Westward Ho !!!

Posted in Photography on July 20th, 2013 by Mo

This past Spring (April/May 2013), I took an amazing trip West to the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Colorado National Monument, Lookout Mountain and all the points between on I40 (outbound) & I70 (return trip).

The Grand Canyon is Nature’s creation but Monument Valley is God’s work of art.

The full gallery of pictures can be found at:

http://mrmo.smugmug.com/WestwardHOSpring2013

(Hint: I find that clicking on the “Slideshow” link, at the top right corner of EACH Gallery/folder, to be my most favorite way to view the contents.)

and for somethings not so static, links to panoramas I shot:

East of Monument Valley & Goulding’s campground:

    http://www.yopics.net/2013West/Out_Back.html

Our campsite inside Goulding’s campground of Monument Valley:

    http://www.yopics.net/2013West/Gouldings_Pano.html

One of the pull-offs along Route 89A headed to Sedona:

    http://www.yopics.net/2013West/Route_89A_Pano.html

Atop Lookout Mountain, Golden, CO:

    http://www.yopics.net/2013West/Lookout_Mnt_Pano.html

Karen Bowden’s Exhibit at The Up Front Gallery

Posted in Photography on November 29th, 2012 by Mo

A good friend exhibited some of her watercolor and mixed media works at Lynchburg’s Academy of Fine Arts‘ “Up Front Gallery” the month of November.

Karen took time to arrange for me to shoot her exhibit this week and while there introduced me to Ted Batt, the Exhibition Curator of the Academy of Fine Arts (“AFA”). Ted and Karen led me on a tour of the AFA, pointing out the details of it’s ongoing resurrection and restoration. Their website has links to the process, showing the future of the theater and is well worth a look. It’s amazing to see the “internals” of this very historic site.

Karen is an educated and very accomplished artist with an abundance of talent, which I am very jealous of. I’m trying to coax her into getting back into teaching, by teaching me(!) the basics of producing the various medias she is fluent in. I envy those possessing artistic talents, it must be very satisfying to produce the works of art they do.  For more of Karen’s great work, please visit her website.

Enjoy.

TO “START” the PANO, CLICK IN THE RECTANGLE. AFTER PIC HAS LOADED, HOLD DOWN LEFT MOUSE BUTTON & “DRAG” the CURSOR AROUND (before or after the “auto pan” kicks in).

Peaks of Otter Restaurant & Lodge

Posted in Bedford, panorama, Photography on November 12th, 2012 by Mo

A panorama of the restaurant, Lodge and Sharp Top Mountain of the Peaks of Otter park on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Bedford, VA.

I elected to do this after discussions by Bedford residents (past, present and wannabes), on Facebook uncovered plans to close the Lodge & restaurant after breakfast on Nov 25, 2012, due to the National Park Services in-ability to contract with a new lessee.

This would be a terrible loss. A more beautiful, serene, laid back setting is hard to find. I have always found my way back to this place when I need a “clearing of my head”.

Enjoy

TO “START” the PANO, CLICK IN THE RECTANGLE. AFTER PIC  HAS LOADED, HOLD DOWN LEFT MOUSE BUTTON & “DRAG” the CURSOR AROUND (before or after the “auto pan” kicks in).

Nags Head Pier

Posted in Nags Head, panorama, Photography on October 28th, 2012 by Mo

This is a link to a panorama of the Nags Head Pier taken in May 2012.

Big Lick, VA

Posted in panorama, Photography, VA on March 6th, 2012 by Mo

I found myself on Mill Mountain this past Saturday (3-Mar-12), thought it to be a good candidate for a pano, so I set forth to produce one. I hadn’t made one in a long time so I was slow and methodical in my preparations. My new camera (Canon 5D Mark II), has a “Live Preview” feature, so being lazy, I simply glanced at the back viewer before I shot the sequence. I shot 3 or 4 pano sequences from different places on the overlook. My audience was very intrigued with my apparatus and methods. I wanted to appear to be the professional that all my equipment begged for, therefore I didn’t check my work on-site.

 I got home, downloaded the pics and …. WTH?????? I didn’t have full frame shots, I had circular shots!!!!! Dummy me took the lens cap off the 15º fish eye, BUT forgot to take off the conical sleeve that it fit onto … The shots I took looked like I was shooting down the barrel of a gun!.

I did throw together a few of the images and “worked” on them to come up with a static “flat” pano of downtown Big Lick.

Poplar Forest Golf Course 2010 snow

Posted in Bedford, panorama, Photography, VA on February 19th, 2010 by Mo

Here is a panorama of Poplar Forest Golf Course in Forest, VA.

TO “START” the PANO, CLICK IN THE RECTANGLE BELOW. AFTER PIC  HAS LOADED, HOLD DOWN LEFT MOUSE BUTTON & “DRAG” the CURSOR AROUND.

The course is in the front yard of Thomas Jefferson’s “country home“. It was taken 7-Feb-2010. The practice green had ~ 8″ of snowy ice on it. This past week (17-Feb), the practice green still had 7” on it and the “guys” were shagging balls off a mat “herding” the ice skating geese!

This pano is not too well made, it was shot off one foot and didn’t mesh well. It did give me the opportunity to manually “touch up” a couple of mismatches (now I no longer see them).

Just wondering …

Posted in panorama, Photography, test on February 19th, 2010 by Mo

This is a test of QTVR in WordPress.

Just wondering …

WOW … dis is what I’m talkin’ about!!!! Been waiting for this … yeah! You can even drag the lower right corner to increase the view …. time to get busy …

Ken Conger

Posted in art, Photography on January 7th, 2010 by Mo

Ken Conger visited Lynchburg last night and gave another super presentation of his most recent pics taken in Alaska. The presentation is the second I have attended at monthly meetings of BRPAS (Blue Ridge Photographic Arts Society).

Ken was in conservation enforcement for over 30 years and has now devoted his time and efforts to his love of photography … and it shows!

Ken both inspires and embarrasses me by humbly showing off his photos. After the presentation I attended, I told Ken “I hate you!”, just to let him know I was very envious of his talent and body of work.

His “Most Popular” shots can be viewed at: http://kenconger.smugmug.com/popular/#60948552_nLkH5

If you EVER have the chance to attend one of Ken’s presentations or see his works framed, up close and personal …. DO IT!!!!

… sigh …