Eufaula, PC Beach, Providence Canyon

Friends reunion in Seaside

Sunset at Panama City Beach

Historic Home - Eufaula

Providence Canyon State Park

I had heard about the "Little Grand Canyon of Georgia" for a few years, so when I had the opportunity to check it out,  I took it!  I was on my way back to Atlanta from a weekend in Florida where I had spent a great reunion weekend with my four best friends from high school.  On the way to Florida, I stopped in Eufaula, Alabama.  Eufaula has more than 50 buildings on the National Register of Historic Buildings and I toured one of the homes that is open to the public.  Just across the Georgia-Alabama state line and the Chattahoochee River is Providence Canyon State Park - the "Little Grand Canyon".  My visit there was reserved for the trip home.  Georgia's canyon was not created by natural events, but rather by poor farming practices.  The gullies are as deep as 150 feet.  The varying colors of soil create a sculptural effect.

Upcoming Exhibits!

I'm very pleased to be juried into three exhibits and be represented in one artist's choice exhibit during the upcoming Atlanta Celebrates Photography Festival!  

Opening on September 6 is the Women in Focus 20th Anniversary exhibit at Mason-Murer Fine Art. The exhibit judge was Jane Jackson, the curator for Elton John's photography collection.  If you haven't been to Mason-Murer before, you are in for a treat.  Mason-Murer is the largest art gallery in Atlanta and displays contemporary painting and photography.  The exhibit is 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. and is located at 199 Armour Dr NE, Atlanta. The exhibit runs through November 1.

If you are up for a Sunday drive to Newnan, two of my images were juried into Simple Pleasures, a photography exhibit sponsored by the Center for Performing & Visual Arts of Coweta County.  The opening exhibit is Sunday, September 29, 3:00-5:00 p.m.  The address is 1523 Lower Fayetteville Road, Newnan.  The exhibit runs through October 29.

Digital Arts Studio is hosting an artist's choice exhibit of images from members of Women in Focus opening on Saturday,  October 5, 6:00-9:00 p.m. The address is 1082 Huff Road, Atlanta.  The exhibit runs through November 2. 

The Seen Gallery in Decatur is the scene of the last exhibit.  Eight photographers were chosen to exhibit a body of work and six of my images were chosen to be displayed. The Seen Gallery is located at 415 Church Street, Decatur.  Opening night is Saturday, October 12 at 7:00 p.m.  and runs through November 14.  

These are a few of the varied images that will be exhibited. 

Spring Wildflowers and Native Plants

A recent trip to North Georgia and North Carolina was an opportunity to photograph native azaleas, rhododendrons and wildflowers.  Hamilton Rhododendron Gardens in Hiawassee is located at the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds on the shore of Lake Chatuge.  There you will find over 400 varieties of rhododendron.  Fred Hamilton, Sears Roebuck executive and Atlanta resident, started the garden in his back yard, but after years of growth, he realized he could no longer take care of all the plants.  So the plants were transplanted to their current location.  For directions and more information:  http://www.georgiamountainfairgrounds.com/rhododendronfestival.php

Robbinsville, NC, is the location of the Blue Boar Inn on Lake Santeetlah and a great place for a weekend retreat.  Nearby is the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, one of the largest contiguous tracts of old growth forest in the Eastern United States, the area is administered by the U. S. Forest Service.  The forest is abundant with wildflowers in the spring and this year they were spectacular!

  

Happy New Year!  It's hard to believe its already January 27!  It seems only yesterday when I was spending New Year's weekend with my friend Janie in Tennessee.  It was a rainy weekend and not very picturesque, but Janie was willing to hold a huge golf umbrella while I made photographs on a back road near their farm.  The fog created  a mystical feeling and intensified the rust colored leaves. 

This old barn had a lot of character.  The support columns were made of stacked stone.  It's hard to believe it was still standing. The tidy white church on a nearby road had unusual architecture, with the steeple and bell tower at the corner of the structure between the gables instead of on top of the gable.  This church is in a little town called Cold Water. 

Old Car City is located in the small town of White, Georgia, and is a very unique place.  At Old Car City, you will find LOTS of old cars, none more recent than 1970's and many as old as the 1930's!  There is also LOTS of rust! At Old Car City, you will find lots of rusty cars (approximately 4000) scattered throughout a wooded lot, a small museum containing the last car purchased by Elvis,  and a collection of toy cars and bicycles.   They advertise that they are the "world's largest classic car junkyard" and a sign at the front of the junkyard promotes being a "photographers paradise"!  Here's the photos from my visit to Old Car City last weekend. 

North Carolina Road Trip

In Mid-October, three of us went on a fall road trip in search of color.  Our plan was to explore the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville, NC.  However, many of the leaves at the top of the Blue Ridge peaks had already turned brown.  Fortunately, we had other options for shooting.  We discovered a beautiful winery in Hendersonville, NC, which had only been open to the public for 4 weeks, but in operation for four years.  The wine tasting at Burnt Shirt Winery was exceptional - all the wines were delicious (if that's a word you use to describe wines)!  The wine sommelier and the vintner were friendly and open to telling us all about the wines and the vineyard and were more than happy to let us photograph the vineyard.  

  The next day we traveled the Blue Ridge Parkway and hiked to Crabtree Falls - a 3-mile hike to a beautiful waterfall and one of the areas which did have beautiful fall foliage. 
A visit to Cataloochee Valley in the far northeast corner of the Smoky Mountains National Park was one of the most interesting and colorful days of our trip.  There we found vintage barns, homes, churches and a schoolhouse and elk which have been reintroduced to the valley.  The elk were in rut and the stags had their harems surrounding them!
More posts to follow about this trip!

Gibbs Gardens: Summer

A recent trip to Gibbs Gardens rewarded me with photos of some of the most beautiful water lilies I have seen.  The water lily pond there is designed to look like Monet's garden with a replica of the Monet Garden bridge spanning the pond.  The quantity and variety of water lilies was awesome!  I'm looking forward to the next trip which will hopefully feature lots of colorful fall leaves!