Bad weather can be a good thing for nature photography. After hiking all day in the rain I was ready to give up on interesting light when the clouds opened up. I was amazed to see purple fog in a skeleton forest. I measured the light in the sky as the main subject knowing this would cause the trees to become a dark silhouette against the purple sky. LynnFreeny.com
Churches are very plentiful in small towns in the Southern Appalachians. Here in Greeneville, Tennessee this church reflects off one of many historical buildings in the downtown area. LynnFreeny.com
When it seems like I am in a not so inspiring place with a camera some people ask me the question," What are you taking a picture of ?". This image was taken along Interstate 40 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Shooting at f2.8 I was able to cause the lights to balloon out of focus creating an interesting background for the chain link fence. I used a tripod because the shutter speed was 1/2 second. Remember beautiful images are everywhere so get out there and get inspired. LynnFreeny.com
Frozen fog also called "hoarfrost" in the Southern Appalachians is called "pogonip" by Native Americans out west. The beauty of "hoarfrost" is that it coats the trees with a thick covering of frost only where fog travels. In this image you can see the evidence of how selective this type of frost can be. The frost produces a very reflective surface which causes the coated trees in this image to appear blue as the trees reflect the deep blue sky above.LynnFreeny.com
Black and white photography can be so powerful when it comes to capturing tone. In this image of a church steeple there is a feeling of loftiness as the tip of the steeple disappears into a very dark sky. The distortion was caused by positioning myself close to the building. With the use of a number 25 red filter I was able to darken the sky to absolute black. LynnFreeny.com
Back roads have interesting subjects and lots of curves. The combination of a beautiful Victorian house and interesting clouds in the evening light made this subject worth the drive. Using the red channel only and converting the image to gray scale gave me the same effect as a number 25 red filter with black and white film.LynnFreeny.com
Shadows at times dominate our vision. In this case the shadow becomes the main subject because of its sheer size. The tree is massive, but the shadow is even larger because of the low angle of the evening sun. The real trick to this was to make sure I positioned myself in the shadow so my own shadow did not show up.LynnFreeny.com
Early mornings always reward me with interesting subjects to photograph. Here is one of those subjects that is missed by most people because the actual object is not very popular. This is a close up of dew on a trash can lid. The curving lines are caused by large water droplets traveling down the slick plastic surface of the trash can. It reminds me of the surface of some far away planet. LynnFreeny.com
Shadows are such important elements in photography that I am always looking for interesting ones. In this image the shadows even have a color cast from the flame of the lamp. Also, some highlights from the glass globe create bright reflections on the wall. The strong crossing shadows are from the window which is lighting the subject. Never underestimate shadows and their ability to add to a composition. LynnFreeny.com
No, it's not Christmas lights but it may be Christmas shoppers. With a 200mm lens focused on a fence along interstate 40 in Knoxville, the headlights and taillights balloon out of focus creating a magical light show. LynnFreeny.com
I often walk with my eyes toward the ground this time of year looking for that leaf that needs to be photographed before it denigrates. This Bradford Pear leaf became one of those leaves that made me say, "Wow!", when I saw it. LynnFreeny.com
Many times shadows become much more interesting than the actual object they came from. This image of shadows on a porch illustrates this very concept. Also, notice negative space in the shadows seems to glow in the bright white areas of the image. LynnFreeny.com
Some very everyday objects can be transformed by light. In this image of bottles in a window the direction of the light caused the bottles to actually become a light source. I am always looking for this type of effect. One of my favorite things to shoot are leaves that become a light source as the sun shines through them. LynnFreeny.com
Shadows are important. This image is an example of the shadow being the dominant element. With the help of Photoshop I was able to tint the balloon red in this black and white photograph. The late day low angle of the sun causes the elongated shadows. This image was used on a Psychology text book cover.
