Fall Colors Trip To North Carolina Mountains

October 27, 2023 • Leave a Comment

Hey Y'all ! How are you doing this week? Me? Great! I just got back from a week long Photography trip with my Photography Club the Goldsboro Area Photography Club. This is an annual trip that we take somewhere to take in the Fall colors. We have traveled to West Virginia in the past and also Washington DC once. But North Carolina is our main spot. We rent a house or cabin for a week and share all of the community experiences like food and gas for the cars we use to go place to place. We plan our itinerary well in advance with a group of people that includes the officers of the club and senior members that have lots of experience in where to go. These houses that we rent are reserved well in advance and choosing a week to go is usually the 3rd week in October that is when the colors are usually popping in the North Carolina mountains but Mother Nature does have the final say. So some years we have less color than others. But one thing is for certain we always have a great time. I like to call it Summer Camp for old folks! There is lots of laughter in the house and special nicknames are given to everyone that attends. It can get quite goofy. Now these trips are no vacation! Its called a workshop for a reason. We work, and are on the go the whole trip. We usually leave before the sun comes up and arrive back to the house well after dark. Driving and going to different spots to shoot the whole time. When we are at the house its backing up the days shoot and maybe edit a shot or two before it's time to get ready for the next day's activities. Early to bed and early rise is the routine that is followed. We usually eat out once or twice a day and either bring something to eat with us or eat at the house. Depending on the days activities. New attendees are surprised on how much we just keep going and are usually the first to say that this workshop isn't a vacation. We try to capture and do different kinds of photography from landscapes with beautiful colors to wildlife and some street/travel photography. This year was no exception as we did Landscape, Wildlife, Travel/Street, and even some night time light painting. So here goes a day to day rundown of how this years trip went.

Linville Falls Day 1- Travel and Linville Falls. We had a big countdown to this day on a group Facebook Messenger thread Linville Falls and it finally came. We left early for a 5ish hour drive to get to Linville Falls just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. When we arrived to Linville Falls early afternoon and I have never seen so many people. The parking lots were full and people were parking on the access road to the parking area as we did. I have visited these falls many times and even camped near by and have never seen so many people. We trudged on and hiked the trail to the falls and the falls overlooks. I couldn't get a photo of the falls because of the people but I did get some shots of the gorge and the surrounding areas. We then drove to our house. What a house and a location! Kudo's to our President Caitlin for finding this gem. We had views all around a great house to spend the week.

Day 2- Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. This is the first time that we have done this while in the mountains and we were all excited about the Great Smokey Mountain Railroad trip through the mountains during Fall. It was very chilly and we had open air cars so we could get good photo's. It was a fun trip and I got a few photo's although to me the photographic opportunities were not as much as I had thought. Our plans were to walk the town of Bryson City but the weather started getting bad (rain) so we went back to the house . Later on in the day we drove to Great Smoky Mountains National Park Cherokee Visitor Center in Cherokee to view the Elk. Again Lots of people there and we spent some time there and then back to the cabin which was only 20ish minutes away.

Cades Cove Day 3-Cades Cove day. Cades Cove Tennessee is part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). There is about a 12 mile loop that you can drive and see wildlife and Landscapes. They also have a Mill there that you can visit and see. The gates open at sunrise and if you want the early morning light you need to get in line before the sun comes up. I think we had about an hour and a half drive to get there and we sat in line. We had to leave at 4:45 in the morning! We got on the loop early and got to see all kinds of wildlife Turkey, Cades Cove from bear, deer, turkeys, horses and a hawk. And the landscapes did not disappoint either. We had the wildlife guys in the lead car to spot the wildlife because they have the eye to do so. We took two laps of the loop and on the second lap it started to rain. We went to Pigeon Forge where we had lunch at the Mill a country style meal restaurant and there were lots of people. For our trip back we had a list of places to go to with over looks and waterfalls on the way to Clingmans Dome to shoot a sunset. Clingmans Dome road was closed for some reason. We soon found out why . It was still raining so we decided to head to the house and if the weather permitted we would stop at one of the spots. But the rain kept coming and as we climbed up to Newfound Gap the rain turned to SNOW! Yes SNOW! Now that's a scene to see snow coming down on Fall Colored trees! We never did stop because it kept raining/Snowing and we made it to the house. And we found out that the road to Clingmans Dome was closed because of road conditions.

Dry Falls Day 4- Helen Georgia and Falls day. Finally the weather had cleared and we had blue skies. We left and first stop was Cullasaja Falls a road side fall that slithers down the side of the mountain. Next stop was Dry falls Cherokee that gets it's name by being able to walk behind the falls. What was great about this place is that there was no one there. After having wall to wall people in other places it was great to go somewhere that we had it to ourselves. The colors were popping and I had a great time photographing them. Next spot was Helen Georgia. We as a group have never been to this spot before I had been earlier in the year. This town is all decked out as a Bavarian-style town. Piped in music and restaurants and shops galore. This made for some interesting photography and it was a unique stop on our trip. We also had a great lunch there. The next stop was Tallulah Gorge Rim Trail where there were waterfalls. There is a deep gorge at this Georgia State park which was neat to see.

Living Waters Day 5- Waterfall Palooza! This is waterfall day one of my favorite days . First on the list is Sunburst Falls. This was one that we haven't been before and when we got there there was a couple getting engagement photo's done with pumpkins on their heads! It was very cool to watch and we got some snapshots of them. The next big falls was Living Waters Retreat . There is about a 1/2 mile trail that has about 5 or 6 falls surrounded by beautiful trees with all of the colors. One of my favorite places. We spent a couple of hours there. We then went to eat in Brevard a beautiful town with a BBQ place that we have been to before and wanted to return. We had a great lunch before the next set of Falls. The next set was High Falls, Hooker Falls and Triple Falls. These three falls are located in Dupont State Forrest. The last falls was Looking Glass Falls. We as a group have been there many times before but usually in the morning. This was the first time in the afternoon. I like the afternoon better not as many people or as cold. So the day was full of Waterfalls and Hiking and Landscapes. A great day.

Elk, Cherokee Day 6- Elk Day! Even though we have seen the Elk one day before we really wanted to do the Elk again Elk , Cherokee especially the Wildlife guys. We arrived early at Cherokee Visitors Center and shot some of the Elk (not really) in the fields and then worked our way to a stream that they cross a couple of times a day and really makes for a great photo's. I actually got a few really good shots and for me that's surprising I'm not really a wildlife photographer and really don't have all of the big lenses like the Wildlife guys do. I also got some good photo's of the little village that they have set up at the visitors center. After that the main group of us left and the hard core Wildlife guys stayed behind to get more shots. The rest of us went out to eat and then back to the house for some down time to do laundry or take a nap. That afternoon when the rest had joined us we went out to do light painting on Mingus Mill which is an old mill in the park. So we went out and worked the scene in the dark with big lamps to get our shot. Real fun! And it started to sprinkle as we were finishing up.

Sylva, Courthouse Day 7-Cataloochee Valley Day. We were scheduled to go to Cataloochee Valley and shoot Elk and Landscapes but the rain came back. We decided to go out and have a good sit down breakfast. We drove to Sylva North Carolina and Man in Sylva NC small outdoorsy town with hiking and fly fishing as major interest. We had a great breakfast and the rain looked like it was going to let up so we decided to shoot the city but as we started the rain came back. I got a little wet. So we went to the cabin to relax while waiting for the rain to subside. It did subside and we were itching to get out and shoot so we decided to go shoot Sylva again and then we went to Dillsboro, North Carolina to shoot the towns. While shooting Dillsboro it started to rain and we came back to the cabin. We relaxed in the house for the rest of the day and got our things together for the ride home. The last day was just a travel day as we were out of the house by 8:30 in the morning for the ride home.

Despite the rain interfering with our trip we had a ball. The colors were popping and we got to go to some great places for the Fall Colors! Its hard to explain the beauty that is in the mountains in the Fall. The color of Autumn the crispness of the weather and the company of like minded photographers out having fun and learning. I love these trips and they are the highlight of my year. If you get a chance to take a photography workshop trip somewhere Go! You will have a ball and learn a lot! So until next week get out and Shoot!

What are my Favorite Photography YouTube Channels?

October 20, 2023 • Leave a Comment

Hey Everyone! Hope you have had a great week! I have been on a blog writing blitz this week making many blogs for future publication. It comes in waves (the writing that is) and I just take advantage of rainy days to get and stay ahead . One of my favorite things to do to pass the time is watch YouTube. It is probably where I get most of my on screen content from. I do watch some TV but mostly News and the Golf Channel LOL. And of course Netflix and Amazon Prime. But most of my on time screen watching is YouTube. I am a visual person and love to watch and learn how to do stuff on YouTube. You can learn how to take photo's to how to change brake pads on your car. It is a great platform to enjoy and watch and learn. This weeks blog is my Favorite photography YouTube channels. Now there are Thousands and Thousands of Channels on YouTube about photography and I know I haven't even come close to seeing all of them but here are a few of my favorites in no Spring Fall Falls particular order. It depends on my mood and what I'm interested in shooting at the time.

