The latest thoughts and photos from my blog...
[2010/09/07 11:36 pm]
Enjoy the Autumn 2010 Collection! Already, several items were handpicked for Etsy Treasuries. Click on each image below to check out the collections.
Click Treasury Image to go directly to each Etsy Treasury.
Under $25 Treasury by nezoshop
If You Hear Banjos... by ClaybrookPrintDesign
The Wonderful Colors of Fall!!! by quiltsbydebbie
The Fog Creeps in on Little Cat Feet by ilahandhenry
Remember to check out the Summer shots while you're visiting Mike C. Nichols photography.
[2010/08/31 11:35 pm]
Recently, we went up to Elk Garden for a little hike and to get away. The weather was pretty clear and sunny everywhere until we got up to Elk Garden. We seemed to ascend into the clouds as we peaked at the top of the mountain. Walking around the summit and then climbing the summit made for some interesting scenery. We watched Mount Rogers become encumbered by fog and then we watched the beautiful summer sunset through the fog. At one point, the way the sun appeared through the fog, Brandy understandably mistook it for the moon. A few days later, we explored the Big Bend near Big Walker Mountain after a picnic. While exploring, we found natural inspirations as well as the ruins of the heyday of the area. Enjoy the photos.
(Click image for larger view)
Elk Garden in the Fog
The Big Bend
Current Music: Dave Matthews Band - Live Trax Vol. 18 (6/4/1996)
[2010/08/24 11:12 pm]
It's been a little while since I posted about the darkroom project. Most of the past month, I have been reading John Hedgecoe's Darkroom Techniques. I mainly picked the book up to remind myself of the proper steps for Black & White processing and printing, but in reading, it seems pretty easy to process color film. Best part about most of it is that I can wait on "permanent" ventilation as the only time I need darkness for roll processing is the initial film loading. I will instead use a floor fan directing the air outside.
Therefore, I have started moving towards setting the darkroom up as is. I have been reading the book thoroughly from cover to cover and reading more detailed/opinionated topics online. Last week I got the enlarger up and running. The past two days, I have cleaning up the basement and today I organized my darkroom supplies. While doing this, I sized up what gear I have and what possible gear I need. For now I have all that I need for 35mm and 120mm. I even I have a jig for 35mm slides for the enlarger. It is homemade and it might be wise to invest in a new one down the road. I bought a new developing tank and now I am only one step away to start developing color film, obtaining the chemicals. In the next couple of weeks, I'll be giving it a go and testing my first couple of rolls!
As I get roll processing up and running, I will continue to get ready for processing prints. Color prints are a bit more difficult, and so I want to continue reading and prepare before I start that venture. During the preparation time, I will figure out the permanent ventilation issue and then make the basement be able to be completely dark, in order to print prints.
Current Mood: 
anxiousCurrent Music: Dave Matthews Band :: 7/31/2010
[2010/08/09 11:58 pm]
Thursday, we headed down to Boone to get away and have some fun. Halfway down there, we came upon an overturned gravel truck. Though there was room to get around, the officials would not let anyone pass around, and so we took a detour. It normally takes 1.5 hours to get to Boone, but this time it took close to 3 hours. During that time, fate seemed to say we should go home, but we persevered. After doing the downtown usuals, we took a drive onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. Almost immediately, a storm broke loose on us. It was a severe thunder storm with torrential rain that we braved to go into the Moses Cone Manor to escape for a little bit. Once it died down just a little, we got back in the car and soon the storm let up for a little while. In that time, Willow fell asleep and we stopped at scenic overlook. Here, we took turns going across the Parkway to take some photos. I tell you, it was a nice treat on the Parkway after the storm leaving foggy mountains and beautiful scenery.
Sunday, we headed up to the Scales for our yearly blueberry picking trip. We arrived a little before dinner and set up camp and relaxed. We always seem to run into someone that Brandy knows and this time was no different. We enjoyed a little company and then ate supper. After supper, we decided to pick for a short while. All around us were wild ponies and it seemed they were following us for awhile. I snapped a couple photos while carrying Willow on my back. This would be the theme as I ascended up the trail towards the top of Pine Mountain. Up there, I took a couple photos of the sunset looking back towards Wilburn Ridge and Mount Rogers.
This morning, I climbed up the mountain again to get a few morning shots of the beautiful high country before breakfast. after breakfast, we once again picked coming out with a gallon of blueberries and a pint of blackberries. We're discussing about going back or going to Elk Garden to pick more blackberries. Of course, I took a few shots of the blueberries themselves including of a cluster with a clear reflection of the ridge they were facing. After eating some lunch, we packed up and headed back down the mountain. At the bottom, we stopped so that I could finish the roll taking shots of some Yellow Fringed Orchids.
(Click image for larger view)
Foggy High Country
Approaching Ponies
Sunset on Pine Mountain
Morning on Pine Mountain
Blueberries
Yellow Fringed Orchids
Current Mood: 
sleepyCurrent Music: Dave Matthews Band :: 7/27/2010
[2010/08/06 11:50 pm]
Hoping to catch the last few blooming rhododendrons, I started this roll at Comers Creek Falls. This time, I explored the area a little. I even climbed up the main falls to view some of the upper falls. I didn't have enough time to climb all the way up to the first set, so I settled trying to capture the main falls in new ways. I then brought out my camera in Georgia for a couple images of Amicalola Falls. I was tripod-less and so I had to make do with my surroundings. Next, we traveled to Buzzard Rock on Whitetop and the weather made for some neat photographic moments. Lastly, I finished this roll on a hike where we found an abandoned turtle shell. It had been there for some time as most of the "tiles" from the shell had come off, bearing a white shell.
