My sister Sherry is the music director at Paw Creek Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.

When Sherry first suggested her idea for a calendar to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the church, I was not sure I could produce the sort of photographs required, especially since I would only have a few days to do the work. The photographs for this calendar needed to be visually appealing, seasonal, and they needed to connect with the long history of the Church. Sherry and I brainstormed a list of ideas for photographs that seemed doable. I did not need to create all 12 images because we could draw on some of my previous work to complete the project.

I had concerns about being able to make interesting photographs of some of the things on the list. Ultimately, I agreed to help because it can be difficult to say no to Sherry and facing the unknown can produce more interesting images than sticking with what you know will work. My biggest concern was still that I would only have a day or so to do the work because my shooting schedule was already very full.

Karen Sisk, a friend of Sherry's and a member of the choir, took me on a walk around the grounds when I arrived the first evening. We were looking for pawpaw, a spring, and anything else we could find that inspired us. Karen and I found several pawpaw trees during our walk; some of their leaves were just starting to change color.


Pawpaw leaves
While on this walk, Karen showed me the cemetery. The cemetery seemed like a good opportunity to make a photograph that connects with history and honors those who participated in that history. When I pitched the idea to Sherry she was afraid others might find it morbid. I explained that it all depends on how you look at it and I could show the cemetery in an inspirational way. The best I could do was convince her to consider the image once I had made it. "Fair enough", I thought, especially since I knew I needed some very rare natural light to make the image I wanted. This kind of lighting tends to only occur around dawn when sunlight breaks through mist. I only had one morning to make the image so my chances were pretty slim.

I arrived before dawn the next morning to scout the location and get set up. I was hopeful because the air was clear and cold and there was a light mist. As the sun began to rise I noticed the light filtering through the trees and spilling onto the ground amongst the head stones. I could not believe my luck, this was perfect!


Paw Creek Cemetery
And the luck did not end there. I needed to make an image of Paw Creek, the creek the church is named for. Paw Creek flows through a very urban and industrial landscape. I have seen many urban creeks turned into garbage filled ditches but I was elated when I saw how well this creek has been cared for. The creek has a wooded buffer and clean water with lots of interesting rocks. The first images I made focused on the colorful fall leaves that had fallen into the creek. We decided to use this image on the cover of the calendar.


Paw Creek #1
Then I made some landscape views of the creek. The best I had hoped for was some closeup details but the entire scene was quite lovely.


Paw Creek #2
I was also lucky to have some clouds on this day because direct sunlight would have created harsh highlights and shadows and would have made photographing this scene impossible.

Finally, I made a more abstract image concentrating on the patterns formed by the white water and the black rocks. We did not use this image in the calendar but it is my favorite images from that day.


Paw Creek #3
Karen also showed me a collection of historic artifacts dating back to the earliest days of the church. I made photographs of an historic candelabra, collection plate, quilt, and my favorite, an historic lemon juicer.


Lemon Juicer
My favorite part about making this image was the look on Sherry's face when I told her I wanted to photograph a lemon juicer for the calendar. It is probably just like the look you have on your face right now. But it does make sense, really. This lemon juicer was used to make lemonade for the church's annual homecoming picnic. It works well as the photo for one of the summer months and it connects with a wonderful tradition at the Church.

All I did was make the photographs for this calendar. Sherry did a lot of research and wrote captions for each of the photographs to connect the images with the month and with the church's history. She also found relevant scriptues to accompany each photograph. She dealt with the printers and found the funds to cover the printing costs. Oh yea, and she went to the store and bought some lemons for me.

Proceeds from the sale of this calendar will support the church choir. They will be making a mission trip to Italy next year and this will help raise money for their trip. If you would like to purchase a calendar they cost $15 plus shipping and can be ordered by contacting Sherry Blevins at sherrybsings@aol.com.

The new photographs this month are from several recent trips to the southern mountains of North Carolina. Looking Glass Falls is one of the most well known waterfalls in North Carolina. To win a waterfall popularity contest you need to not only be beautiful but also easily accessible. Looking Glass Falls can be easily seen from Hwy 276, and there is a short set of paved stairs to the pool at the base of the falls. Since it is so easy to get to, I try to swing by when ever I am in the area.

I visited Looking Glass Falls three times this year while working on other things but was not able to photograph the falls because of the light. Waterfalls, especially waterfalls in the forest, tend to be very high contrast scenes. This high contrast is partly because the churning water is bright white as it flows over dark, wet rocks and into deep, dark pools. It is also because there is usually a gap in the forest canopy over the falls which puts more light on the brightest part of the scene. On a sunny day, this contrast will exceed a camera's dynamic range, but on a cloudy day, it becomes possible to capture details in the highlights as well as the shadows. On my last visit to the area, I had some wonderfully dreary weather so I made some time to visit the falls. The soft light provided the perfect range of contrast, and the fall foliage added color to the scene. The newly fallen birch, tulip-poplar, and maple leaves also added interest and color to the rocks in the creek below the falls. I used a polarizing filter to remove the sky reflection from the surface of the calm water and to allow the reflection of the waterfall to show more clearly. The polarizer also helped with the color saturation of the fall foliage.


