Fall, Halloween, and Cemeteries; A visit to Elmwood

Of course, this is the time of year that cemeteries become popular. Memphis has one of the best in the nation. It is still in use but very old. This cemetery provides the photographer with great images to share and view. This is a must see stop if you can spend any time in Memphis at all.

It lends itself to monochrome photography

Majestic Angels Loom Over the Grounds as Guardians

Seraphim everywhere

As well as flying cherubim  

Weathered copper and the texture of concrete and stone

Conventional stately tombstones as well

This is a great place to visit in the winter also with the leaves gone from the trees. I'll be sure to make a trip back when the leaves are gone and the sky is grey.

Vito Acconci Sculpture Poplar & Front St

In 2004 The Cannon Center Plaza was graced with a mirrored sculpture by the Vito Acconci Studio. Its title is "Roof Like A Liquid Flung Over The Plaza." It is a weird looking sculpture that sometimes is almost obnoxious and at the same time with other views is incredibly beautiful. Here it is as photographed in the daytime.

This is a view of the entire structure

The reflections make this an ever changing canvas of color, shape, line and form

Each view offers a different look, but all are beautiful abstractions

Color shape and form that is not repeated through out the sculpture

always interesting visual experience

each view changing

until it transforms into the one eyed head of an other worldly monster

Only to revert back to a sculpture at the Cannon Center for the Arts.

Soon we will return at night and catch it as it gets dark and see what the lights of the city and the lights of the sculpture do to it.

An Introductory Look at Meeman Shelby State Forest Park

Just north of I-40 near the river is a large forest, thousands of acres of woodland that is designated as Meeman-Shelby State Forest. Within the Forest is Meeman-Shelby State Park. It has several lakes for fishing, trails for hiking, an air-conditioned pavilion, a disc golf course and tons and tons of peace, quiet and wildlife.

Yes, snowfall is rare in Memphis but yes, it does happen from time to time and I caught it one time in Meeman-Shelby State Park

My wifes family had a reunion in Memphis this last summer and this pavillion is bigger than it looks in this photo. It is a great place to have an outing and really reasonable. We rented it for the day for a little over $200.00

Back to the snow again. This is a winter view of one of the lakes.

This is a summer view of the lake. It is called Poplar Tree Lake

Above is two more views of Popular Tree Lake

From time to time we will take other looks at this beautiful place. I have a photographer friend that has visited here in the fall and does a really nice job. Perhaps I can get her to share some of her images of the park.

Images from Mud Island River Park; Part II

One of my favorite places to visit in Memphis is Mud Island River Park. I first learned about it from the Tom Cruise Movie "The Firm." So the first time I spent time here I visited, road the tram, and explored the museum. I shot there a couple of times this year. Once in early May when it was not too warm yet and again just the other day, a beautiful day I might add. It affords some great views of the Memphis skyline and the River. 

 This is one of my favorite vistas. I like this particular view a lot. This is from the earlier shoot when the leaves, and the greenery was just becoming summer lush.

 Here is a shot of the marina that is on the city side of Mud Island. These scenes were everywhere when I was living in California but one does not immediately think of a view of such a nice marina here in Memphis. I especially like the stillness of the water and the great reflections.

Fall is just beginning and the greens are making way for browns, tans and reds. I thought that this foliage would be especially interesting juxtaposed to the hard edge of the skyline.

Here is a great look at the Falls Building. It was shot with my 55-210mm lens and the detail is quite nice even from across the river.

Here is the infamous tram featured in the movie "The Firm"

Here are a couple of wider angles of the marina and the skyline

 

Yet another view of the tram and below a view the bridge approach that is above the tram

I really like doing a light application of HDR on my city skyline shots. Not so much on my landscapes without buildings, but HDR greatly enhances the texture of concrete bricks and stone. It has a tendency to bring a kind of false texture to foliage so I do not like to use it on all landscapes and therefore, when we look in on Shelby Farms or Meeman Shelby State Park I do not usually use HDR at all.

