Photo Safari

I had the opportunity to, at the Nashville Zoo, get up close and personal with some of the birds that are housed there. These I consider to be among the best wildlife pictures that I have thus far taken. Please enjoy and comment.

Thanks,

Spencer

Pictures from downtown Nashville & Farmer's Market

The Nashville Zoo

Susan, my lovely bride, suggested last summer that we purchase a membership to the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere. I was a bit skeptical at first, wondering if we would actually visit the zoo enough times to make the membership worthwile. Well, let me tell anyone who is considering a membership to the zoo that this has probably been the most well spent money since Suz and I met. We have been to the Nashville Zoo well over 50 times since the membership was purchased. This summer while she has been at home with the kids they have been atleast once a week every week but two this summer. I have been many times; but not nearly the number of times that the rest of the family has gone.

Usually I go with the family and try to take some good pictures of the animals; however, I am not able to spend the time composing and "waiting for the shot" that I am acostomed to when on a shoot by myself or with other photographers. Photographicly, what these trips have done is forced me to see all of the bad shots that I have taken over the last year and a half, critique them, and figure out how to take them better when I return to the Zoo with the ability to take the time. Recently, I took a morning to do just that. I was able to draw upon all of the mental notes that I had taken and get several of the compositions that I had visualized. Here are the results. Some, one in particular, still require more work.

The Lighthouse

My mother loves this lighthouse. I took these with her in mind. I still have some editing to do on the two with the blue sky; but I wanted to go ahead and get comments and critiques of them.

St. Simon's Island

My family and I vacationed at St. Simon's Island, GA this summer. As a child I spent most of my vacations there with my parents and grandparents. This was the first time I have been able to return to the island as an adult and share the place with my wife and my own children. These were the first in a series that I took at the beach. I accidentally left my ISO set at 3200 and was initially disappointed when I discovered this fact; however, I think that they made for interesting night beachscapes.

This next picture is one

of a pot metal table that my grandfather has collected and placed on his back porch. We ate breakfast on this table each morning of the vacation. I took this shot with the intention of pointing out the interesting detail that so often becomes part of the mundane.

One of my favorite places to visit at St. Simon's is Fort Frederica, the colony where lived the soldiers that successfully defended Georgia against the Spanish army. I had taken many shots of the fort that day that I later found on postcards in the gift shop. This one quickly became my favorite of the visit to the colony because I was unable to find it in the giftshop.

The purpose

I work at a camera and imaging store in Nashville, TN. And like all others in the camera and imaging industry, we have been in the field, talked of, and planned of photography as being more than just a hobby. Recently I have realized that I have been focusing too much on the “getting the business off the ground” aspect and not as much time doing what I love: Creating art. It is the American dream, right, finding what you love and then finding a way for that to support you.

I love creating, whether that be through the lens, in the woodshop, or in the kitchen. My passion is making things that I can enjoy, getting lost in the process, and then, as an added bonus others may find enjoyment in them as well. I miss the days when I had planned go into the darkroom for only a two hours and emerged eight hours later to find that I had missed two meals and several classes. Creating is my meditation, my time when I can lay down my burdens and focus on one thing, and only that one thing. It frees my mind of all distractions. It makes me a better husband, a better father, and a better friend.

My plan is to use this blog as a way to show the pictures that I enjoy by sharing them with others and receiving feedback. I not only expect that feedback; but I long for honest critique. I have read critiques on other blogs where there is nothing but praise of the artist’s work. While praise is wonderful and necessary at times, I also invite you to be true to how the image is not only composed or how the colors do or do not work together but true to how the pieces make you feel and comment on that as well.

Thank you for viewing my work,

Spencer