I arrived in Amherst, CT yesterday afternoon at the end of a long airport day, but immediately enjoyed the company of two dear old friends, Bill Durrence, and Bob Watts.  We were joined by a friend of Bob’s from the area and our new TSR for New England, Alex.  We had dinner and shot the sunset from a beautiful 840 foot peak overlooking the Connecticut valley.  The haze made a landscape tough, but was perfect to tone down the setting sun for some flower shots, (above).  You know i don’t shoot flowers that much, but last night proved once again put any subject in great light and the result can be pretty amazing.

 

I shot the D800 hand-held by running the ISO up to 1600 and 3200 to get really fast shutter speeds, the wind was also blowing the flowers pretty hard.  I waited for lulls and let the shutter speed make the difference.  These are not clinically well made images, just too much wind, but it was a very nice evening with great friends and the photography was secondary.  Enjoy!

 

the pilgrim

 

Somebody’s looking at you baby…..

 

 

O.K. gotta go, it’s time to……..

 

Sorry! Had to do ti!

I shared the other day that I hope to get to New Haven for a shot at Louis’ Lunch, well it’s not to be, I just don’t have time and they are closed on Monday when I do have time and am flying home.  But last night while sitting in the hotel I thought I might Google, “the Best Burger in Alcoa”  where the Knoxville Airport is located.  I usually go to Five Guys and they are not bad at all, in my Top Fifteen, but as chance would have it, (I actually don’t believe in chance), I got a hit, the plac ethe local really like is the Hot Rod 40’s Diner, sounded good to me, so off I went and was overwhelmed!  I will save you the suspense, it tied as the best Cheeseburger in America!!!!!!  This place has it all: enough memorabilia to run a His Light Americana Workshop in the building, a great waitress, back to her in minute,  the burger was perfect exactly as I ordered it!   10 oz of great beef, cooked to perfection, I had to do a little seasoning myself, but hey, no sweat.  The shoe string fries and home-made potato chips (no I didn’t eat them all!), were great.   The atmosphere was pure, down home, “What can I get you sweet heart, down home, southern warmth!”

 

My waitress, Daniella, certainly held up her end of the bargain, she was friendly, got the order exactly right, (can’t tell how seldom that happens!), and took very good care of me!  Gotta love Tennessee folks!

 

So if you’re ever in Alcoa and want one of the best burgers in America, drop by Hot Rods 50’s Diner!  Enjoy some of the fantastic memorabilia!!!!

 

the pilgrim

 

 

As I was driving down to Knoxville this morning for client meetings I was thinking about the photographers that have had the great influence on me.  In most cases it has been how much I’ve learned from them, in many cases it has also been how much I’ve admired them personally.  Before I start, you are going to hear something over and over, “what a great guy they are” , this isn’t surprising because over my 43 year career that is the kind of people I gravitate to!

 

So here goes:

 

John Shaw   In the early part of my love affair with photography John was the one shooter a lot us really wanted to be like.  His technical knowledge both about photography and the natural world was almost unparalleled!  John’s images were certainly artistic enough, and his technical mastery was astounding.  John was a prolific writer and he had a number of best-selling how to books that formed the photographic library for many of us in the 70’s and 80’s.  The highest compliment might be that to this day many nature shooters, could rightfully be called John Shaw Clones!   From John I learned discipline.    www.johnshawphoto.com/

 

Joe McNally    When I first met Joe, I had no idea how good he was, I was long out of photojournalism and I knew if he worked for Life he must be good, but I had not seen that much of his work.  Later when I got to know him, he was dating one of my best friends, Anne Cahill at Nikon, I came to love him as a great guy, and someone that Anne loved dearly.  Then I started seeing his magnificent work!  He astounded me with the breadth of what he could do with a camera, he still does!  As good a shooter as Joe is, he’s an even better man.  From Joe I learned the value of caring about my subjects!      www.joemcnally.com/

 

Scott Kelby  I don’t have room to sing all the praises deserved by Scott.  He is among the best teachers, tecnicians, shooters, musicians, comedians, and all round great guys I’ve ever met, or known!  Scott is one of those multi-talented individuals that comes along once a century.  The fact that he has more followers than you can imagine is well deserved.  That his success has been astronomical is only outweighed by the fact that he deserves it!  From Scott I learned that the sky is not the limit, just the starting point!    www.scottkelby.com/

 

Bill Cox  You may not know this guy, but I’m here to tell you he is one of the most gifted shooters I’ve ever known.  When I was a younger man, Bill and I belonged to camera club we helped start.  We were very often the top to shooters in our division.  Trust me, winning against Bill was not easy!  Bill has maybe the best eye for photographic design I’ve ever seen, his work, even with an iPhone is masterful.  I learned the value of simplicity in images from Bill.    You can see Bill’s work at Instagram search for  sciencehill_360more links coming!     http://statigr.am/sciencehill_360

 

Art Wolfe   Art Wolfe may be the hardest working and most prolific photographers I’ve  ever known.  He once told me that he hired six other people to do all the, “other” work so he could stay in the field and shoot, and does he ever, I think he is out there, around the world, over 300 days per year!  I seldom see an image in an ad or story that belongs to Art that doesn’t immediately announce that he was the shooter.  Art has been a good friend for along time and I am proud to have watched him get better and better over the years.  Art taught me that you have to stay in the field, behind the camera, to get the shot!  image.www.artwolfe.com/                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

 

And now some others that have inspired, taught, and encouraged me along the way:

 

Mark Alberhasky  One of the most talented of the group of new faces in the world of photography, he has Shaw’s technical skills, Wolfe’s work ethic, and Bill Cox’s eye!    www.imagema.com/

 

Jim Begley & Chuck Summers   Two of my favorite shooters and best friends, and  great teaching partners.    They both have unique styles, and do tremendous work!     www.wowphotoshdr.com/             agpix.com/csummers         

Richard Small   A man with few peers in almost anything he shoots, especially cars, aviation and people!   www.richardsmallphotography.smugmug.com/

Tom Bol  One of the best outdoor adventure shooters around and truly nice guy!   He fills the gap with the loss of Galen Rowell.   www.tombolphoto.com/

 

Matt Kloskowksi & R.C. Concepcion  Two of the best teachers and shooters around and great people to be in the field with.  More fun than a barrel of monkeys, come to think of it!          www.mattkloskowski.com/              www.aboutrc.com/                                          

Ian Plant   One of the best up and coming nature shooters in the field today, his work is stunning.  Great vision!  www.ianplant.com/ 

 Jack Graham  One of the best workshop leaders, shooters, and one heck of nice guy!  www.jackgrahamphoto.com/

Mike Moats   Among the very best, maybe the best, close-up photographers there is.  I met Mike in person for the first time at the NECC conference and he is a great guy as well!!     www.tinylandscapes.com

 

Much thanks my friends, for sharing your vast knowledge, your wealth of experience, and your warm friendship!

 

the pilgrim

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m headed to Knoxville tomorrow to meet with a couple of clients and then go onto the airport for an early a.m. flight to Hartford and a drive up to Amherst, MA for the annual New England Camera Council event.  En route to the conference I and dropping by the famed Louis’ Lunch in New Haven, the pro-ported home of the Hamburger!   I have heard great things about the place and will give you a full report!  I’m thrilled to be a speaker at the NECC and I am excited about visiting with a lot of dear friends, including our Nikon team, and Joe McNally, and Bill Durrence!

 

This ties right into the Life Principle for today:

 

The awareness of God’s presence energizes us for our work.

 

Please, pray that I bring something good to the hundreds of folks I will get to share with.

 

Thanks for walking this path with me…..

 

the pilgrim