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Finally!

Finally, finally, finally! The weather’s warm, the photo bug’s re-bitten… let the pics commence!

These are a combination of Duke Gardens (where I went today) and Lake Gaston (where I went last weekend).

 

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Capitol & Rally

This weekend I joined the Raleigh Outdoor Photography Club at the Capitol building to take some pics. While we were in there, though, we suddenly heard drums, a marching band & a bunch of chanting. I went downstairs and asked the security guard about it. He said that it was the yearly rally of the NAACP! Well, heck – the Capitol building wasn’t going anywhere… so I went out and got some shots of the rally, too.

Enjoy!

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Portraits and New Year’s Resolution

Hello All!

I hope you had a fabulous holiday season – I certainly did! And now it’s time to get back to the picture-taking (or, as I like to call it, feeding the beast).

Also, it’s time for a New Year’s Resolution, and here’s mine: to post on this blog every Sunday evening (an most likely more in the warmer months). Because truly the only way to get better is to practice. And if I don’t keep my resolution and give you new material to feast your eyes on, I give you full permission to heckle me!

So! Getting back into the groove. I attended a Meetup group where we practiced portrait work on each other – and here are the ones I like best. This took place over the weekend at the NC Museum of Art.

Later this week I’ll be in Atlanta, so expect some city shots!

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Hello!

I know it’s been a while, but you know how the holiday season is….

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I got an opportunity to go to Wrightsville Beach to see the Holiday Flotilla. Sadly, my photography skills haven’t reached “moving boats at night lit only with Christmas-tree lights” level, yet. Ah, well.

However, I did get some beach & firework shots that I’d like to share with you. Enjoy!

 

 

 

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NC Renaissance Festival

Sorry I haven’t posted in the past couple of weeks – we’ve got a particularly violent strain of Crud going around, and guess who caught it! I’m still not up to par, but the withdrawals from photography had hit harder than the bug so out I went, all doped-up on cold meds.

This weekend’s treat was a Ren Faire going on out near Charlotte, North Carolina & it was pirate weekend.  And I’ll tell you one thing: pirates are not shy in front of the camera. Well, actually, nobody’s shy in front of a camera at a Ren Faire. If you get a chance, go catch one. They’re great fun for practicing crowd shots & building up your courage to ask people permission for a photograph – they’re very likely going to say yes.

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Statesville Hot Air Balloon Festival

Last weekend I drove out to the middle of NC and watched a bunch of hot-air balloons take off. It was amazing how quickly the teams could fill up and fly!

… it’s also amazing how many calories one person can consume in a festival, while they’re at it (ahem).

 

 

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2012 NC State Fair

Well, last year I took pictures of the fair during the day; this year, the night!

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The Brevard Waterfall Trip

This year the Raleigh Outdoor Photography Club split into two separate groups – those who basically wanted to step out of the car and find a waterfall, and those who were willing to hike a ways for the shots. I joined the latter group, and got to see some spectacular falls! The big one was Rainbow Falls, which took a switch back trail practically down the side of a ravine; with a tiny amount of rope-climbing thrown in. I managed to make it through the entire day just fine, but next year – next year – I’ll be up for hiking on both days!