were offering free tours of the stadium, as well as, the chance to run the bases and catch a pop fly in the outfield. It was such a nice day to be outside!


Afterwards, a friend and I ended up at a yard sale in his neighborhood where I found these cute owls. There were several different patterns to choose from. The lady said she sells them on Etsy, but I haven't found them just yet.


They're hand-painted and have this subtle gray in the background.


On Sunday, I met up with some friends for lunch. This was the last bite left of the Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake the four of us split for dessert. Yummy!


After lunch, three of us went shooting around the city. These are my feet!


One of the areas we ventured to was Atlanta's warehouse/industrial area on the city's west side. There are lots of empty warehouses with all sorts of things to photograph. I liked this shot of graffiti on an old warehouse window.

Until next week . . .

Sunday Six 2.0: Week 12

Not a whole lot of adventuring this past week, but I do have a Recap Six.


Filled out my census form this week.


Did a little bit of planting. This one is basil.


This one is rosemary. I also picked up some cilantro and thyme.


My friend planted this pretty magnolia in his front yard.


The tree had lots of little bulbs, just waiting for warm weather. Which, by the way, it didn't get today. Would you believe we had snow in Atlanta today?!


This was a completely random shot, and I almost used it for a Photowalk theme, but changed my mind. This is the reflection of the sky and trees in my blackberry. The phone was sitting halfway on a piece of paper and the railing. Since those two were pretty close in color, I was able to get a decent blur for the outside areas of the photo. Although, I kept my aperture wide, so that helped.

Until next week . . .

Worn II

As you hike up the trail to the top of Stone Mountain you'll pass lots of carvings in the mountain. This is an example of one that we spotted on our way up. I like to think these are a mixture of several different carvings which are now practically one large carving.

Stacked

I consider this photo to be better suited to a theme like "Gross" or "Disgusting," but "Stacked" will suffice.

This is one of several poles on the hiking trail up Stone Mountain which is covered in gum. Specifically, stacks and stacks of gum people have stuck to the pole. Yuck!

Old Fashioned

This carving is probably the attraction Stone Mountain Park is known for. The memorial is the largest relief carving in the world and depicts Confederate President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee and Lt. General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.

The surface of the carving is 3 acres (which is about 3 football fields), is 400 feet above the ground, and recessed 42 feet into the mountain. The carving was initially started in 1916, but was abandoned in 1928. Later, in 1964, work began again on the carving and it was finished in 1972.

The mountain does have its negative history, but the carving itself is something to appreciate. It's definitely worth checking out the hi-res version to see the detail.

Sunday Six 2.0: Week 11

Another Recap Six this week with more outside adventures!


Friday night, a friend and I attempting to take in a carnival set up near Turner Field. After waiting for rain to pass, we made it there, only to have them close up within 10 minutes of our arrival. We did get corndogs, though!


Early Saturday morning I met with my scuba instructor for coffee near Chateau Elan. After we finished with our meeting, I decided to drive on over and take a few pictures. My favorite thing about Chateau Elan is the winery. The estate has approximately 75 acres dedicated to the vineyards and currently produces 22 different varietals, including my favorites: Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon!


This statue is at the end of the main drive to Chateau Elan, just before you arrive at the winery. The fountain was not running on Saturday morning, but she's still pretty.


I spent Saturday afternoon at Stone Mountain. The park has lots of things to see and do, one of which is to climb up the 825 foot mountain of stone. On a clear day, you have a view about 60 miles in each direction. It was a bit cloudy when we were there, but still beautiful.

On a side note, for anyone who watches "30 Rock", Stone Mountain, Georgia, is where Kenneth's character grew up!


This shot includes the downtown Atlanta skyline. I really liked the rays coming down through the clouds in this shot. You can see a bit of rain back there, too.

I'll have a bit more about Stone Mountain tomorrow with a 2010 Virtual Photowalk theme!


Last but not least, a little bit of spring! It's been so nice having pretty weather and seeing things start to bloom.

Until next week . . .

Calling All HDR-ers!