Night photography is interesting in a city. If it is raining you get the bonus of reflections from the wet streets. In this image I was stopped at a red light. I looked to the right and saw a row of street lights, car lights and glowing signs in the background . With a 200 mm lens I knew I could compact the information and include all the interesting elements. LynnFreeny.com
Remember always have your camera with you. I was on a commercial flight cruising at about 30,000 feet when I saw this rainbow out my window. I used a lens hood pressed against my window to help shade any reflections. LynnFreeny.com
My favorite light occurs in the evening and morning. At these particular times of day most things look more interesting. Why? Maybe it is because you only see this quality of light once a day. This is an evening image of Knoxville Tennessee at sunset. LynnFreeny.com
Here is another example of shadows used in photography. Shadows repeat the the shape of the original creating a rhythm in the image. They also make complex objects very simple helping us to see things like the delicate positioning of the dancers hands. Remember not to under rate shadows when looking for subjects to capture on film. LynnFreeny.com
Shadows are under rated in the world. Some people never notice shadows. Without shadows the world would look really crazy. Have you ever been to the state fair and see the paintings with no shadows. Objects in paintings like that cause the cabins or barn to look like they are floating in front of a natural background. It looks out of this world. As a photographer you should almost be obsessed will shadow awareness. Shadows can make or break an image so watch out for this seemingly harmless element when doing photography. The image here was taken at Tremont during my photography workshop. LynnFreeny.com
This subject caught my eye because of the complementary color relationship that was screaming at me visually. In the art and design world complementary colors are often used to bring attention to objects. Red and green are the complementary colors in this image. On an artist color wheel they are opposite of each other. When colors are opposite on the color wheel they create a type of visual excitement that give the colors more punch. LynnFreeny.com
This cascading section of the Middle Prong in Tremont in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park craves a zig zag pattern through the rock surface forming a modest but beautiful water fall. In order to avoid strong shadows this image was shot in the early morning hours. Another great time to shoot this type of subject in the Southern Appalachians is on a cloudy days. Always make sure you have rain gear on a cloudy day in the mountains because if there are clouds usually rain will follow. LynnFreeny.com
I consider both the negative and positive space when composing an image such as these leaf patterns in the water. The leaves are the positive space and the water surrounding the leaves is the negative space. Both are equally important in creating a successful image. This image was shot during my photography workshop at Tremont in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. LynnFreeny.com
In the fall small streams in the Southern Appalachians become these wonderful natural mirrors that reflect the brightly colored trees surrounding them. Along with these reflections comes a colorful sprinkling of leaves on the rocks looking like confetti after a big parade. This is an image I shot during my photography workshop in Tremont along the Middle Prong of the Little River. LynnFreeny.com
On the workshop at Tremont I looked up from Middle Prong and saw this composition. Using a 15mm lens I was able to show how plants reach for the sun. The rhododendron is in the shade of the noon day sun along with a rocky cliff overhang creating an interesting depth to the image. LynnFreeny.com
This is another image I shot in Tremont during my photography workshop . The roots look like stairs because of the pattern they form growing down hill. The colorful carpet of fall leaves add to the interest when contrasted with the dark roots. Using a wide angle lens helped show the progression of the roots giving a rhythm to the photograph. To get the foreground sharp along with the background I had to shoot at f- 22 for 2 seconds. LynnFreeny.com
Today I led a photography workshop to Tremont in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Perfect weather and beautiful scenery made the day great. This image of Middle Prong was taken early this morning during the workshop. The key to an image like this one is using a sturdy tripod to produce a sharp image.The camera was set at f-stop 22 with a shutter speed of 8 seconds. This gave me a lot of depth of field and produced a smooth look for the water motion. LynnFreeny.com
This is not the normal wildlife of the Southern Appalachian, but that is where I found these strange creatures. Before you call the University of Tennessee to report a new species in the mountains, I must confess I got this picture at Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg Tennessee. I set the camera at 400 ISO to take advantage of the existing light. When shooting through glass it is always better to avoid flash photography. Setting the camera on a higher ISO enabled me to set a fast enough shutter speed to stop the movement of the jellyfish. LynnFreeny.com
This is why I always have a camera with me. I walk my dog Charlie every morning, and the amazing thing is every morning is different. This was one of those mornings that looked like one of the old masters oil paintings. As I looked at the sky, suddenly the sun popped out between the trees on the horizon. I know a lot of people are not morning people but with a little coffee maybe you to could enjoy the morning light. LynnFreeny.com
