Whitetail Fawn...

My wife and I found this little guy hiding in the tall grass near the raspberries today. I took a few quick shots and moved on. I knew its mother was near by and I didn't want to cause any stress. I've observed this little fawn and its mom before but this is the first time I've had an opportunity for a picture. Fawns are odorless and keep still to avoid detection. This method proved affective today...my German Shepard walked right by the tiny spotted fawn without even a clue!

 

(c) 2015 Jon Reaves. All rights reserved.

Shooting Waterfalls and a Rant About Littering...

This morning I took a little hike on the Glen Burney Trail near Blowing Rock. It's one of my favorite short hikes in the Appalachians because it provides lots of opportunities for image making year 'round and there are several good waterfalls along the trail (and typically few people). I revisit this spot often because every time I do I see something different or find new perspectives from which to photograph subjects that I've shot before. I think it's important for every photographer to revisit subjects/places over and over again in order to see them differently and under various conditions. Today I shot digital (I know, I know. I'm supposed to be this hardcore film shooter and all) for the sake of convenience and to conserve film...if I shot all the film that I wanted to, I would have to take out a second mortgage to pay for the film and the processing. That said, I save film for special projects and when I really want the best quality and that good old film look that I prefer for my personal fine art work. I shoot digital for the day to day stuff.

And now for something completely different ...I am getting sick and tired of having to edit out garbage from my photos. It seemed that for every shot I set up today there was a plastic bottle, food wrapper, beach towel, or dirty sock hiding somewhere in the margins of the scene. This makes me irate. Please clean up after yourselves. Be respectful to nature and to others and make sure you leave no trace of your presence other than light footprints. A few weeks ago, my wife and I were hiking at Elk Knob State Park. We were very much annoyed to see that folks were picking up their dog's poops in plastic bags and then leaving the bags on the trail...what's the point of even using the bags!?!? It would be better to just let your dog poop in the trail rather than leaving non degradable plastic! I counted around one dozen steaming hot poop pouches littering the trail that day...come on people! LEAVE NO TRACE.

Small Waterfall near Glen Burney Falls

Ferns Growing Between Stone and Wood

Small Waterfall near Glen Burney Falls, Black and White

Upper Falls on the Glen Burney Trail

Glen Burney Falls

 All images (c) 2015 Jon Reaves. All rights reserved.

The Land of Fire and Ice II, The Film Shots...

Iceland is a magical place, a geologist's paradise, a photographer's dream. The landscape is dramatic, changing every few miles on any stretch of the country's few main roads. There are waterfalls (massive waterfalls), geothermal hot springs, active volcanoes, grassy plains, rugged peaks, and everything in between. The people are quite pleasant and the pace of life, even in Reykjavik, is very relaxed. Needless to say, I enjoyed the experience. I hope to travel there again soon.

In my last post I included images from my point and shoot. Many of my favorite shots in that series were actually taken by my wife, Alison. I shot 35mm film (Ilford HP5+ and Kodak Ektar 100) on my Canon EOS 3, mostly with a 17-40mm f4L (if you must know). It was completely necessary to have this weather sealed equipment for Iceland...both me and the camera were soaked from rain, sleet, and waterfall mist the entire time. I've been anxiously awaiting the return of my film from the lab and I finally have my scans! Due to the high dynamic range and contrast of the film stocks that I use, very little post processing was done to these photos (and none at all for some) and no sharpening was needed. I hope you enjoy these photographs as much as I enjoyed making them.

Rock Formations in Vik, Iceland

Horseback Riders in Vik, Iceland

Skógafoss, Iceland

Glacier, Iceland

Skógafoss, Iceland

Hallgrímskirkja, Reykjavik, Iceland

Thingvellir National Park, Iceland

Original Parliament Building, Thingvellir National Park, Iceland

The Sun Voyager, Reykjavik, Iceland