The primitive southern cross is the antithesis of the ornate baroque/gaudy/flaunting Catholic crosses.

I'm so used to seeing Jesus hanging off one that it is a little weird to just see these unadorned ones all over. 

 This is a mini chapel in a small town called Smithville.  The sign proclaiming its name also boasts of it only having five people for its population.  Interesting place.  Old buildings with dates painted on them had been turned into shops but weren't open. 

 Lake Rabun is beautiful.  It is a thin lake outlined by winding roads that wend around it providing views and fun and interesting passage thru sweet river homes. 

 A smattering of red.  Scarlet is my favorite color.  And all the vivid hues of red that Mother Nature provides in the arboreal cathedrals around Georgia make me very happy.

Talulah River Dam.  What a nice find!  We were on our way to Minihaha Falls when I decided that I wanted to take some photos of this place instead.  We didn't make it to the falls on this trip. 

 Fall in Georgia is very nice.  I am surprised by how much I missed about my surroundings until I became an avid photographer.  I now scrutinize everything I see. We miss so much in our day to day lives because we are so caught up in the mundane trivialities, that we forgo the truly miraculous and awesome.

 Having a child is like having a second childhood.  Mud, bugs, rain puddles and coloring have all been re introduced to me and I really dig it.  This little girl has given me the gift of life:  mine and hers.

 Since I have some cool lights, I have been mulling over ideas to fiddle with objects in my environment.  This is experiment number one. 

 New cache for great textures, shapes, colors, materials and mediums!  A local discount retail store.

 Seasonal ideas without purchasing them.

 I am a fairly spiritual person, but by no means an affiliate of any religion.  Could someone please explain why I am deeply fascinated with Religious symbols, regalia, architecture and places?  This is a giant, mega church that is commonplace down here in the South.  While this is not one of those true "Holy Roller" places you can run into with great frequency down here, it is on a HUGE campus and even has its own school.   Maybe I never paid attention to the amount of Christian schools present in the other cities I lived in, but it sure seems like there are lots down here.

 Look at how cool that giant shadow is! it is what caught my attention and brought me to this church.  There was a dude fishing in one of these obviously man made ponds.  I wonder if he was on his lunch break and needed a little relax time or if he was there on the sly to catch some fish grown up in the shadow of this edifice?

 There is a strange dichotomy about North Georgia:  homes.  A lot of hurried affluence has caused many many abandoned homes to decay within sight of the Mc Mansions that are so prevalent these days in this part of Georgia.  It is a paradise for someone like me who loves to go into these dilapidated masterpieces and snoop around.  I like the slight creeped out feeling I get being in an empty, discarded building and I also like the adrenaline rush I get from not exactly knowing if I'm going to get shot at, charged by a wild animal or surprised by some homeless person who's set up shop.  This is a porch that is caving in.  I shot this at about 9am with my 55mm lens stopped down to 2. 

 This is the door under the porch in the photo above.  C is for Clampett, right?  Like so many other things Georgia- rural- types like to leave to Mother Nature to dispose of, this door will be around for another 75 years unless it's torn down.  This is also my 55mm lens f/2

I like shooting in the morning sun.  I am awake, well rested and the light is fantastic and the weather is usually decent.  At night, while I like the light too, I find I am feeling rushed and thinking about dinner and getting my daughter off to bath and bed.  55mm f/2

                                         Big Lashes  I took this with my 24-55 lens.  The trick to shooting subjects behind glass is to put the lens right ON the glass.  The camera will often disregard any debris or scratches on it because it is so close.  This guy was "attacking" my tripod, that I had leaned up against the glass.  I got this photo while he was worried about the intruder.

             

                                                 Snuggle.  The warthog on the right is a female in estrus.  The one on the left is her suitor.  I shot this with my 55-250 lens.  Again, right on the glass. If you sit and observe and don't rush, you can get all kinds of cool shots.  I recommend going by yourself with people who understand that they won't be going to the zoo with you per se.

                                                 Tandem.  I think we all have a fascination with primates, especially the apes.  And just to clarify:  Apes don't have tails Monkeys HAVE tails....that is an easy way to tell the difference.  And WE ARE APES!! These, our very close relatives, are dying in the wild because of human doings.  I shot this with with my 55-250 lens.  I got to the bachelor habitat about 10 minutes before feeding time.  These two dudes were watching some keepers strolling around the perimeter of their enclosure. 

Maiden Launch

Here is my maiden voyage into blogging.
Today I wondered how I was going to get the word out about my website and how to get contributors and local portrait photography.
I also listened to The Beatles' Red Album blasted to and from work.
I will be putting up photos I take thru out the week.  Some may go up on the website, and some may just be so I can discuss an idea or because I try to do a PhAD

JJ