(Click image for larger view)
Comers Creek Falls
Amicalola Falls
The Fog Rollin' In on Whitetop
Buzzard Rock
Abandoned Turtle Shell
Current Mood: 
indescribableCurrent Music: Dave Matthews Band :: 7/27/2010
[2010/08/05 11:20 pm]
I am happy to present my Summer 2010 Etsy Collection. All prints are available as 11x14 matted 8x10s, frame ready. For $20 a print, you can enjoy a little piece of Appalachia on your wall without emptying your wallet.
I have tried bring some diversity to the shots chosen, though thematically, most are mountain vistas. Several shots are taken from my recent trip to Vermont while most were taken in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area in southwest Virginia.
Current Mood: accomplishedCurrent Music: Dave Matthews Band :: 7/1/2010
[2010/07/22 9:45 pm]
I have finished my work table for the darkroom this week. The last steps I took were to finish attaching the last shelf brace and support brace for the top, attaching the counter top, and lastly making the chicken wire shelf.
As you see above, the frame is a basic design. With a heavy counter top, I wanted to make sure I have support in the middle and the shelf braces act also as a structure reinforcement around the legs.
After attaching the counter top, I grabbed some spare chicken wire. I first attached it across the top to make a tight & level shelf. Afterward, I cut off the excess that you can see at the top of the photo above. Once this was complete, I put the table on its backside and carefully attached the chicken wire around the front and back shelf braces to make a clean look and add extra strength for the shelf's tightness.
Once I completed the shelf, the table was complete. On to the next step for the darkroom....
Current Mood: 
chipperCurrent Music: Dave Matthews Band - 7/21/2010
[2010/07/12 11:09 pm]
Since my last post on this project, a lot has happened. I have been workin' like a dog (at Walgreens and my web work), our waterline was leaking and got replaced, and those little things that occur that keep you from getting things done. In that time, I did cut the legs and begin to attach them to the table.
Today, I did a lot of work on the table. First, I borrowed my father-in-law's Kreg Jig to make pocket holes to finish attach the legs to the top frame.
I then cut three of the four pieces for the chicken-wire shelf and attached them accordingly.
With these pieces also helping to support the legs, I placed the frame upright and placed the counter on top to get the first step toward a complete workspace.
Just a little more work to go and I will call this part of the project complete.
Current Mood: accomplishedCurrent Music: Dave Matthews Band :: 7/1/2010
[2010/07/09 11:30 pm]
Well, summer is upon us. Here at the Bungalow, we've been quite toasty with highs in the low to mid 90s this past week. Over the past few weeks, we have welcomed 2 guests, dealt with a leaking waterline, and gone to some places in the area we haven't been too in years. Along the way, I took some shots as you might expect. I am pleased with the outcome.
(Click image to view larger)
Large mushroom among the "Big Trees" (a stand of large-growth Hemlocks)
Large snail on a tree at Raccoon Branch Campground
View of Buzzard Rock on Whitetop Mtn.
Sunset at Whitetop (our 4th of July fireworks)
Iron furnace at Raven Cliff (Wythe County)
Go to Summer 2010 #1 to view the entire roll.
Current Mood: 
calmCurrent Music: Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds :: 7/6/2010
[2010/06/30 11:01 pm]
I have been wanting to get organized and actually set up a darkroom for sometime now. My initial hindrance
was the fear of my gas furnace and photo chemicals. I have dreamed about building an out building, though I knew that would be YEARS away. Then last week, my sister was visiting and we all went to the O. Winston Link Museum in Roanoke. For those who don't know who he is, Link is famous for his images of the last days of the N&W line of steam engines. The images he shot were regional, but a majority of them come from the Mount Rogers area, including his most famous image entitled "Maud." As you can see, the image portrays a horse bowing in front of Green Cove station with the Virginia Creeper approaching. Now-a-days, this old railway is now a Rails to Trails trail for bikers. Anyway, this trip to the museum not only showed is images, but told about his life and his love for the steam engine. He loved them so much he also made motion pictures and audio recordings of the N&W. The most fascinating part of the exhibit for me was the replication of his studio darkroom complete with all of his tools and chemicals. This inspired me to really start pursuing the completion of a darkroom for myself.
I went online and did some research about the danger of having photo chemicals near a pilot light and came to find out that it is not at all dangerous. The most "dangerous" aspect of the process is photo paper, in terms of flammability. One site went so far to say that film and photo developing is about as dangerous as using a library card, and then conjectured that using a library card was probably more dangerous.
All in all, I was excited and over the next few days, I thought about how to complete my darkroom. I did more research online about darkroom setups and thought about where I could place a counter space downstairs and then it hit me. A couple of years ago, I helped do some demo work with a friend on a lady's kitchen and came away with a 55" wide piece of laminate counter top. Over the weekend, I wrote down some plans to build a base for the counter top and today I began to build it.
My whole plan is to have a drying shelf below the counter top. Other than this added detail, the plans for the base are very simple and should be complete within a few days. Today, I completed the top frame (minus the middle support). I plan to cut and attach the legs next.
Current Mood: accomplishedCurrent Music: Two & a Half Men
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