Ryan's Senior Wallet with Banner

Remember Ryan from my Farm Senior Shoot. This is the wallet with name and graduating year that my Son Tyler and I came up with. I basically designed it and Tyler made it happen in PhotoShop.

I used the John Deere logo from a picture I took while there. It was on a Gator they use to get around on the farm.



While not an exact match, Ryan was very happy and I now have an order for 50.

Ryan and April Dipstych

I've been wanting to do a Dipstych and digital Black and White Colorization. I though these two pictures of Ryan and April would make a good one.





Normally I rely on my son Tyler for the Fancy PhotoShop edits, but I found a tutorial online on how to do this so I thought I'd give it a try.



It was one of the easiest things I've learned to do.



The final product looked something like this.

Ryan and April the Main Event

One of the reasons we were in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge was because our son Ryan and his fiancee April were getting married in one of those quaint little wedding chapels. The chapel was all inclusive including the pictures. So no other photography was allowed. So I took these in our local Tawawa Park when they got back.









I thought I'd try getting one with the bride on top of this rock. Turned out she was fearful of heights. She was a trouper and made it.





You have to love a couple and there sense of humor.



Together they made a very handsome couple but like every wedding I've ever been to it's the bride that steels the show.

Laurel Falls

Normally I find these types of signs overkill but in this case it was very true. While the entire path was paved you literally were walking on the edge of a cliff or extremely steep drop off.



While in the Smokey Mountains this was the one and only hike I took. My son Tyler went with me. The Laurel Falls trail was rated easy and was only 1.3 miles long. This was one of the views of the mountains from the trail.



When we reached the falls there were quite a few people there. The falls are divided into an upper and lower with the trail bringing you at the bottom of the upper falls. This was the best angle for the upper falls but includes people so I used a fast shutter.



Shooting straight on and trying to avoid people got me this shot. I wasn't all that thrilled with it.

I thought this one with Tyler came out okay. I had him stay real still and used a slow shutter for the falls.



There was no paved trail to the lower falls. In fact I would say there was no trail at all. Tyler and I managed to make our way to the bottom without breaking anything. There were only two other couples while we were there that braved the climb down and up.



Tyler and I had some fun on the way back.





Mom wasn't very happy with this one.

On the way back we stopped at an overlook and captured this view of Gatlinburg.



I would of loved to have spent more time in the mountains, and would like to go back when I can devote more time to exploring and taking pictures.

Mad Dog's Creamery

After the Go-Karts we decided to head on over to Mad Dog's Creamery for some good ole fashion ice-cream. This picture of my grandson Evan owes its unique color to his Superman Ice-cream smile and the fact that I took it through the glass of a claw machine.

Emily's Pink Hat

While vacationing in Pigeon Forge Tenn with our daughter and her family the grand-kids decided to do some go-kart ridding. Hannah was easy to spot because of her Pink Hat. Or should I say Emily's Pink Hat. The story differs on who you talk to on how Hannah ended up with Emily's pink hat but when Emily saw it she was not very happy.



Things went from bad to worse for Emily when the hat few off Hannah's head onto the track. Tyler who is my Son and Evan her younger brother, are surprised at the turn of events. I just caught the pink hat on their front bumper.



Hannah's 'WHAT! It's not my fault' gesture does not bode well with Emily.



In the end Emily is reunited with her less then pristine Pink Hat. The picture pretty much sums up her mood.



While the evidence is only circumstantial the instigator is believed to be non-other than Maddie (The older sister). Who Else!



I love pictures that tell a story. These were taken at night. I was struggling to get NON-Blurred pictures. I few of these are obviously not very sharp but were needed to complete the story.

I was using my Canon 100mm at f/2.8, ISO 800 and 125 shutter. I think the next time I would go for ISO 1600 and a faster shutter or a faster lens.

Old Mans Cave (Hocking Hills)

After dropping my son off at Tar Hollow Church camp, I made my way over to Hocking Hills State Park to check out Old Man's Cave.



I exaggerated the color in this first picture of moss covered rocks.



It certainly looked different from when I was here on the Winter Hike last year.



Everything was just so green. I just love the texture in this one.



The Upper Falls was a bit of a disappointment. There was not much water flow and there was a lot of activity going on. What I should of done was just backed up and captured the people enjoying/interacting with the surroundings. It would have been a much better picture.



However, on the flip side I was able to get some cool pictures of the Devils Bathtub that I normally wouldn't have been able to.





I only spent an hour and a half in the park. So I did not get any farther than this. I am looking forward to coming back in the fall.

I took my first couple of pictures hand-held then mounted the camera on the tripod and left it there for the rest of the pictures. The tree canopy just blocked out too much sunlight. Normally I curse myself for dragging it along but it proved to be a life saver here.

Business Card

Looking at making a Business Card. I purposly left off my phone number, etc. The Web site has the contact information (E-Mail address) which is currently rrm.photo@gmail.com. It will soon be russ@ThinkFocusClick.com. Let me know what you think.

Mushrooms in the Park

I found these guys while walking through the park the other day.

A Few Pics From Plymouth Indiana

I found myself in Plymouth Indiana on business this last Thursday and Friday. After eating supper at Bob Evans I decided to take a quick trip to downtown to see what I might find picture wise.



There was the historical downtown with a few nice buildings and a skateboard park. Nothing was going on at the park so I stopped by the local cemetery and found this little guy just hanging around.



These stone cross's with flags were part of a War Memorial honoring the fallen.



This old rail car was parked just outside the elementary school.



Adorning the courthouse lawn was this small replica of the Statue of Liberty.