James Popsy- His channel is based in the UK and he does mostly Landscapes but does go into street every now and then. He is funny and informative on his channel and answers questions like is JPEGs any good anymore? He of course tries out different camera's and accessories. To me its not so much the content but he is a joy to listen to .

Tony and Chelsea Northrup- This husband and wife couple give reviews of camera gear and go over different aspects of photography. They have the most popular printed photo photography lesson book in the world that is constantly being updated with video's incorporated into the printed book. They started out in stock photography and do portraits and Wildlife a little of everything. They even have a podcast that I listen to that is very enjoyable. They have loads of content on YouTube.

Mark Denny- Mark Denny is a local North Carolina guy that quit corporate America to be a full time Raven's Roost Va. Landscape photographer/Instructor. He has great tutorials on Lightroom and his in the field work is great to watch and he goes into great detail. He has become one of the ones I really like to watch and learn from.

Thomas Heaton- Thomas Heaton is a Landscape photographer based out of the UK and has an enormous following of landscape photographers. He has worked as a Studio Assistant before going out on his own. He combines camping or RVing from his Van into his Photography. He teams up with well known photographers here in the US on great road trips. Lots of content on his channel and well worth the watch.

Nick Page- A former golf Greens Keeper turned photographer . Is a self taught landscape photographer that runs workshops and has fantastic photo's. He takes you through the shoot and the post processing of his great landscapes. He also loves to shoot storms with lightning which looks cool but may be a little to dangerous for me. He is based out of the Pacific Northwest of the US.

Adorama TV- This is a great channel with loads of reviews of equipment but also instruction and how to with famous photographers/instructors like Mark Wallace, Pam Pam Gaven Hoey, Lindsey Atler and On Set with Daniel Norton. And many more. You can watch a live stream event where the photographer takes you through a whole photoshoot from start to finish explaining everything as they go. A great channel with lots of content to watch.

Pierre T Lambert- A street photographer that travels the world taking photo's and brings you along for the shoot. During the recent (in the last couple of years) race riots in Chicago he was there shooting the whole thing and it was very interesting to watch. There are loads of street photographers to follow and watch on YouTube he was just one that popped up in my mind first.

To find any of these folks just bring up YouTube and put their name in the search block and it will show many videos of these people. Subscribe to them and you will always have their latest and greatest videos and it doesn't cost a penny just your time which you would be wasting watching the Big Bang Theory or something similar . So learn something. Until next week check theses out and let me know what your favorite channels are and Get out and Shoot!

Raleigh Photo walks

October 13, 2023 • Leave a Comment

Hey Y’all! Hope you are doing great this week! Me? Pretty well. This week I want to talk about taking small photo walks of a nearby town or city. For the last two weekends me and my photo wingman Robert , have been taking photo walks in Raleigh NC a nearby city. It is much larger than the town we live in which is a rural town. Raleigh is a bigger city with lots of neat stuff to see and do that is different than our town. So for the last two Sundays we’ve been traveling the hour or so to Raleigh to photograph the town. The first time we went we went as if we were tourist although we had both been there many times . And the second time it was street photography that was our main goal. I love both types of photography it lets me take photo’s of all kinds of things that I normally don’t.

First day as a Tourist. First stop after an enjoyable ride to Raleigh was the Arboretum . I have driven past this place many times but have never gone in. I was pleasantly surprised . It was awesome. It had all kinds of plants and flowers and interesting stuff to see. We spent over an hour roaming the grounds taking photo’s and having fun. Our next stop was to the NC Museum of Art. Outside they had a mirror maze that was pretty cool and when you got inside you got disoriented because of all of the mirrors. They created cool shapes and shadows to photograph. The next stop was downtown Raleigh to visit Museums and walk the town. It was very hot and we walked a lot . We went to the food mall on Morgan street and the food was excellent. We walked quite a bit and I would suggest to wear comfortable shoes when doing this kind of photography. After the museums we decided to go to Durham to the Tobacco Campus. These are old cigerett plant buildings that have been converted into shops and restaurants. This is a very cool place but we didn't figure that most of the shops and stores would be closed on Sunday but it gave us a chance to photograph the buildings without all of the people. What was cool is that the Durham Bulls were having a ball game and the stadium was just next door and we did some people watching as they were going into the stadium for the game. All in all a very good day of shooting.

Second day Street Photography. this day was not as structured as the first day we actually decided on the drive up where to start. We started at Raleigh Union Station the Amtrak station in Raleigh. This is a very cool structure to shoot and the people are a plus while they are waiting for their train to arrive. After the train station we started walking. The area around the train station is very cool with unique shops and restaurants and just cool places to visit. This part of downtown has a very cool vibe to it and although we were there on a Sunday morning with hardly any people we still got some people shots. For lunch we went back to the Morgan Street Food Mall and ate and it was a good place to eat and take a bathroom break. After lunch we slowly made our way back to the car at the train station and after we arrived we decided to check out the observation deck at the airport. This has been on Roberts List of places to visit for a while and we had some extra time so we went. The deck was a neat place to visit. The had the aircraft Radio traffic piped into the observation deck and you had a neat place to watch the planes take off. What was really cool is seeing the families sprawled out with little kids watching the planes take off. After the observation deck we decided to head home. This was another scorcher of a day we didn't walk as much as the first day of shooting in Raleigh.

The two days were a great break to summer heat and super photo opportunities. Make sure that you go somewhere and have a photo walk with a buddy. You'll get some shots and have a ball. Remember having fun is the best part of Photography. So until next week Get out and Shoot!

A typical Camera Club meeting. What to expect.

October 06, 2023 • Leave a Comment

Hey Everybody! Hope you're having a great week. Me? Pretty good. Last night my Photography Club had it's monthly meeting and I really love these meetings. Have you ever been to a photography club meeting? They are pretty fantastic for photography minded people to gather and talk nothing but photography. When I'm at home and try to talk to my wife about photography (when she can stay awake) she just doesn't get it. But when you talk to photography crazies like us its fantastic because they are as interested as you are! I have wrote about my photography club in the past but have never explained how a typical monthly meeting goes. I have been a member of this club for a dozen years or so and have acted as one of its officers a couple of times and am currently a Vice President. We have between 35 and 40 active members and usually 20 or so show up for meetings and then we have the Zoom participants. During the Covid crisis we had Zoom meetings which worked out pretty well. But now that the crisis is over we mainly meet in person with just a few via Zoom. We meet at the local community college but have met in our local arts council in years past. We hold our meetings on the 4th Monday of the month at 6:30pm and the meetings last about 2 hours. We have a very diversified group of members aging from 17yrs old to 82 and about a 50/50 male/female split maybe a little more males than females but its close. So here goes a rundown of a typical club meeting.

-We usually start with welcoming new visitors to the club. We ask them what they like to shoot and what camera system they shoot which always comes with ooh's and aah's from other camera system owners trying to make the newcomer feel at home with laughter. We explain the advantages of becoming a member and the price of dues. The price of dues have not changed while I've been a member.

-The next 10 or so minutes are taken up by announcements and going over our schedule for the rest of the year and any changes that may come. We are a very active club we have some sort of workshop every month on all kinds of topics and we go out and shoot that theme. Maybe its wildlife we go shoot wildlife or portraits and so on.

-Gear talk or Lightroom/Photoshop tips. A short talk about gear or editing is handled here by some of our more experienced photographers in the club. We try to keep this part of the meeting about 5 min or so. So it's just for quick tips or small pieces of gear that can be helpful to our members.

-Main Topic . The main topics are chosen by our officers early in the year . Then we find people to give presentations on these topics. These can be power point presentations to video inspired talks. We have people volunteering to do these presentations. We have the wildlife experts talk on wildlife, Landscape talk on Landscape stuff and so on. We try to cover all types of photography from street, portrait , macro, food, landscape, travel and wildlife. We may also have a presentation on workflow or composition. We sometimes get guest speakers to come and talk to our club or zoom in from across the country on certain topics. All of this is planned out by our officers at the beginning of the year and a schedule is posted of meeting topics and workshops prior to the start of the year so people can plan their schedules to attend workshops or meetings. We recently went to shoot milky way and meteor showers at a lighthouse 3 hours away so some people planned and stayed at hotels to avoid the drive home in the dark. Planning is Key for our club.