Images From Mud Island River Park Part I

One can use the ordinary to find extra-ordinary images. I made a recent visit to Mud Island River Park and shot a lot of images. I will showcase many of them over the course of this blog. However, today, I want to show how composition and design, color, light and shade, can make interesting visual images in more ordinary frames. This will be a show of objects and scenes combined to make artistically rich photos. Sometimes they will really be representational, so strongly that the objects and their environments will overtake the image and sometimes they will work even better as an abstraction. Here are some examples:

This is an image of the river walk that makes a wonderful abstraction

Here a simple bench along the walk makes a serene image that is pleasantly composed

Composition overlapping and repeating shapes and forms make this image appealing on a lot of levels

The HDR is pushed in this image until it becomes somewhat painterly but it also emphasizes the detail. You should always click on the images to see them in the largest form.

Composition, lines, shapes, angles, and light and shade patterns are important in this visual image

It should be clear that you can find visual art where ever you look with your camera lens. As I wrote earlier in this post. I have taken a lot of images on this trip and will be showing more of them in future posts.

Memphis Cool Cats; A peek into the Memphis zoo

The Memphis Zoo is one of the nicest zoo's around the country. You do not usually see a zoo with so many star animals in a small city. All I can say is those Memphis Cat's are cool!

They are certainly majestic aren't they?

Not only are the habitats nice, they are so accessible visually

You can get some great shots, that's for sure!

But the Lions are the most impressive in my opinion

But just so you know we will have a reason to return here's a teaser

We'll return another day very soon and we'll head out the gate right ahead

 

So use your best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice and say with me "I'll be back!"

Looking at the Memphis Skyline with HDR Photography; High Dynamic Range

You may or not have heard the term HDR photography. HDR stands for high-dynamic-range. It is actually the range of shade variants that the eye picks up when looking at a high contrasting scene. For example one may be standing in the shade looking out at a sunlit place and the range is drastic. The human eye is remarkable and picks up a wide range... cameras with sensors not so much. In order to show the full range that is there one must combine more than one image shot at the same place but lighter or darker. I am an amateur photographer so I usually only use three images and I don't shoot brackets. I simply take the shot from my camera and darken it and lighten it and use the one the camera makes when it is shooting at +/-0.0 ev. The three shots are combined to make an HDR photo.

This shot is straight from my camera

This one is just slightly edited with Corel PaintShop Pro 7

This one is done with HDR in the program Photomatix Essentials which you can get for about $39.00 U.S.

This one is extreme HDR called Grunge also done with Photomatix Essentials

If you notice, the photo's become more and more painterly depending on how much HDR is applied. I personally don't like the grunge on the bottom. I think they are overdone and a lot of the Photographers I hang out with think so also. However, it can greatly add creativity to your photography. Notice that the dynamic range in the clouds is heightened with each change in photo editing. It is important to realize that all of these started from the same photo at the top of this blog article.

Staying along the River Front; The Bass Pro Shop Pyramid

This is the Bass Pro Shop Pyramid looking up to the observation deck.

Over the last ten years, before moving to Memphis, I visited three times and I always saw the Pyramid as a mystery of sorts. There were never any cars there, and none of the local natives talked about it much. When I moved here 2012 from the San Francisco Bay area, I began to hear news reports that they were planning to make the Pyramid the largest sportsman's store in the country. There were a lot of delays, and I began to wonder if it would ever come to fruition, but finally it did, and it became a grand spectacle. It seems to have revitalized the river front to a great degree as it draws people to visit. 

It is a massive store on the inside with a hotel lodge, several restaurants, a bowling alley, and what seems to be acres of merchandise with outdoor settings. Oh, and don't forget the observation deck that is visited by traveling up an open view elevator in the middle of the Pyramid. This is a great draw for the Memphis area and I would recommend that people visit it. Even the locals find the time to spend a weekend at the Pyramid at the resort.

Here are some views of the inside of the Pyramid

There is something for the whole family to see and do and there is lot's of great shopping as well. As time goes on, I will show you all that Memphis has to offer, but for now we take this tour of the Pyramid Bass Pro Shop.

Tourists are enjoying the view from the observation deck at sunset. They are overlooking the river front, Mud Island and the Mighty Mississip'