Okay, so at Mike's suggestion I played with the shot of the Abbey Church chapel in Photomatix. I have no clue if the image looks like it should. I also played with one of my landscape shots. Here they are with the standard image, and the processed HDR image. I use CS3 for post-processing, but didn't do anything after processing the photos in Photomatix.

These are HDR attempts #1 and #2, respectively, so all of the adjustments in Photomatix were guessing for me at this point. Advice? Tips? Did I use too heavy a hand or not enough?


Here is the original chapel photo after post-processing.


Here is the HDR after processing through Photomatix. It seems like there is a bit of noise in this one, but I'm not sure if it's just the brightness of the walls. I do like how the second photo displays some of the imperfections in the stone.


This is a photo I took in Tennessee during a visit home. It's the image currently used in my blog header. There's very little post-processing on this one; just a tiny boost of the color and sharpness.


This one I really like! I think this photo has more clarity, depth, and brighter colors. However, I wonder if I wasn't heavy enough with this one.

Thoughts are definitely appreciated!! Thanks for the suggestion, Mike! I can see myself creating HDR images, especially with landscapes, once I learn a bit more.

Worn

This is the Watson Mill Covered Bridge. It's Georgia's longest covered bridge. The bridge is 229 feet long and was built in 1855.

Circular

This is the logo of the Elberton Granite Association carved into one of the granite slabs which make up the Georgia Guidestones. Elberton, Georgia, where the Georgia Guidestones are located, is the granite capital of the world.

Religion or Faith

The interior of the Abbey Church at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit.

Sunday Six 2.0: Week 10

It's a Recap Six this week, and only one of these pictures were taken inside! Metro Atlanta had great weather this weekend which allowed me to get out and explore.


One of the places I visited was the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. The Monastery was started in 1944 and the Abbey Church was built by the monks over 15 years. The chapel is beautiful, and the grounds are so peaceful.


This is a portion of the Abbey Church ceiling at the Monastery. Unfortunately, I wasn't there when the monks were performing any of their liturgical services.


There is also a lake on the Monastery grounds which is full of ducks and geese.


This little fall is part of Watson Mill Covered Bridge State Park which has Georgia's longest covered bridge.


Another spot I visited over the weekend were the Georgia Guidestones. I was thinking about how I wanted to explain the Guidestones, but Doug over at The Urban Baboon has a pretty detailed write-up about the stones. They're interesting, that's for sure!


The Guidestones have 10 rules carved into the granite stones. The rules are carved onto each side of the four main granite slabs in different languages: English, Spanish, Swahili, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Hindi and Hebrew.

Here are the rules carved into the stones:

1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
2. Guide reproduction wisely - improving fitness and diversity.
3. Unite humanity with a living new language.
4. Rule passion - faith - tradition - and all things with tempered reason.
5. Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.
6. Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.
7. Avoid petty laws and useless officials.
8. Balance personal rights with social duties.
9. Prize truth - beauty - love - seeking harmony with the infinite.
10. Be not a cancer on the earth - Leave room for nature - Leave room for nature

Until next week . . .

Children's Toys

Old Alphabet Blocks.

Kitchen Utensils

A set of antique measuring spoons. They certainly qualify as kitchen utensils.

2010 Virtual Photowalk: March Theme List

March Theme List:

Addiction
Blessing
Blue
Circular
Conspicuous
Disorder
Metal
Old Fashioned
Packaging
Religion or Faith
Stacked
Thin
Umbrellas
Unexpected
Worn
Worn II

Sunday Six 2.0: Week 9

Here's a Recap Six from this past weekend. Most of the pictures are from a Relay for Life luncheon that I attended in my hometown. Relay for Life functions benefit the American Cancer Society.


The way this luncheon works is that every table is sponsored and decorated with a theme. I'm pretty sure this theme was something along the lines of making lemonade out of lemons.


This Little Bo Peep book was on one of the tables that my Mom sponsored. It's theme was children's toys.


I liked the bright colors of this one!


A shot of one of the goodie bags for this table.


This theme is pretty easy to figure out. I thought the sunglasses on the napkins were a cute touch.


The banquet room where the luncheon was held had this American flag hanging on the wall. It's made entirely out of lace.

That's it for this week. Not very exciting photos, but it's for a good cause! Until next week . . .