Gordes-Provence
The Magic Lake at Clingmans Dome
According to the Cherokee tradition, hidden deep within the Smoky Mountains, there is an enchanted lake that humans cannot see. Known as Atagahi, this magical lake is an oasis for animals of every kind, with thousands of water birds, fish, reptiles, and bears enjoying its water.
Atagahi-The Enchanted Lake
In one story, the enchanted lake reveals itself to a young Cherokee man after days of fasting and continuous prayer. Having proven that he has no intention to hunt at Atagahi, the pure hearted man is permitted to see the lake’s stunning violet water and teeming wildlife. When his vision ends, the man marks the location of the secret lake with a pile of rocks.
A short time after this discovery, a terrible winter brings the Cherokee to the brink of starvation. Faced with no other choice, the young hunter returns to Atagahi to bring food back to his family. When he shoots a bear with his bow, however, the animal falls into the purple water and emerges unscathed. The bear tells the trespasser that he has betrayed them and the young man is attacked by a furry horde.
After the snowstorm passes, the Cherokee find the body of the young man, but there are no tracks from the bears who mauled him. Although Atagahi was forever sealed off from human intervention after the young hunter’s treachery, legend has it that you can still see morning mist rise from the magic lake when you stand at the top of Clingmans Dome.
Clingman’s Dome is a sacred mountain to the Cherokees, where the “magic lake” was once seen. The Great Spirit told the Cherokees that “If they love me, if they love all their brothers and sisters, and if they love all the animals of the earth, when they grow old and sick, they can come back to the ‘magic lake’ and be made well again.”
Charleston Reflections April 2 – April 6, 2017
“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” -Charles Dickens
Charleston Lilies
Working on images of Charleston’s spring bloom has been a great way to warm me on the chilly winter mornings.
Charleston Photographic Workshop Tour
April 2 – April 6, 2017
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2017 is going to be a great year of teaching and art fairs! Hope everyone gets out and enjoys the arts!!
Charleston, S Carolina – Photographic Workshop Tour
April 2 – 6 2017 $695.00, Limited to 8 Students
Charleston’s Gas Lights
Botany Bay – Boneyard Photographic Workshop Tour
April 6-7, 2017 $175/ Limited to 8 Students
Botany Bay’s Skeleton trees processed with Topaz Labs Star Effects
Smoky Mountains – Photographic Workshop Tour
April 23-26 2017 $495.00, Limited to 8 Students
Spring Dogwoods at rustic cabin Smoky Mountains
Amalfi Coast – Photographic Workshop Tour
June 25 – June 30 2017 $1150.00/ Limited to 8 Students
Provence Photographic – Workshop Tour
July 2 – 6 2017 $1,150.00/ Limited to 8 Students
Sunflowers in Provence
Lake Michigan Lighthouse – Photographic Workshop Tour
Aug 13-16 2017 $345.00/ Limited to 8 Students
Big Sable Lighthouse – Ludington
Zion National Park and Painted Desert – Photographic Workshop
Nov. 5-9 2017 $695 Limited to 8 Students
Cottonwoods along the Virgin River
Southwest Slot Canyon – Photographic Workshop Tour
Nov. 9-11 2017 $350 Limited to 5 Students
Tumble Weed – Antelope Canyon – Camera raw
I Hope you rang in the New Year with peace and joy in your heart!!
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Provence Photographic Workshop Tour July 2-6, 2017
Summer in Provence is a time when the region’s fields are bursting with colour and fragrance, when their perfumed lavender and dazzling sunflowers are in full bloom.
Sunflowers in Provence
The iconic symbol of Provence, violet-coloured lavender and brilliant yellow sunflower fields are usually in flower from the end of June to mid August. The peak time being in early July when we will be there capturing its beauty!
Provence Photographic Workshop Tour
July 2-6, 2017 $950.00/ Limited to 8 Students
Sunflowers in Provence
Both of these images were Focus stacked (also known as focal plane merging focus blending) a digital image processing technique which combines multiple images taken at different focal distances and give the blended image a greater depth of field (DOF) than any of the individual images.
