Our origional plan was to hike Linville Gorge Trail from Babel Tower Trail and Come out at Pinch-in. With the threat of severe weather in the Forecast we opted to hike a few miles down to the Conley Cove Trail Head. 

We made it down Conley Cove to the Linville River and made a quick lunch and took a dip in the river. We had to share it with about 10 black snakes though. They didn't seem agressive and we both went out seperate ways.

We started down the Linville Gorge Trail and found a great campite near the River. We had supper and while Chris fished, I made photographs.

The next day the Linville Gorge Trail became more difficult in terrain and in the ability to follow. I don't think we hiked over a mile that day as our goal was to find a great campsite near Pinch-in. Along the way we saw the Chimneys on East side of the Gorge.

I was really impressed with the Eureka! Spitfire Tent on the trip as it kept me dry and had great ventilation even with the rain fly deployed.

The honey bees sure seem to enjoy my sweaty hat!

Later on as Chris fished, I made photographs.

Chris and I decided to experiment with some long exposures to show the silky water effect, but to have him stay still for 30 seconds as sort of a portrait type deal. This was our first try and it turned out pretty good.

As with all good things they must end. The next day we would be hiking out!

This trail has roughly 1500' of elevation gain in 1.5 miles and is either straight up or straight down. We eventually made it to the top. I had carried 75 pounds of gear 11 miles on this trip. It was a great time and since my birthday happened on the trip, my wife had me a custom cake made when I got back! Thanks!

Mark

Howdy Folks,

I admit it, I have not been posting much here on the blog. I am still shooting about everyday but I have been stingy with sharing my photos here. This weekend, I shot a soccer game, a quick trip to a field of wildflowers, a girl scout award ceremony a few shots of the perigee moon yesterday and finally today my Daughters Birthday Party. 

So here is my take on the super or perigee moon!

Thanks for sticking with me!

Mark

We finally had a decent storm here on the farm and it produced some lightning that I was able to get one decent shot with the Canon 7D.

Taken with Canon 7D ISO 100 F5 @ 60 second exposure, focal length 24mm, Lens Canon EF 24-70mm F 2.8 Lens.

Looking forward to the next round!

Mark

I spent Saturday evening doing a phototour with Jane Wiley in uptown Charlotte. The subject was night photography in the Queen City. I know I need to get serious about acquiring a serious wide angle lens for my Canon 7D as I had to rely on my Sony NEX with 16mm lens to get those wide shots.

Right before the night lights got turned on.

The night lights are on, gives it a neat look! May need to figure out how to strobe some waterfalls in night in the wild! 

The Charlotte Fire Department was heading to some sort of emergency and I used a long exposure to capture the lights.

Some more traffic shots on the streets of Charlotte.

The last stop of the Blue Line for Charlotte's Light Rail.

I like it better in B&W.

The train leaving the station and heading out. Really loving the light trails on this one!

Thanks Cliff for inviting me along and thanks Jane for leading this wonderful tour.

Thanks for reading!

Mark

I headed over to the Carolina Raptor Center early Saturday morning and again today for the PhotoWild Event. Photowild is a fundraiser for the CRC and gives photographers a chance to photograph birds of prey outside their enclosures. It is probably as close as one can get to these magnificent creatures for some extreme close up action.

The challenge to photograph these birds is to try and make it APPEAR that they are in the wild. All these birds wear tethers which can sometime ruin that appearance. I don't "Photoshop" images since I am an Aperture 3 user and most of my edits are to only enhance the RAW images that come from my camera, and I occasionaly remove/retouch/clone distracting elements, but I usually try to crop via my lens. Nothing wrong with photoshop, it's just not something I want to use now and Aperture 3 does what I need. However sometimes the truth can be interesting!

This was my second time to the Carolina Raptor Center and I wanted to really give my new Canon 7D  a work out and see what it could do with my "L" Glass Lenses. I am totally impressed. Thanks to my fellow photographer and friend Cliff Black who provided me with some tips and tricks using it! Thanks Cliff! Cliff and I shoot with pretty much the same gear except the flash and the editing software! Great minds think alike!

My favorite bird is the Golden Eagle and I worked this bird for a long time. Such a noble animal. I like the Bald Eagle too, but it is like the difference between a US Marine in dress uniform vs. Combat Fatigues to me. It was raining so it made the light soft and easy to control!

The Spectacled Owl was one of the most expressive birds out there. Sometimes he looked very angry, but he was a gentle creature!

The fastest animal of the planet, the Peregrine Falcon! 

We have a large Red Tailed Hawk that lives nearby and getting a chance to photograph one up close was a real treat for me! 

I really liked the flight of the Eagle Owl!

Several of us CNPA members were there and we had a wonderful time fellowshipping in the hobby we love so well. 

Thanks for Reading!

Mark

I spent the weeknd with some good friends hiking Rock Jock Trail in the Linville Gorge. I will have some more pictures up later. 

Mark

Howdy Folks,

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I have been very busy photographically speaking. I am in the process of moving my MASTER images from my MacBook Pro to a Drobo FS. This will free up space on my computer and allow me to take more images and not worry about filling up my hard drive. With only 39 GB left of space on my 500GB Mac, I was getting concerned!

Too add to that dilemma I am also transitioning to the Canon 7D which takes larger RAW files and I am learning the ins and outs of this camera. 

I have also been assigned some freelance work for a company out of California, which is kind of a neat prospect.

I also had to shoot edit and produce media for my Nephews Eagle Scout Ceremony. It was a lot of fun and event photography is very challenging. I think you need a "hit list" of shots you want to get at any event and that is something I will incorporate into my workflow in the future.

So I feel like the tree in the photograph above, a little overwhelmed by it all, but then again once all these changes are made, I will get back on my feet and make some more photographs.

Thanks for sticking with me!

Mark

The family and I spent Saturday at the Biltmore House and Gardens. I was really impressed with the Statues and how lifelike they appeared.

Orchids in the greenhouse.

Not quite sure what these are but a similar flower is the flamigo flower.

Mark

I had a day all to myself and decided to hike up to Hawksbill to watch the Sunrise and do some some exploring last Thursday. 

I wanted to do a little HDR and see how that turned out. For hiking up to the top in the dark I was rewarded with a scene that was even more beautiful than I could capture...

Hope you enjoy!

Mark

I observed this magnificent creature when I was at Arby's in Lincolnton. He was watching over a large empty lot waiting for some rodent to make a wrong move. I took this with my Sony NEX-5 and 18-200mm lens which I am glad I had with me.

Look around sometimes, it is amazing what most people miss...

Mark