wayback machine

This time of year is interesting for me. This marks the start of my second year in photography. I'll also be 100% honest and say it's the same anniversary for my love of nature. I was hiking before this, and I really liked it, but it was still something I forced myself to do. I saw it more as exercise than a way to enjoy the world around me. Anymore, I just want to be outside.

I offered to help a friend of mine learn to use his camera. He suggested we go to Petit Jean. I thought that was a good spot, because it was my first waterfall adventure too. It was interesting to pull out my shots of Cedar Falls from last Spring and see how much my photography has changed.

Here's one of my shots from last year:

rollin' with g-unit

It's been a long, long time since I've taken the point and shoot out. It's a really great point and shoot, and I argue the quality is just as good as with my 40D. However, I'm spoiled I like having a larger choice of focal ranges, apertures, and filters. Since the 40D was out out for repairs, I took out the G10 instead for a photo trip with Zack and Caden. I gotta say I'm glad I did. The view from Flatside Pinnacle really is amazing and the light was wonderful.

snowpocalypse!!!! omg

Okay, I'm sort of kidding and sort of not with the title. I'm not saying Arkansas snowfall is comparable to that of Washington D.C. and the rest of the North slammed by winter storms this year. For here it's pretty bad though! The thing is, we can get snow, but we always tend to get rain too. This leads to a packed and icy snow! Plus people are on the roads without snowtires and experience. We might not have the same sort Winters, but 6-8 inches of snow literally shuts down the state.

Having said that, I had a blast out in it today! I drove up to the Arkansas State Capitol before the rain started and grabbed a few shots. Then I spent about three hours walking around in my neighborhood enjoying the snow. I was giddy like a kid. I went to lunch with Ward who was marooned in Little Rock for awhile, and I just kept bursting into giggle fits over the meal watching the weather outside. I'm pretty sure my giddiness is the mean reason he decided to risk driving back to Conway. He made it thankfully.

sunrise at chester

This is an older shot taken with my Canon G10. This was the first time I'd gotten up before sunrise to go shooting. It's peaceful. It's nice to be wide awake before most of the world.

the other summit

Taken: April 21, 2009
Camera: Canon PowerShot G10
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1250)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 6.8 mm
ISO Speed: 80

This is one of those shots that isn't a personal favorite. I liked it enough to post, but didn't expect to get any reaction out of it. Proof you don't always know your best work, because a lot of people have sited this as one of my better shots.

This is the East Quarry Trail. It is a spur off of the Rocky Valley Trail at Pinnacle Mountain State Park. The spur no longer as signs indicating it's a trail, but the trail itself is still maintained and blazed. I don't think a lot of people know what it is or where it goes, which means it typically isn't all that busy. It is a lot easier than the summit trails and offers a great view of Pinnacle Mountain. Sometimes if I really just need to be left alone I head out and hike this trail.

natural dam goodness

Taken: April 19, 2009
Camera: Canon PowerShot G10
Exposure: 0.6
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 12.1 mm
ISO Speed: 80

I fell in love with this place after I saw a blog about it here. This is the Natural Dam of Crawford County. It's part of the Ozark National Forest. As the name suggests it is natural.

In theory, places like this are just how they were decades and centuries ago. The uninterrupted beauty of nature always gives me a sense of history. Unlike things man-made nature never ages. So I wondered about the people that may have found this place when Arkansas was a fledgling territory and Manifest Destiny was just a speck in someone's eye.

riding the rails

Taken: March 25, 2009
amera: Canon PowerShot G10
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 6.1 mm
ISO Speed: 80

I keep posting shots from my vacation to Indiana. I guess I'm reading to get out of dodge for a bit! I'm counting down the days until I leave for Chicago to catch some Cubs games! Anyway, when I was in Indiana, I did a lot of bridge hunting. This one was my favorite and also hardest one for me to find. It the Tippecanoe River 75 East Bridge built in 1890. I loved how the bottom was completely gone. It created some awesome lines. Lucky I found this then instead of now. Now there isn't much that would have stopped me from climbing out on it - then I was pretty chicken!

sky's the limit

Taken: March 2, 2009
Camera: Canon PowerShot G10
Exposure: 15 sec
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 18.1 mm
ISO Speed: 80

How about a blast from the past? This was my first night series, ever! They make me smile. I look at it and I see a lot of flaws and a lot of areas I've grown. I'm still learning, which is why I retitled this "sky's the limit." I got my fancy little point and shoot that morning. I charged the battery. Then I conned someone into going with me to stand in North Little Rock, Arkansas in 32/33 degree weather. Some things have changed about my photography, but my motivation has yet to change!

how holy water is made

Taken: March 26, 2009
Camera: Canon PowerShot G10
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 30.5 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Sometimes you just need a laugh! My mom and I drove past this probably fifty times while on vacation in Indiana. I guess we both noted the oddness of it and finally said something about it. I mean, this was in a now closed store window. Mom pointed out the soda bottles and how it appears he is praying over them. I told her that's how holy water is made.

barn

Taken: March 25, 2009
Camera: Canon PowerShot G10
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 10.8 mm
ISO Speed: 80

Here's another one from my vacation to Northwestern Indiana. I had a ton of fun there driving around and getting lost.

signs, signs, everywhere a sign

Taken: March 16, 2009
Camera: Canon PowerShot G10
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 30.5 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Hot Springs is one of my favorites places. There is detail and history everywhere. I like to just walk around and see what I can find.

broken glass

Taken: April 19, 2009
Camera: Canon PowerShot G10
Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 6.1 mm
ISO Speed: 200

This was taken in a house that was gutted by a fire. I found it very sad and wondered about the fate of the homeowners. It was interesting to see the path of the fire through the house.

dunns bridge

Taken: March 26, 2009
Camera: Canon PowerShot G10
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 6.1 mm
ISO Speed: 80

This is Dunns Bridge in Jasper County, Indiana. It's actually really cool. I loved the yellow color, which isn't a common color for a bridge. Materials for the bridge were salvaged from the 1890 World's Fair. The bridge itself was built in 1904, though the designer is unknown. It was later turned into a pedestrian bridge in 2003. This is a bridge over the Kankakee River.

lonely tree

Taken: March 25, 2009
Camera: Canon PowerShot G10
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 6.1 mm
ISO Speed: 80

I did a lot of exploring when I was on vacation in Indiana. This was down a very narrow dirt road. I'm ready for vacation again.

in suspense

Taken: March 23, 2009
Camera: Canon PowerShot G10
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 6.1 mm
ISO Speed: 80

I've always loved shooting bridges. I don't really like why. Maybe it's all the lines and the brilliant architecture. Maybe it's just there's not all that many old ones left. Who knows. I just love them. This was taken when I was on vacation in Indiana. It's the Memorial Suspension Bridge in Winamac.

i <3 chuck

Taken: April 10, 2009
Camera: Canon PowerShot G10
Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 6.8 mm

Sometimes the simplest pictures end up turning into favorites. I love my Chuck Taylors. I took this picture on my lunch break just goofing around and ended up loving it.

a david lynch dream

Taken: March 9, 2009
Camera: Canon PowerShot G10
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 6.1 mm

The Wye United Methodist Church of Arkansas plants tons of daffodils in the fields surrounding the church. Every year they hold a Daffodil Festival. It's a pretty neat. Since I posted one of the first pictures I was proud of from the 40D, I thought I'd show the first picture I was proud of from my G10.