Looking Glass Falls

I had a fun time photographing elk while I was working in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I was scouting some forests in the eastern end of the park. I ended up with some extra time at the end of a day so I decided to go look at the elk which frequent a nearby field. The elk in the Smokies are easy to photograph, but they all have radio collars and ear tags, which I find to be a visual distraction and a reminder that these animals are somewhat less than wild. I worked to try to find a composition that would conceal this manmade elk bling but was not able to come up with anything I liked. As the sun was setting, it occurred to me that there could be fog in the morning. If so I could photograph the elk backlit in the fog, which would render them as silhouettes and conceal their collars and ear tags. It was wishful thinking, but I decided to return at dawn to see if the idea would work. There was not a wisp of fog when I first arrived the next morning. I made a few more images of elk but was not any happier with them than the photographs I had made the evening before. Then, out of nowhere, a mist began to lift out of the ground. Just then the elk nearest me started bugling.


Elk Bugling

I moved to put the elk in backlight just as they were enveloped by the mists. This fog lasted only about 10 minutes. In that time the elk were moving across the field and constantly changing their poses and their positions relative to each other. I was able to make several images, but this is the one I like best.


Elk at Dawn

I made one more photograph of the fog as it lifted out of the valley. This is a subtle image but what I liked about the scene was how the sun lit the trees on the left in warm light while the trees on the lower right were in the shadow of the hillside in a cold blue light.


Nellie Ridge

I will be attending the first annual meeting of the Friends of Plant Conservation next week. The meeting is open to the public so anyone interested in native plants is welcome. The Friends of Plant Conservation will support and promote the North Carolina Plant Conservation Program which protects the rare and native plants of North Carolina. The meeting will be on Wednesday, October 29th at the Kresge Auditorium on the Meredith College campus in Raleigh. More details about the meeting, registration, and directions can be found in the official announcement.

I love photographing plants, but my natural tendency is to photograph the common plants, the ones that dominate and characterize a natural area. However, my current projects have led me into photographing some of the rare and endangered plants of North Carolina. Finding and recognizing these plants can be quite difficult, but I have been fortunate to have the help of some great botanists. Actually, help is a bit of an understatement. They have not only helped me, but they have inspired me as well.

Most of the rare plant photographs I have been making are not on the web site because I want to hold them for publication. Below are a few I have made this year that are not intended for these publications.


Bigleaf Grass-of-Parnassus (Parnassia grandifolia)


Eastern Fringed-gentian (Gentianopsis crinita)


Canada Burnet (Sanguisorba canadensis)


Smooth Coneflower (Echinacea laevigata)

The new photographs this month are outtakes from two trips at opposite ends of North Carolina. Panthertown Valley in the Nantahala National Forest is in the southwestern mountains, and Hammocks Beach State Park is a barrier island on the coast. Both trips involved backpacking for three nights and four days.

When I go on these backpacking trips, it is not because I enjoy backpacking (although I do much of the time). Backpacking is often the easiest way to be in these locations when the light is most impressive around sunrise and sunset. Backpacking, however, is just the means, not the goal. I am on these trips to make photographs so it is important that the hauling of gear, setting up camp, eating, and sleeping not occupy too much of my thoughts. That way I can focus most of my attention on the photographs I am trying to make.

I was reminded how different my experience is from most of the visitors to these places while waiting for the passenger ferry to take me to Hammocks Beach State Park. Several families were also waiting for the ferry. I could tell from the coolers, lawn chairs, and swimming clothes that they were going over for the day to frolic on the beach. They could tell from my backpack, tripod, wide-brimmed hat, long sleeved shirt, long pants, and hiking boots that I was not. One man asked me if I was going camping. I said "yes." Then he asked his young son if he would like to go camping sometime. The son said, without hesitation, "no!" The father asked, "why not?" The son said, "There are spooky things at night."

I had forgotten about that feeling of being afraid to go into wild places at night. I love wild places, and the night can sometimes be the most impressive. When the sun is high at the beach, I struggle. The sun takes a lot out of you, especially when you have fair skin. My favorite time at the beach is when the sun is near the horizon or at night.

When the sun is near the horizon, it highlights the patterns formed by the wind on the sand. I have always been fascinated by these patterns. The same shape line will repeat over and over again but with slight variations.


Sand Pattern #1

The beach is very different at night. It becomes a soft and gentle place. Soft starlight is bright enough to see by when it is clear, and if you are far enough from city lights, the stars can be spectacular.


Beach by Starlight

I recently returned from a backpacking trip to Panthertown Valley in the Nantahala National Forest. I almost cancelled this trip because Hurricane Hanna was forecast to pass right over the area while I was there. I realized several years ago there is always a reason to cancel a trip. If I am going to make photographs, I just have to go anyway. So I went, and the hurricane ended up arriving later and passing more to the east than forecast. I actually had beautiful weather the whole time.

On the last day as I was driving back, I stopped on the Blue Ridge Parkway to watch the sunset. I was amazed to see that I was right on the edge of the hurricane. Huge curving clouds from the spiral arms of the hurricane filled the eastern sky and caught the light from the setting sun. Being on top of a mountain is an exhilarating experience but to be on the edge of all that power was sublime.


The edge of Hurricane Hanna

I have always admired time-lapse photography but never gave it a try. This seemed like a good time to start. When photographing a sunset, I always make photographs over a period of time as the light changes. There is no way to know if the photograph you just made is going to be the best one or if the light will improve in a few minutes. This time I decided to make a photograph at exactly 30 second intervals so I could combine them together into a time-lapse movie. The movie compresses 20 minutes into 6 seconds. I think it came out okay for my first try. Maybe next time I will make it a talkie.


Click here to watch the time-lapse
movie of the edge of Hurricane Hanna.