Ducks in Pond at Pellissippi State

This is another one I took during the class field trip at Pellissippi. The best light for outdoor photography is evening and morning . Why? The sun is lower in the sky giving warm light that illuminates at a lower angle creating more dramtic images. If this same kind of light happened all day it might be consider boring but the fleeting moment of this type of light makes it interesting to the viewer. Set that alarm and get up and try to arrive at interesting places at first light. Don't drink too much coffee because steady hand make sharp photos.

Yellow Line on Road

This is one of the images I took during my Basic Photography Class at Pellissippi State.I used a wide angle lens to exaggerate the long yellow line and held the camera unlevel to include more of the line. With the aid Adobe Photoshop I desaturated the photo to black and white leaving only the yellow line the original color.This is one of the roads going out of the college campus.My next class begins Oct. 22. This class concentrates more on the artistic side of digital photography. It also includes two field trips.

Sun Flower in Black & White

Some of my students discovered a garden of sunflowers on our field trip in class. I shot this with a zoom lens with it set on macro. The evening light was perfect because the low angle help create good shadows on the pedals of the flower. I converted to black and white by using the red channel and I added some warm tone after returning the image the an RGB file.

Clouds Over Harden Valley Knoxville

When using long lens you can actually compact visual information. In this image that I took during my Basic Photography Class at Pellissippi State. I used a 200mm telephoto lens. This helped simplify the composition by compacting the information making everything seem closer together. If you want mountains to look taller or even clouds like these to look bigger use a long lens. I also used the red channel to convert from color to B&W which helped produce a dark sky.

Kirk Cameron Preaching

I had an assignment to get some shots of Kirk Cameron when he spoke at a marriage conference in Knoxville. The image was also used on the front page of the Daily Times News Paper. My favorite link with Kirk Cameron is The Way of the Master. It's GREAT!!

Birds Over Parking Lot Light

I took my photography class on a field trip. All we did was go outside the classroom on the Pellissippi campus. I like to use this location because of the seemingly boring everyday subject matter and also because it is convenient. I noticed these birds roosting on top of the tall lights in the parking lot. One clap of the hands and they are off and flying. My point again is that we do not have to go to exotic places to find interesting subjects.

Blount County Library at Sunset

As I walked through the sculptures at the Greenbelt Park I look up and saw the colorful sky with the Blount County Public Library. I used a 200mm lens to crop in close.LynnFreeny.com

As The Crow Flies in Cades Cove

Here is another image I shoot in the pouring rain in Cades Cove with my photography class. I decided the crows flying route was more important than the horizon line. LynnFreeny.com

Water Puddle in Cades Cove

The rainy day with my photography class offered some interesting subjects. What looks like a mountain lake is actually a large water puddle caused by the heavy rain last Saturday in Cades Cove. LynnFreeny.com

White Tailed Deer in Cades Cove

Here is another image from the rainy trip with my class in the Cove. I was driving down Hyatt Lane when I drove up on this beautiful doe in some tall grass. I rolled my window down and started shooting. Don't let the weather discourage you from getting out there. More images of my rainy day in Cades Cove to come. LynnFreeny.com

Wet Crow in Cades Cove

I had a field trip to Cades Cove with my photography class. It rained the whole time. Even the crows got soaked. I mostly used my car as a shelter from the rain. Thanks to the weather very few people were in the cove. To my surprise my car also made a great blind to get close to some of the wildlife in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I have some more images to post of this rainy trip later. LynnFreeny.com

Ice and Snow Covered Trees at Night

The other night after a dusting of snow and light rain I decided to walk the dog before bed time. As I walked the dog I noticed these delicate white lines of snow outlining every tree limb in sight. I decided to put my camera on a tripod and use a strobe off the camera to light the interesting patterns. I set my camera for a 30 second exposure and my lens at f-8. During the 30 second exposure I walked around with my flash in hand pointing and flashing 5 times at different angles to light the tree limbs. The white balance was set on daylight which helped enhance the warm light of the porch. LynnFreeny.com

A Warm Day in January

I went to the Greenbelt Park in Maryville Tennessee today with camera in tow. It was so warm I thought it might be the first day of spring. I started shooting as the sun was getting low in the sky. Everywhere I looked was interesting because of the light. As I was walking through a tunnel I saw this wonderful shadow created by a little girl on a bicycle. These long shadows only happen when the sun is at a low angle close to the horizon line. I am shooting into the sun causing a rim lighting around the subject. I used the tunnel as a gobo to block the sun from the lens eliminating lens flare. LynnFreeny.com

Oak Ridge Swim Meet With Shadows

Swim meets are great events to photograph. Here at a USA Swim meet in Oak Ridge, Tennessee I was able to capture my two favorite subjects color and shadows. These shadows were created by the early morning light coming through the windows of the indoor pool. LynnFreeny.com

Yes We Are Open at Subway

Carrying my camera with me all the time helps me find interesting images anywhere. I guess you could call it some kind of therapy to keep me from becoming burned out as a photographer. I take a lot of pictures every day. Most are what the customer wants. This does very little for improving creativity. As a professional photographer you have to shoot images for yourself for fun to keep things fresh. This image was taken at a Subway sandwich place while I waited in line. LynnFreeny.com

Sunset From Foothills Parkway

I had one photographer tell me "once you have seen one sunset they are pretty much the same, boring". I think that is about as far from reality as one can get. Every sunset is different especially here in The Great Smoky Mountains where clouds seem to be ever present. This image was shoot from the Look Rock Tower along Foothills Parkway. I like to wait on the sun to disappear and watch as the colors increase in brilliance. Of course if you wait this long after the sun has gone down make sure you pack a flash light. LynnFreeny.com

Little Girl on Sidewalk

Black and white imaginary is much more abstract than color because this is a world we can only see through photography. If we walked around seeing everything in black and white color would be more abstract. I selected black and white for this subject because tone dominants the subject. The late afternoon light helps to create an elongate shadow of the girl.Note: I will be teaching another class in digital photography. Here is a link for details on this class.LINK FOR CLASS LynnFreeny.com

Swimming for the Touch

Many times angle of view can make all the difference in what you capture with a camera. On this image I used a 15mm lens pointed downward so I would only include the pool in the frame. I am close enough to get a little slash from the swimmer but it was worth it.Note: I will be teaching another class in digital photography. Here is a link for details on this class.LINK FOR CLASS LynnFreeny.com

Farm House With My Shadow

If you have not figured out by now if you are a regular reader of my blog, I love shadows! I saw a wonderful shadow of a tree on the side of this farm house in Greenback Tennessee. As I looked through the view finder I saw my own shadow. So I reached with one arm stretched out and took the picture. Evening light in the fall can produce some really elongated shadows. Go out and be a kid again looking at those long shadows of autumn.Note: I will be teaching another class in digital photography. Here is a link for details on this class.LINK FOR CLASS LynnFreeny.com

Man Reading Newspaper in Sculpture Garden at Market Square Knoxville

One of the best ways to simplify a subject is by using shallow depth of field. In this image of the newspaper reader I used a 200 mm lens set at f-2.8. Notice how the out of focus background helps the subject to stand out from a complex background. I also used a tripod to steady the camera to obtain a sharp image. Note: I will be teaching another class in digital photography. Here is a link for details on this class.LINK FOR CLASS.LynnFreeny.com

Tree Roots at Wesley Woods in Townsend Tennessee

I took my kids to Wesley Woods last week. It is a great place for kids to discover nature. While the kids were looked for water creatures in a small stream I noticed these giant roots on the bank. I used a tripod because of the slow shutter speed. It was a cloudy day and there was not much light along the bank of this small mountain stream. Because of the evenness of the light caused by the cloud cover I was able to get great details on the surface of the roots. Remember the sun is a small light source on a clear sky day and when it is cloudy the sun becomes a large light source. LynnFreeny.com

Great Parking Space in Knoxville Tennessee

I like looking for interesting things in the everyday world. Going to the Grand Canyon might be grand but I prefer the narrow alleys of Knoxville. I found this scene near Market Square. I am always looking for places to shoot from that are not eye level. The whole world is viewed by everybody at eye level. Go low or high to improve your photography.LynnFreeny.com

Battle Reenactment at Fort Loudon Tennessee

Reenactments are the closest thing to a time machine especially when shooting with a camera. I used a 300mm lens to get a close portrait of this soldier with his vintage spectacle. A close crop with the camera along with shallow depth of field (putting the background out of focus) helped to simplify the composition. Simplifying an image helps the viewer focus on the subject. LynnFreeny.com

Pig Sculpture in Oak Ridge

I found this pseudo pig in historical Jackson Square in Oak Ridge Tennessee. I used a large aperture to create shallow depth of field. This helped isolate this sidewalk beast. LynnFreeny.com

Shadows of a Little Girl

In the class I am teaching the assignment this week is to shoot shadows and reflections. This evening I could not help myself. There they were these beautiful shadows created by one light source. The light is spilling out from an open door causing the long shadows. LynnFreeny.com

Man Hole Cover for City Sewer

Sometimes looking down to see where you are stepping can pay off. This man hole cover in evening light makes an interesting subject. The sun is low in the sky creating strong shadows on the cover. LynnFreeny.com

Time Trials for Bike Race

By moving the camera at the same speed and direction as the bike racer I was able to get a sharp image of this bike at a shutter speed of 1/30. The background forms bured motion vertical lines caused by the moving of the camera. This method is called panning and works with any moving object. Try it!! Note in bright light you will have to use a small f-stop like 22 or 16 in order to shoot a slow shutter speed.LynnFreeny.com

Sunset on Clingman's Dome Great Smoky Mountains

When gas was cheap I liked going to the top of Clingman's Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains after work to catch sunsets. At an elevation of 6,643 feet sunsets can be spectacular. Maybe when we get electric cars I will start going up this mountain after work again. LynnFreeny.com

Reflecting Window in Black and White

When I shoot images like this I get questions and strange looks. This photograph reminds me of a painting hanging in an art gallery. I love the distortion of the reflected subject on the window.LynnFreeny.com

View from Foothills Parkway

Getting on top of a mountain and then looking out there it looks just the way the land looked when Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett were hunting in these same mountains. This view from on top Foothills Parkway in the Great Smoky Mountains is one of those views I never get tried of. Black and white was my choice to show the different shades of gray from close to far away mountains.LynnFreeny.com

Country Church in the Smoky Mountains

Back roads always have those hidden surprises that make them worth while to go down. This image is a church found on a back Sevier County Tennessee. In the sky I saw a small cloud coming into the frame. I waited until the cloud was in the right place to help balance the composition. I used a number 25 red filter to darken the blue sky. I am teaching a photography class at Pellissippi State. There is still time to sign up. Click here for more information. Lynn Freeny.com

Sand Fence on the Beach of the Gulf of Mexico

This is the second time I have posted this image. I was wanting to show the beauty of this area that is being threatened by Hurricane Gustav. The sand fence helps to preserve the dunes that are the only protection against heavy storms. The repeated shades of the shadows of the fence was why I shot this image. The reason I used black and white was because the subject is all about tone.LynnFreeny.com I am teaching a photography class at Pellissippi State. There is still time to sign up. Click here for more information.

Portrait With Window Light

Sometimes when doing portrait photography the best way to approach the process is to keep it simple. This portrait used a large light source, a window, to light the subject. The reflection of the window in her eyes makes a great catch light. Great lighting is just as important as composition. One of the greatest portrait photographer, Arnold Newman. LynnFreeny.com

Foothills Parkway After a Rain Storm

Black and White photography always bring to mind the likes of Ansel Adams , John Sexton , Minor White, and Ed Westcott. To say you are not influenced by these masters of black and white is naive. This image was shot along the Foothills Parkway in The Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. With the camera on a tripod and an umbrella to keep drizzle off I waited for the weather to clear. Patiences paid off, this image captured the edge of the rain and the fog that comes with it. Remember bad weather is always an opportunity in landscape photography.LynnFreeny.com I am teaching a photography class at Pellissippi State. There is still time to sign up. Click here for more information.