-Photo Contest. We have quarterly printed photo contest. The officers pick the topics. Say portraits, Travel, Faces, Landscape, Macro. The members rate the photographs on 5 categories during a break on forms provided by the club. They are turned in and tallied up by one of the officers. The entries are anonymous so you can't just choose your buddy you have to rate the photo on a form that we provide. We rate all of the photo's not just the one that you like. We give ribbons for 1st , 2nd and 3rd place and give Amazon gift cards for them also. If you win one of the contest you cannot enter the other contest that remain. This is so one person doesn't win all of the prizes. At the end of the year we pick the winner from the 4 and they have the photo of the year. We print photo's for those that want their photo's entered if they don't have the means to print.

-Photo Critiques and Member Spotlight. These are alternated each month. Photo Critiques, These are photo's that are taken by our members we put them up on the big screen and say what we like and what we don't like about each photo. Guided by one of our senior members to make sure it doesn't get crazy and keep the pace up. This is a great help to all of our members to have eyes on your photo's and see things that you don't notice as the photographer making you a better photographer. Member spotlight is a small presentation of one of the members of the club. We like to have new members do this so we can see what they shoot and get them more comfortable showing their work.

-Ending comments. This is where we discuss the details of the next workshop which is usually the Saturday following the Meeting unless there is a holiday that interferes . We discuss meetup times duration what you need and such. We then thank the club for a great meeting and wish them safe travels home.

So there you have it a typical photography club meeting. So if your interested go to your local photography/camera club and join. You will meet new friends who love to talk about photography and you will learn and have a ball. So until next week Get out and Shoot!

Get ready for Fall Colors!

September 29, 2023 • Leave a Comment

Max Stansell Photography Hey Y'all! Hope you're having a great week! Me ? Great! It's the last week of August. That means its hot sticky but it also means that Fall is just around the corner! This is my favorite time of the year to do photography. I love the fall colors and the cooler temperatures. And while I'm sitting in my house in shorts with the Air Conditioner on I'm already thinking of shooting in the fall. This year for me should even be better now that I'm retired and don't have work to keep me from getting out and shooting Autumn and all of its glory. So how do you get ready for Fall Colors?

Preparing for fall colors is the key. Its more mental than gear related. Planning where fall foliage will be the _MSP2491Max Stansell Photography best . My camera club does a Fall Colors trip each year which is usually a week long trip to the mountains to witness the fall colors. Sometimes we get great colors and sometimes not so much. Its hard to tell when the leaves are going to change. There are prediction maps that will show what they think the leaves will do in certain areas of the country and I guess it's a real science to figure out when and where the leaves are really going to Pop each year is different depending on weather of the summer before and the temps. Even the elevation matters. All you can do is research all you can and plan Fall Colors House with the best info you can get and hope for the best when you're taking long trips to see leaves. In your local area scout out places nearby that have lots of leaves. I live in the south and there are lots of pine trees which do nothing in the fall you have to really look more leafy trees which in my case its go west. Softer leafy trees turn first like maple, apple, fruit trees. Then the Harder trees like oak turn later. Sometimes in the south the just turn brown and fall with no color. Thats mostly what happens near my house but just a few hours drive away there are lots of colors to be had. Just plan and Leaf Leaf hunt for the colors.

Fall colors aren't just in the leaves of the trees but in decorations and festivals that happen this time of the year. I love me some fall colored decorations. With dried corn stalks and Pumpkins! I love me some pumpkins and of course orange is my favorite color. Fall is also in the clothing that is warn when the temps get cooler the sweaters come out with all of the colors of fall. Shooting festivals is one of my favorite Maple Leaves things to do with lots of people watching and colorful decorations. When I think of fall I think Football, Pumpkins, Thanksgiving, Halloween and all of the colors that go with it. You can look up on the internet when festivals happen where you live and visit them with camera in hand and shoot ,shoot, shoot! Did I mention Octoberfest? There are many beer enthusiasts that love this and they are always colorful.

So while you're in your house avoiding the heat of the dog day's of summer start planning your fall _DSC8464 trip/shooting season. My camera club has already started on our weekly itinerary on our fall colors trip. As you can see I'm a fanatic for fall colors. Especially Pumpkins! LOL As you can see I really didn't talk about gear because I think fall colors is more of a vibe than what gear you use. So until next week get out and shoot! Pumpkins! Pumpkins! Pumpkins! LOL

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Fall Colors Trip To North Carolina Mountains

What are my Favorite Photography YouTube Channels?

Raleigh Photo walks

A typical Camera Club meeting. What to expect.

Get ready for Fall Colors!