Category : blog

 

Another of Corbin’s Hot Spots!  In 2014 some adventurous, potential restaurant owners decided to open a taproom in downtown Corbin.  They secured a spot at 207 South Main Street. As they started to prepare the space they decided to take down and old wall knowing the building was brick, thinking a brick wall would work great with the theme they had in mind for the taproom!  To their surprise when the old wall framing was removed they found a beautiful advertising painting graced the brick wall.  A Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum painting!  So they named the new enterprise The Wrigley Taproom  and Eatery!!!

 

 

In keeping with the project rules I did not shoot the interior images of the Wrigley, (remember one fame a day!), but I borrowed them from their website!  Now as clever as the name is and as cool as the throw back decor is, it would not have made it without great food, service and a wonderful variety of craft beers!  Fortunately, they nailed all of that in spades!  The Wrigley has become a favorite lunch, dinner and watering hole for the locals.  The wall sure didn’t hurt, providing a great name, but the rest is all because of what a great run spot this is!  If you’re ever in Corbin and want a great meal, and some cold craft beer, well….now you know the place to visit!  ….and yes they do have a 5 Pickle, Fortney approved, burger!  They have been featured in Time, Food & Wine, Forbes , The Food Network, and The Lane Report.

 

Photographic Post Mortem:  Shot handheld with the Fujifilm X-T5 and the XF 23mm f 2 WR R lens set at 1/50th of a second  @ f 4 and ISO 1600.  Because of the soft light coming through the street side window I had to even out the exposure with some careful dodging and burning, but that was it!  I love the little Fujicrons and the 23mm f 2, (a 35mm equivalent),  is perfect for lowlight assignments like this!

 

See you tomorrow and I hope you’re enjoying the journey, if you are….. you can meet me at the Wrigley for burger and fries!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

This morning we had a very overcast cold morning and I ended up driving Sherelene to work in Barbourville, KY,  because my vehicle is all wheel dive and her’s is not, though roads turned out to be fine! On my way back home I drove past the Kentucky Fried Chicken Museum and KFC restaurant in Corbin.  The sky was pretty dull and I had an idea!  Hundreds of people stop at the museum everyday of the year and shoot a selfie of themselves in front of the historical marker telling about Kentucky’s Most Famous Citizen, Col. Harland Sanders. I know you were thinking it was me, but sadly not!!! Ha!!!

 

The Post Mortem:  My goal for this shot was to get the historical marker in sharp focus and hold enough focus on the Sander’s Cafe sign to keep it as part of the scene.  I choose the Fujifilm XF 16-80 set to around 54mm (82mm equiv.), for compressing of the two elements in frame, and exposed the image for 0.3 seconds @ f 14 with an ISO setting of 125.  I set the self timer for 10 seconds with the camera on a tripod, that gave me time to walk close to the brass marker with a small hand held , but powerful, LED battery operated light panel (3″X5″) to just highlight the brass lettering on the marker.  The only thing I did in post was remove some telephone lines in the extreme left side of the frame and slightly darken the exposure to make the neon in the Sander’s Cafe Sign pop.  So there you have it Shot One – Day One!

 

Side Note:  Many years ago I was covering a fundraising picnic in Hodgensville, KY.  I was the regional AP (Associated Press News Agency) rep at the time.  It was an outdoor event and they had set up a hundred picnic tables across a field, so I got my plate of food and went to an empty picnic table and had just started to eat when a older gentlemen in a tweed sport coat, blue oxford shirt and nice rep stripe tie walked up and said, “Son, do you mind if I eat at your table?”  I said, ” Absolutely,I’m the only one here and I’m not expecting anyone, have a seat!”  He did and we small talked as we ate.  I kept looking at him and knew I had seen him somewhere before, but just couldn’t place him.  I finally said, “I’m embarrassed, I know that I that I have met you before, but I don’t know when or where?”  He leaned into me with big smile and said “Aw, you’ve seen me around, I just don’t always where that white suit!”  It was Col. Harland Sanders!  He turned out to be really nice guy!

 

If you come through Corbin, stop by the Col. Harland Sanders Museum, it is fun stop to learn the history of the KFC story.

 

 

Can’t wait for Day Two!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

So you can read it better!

 

 

Ready or not, here we come! As announced recently I am going to do a  project attempting to make one image a day for the month of February.  Why?  Winter is pretty bleak around here but I need to challenge myself to get back in to shooting shape for Spring!  Inspired by a YouTube video and remembering Jim Brandenburg’s great book project of one shot a day encouraged me to give it a go.  I want it to be a good teaching opportunity for those of you that will follow the project.  So at the suggestion of my dear brother, Jim Haverstock, this is the plan.

 

The Plan:

 

1. One shot a day. One Frame, no second chances!
4. I will use the Fujifilm X-T5 as the body.
7. I have decided to make this a teaching moment by selecting the right lens for the attempted shot each day, and then explain in the comments each day why that was the lens selected for this photographic opportunity!
10. I will shoot jpeg fine images with only the most minimum of post processing and will share what I did to each image.  The point here is to try to get it right in the camera, something Jack Graham and I have taught our students for years.

 

1. I will post each day after the image has been made.

 

We all need to challenge ourselves so that when that great opportunity presents itself we will be ready to make the most of it!  Pray that I can do that for the entire month of February, so that we all can learn together!  Good or bad, I promise to be transparent about the success or failure!

 

Wish me luck!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

Laurel Lake in Fall, Southern Kentucky near Corbin, KY where I live.

 

For the vast majority of my photographic life I have shot everything from ground level to 5′ 9″!  That offered a very limited perspective on most subjects.  It was not until I was in my 50’s that I finally fulfilled a lifelong dream to become a pilot and a whole new photographic perspective was opened to me with a view from above the earth.  Flying, for me, was the ultimate visual experience and it has changed the way I see photographically forever.  From above your subject the world now becomes line, form, texture, light and color.  I now see all subjects much more graphically!  Please allow me to share some of my favorite images from the project and book, America From 500 Feet. Some of these images never appeared in the book, so they are being shared for the first time.  I hope you enjoy them!

 

Newly paved and painted road in the Dutch Country of Pennsylvania.

 

Cumberland Falls State Park in fall, (13 miles from home), in Southern Kentucky.

 

Imperial Sand Dunes National Recreation Area in Southern California.

 

Augusta National Golf Course, the day after The Masters Golf Tournament, Augusta, Georgia.

 

View of the Gand Tetons in winter from a rented Cessna, Jackson, Wyoming.

 

Sunrise over the Canoe Boundary Waters in Minnesota.

 

It’s amazing how different our world, or any subject, looks when we seek a new perspective!

 

Blessings,

 

 

the pilgrim