Looking Out of a Tent

In art angle of view can be as important as the subject itself. I am on my back shooting from the floor of a tent. Everyday subject are more interesting at angle that are lower or higher than eye level. I will be teaching a photography class at Pellissippi State in September. It is not too late to sign up. LynnFreeny.com

Fast Moving Clouds at Sunset

Most of the time when I am shooting clouds motion is not a factor. In this particular situation the clouds were moving quickly. I used a wide angle lens to include most of the sky. LynnFreeny.com

Sunset Clouds in Maryville Tennessee

I used to think I had to be at a special location to get an interesting image. Now I believe you can find great subjects anywhere. I no longer worry where I am with a camera. I just keep an eye out for things in everyday life to photograph. LynnFreeny.com

Backstage at Shakespeare at Market Square Knoxville Tennessee

Here is another image I took the other night at Shakespeare in the Park in Knoxville. This is actually backstage in the open air of Market Square. I used a wide angle lens to get a wide view of the subject. LynnFreeny.com

Shakespeare at Market Square Knoxville Tennessee

I went to Shakespeare in The Park last night. Wonderful outdoor performance in great weather. This image was shot just as it started to get dark. There was still just enough light in the sky to make a nice backdrop for the play.LynnFreeny.com

Long Shadows on Floor

Long shadows with a wide angle lens is a perfect combination. I used a low angle with the camera pointed downward to get the right angle to best show this very elongated shadow cast on the floor. LynnFreeny.com

Silhouette of a Moth

This image was shot through a window of a moth hanging upside down on the outside. I was glad this large moth was outside because he could eat through several wool sweaters. Cropping close and exposing so the moth would go black were the most effective way to simplify this subject. LynnFreeny.com

Water Puddle Next to a Swimming Pool

This strange abstract images was taken next to a swimming pool in low light. As I was shooting this subject I thought of a photography in Maine that I had taken a workshop with, John Paul Caponigro. LynnFreeny.com

Shadows of Trees Cast on House

I can not resist shadows that make a boring subject come to life. This siding on a house can be such an uninteresting subject. With the shadow it becomes this dynamic composition worth shooting. Remember do not underrate shadows. Give them a second look when you see them. LynnFreeny.com

Red Door With Shadow in Black Mountain NC

Some one told me to go down to Black Mountain North Carolina to find the best bright colors one fall. When I arrived in Black Mountain the fall colors were muted. I was just heading out of town toward the Blue Ridge Parkway when I saw this old building on the side of the road. I set up my tripod and composed the image then at the last minute I decided something was missing. I reached above my camera to cast my own shadow on the door. The shadow added direction to the image. LynnFreeny.com

Rice Grist Mill Norris Dam State Park Tennessee

I got some other images of Norris Dam State Park yesterday. This image of an old mill had to be black and white. The reason I say that was because the subject had more tone and less color to it. LynnFreeny.com

Under a Bridge at Norris Dam State Park

I was in Norris Dam State Park in Tennessee this evening. As I worked on a portrait job I saw this amazing reflection under a bridge. The light was perfected for just that moment. I am always looking with my camera even when I am on an assignment. LynnFreeny.com

Sun and Fog

Fog can cause some very strange looks. In this image I pointed the camera directly toward the sun. The fog helps to cause some directional lines. It can look very weird but different in foggy conditions. LynnFreeny.com

Cat Looking Out of the Shadows

Cats are funny creatures that like hiding in small spaces ready at any moment to jump out at you. In this image I liked where the shadow falls causing the eyes to be the main element in the composition. LynnFreeny.com

Start for Backstroke Heat

I am still taking swim pictures because it is hot and it is summer time. I alway like capturing a start to a race because you can see some of the most intense motions of the athletes. Here I freeze the swimmers as they push off the side of the pool into what looks like a great wall of water.LynnFreeny.com

Trees Lite By the Sun

In photography the most important element is light. Without it nothing can be recorded. In this image the sun light is going through the leaves of the trees. This causes the trees to become light sources. They are kind of like a nature lamp shade for the sun. LynnFreeny.com