Potter's Falls. And So Did David

Potter's Falls, near Wartburg, Tennessee.

On August 23rd I went ramblin' with friend and fellow photo-blogger Dave Hileman (http://www.twolanetouring.com/). We wound up at Potter's Falls near Wartburg, Tennessee, a waterfall on the Crooked Fork tributary of the Emory River.

The descent into the shallow canyon was somewhat steep, but we made it down okay and made some photos. The waterfall was disappointing -- just a trickle, really, so my photos are nothing to brag about. I think Dave's are better. But then, he's a newlywed, so everything in his life is better these days.

Coming back up, I lost my balance near the top of the slope and fell over backwards, sliding on my back on the gravel. It made hamburger of the backs of my elbows, but fortunately, the camera was not scratched. (I have my priorities in order!)

When we got to the top, my elbows were bleeding profusely, and of course, we didn't have any first aid gear with us. Quick-thinking Dave improvised by wrapping the injured areas with some Covid masks he had in his car, a far more effective use than the one they were designed for.

Dave photographs the falls. 

I'm a rapid healer, so everything is fine now -- just waiting for fall color to reach its peak so I can go ramblin' again.

Photos: FujiX-H1 camera, Fujinon XF 16-80mm lens.

Visit my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $3.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Photography and text copyright 2024 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography    digital photography   east Tennessee     Fuji X-H1 digital camera     Fujinon XF 16-80mm lens     travel photography     Potter's Falls

October

 Blue and Gold

Chickamauga Creek near its source in McLemore Cove,

Walker County, Georgia.

Pentax 6x7, 105mm f2.5 Takumar lens, Fujichrome 100 film

 

(This a repost from October 22, 2021.) 

 

The best of all months is October.

Some may prefer April or May, and I like them too, but I love October. The summer heat has broken so the nights are cool, but the days are mostly warm and since it doesn’t usually rain much the skies are clear almost every day.

October light is the most beautiful because the air is so clear that the long, slanting rays of the southward-moving sun illuminate everything in their paths with a special brilliance while casting everything else in deep shadow. Fall color usually peaks right around the last week of October in the North Georgia mountains. Leaf colors are softer than they are farther north, but no less beautiful.

October is the month for the first frost, for arts and crafts fairs, for a briskness in the air that makes you glad to be alive, and for taking someone you love for a long walk to look at the leaves.

(Text and photograph from my limited edition book Georgia: A Backroads Portrait.)

Chickamauga Creek flows from south to north, through the village of Chickamauga and Chickamauga Battlefield, to both of which it lends its name. The creek, in turn, takes its name from the Chickamaugas, a sub-tribe of the Cherokees.

The Pentax 6x7, with its 2-1/4 x 2-3/4 film format, was regarded by many as the premier medium format field camera. I worked with one for many years and believe to this day that I got my highest percentage of "keepers" from the Pentax. Yet, when I got my first digital SLR, a Canon 10d with only a six megapixel sensor, I did some tests and found that the 10D made 16x20 prints that were indistinguishable from prints from the Pentax.

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $3.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Visit my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

Photography and text copyright 2024 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography    travel     Pentax 6x7 film camera     Pentax Takumar 105mm lens    Fujichrome 100 film    Canon EOS 10D     McLemore Cove   film photography     Chickamauga Battlefield     Chickamauga Creek     digital photography     Chickamauga, Georgia     Walker County, Georgia

So, What Else Is New?

The new guy. Fuji X-T3.

 This is new. Well, new to me, anyway. 

It's a Fujifilm X-T3, used but in excellent condition. 

I wrote a few weeks ago that I planned to sell my Fuji X-H1. It's a fine camera, but a little larger and heavier than I want at this time. I originally got it to use for wedding photography, where the extra size and weight were actually an advantage, helping the camera balance better with a long lens or with a flash unit mounted on top. The X-H1, with its larger size and extended grip solved both problems. But I'm not doing weddings any more, so it's time for the X-H1 to go.

I found the X-T3 on the Fred Miranda site (fredmiranda.com), the premier online site for individuals buying and selling photo equipment and computer gear to each other. The site has been around for a long time -- at least as long as I've been doing digital photography, and I have bought and sold many cameras and lenses there with no problems. 

The X-T3 and the X-H1, side by side. Notice the difference in size.

As you can see, the X-T3 is smaller than the X-H1, but not by a lot, and weighs less (which you can't see, but the X-H1 actually weighs about 25% more.) That's enough difference to make a difference to me. I've always preferred smaller and lighter cameras.