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Charleston Photographic Workshop Tour 2-6 April , 2017
On this cold snowy morning in Michigan I have Charleston and its world famous gardens on my mind.
Charleston Spring Reflection 24×60
In early April Charleston turns into a photographer’s paradise. The formal gardens on the plantations and the gated gardens in the Battery are in there spring bloom and all of Charleston has splashes of color everywhere.
Last night using Lightroom and Topaz software I transformed three images from 2012 into this colorful panoramic. I used Topaz software to bring out the colors and contrast from the RAW images and then used Lightroom to do it’s magic stitching the images into this 24×60 pano.
All RAW images have to be worked on to give you the colors that was there when you captured the image. This is one of the RAW images used to make the pano in Lightroom and then transformed using Topaz software.
Charleston garden RAW Image
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Charleston Photographic Workshop Tour April 2 – April 6, 2017
Dragons Breath Nov 5 2016
In November I am looking fwd to taking a day to capture images of some of the Southwest most unusual formations. Photographers are today’s explorers looking for the unusual sights to capture with their cameras.
Dragons Breath
What lies at the edge of the known world? During medieval times, distant and unexplored lands on the edges of maps were marked by drawings of dragons, sea serpents, and other ominous looking fictional animals. The notation of dangerous beasts and mythical sea creatures invoked the harm that sailors feared to encounter when entering previously uncharted waters.
Zion National Park Dark Skies /South West Photographic Workshop Tour
Nov 6 -10 2016
Pisa-Cinque Terre June 23 – June 28 2016
There is still time to for the adventurous photographer to join me on this workshop to Pisa and the Cinque Terre
Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Field of Miracles is a walled 8.87-hectare area located in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, recognized as an important center of European medieval art and one of the finest architectural complexes in the world. The Field of Miracles is considered sacred by the Catholic Church. The square is dominated by four great religious edifices: the Pisa Cathedral, the Pisa Baptistery, the Leaning Tower and the Monumental Cemetery. Partly paved and partly grassed, the Piazza of Miracles is also the site of the New Hospital of the Holy Spirit, which houses the Sinopias Museum and the Cathedral Museum.
Anyone Gelato by the Leaning Tower
The name Piazza dei Miracoli was coined by the Italian writer and poet Gabriele d’Annunzio who, in his novel Forse che sì forse che no (1910), described the square as the “prato dei Miracoli,” or “meadow of miracles”. In 1987, the whole square was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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My best images come with a story – Tuscan Memories
Tuscan Photographic Workshop Tour June 18 – June 23, 2016
San Gimignano in the Mist
The best photographs are often accompanied by the memories that are attached to the image. Your own personal metadata is what makes your images and traveling so important.
This was a wonderful morning image that I captured in 2013 in Sangimino, Italy and is one of my favorite memories.
What makes it my favorite is the smile it brings to my face when I see it. We had arrived and could see the village in the soft morning light before sunrise. Everyone knew it was going to be a great shot. Once I parked the van, everyone dashed of a few steps ahead of Jan and I. Craig, Charlie, Steve, and Bob headed off into the tall wet grass to try to find a vantage point to shoot from and Jan gave me a look that still makes me laugh every time I see this image. There was a little farm road that went up and off to the left of the wet grass, it took Jan and I to this great (and dry) vantage point. As we watched the light change we captured this wonderful sunrise. The men eventually came out of the wet brush and onto the farm road to capture Sangimino from what I think of as Jan’s vantage point.
A journey shared is a journey remembered.
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Tuscany June 18 – June 23 2016
Sunrise anywhere on the planet is always a great time to start shooting. The rain and mist mixed with this morning’s soft light in Michigan would have made for great location shooting. With a little luck we will have a variety of weather for the Italian and French workshops coming up in 6 weeks.
Awakening – Montepulciano, Italy
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Photographic Workshops 