Waterfalls of North Carolina

Last fall our photography meetup group had the opportunity to visit some of the great waterfalls in North Carolina, around the Brevard area and in the Pisqah National Forest.

Looking Glass Falls

  

This was the start of our walking journey to the Moore Cove Falls, it was a hike but well worth the walk.

Next we did a easy walk to Log Hollow Falls, also in Pisgah National Forest. 

Then onto see the Mill Shoal Falls on Living Waters property in Pisgah National Forest. This is an awesome place with two falls, I could have stayed the entire day.

This was our last waterfall, and it was definitely the best. Called Eastatoe Falls which is located on private property where the owners have allowed public access! I could only imagine how relaxing it would be to come home after a hard day at work and relax with the sites and sounds of your very own personal natural waterfall.

A Sign of Spring Photo

The photo club to which I belong, has a monthly photo assignment and this month's assignment is the "Signs of Spring".  Each member is allowed to enter up to 3 photos and this is my first one. I hope to catch more signs of spring before the end of the month.

Carolina Balloon Festival | Statesville, NC

We had the opportunity to join our photography meetup group at the Carolina BalloonFest in Statesville, NC in October. This was my first hot air balloon festival and it is something that I must attend again. We arrived early, found a great parking spot and enjoyed lunch. Then we decided that since we were really early and it would be some time before the launching of the balloons, we would leave and return later. Well this was a mistake, a big one. Unknown to us, the traffic to get into the festival would be miles upon miles long. With time running out and nowhere near the entrance, and the launch time getting close, we pull into a parking lot along with other festival goers. These people either had done this before or had given up like us and just parked where there was room. But it turned out to be great; the balloons flew right over us. Below are some of the photos I was able to capture.

P.S. When they said "Plan to arrive early and stay with us" they meant it.

Spider too close for my comfort.

One of the photo assignments in the photo meetup group is to take a macro (close-up) shot of a living thing. Yesterday, I came upon the opportunity to take just that photo. I was walking between two trees when I happened to look up just in time before running into a spider.  There hanging like spiders do, was a this spider. So I tried to get the shot. The first photo I got close, but not close enough,. So I braved it up and got closer and took photo two. Then photo three shows what happened once I realized how close to that spider I had gotten, and I swear the spider turned and looked at me. This is when I ran away screaming. You all know how I feel about spiders. I don't like them.

P.S. Motion does not work on a close-up photos.

Sunsets and Camping

The sun was setting just as we arrived at our second campsite, causing me to end my phone conversion with my friend Melanie and quickly grab the camera (Melanie, being a awesome photographer herself, understands and will forgive me for the quick hang-up.)  Now with the first shots taken I begin to help Rick with the assembly of the tent and placement of the camping supplies when I heard a voice in my head. It was Chris, from our photo meetup group. In a previous meetup photo shoot he said, "that if you wait awhile after the sun sets you will be able to capture a even more beautiful sky with great hues of orange and red," and he was right. The second photo I took almost one hour later. 

Hot Now!

I finally got to go in a Krispy Kreme donut store when the "Hot Now" sign was lit and have a donut, well two, but you get the point.

As we were coming to a end of our Chapel Hill photo shoot and walking down Franklin Street, with camera still in hand, I happened to see a light, a bright light coming from the right side of the road, could it be, yes is was.... Hot Now was lit and I was off running, I was about to get my first hot off the rollers Krispy Kreme donut!

I stopped outside to take several picture of the Hot Now sign and I guess it drew attention because once inside a guy asked me "if this my first time in a Krispy Kreme."

Anyway, the donuts were delicious hot and I should not be allowed in a Krispy Kreme store again.

Chapel Hill | Triangle Photography Meetup Photo Shoot

Our photography meetup group met in downtown Chapel Hill and walked down Franklin Street and then back up through the campus of UNC. Below are some of my favorite shots I was able to capture.

Duke Chapel Photo Shoot

A few nights ago our photography meetup group got the opportunity to tour Duke Chapel and take some great photos of the chapel, its architectural and the surrounding buildings. We started taking photos as soon as we got there, the sky was a perfect blue, Carolina Blue, not Duke Blue, then we moved into the chapel for more shooting and once it closed we made our way outside to get night shots of the chapel and surrounding areas. The following are photos that I took.