My first professional-level camera was an original Nikon F, which I acquired in 1969, courtesy of a $300 job bonus. I began my own business in 1978 with a pair of Nikkormats; good cameras, but large, heavy, and loud, and soon got a Nikon F2, which I hated. But I had my eye on the small, light, and quiet Olympus OM system, and as soon as I could afford it, I made the change. I loved my Olympus cameras and lenses and used them happily for thirteen years, until aging eyes necessitated a change to autofocus.

Now I have to make some photos of the X-H1 and list it on fredmiranda.com. If you're interested in it, let me know. It's a great camera. And the price is reasonable.

In other news. . .frost is predicted for Wednesday and Thursday. Time to take out the X-T3 and look for some good east Tennessee fall color.

The photos of the cameras were made with a Fuji X-T20 and the Fujinon XF 16-80mm lens.

Check out my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $3.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail me a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Photography and text copyright 2024 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography    digital photography   Fuji X-T3 digital camera     Fuji X-H1 digital camera     Fujinon XF 16-80mm lens     Fuji X-T20 digital camera     Olympus OM film cameras

This Is New

After evening chapel at the Church of God hospital, Abak, Ibom, Nigeria.

Asking the question "What's New" in my previous post led me to ask myself another question: what is photography?

I love to talk and write about the art of photography, the philosophy of photography, and photographic equipment. Those are great subjects, and fun to talk and write about. But they don't answer the basic question: what is photography?

The answer I came up with is that for me, photography is making and showing photographs. That's all. The things I mentioned above are the trappings of photography, but, enjoyable as they may be, they are not the thing itself. Making and showing photographs. That's it. That's all.

But, you say, "Do I have to show my photographs?" I'm sure some may disagree with this, but yes, I think you do. Photographs are communication. They are meant to be shared, and if you don't share them the process is incomplete and they risk becoming only artistic onanism. Sorry.

So, I think I've answered my own question about the value of what I do, as posed in the previous post. I make and show my photographs. And I also write about them. That's what I do.

If my definition doesn't work for you, no problem. Find one of your own. My photography and writing may not be world class, but that's okay. I make photographs and show them, and for me, that's what photography is all about. 

My special thanks to those who wrote encouraging comments in response to  my last post.

Photo: Olympus OM2n, 100-300mm Tokina lens, Fujichrome 100 film.

Check out my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $3.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail me a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Photography and text copyright 2024 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography    travel     film photography   Olympus OM2n film camera     Tokina 100-300mm lens    Africa     Nigeria    Church of God

What's New?

Gossiping at the harbor, Vernazza, Cinque Terra, Italy.

 What's new? 

Not much new around here. And that's the problem. Unlike the Italian ladies above, I'm having a little trouble finding something new to talk about.

Some years ago, in the heyday of photography magazines, I read that most magazines recycled their content about every five years.

Well, I've been posting this blog for almost five years now, and I have a better understanding of their problem. Frankly, it's becoming more and more difficult for me to find something new to write. 

I still have plenty of Rock City barns, small towns, covered bridges, old mills, old houses, old cars, and courthouses to write about. But I would like to make more of my posts specific to photography. Maybe that's unrealistic.

So, let me ask my loyal readers (assuming they exist). What would you like me to write about? I could use some direction.

According to Blogger statistics, this site gets four to six thousand hits a month. But I get very few comments. If fact, this blog averages less than half a comment per post.

If you have any thoughts about things I might write about, please post a comment. I realize the commenting process on Blogger is somewhat laborious, so post as Anonymous if you like, then, if you don't mind, sign your name at the end. (But that's a request, not a requirement.)

Thank you for your help.

Photo: Canon EOS 20D, Canon EF 24-85mm lens. (Probably.)

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $3.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail me a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

If you would like to have a print of one of my photographs, check out my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  If you don't find what you want there, let me know and I'll arrange to include it in the gallery.

Photography and text copyright 2024 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography    travel     Canon EOS 20D digital camera     Canon EF 24-85mm lens    Italy    Ciinque Terra     Digital photography

The Backroads Traveler: Darien, Georgia

Shrimp Boats in the Altamaha River, Darien.

Darien, Georgia is an interesting small city with a long history. Founded by Scottish highlanders under the leadership of James Oglethorpe in 1736, it was laid out according to the plan Oglethorpe had established in Savannah, and is the second oldest planned city in Georgia.

In 1863, Darien was raided by a troop of Union soldiers from a garrison stationed on St. Simon's Island. The town was looted and burned in a senseless action that had little military value, coming as it did a year before Sherman's "March to the Sea." Ironically, Darien had been anti-slavery from its earliest days and had actually passed a resolution condemning slavery in 1775.

 

Ashantilly Historic Site.

