“Striped like shadow and flame, the tiger walks— not to be feared, but to be remembered.”
Category: My Photography Blog
Blog about my hikes, outings, travels, adventures, and photography.
There’s a spark in the monkey, an energy in that enclosure that feels familiar. It’s in the way monkeys chase each other across branches, tumble through leaves, and swing just for the thrill of it. Their play is wild and free, yet purposeful, a kind of joyful discovery that mirrors the children watching them from below. Both groups are driven by the same force: curiosity, creativity and a sense of exploration. A need to discover, test limits, push boundaries, express themselves. The monkeys leap and dangle, inventing games on the fly, while the children gasp and laugh, mirroring
Tucked in a shadowy corner of the Knoxville Zoo, the Reptile House hums with quiet tension. The darkened room with it’s warm and humid air, mimics the rainforests and deserts these creatures call home. Behind thick glass, eyes blink slowly, tongues flicker, and scales shimmer under soft lights. Each enclosure holds a different marvel. A massive snake lies coiled in the corner, its patterned body blending into the underbrush. Nearby, a large lizard rests on a branch, unmoving but alert. But it’s not all calm—sudden movement catches the eye. A crocodile, still as a statue, explodes
Through My Lens: Big Cats in Focus From the snow-covered Himalayas to the scorching savannas of Africa, big cats have roamed the earth as silent rulers of the animal kingdom. Living at the top of the food chain these predators inspire awe, imagination and dreams of the wild jungles. This means that they have no natural predators of their own. But behind their piercing eyes lies a story of survival, adaptation, and sometimes struggle. Let’s dive into the fascinating world of big cats; nature’s most stealthy hunters. What Exactly is a “Big Cat”? “Big cat”
Let the trip Begin The day is arriving. I have a pretty big group coming this weekend. Then next Saturday I have a party of about 140 people. Sunday brings my vacation, road trip and creative residency. I’m going to the northeast corner of Tennessee, to visit a friend who lives in Piney Flats Tn. And another coming up from Knoxville to visit as well. They’re both photographers and there are a lot of places to hike and shoot. But that’s not the residency. I have a van that I converted to a camper that I use for
Creating My Own Creative Residency Today’s gallery is a collection of film images. I went through a phase where I, not only wanted to have a darkroom again, but build one. But I have to say that the romance of it that I created in my mind wasn’t what I remembered. It became so cost prohibitive to process images in the darkroom to say nothing about he hours it took to process just one image. But, I do enjoy the process of developing and scanning the film. Then working on the in the digital realm. These are a few
The Lifelong Learner While I didn’t complete much last year, I did join a couple of online classes. I’ve been a longtime member of PS Artistry by Sebastian Michaels. It was his classes that made me start thinking about looking at my photography as art. Photoshop opened a world to me that I could only dream about in the darkroom. I was always inspired by people like Jerry Uelsmann and Man Ray, then as the digital realm grew, Maggie Taylor and Brooke Shaden, just to name a few. But the next step in my photographic/creative growth was how to
I had a few takeaways Well, last year I had an entire syllabus laid out for the year and I was going in for the deep dive. And while I didn’t totally blow it off, I probably missed by a little more than half. Considering all that happened I don’t think that’s too bad. I read the first book, Zen Camera, with a friend of mine, Lori Z. We would zoom every week and read a chapter, give ourselves assignments based on what that chapter was about. Check in the next week, review and critique each other’s work. When
My Personal Syllabus Or Better Yet “Who I Want to Be!” About a year and a half ago, I made the decision to give up social media. I found it to be a time drain, a rabbit hole here and a rabbit hole there. All the arguing, dissention, bickering, it was absurd. It just didn’t seem worth it. I would come home from work and get online, then before I knew it, it was time to go to bed. Ten plus years ago, I gave up television for the same reason. I haven’t owned a TV or cable since. That’s