Head of Tennessee Baptist Church

On my way to the Smoky Mountains in March of 2011, I stopped in the small town of Dillard, Georgia. I stayed the night at a wonderful place called The Dillard House. They have a fantastic restaurant and outstanding accommodations. The plan was to get up early the next morning and visit a few different sites that I wanted to photograph in the area before continuing on. One of the places I went to on this same day was Toccoa Falls which is featured in this blog post – The Falls Behind The Trees.

Now while planning a trip beforehand is a great thing to do, sometimes it’s the unknown gems that you find on your journey that really catch your eye. (Like this other church I discovered later in the day which was in this blog post – Lufty Baptist Church.)

Upon my arrival the night before, I spotted this church located just up the street from where I was staying. As someone who has a fascination with older architectural styles, I knew I had to shoot it. The sky was beautiful that morning with lots of clouds and a rich blue color. The front of the church faces due east, so the lighting was perfect. The bell tower with the stainless steel top, the brickwork, and the double arched doorways were just a few of the elements that attracted me to it. On the south side is the cemetery with a beautiful and peaceful mountain view.

Construction of this building was completed in 1932. The opening service was held on August 21st. To read more about this church and it’s history, click here to visit their website.

Also if you would like more history on this area, you can click here to see early photos of the church, The Dillard House, and other historical buildings.

To enjoy a larger view, please click on the images below!

I hope you enjoyed today’s post and I encourage you to join the conversation by writing your thoughts below as I truly like to hear from all of my visitors! 🙂

Sunset on the Serengeti

No not the African plains but Florida! Busch Gardens theme park in Tampa to be exact. Photo opportunities abound when you pay a visit here. There is a variety of animals to see and learn about. This image features three of their stars: a Reticulated Giraffe and two Marabou Storks. This was a perfect day for taking pictures as it rained off and on all day. The clouds would come and go opening up briefly to let the sunlight in. I was walking around taking pictures of the birds when I spotted this lone giraffe. He kept getting closer to me and I had the hopes of getting a close-up shot. He stopped at a comfortable distance from me and stayed where he was. With him keeping a close watch on me, I setup the shot to include the two storks with the giraffe in the background. I got four shots before he turned and ran away. The color in the sky and the giraffe staring right at me was my favorite shot.

To enjoy a larger view, please click on the image below!

I hope you enjoyed today’s post and I encourage you to join the conversation by writing your thoughts below as I truly like to hear from all of my visitors! 🙂

At Peace

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Florida National Cemetery to visit my grandparents’ grave site. Every time I am there I always think to myself how beautiful the place is and about taking pictures. I usually don’t get out my camera, but this time I did. With a little bit of a slope, I really thought this spot was very pretty with the overhanging tree and the shaded bench.

This was shot using an 8mm fisheye lens which gave it a little bit of a distorted look in the corners even after applying the lens correction in Lightroom.

This was taken at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida. A beautiful and peaceful place dedicated to our heroes and their loved ones. Let us never forget.

To enjoy a larger view, please click on the image below!

I hope you enjoyed today’s post and I encourage you to join the conversation by writing your thoughts below as I truly like to hear from all of my visitors! 🙂

Linden United Methodist Church

On my April 18th post I presented a picture of a nice country road I came across in my travels. This time I bring you the church I was headed to. With a peaceful country setting, this is the Linden United Methodist Church in Sumter County, Florida. This one has been on my subject list for awhile and I finally got around to shooting it. The lighting was pretty nice this day and the sky was providing me with lots of clouds. I really love the architectural styling of the older churches. I walked around for a few minutes looking at the different angles trying to decide how I wanted to shoot it. The trees with the flowing moss really seemed to set it off. The sunlight reflecting off of the clouds directly over the church just added to the scene.

I hope you enjoyed viewing today’s post. Please feel free to leave any comments you might have as I really like hearing from my visitors!

Please click on image to view a larger version!

 

Blue Skies and Butterflies

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!