Monthly Archives: July 2015

 

 

Sorry about that, “Coke the pause that refreshes!”  O.K. end of a long week workshops with great group of folks and a wonderful team!  As always it was great to be with Ricky Skaggs, Jim Begley, “Snake” Barrett, Nick Coury and our great Fuji team that joined us, Cy Franks, Jackie Hillyer, Dana Ranslem, Louis Navarro, Michael Bulbenko, and Stacey Moore!

 

We shot a lot of great locations, and had a ton of really terrific fellowship!  His Light Workshops are a truly different experience and the faith component is wonderful!    We added several new shooting locations to this years workshop and it added to the variety and opportunities.  Last night, as usual, Ricky and his band Kentucky Thunder were amazing, what a great time we had.  Ricky is so kind, every year, to give a shout out to our group and Jim, Snake and myself, it’s a thrill to hear your name before the 2,500 of Ricky’s fans!

 

Hope you are plannigna  restful and enjoyable weekend, I’m going to go home and collapse!!!!  Please enjoy a few more favorite images from the week!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

 

 

 

I’ve been in Nashville, Tennessee all week with our Third Annual Nashville/Ricky Skaggs Americana Workshop.  Country Music/Bluegrass Legend (14 rimes Grammy Winner!) Ricky Skaggs is also an accomplished photographer and good friend and he and I, plus Jim Begley and John “Snake” Barrett, and Nick Coury, run this annual workshop during Nashville’s Bluegrass Month.  While we have been shooting the many fantastic locations around Nashville, I’ve been giving the X-System lenses a workout and thought I might share some of the images from this weeks shoot!

 

Tonight the entire group will go to Ricky and Kentucky Thunders concert at the Historic Ryman Theatre, images from that tomorrow!

 

At Marathon Motorworks we always shoot the decorative tool door at the Motor works offices. Fuji X-T1 with the 16-55.

 

 

 

While shooting in Antique Archaeology we had a chance to capture some great old Americana pieces, below the Nashville Neon Radio sign with the Electra-Voice Mic in the foreground,  Shot with the X-T1 and the wonderful, close focusing new 16mm f 1.4 shot at f 2.8!

 

 

The brass cash register begs to be shot with the 16-55 and then treated to a dose of Topaz Spicify for a mock HDR effect.

 

 

 

While roaming around the Antique Archaeology Store I found a great Cheap Trick guitar and shirt that made a great out of focus background or another EV mic, one of my favorites, I have a Shure 55 ohm y desk in my office!  Shot with eh fabulous 90mm f 2 at f 2.

 

 

I can’t pass up Neon and this sign in Antique Archaeology was just to neat!  X-T1 and he 16-55

 

 

A friend of Ricky’s had a wonderful old General Store and massive antique toy collection, so we spent a couple of hours enjoying and shooting this great collection!  Below a shelf of children’s books form the 1930’s and 40’s.  Fuji X-T1 and 18-135 lens.

 

 

Being a pilot,  I love toy airplanes and have a very large collection of my own, this one was to good to pass up!  X-T1 and the 18-135 lens

 

 

In the General Store I found an old Tom’s Peanuts rack just a sit would have been in the 1950’s, XT-1 and the 18-135 shot wide open at f 5.6.

 

 

 

One of our favorite locations was a massive private car collection housed on a beautiful farm down in Brentwood.  These exhaust ports from a Classic Auburn were too good to good to pass up!  X-T1 and the 16-55.

 

 

Since my grandchildren call Sherelene Nana I had to shoot this mock diner at the car museum for her! X-T1 and the 16-55.

 

 

The three images below of car Americana were all shot with the X-T1 with the 18-135, my favorite walk around lens!

 

 

Lastly at visit to the Centennial Park Gardens the 90mm f 2 showed of it’s wonderful Bokeh on these flowers!

 

 

I love shooting the Fuji X- System because of its; great build quality, light weight and fabulous glass!

 

More to come!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

In case you were wondering, Nicky Coury, Ricky Skaggs, “Snake”Barrett, and I are all Fuji shooters! Jim will, likely, join us soon!!!!!  All images shot with film simulation mode  Velvia, Provia (Standard) and Black & White with a red filter.

 

 

Well, we are off to a fast start in Nashville.  We hav another great group of attendees and old friends, plus some wonderful guest and our Fuji team!  It has been non stop, always is, and so I’ve been late getting a post up, but here are some the shots form the first two days!  More to come, I promise!!!

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Next years Nashville/Ricky Skaggs Workshop is already being planned!!!!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

 

Some things are certain.  Gravity works.  Some people are, kind and compassionate and give of themselves for the sake of others, they seek to save others  Some men are evil, they live to destroy, to hate, and to steal life from others.  We live in a world where because of the reporting of world wide news events it is more apparent than ever, that these things are true.

 

So where does that leave us, the folks in the middle, the ones that are not evil, that make mistakes, but not with malice.  We’re the ones that hate evil, but find a way to pray for evil doers.  We’re the ones that hurt when five service men are shot down in cold blood, and don’t understand why our president thinks one young black man that forced a policeman to shoot  him in self defense is worth more.  All lives matter, black ones, white ones, yellow, and red too.  No one should be have their life cut short, no one.  For me it is very sad when young men and women join our arm services to protect us, to serve us, the make out land safer, and die when an armed conflict is not supposed to be happening.

 

I have no answers.  I’ve searched my heart, I still have no answer4s.  When you don’t know what to do or say, it’s best to go back to what you are absolutely sure you know.  Here goes,

 

God loves us more than we could ever understand.

 

His Son died so that we could be forgiven for all our sins.

 

He was beaten, mocked, spat on and then nailed to a cross.  The soldiers that drove the nails into his hands and feet, made fun of Him, the Son of God, and yet they laughed at them.

 

Then He did the most unbelievable thing imaginable, He looked down and stared at the very men that did this to Him and said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

 

How could He ever expect us to do what He did?!  But, then that is exactly what He said, just before He went home to His Father, he said, “As I have done, you do also.”

 

…..and that is why I have no answers.  I know what I am to do, I know what I want to do.  I can’t  do what I should do, I do what I shouldn’t do, I think Paul said that too, and then he and some fishermen were very responsible for the Christian faith we have today, because they manned up. What will I do, what will you do, God help us, and I mean that in the most sincere way possible.

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim