photography

I hope you like color…

/ Michael Glover / 28 Comments

 

…because today’s post features a lot of it! 🙂 We find ourselves at the 2012 Epcot® International Flower & Garden Festival where flowers abound. There are so many of them to take in that it’s hard to really see it all in one day and truly appreciate the effort behind it. Breathtaking aromas and eye-catching colors await your visit. The displays they setup are absolutely amazing. A lot of work goes into putting on this festival and it’s definitely something to see. Over 100 topiaries were created with more than 75 of them representing Disney characters. The festival runs a little over 2 months with May 20th being the last day. For more info about the festival you can go here – Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival.

Today’s images are just a small sample of what you will find there. My eyes are drawn to vibrant colors so these two scenes stopped me in my tracks! Up first we have an image I like to call “Roll out the Flower Carpet.” The orange and purple flowers leading to the doors welcome the viewer as if to say come on in.

Up next we find “Radio Flower” – a little red wagon with color spilling all over. I think this was positively one of the coolest displays I have seen at the festival. So much attention to detail makes this scene worthy of a picture.

Well that about wraps up today’s post. I really hope you enjoyed reading about the festival and viewing the pictures as much as liked sharing it with you. Please feel free to leave any comments you might have as I always appreciate hearing from my visitors!

Abrams Falls

/ Michael Glover / 17 Comments

Today’s post is of an image I took last year in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Smokies have to be my favorite place to visit. Everywhere you look there is something to photograph! 🙂 If you are a nature lover this is like Heaven. With so many trails to hike on it takes some time to really see it all. And speaking of hiking, to get to this waterfall takes a 5 mile round-trip. But it is so worth it. To get here you first have to enter Cade’s Cove, which is an exciting adventure all by itself. But once you get close to the start of the trail, you just don’t want to turn back. The trail is next to the river in some parts and surrounded by lush forest. The day I chose to go, the fog was really thick. Of course that just made it more enchanting to walk through the woods. When I arrived at the falls, I was awestruck at the beauty before me. While it’s certainly not one of the tallest waterfalls around, it definitely can hold it’s own. The pool at the bottom leads your eyes right to it with the rocky textures all around. This is a place where you can spend a lot of time just enjoying what’s around you. I actually found it a little difficult to concentrate on taking pictures because I didn’t want to miss out on seeing all the beauty in nature that was there. But I was able to divide my time to enjoy the whole experience. This day reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:

“Life is a journey, not a destination.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Info from the web: http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/waterfalls.htm

Abrams Falls
Although Abrams Falls is only 20 feet high, the large volume of water rushing over falls more than makes up for its lack of height. The long, deep pool at its base is very picturesque. The waterfall and creek are named for Cherokee Chief Abram or Abraham whose village once stood several miles downstream.

The trail to the falls traverses pine-oak forest on the ridges and hemlock and rhododendron forest along the creek. The hike is 5 miles round-trip and considered moderate in difficulty.

Blue Skies and Butterflies

/ Michael Glover / 17 Comments

This is another photo from my recent trip to Disney’s 24 hour day where I shot the Dolphin Resort. Upon arriving at EPCOT, I setup my tripod in the perfect spot to capture my vision. I waited for the monorail to enter the scene so I could catch the reflection as it passed by. The clouds were plentiful and just added to the dynamic. Disney always goes all out with their flower displays which is evident by the colorful arrangements of butterflies and flower designs in the background. Always my favorite time to visit!

Small Falls

/ Michael Glover / 15 Comments

On Saturday I went to one of my favorite Florida State parks to take some pictures. Rainbow Springs State Park in Dunnellon. Around this time of year the azaleas are in full bloom and this park is loaded with them. It is absolutely beautiful to see it in person. There are several pathways leading around the park to see these flowers as well as the springs where you can go swimming. Also they have three man-made waterfalls from the days when it was a tourist attraction before it became a park. The waterfalls are a bonus when you live in Florida! For this shot I decided to experiment a little bit. I used a specialty lens made by Lensbaby called the Composer. By tilting the lens at different angles it allows for a small area to be in focus and gives a nice blur around the rest of the image. In creating this shot it has the appearance of being a miniature waterfall.

To find out more information about this park please visit this link: http://www.floridastateparks.org/rainbowsprings/default.cfm

Dolphin Resort

/ Michael Glover / 12 Comments

On Wednesday February 29th in celebration of Leap Year, Disney’s Magic Kingdom put on an event called one more Disney day. The park opened at 6:00 am Wednesday and closed at 6:00 am Thursday. 24 hours at a theme park? Awesome!! I decided I wanted to spend the daytime hours taking pictures and the nighttime hours enjoying the park with no camera. I walked around different areas for a while taking pictures here and there until I was satisfied that I accomplished my goal. This is one of the shots from that day.

Situated in the Walt Disney World area just outside of EPCOT and Disney’s Boardwalk sits two hotels across the way from each other. The Swan and Dolphin Resorts are architectural marvels. The design is something amazing to see. You kind of just stand there a few minutes taking it all in. I was standing on the beach area beside the hotel to set up for this shot. The clouds were more than cooperative for me hanging around all day so the sky would be more interesting. I am really drawn to reflections and this angle did not disappoint.