The original house on this site, known as "Old Tabby," was built circa 1820 as the mainland home of prominent planter and legislator Thomas Spalding. It burned in 1937 and was rebuilt and restored as an ongoing project by William G. Haynes, Jr., an artist, letterpress printer, and environmentalist. Mr. Haynes passed away in 2001, but in 1993, he donated the property to the Ashantilly Center, which carries on his legacy through cultural and educational events and workshops "to provide a vehicle for continuing education, scientific advancement and charitable endeavor which focus on the natural and built environments integral to the Georgia Coast."

 The Adam Strain Building.

At the corner of Broad and Screven Streets, on the bluff above the Altamaha River, is the Strain Building, a two-story stuccoed-tabby cotton warehouse built  about 1813. It was the only structure other than the Methodist Church to survive the 1863 Yankee raid.

Just down the hill toward the waterfront on Screven Street is Skipper's Fish Camp. Louise and I enjoyed some really good shrimp on their covered deck.

 

The Darien United Methodist Church

John Wesley visited Darien in January, 1737, but it was not until 1836 that a Methodist church was organized. The cornerstone for a church building was laid in 1841, and it was the only church to survive the 1863 attack, even though the Federal troops tried twice to set it ablaze. It was finally destroyed by a hurricane in 1881 and was replaced by the present sanctuary in 1883.
 

 

Rice Mill Smokestack at Butler Island Rice Plantation

The plantation at Butler Island began in the 1790s, when Revolutionary War hero Major Pierce Butler began planting rice in the Altamaha Delta, a location that provided perfect growing conditions for the crop. When he died in 1822, his grandson and namesake Captain Pierce Butler took over the operation, and by the 1850s it was one of the largest plantations in the South.

Today, all that's left of Butler Plantation is the 75-foot Smokestack of the steam-powered Rice Mill, dating from 1820.

Cameras and lenses: The shrimp boats, Ashantilly, the Methodist church, and the rice mill were all photographed with an Olympus E-M5 digital camera. For the boats and Ashantilly, I used a Panasonic Lumix G-Vario 14-140mm lens, for the church and the rice mill smokestack, the lens was a Panasonic Lumix G-Vario 12-32mm. The Strain Building was photographed with a Canon EOS 6D and the Canon EF 24-85mm lens.

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $3.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail me a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

If you would like to have a print of one of my photographs, check out my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  If you don't find what you want there, let me know and I'll arrange to include it in the gallery.

Photography and text copyright 2024 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography    travel     Olympus E-M5 digital camera     Panasonic Lumix G-Vario 14-140mm lens    Panasonic Lumix G-Vario 12-32mm lens    Canon EOS 6D     Darien, Georgia    Shrimp boats      Georgia coast     Ashantilly     digital photography     Butler Island plantation     Altamaha River

More Thoughts about Film

 Launching a hang glider from McCarty's Bluff, Rising Fawn, Georgia.

 

Clarence Spindler and his Rock City barn. U.S, Highway 41, Gibson County, Indiana.

 Goat herder, rural Bulgaria.

 What do the above photographs have in common?

Answer: they are all scans from film originals.

I've been a photographer for 55 years. For the first 35 of those years I shot film. And although I've done some significant work (to me, at least) since then, including a few books, I consider those years with film the best and most significant years of my career. It was those years spent practicing the discipline of film that made me the photographer I am.

What did the discipline of film teach me?

First, it taught me to get it right in the camera. Not to shoot and hope that I could fix it later in Photoshop.

Second, it taught me to make every shot count. Film wasn't as expensive then as it is now, but it still wasn't cheap.

Third, it taught me to work each situation until I was sure I had something good before I moved on.

Fourth, it taught me to be very precise in my exposure technique. Slide film has, at most, a half-stop latitude for over-exposure and maybe one stop for under-exposure. Most of the time I metered each situation with an incident meter, which measures the light falling on the subject, rather than the light reflected from the subject, as your in-camera meter does, and I then bracketed a half-stop over and under that reading.

Although I shoot digital now because it's easy and each exposure is essentially free (and because I'm maybe getting a bit lazy in my old age), the discipline of film still serves me well. In fact, what I seek to do with each of my digital photographs is to make them look as if they had originated on film. Because that's the look I prefer.

About the equipment: The hang-gliding scene and the Bulgarian goat herder were photographed with Olympus OM system film cameras. I used Kodak Ektachrome film for the hang-gliding and Fujichrome 100D for the goat herder. For Clarence Spindler, I used a Canon EOS A2, Fujichrome, and a light amber filter. All film was 35mm.

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available for $22.95 plus $3.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail me a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

If you would like to have a print of any of my photographs, check out my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  If you don't find what you want there, let me know and I'll arrange to include it in the gallery.

Photography and text copyright 2024 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography    film photography      Olympus OM film camera         Fujichrome 100D film        Canon EOS A2 camera      hang-gliding     Bulgaria     35mm film     Rock City barns     Kodak Ektachrome film     hang-gliding