I found another great video tourial that you can view by clicking here.  It is by a great Photoshop guru, Mark Johnson whose workshop I was blessed to attend.  The video is on how to create the “grunge” look through the use of textures.  If you don’t already follow him, he is a must to RSS.

Until the next tip, I hope you enjoy!

I was recently invited on a media tour of seven Sevierville restaurants because I photograph many tourist attractions and eateries in the Smokies for various publications. Many of the restaurants we visited are included in the latest edition of The Insiders’ Guide to the Great Smoky Mountains, a travel guidebook I shot the cover for. The book, published by The Globe Pequot Press, will be available in bookstores nationwide next month.

The media tour was scheduled to start at 10:30 am and be done by 5:00 pm.  So let’s do the math….6 and a half hours to visit 7 restaurants–that makes about 0.9 hours each.  Covering a place well in 0.9 hours is not an easy task, especially when you factor in driving time.  The restaurants spanned all the way from out at English Mountain to all along the main Sevierville drag.  The timing got trickier still when each owner or manager wanted to tell us about all of their establishment’s unique features.  The restaurants offered an amazing diversity of experiences, from getting to catch the fish you eat to listening to the owner singing gospel songs or playing guitar.  The day was amazing, very entertaining and informative.

And then, of course, you have to factor in the time it takes to actually eat the food. How could I offend the owners or disappoint my taste buds by not sampling all of their delicacies, from ribs to snow cream?  I had time to wolf down a few samples at each place, but by the end of the day, I felt sluggish and stuffed to my gills. (No, the trout fishing restaurant was first.)

All this left me with only 15-20 minutes at the most to shoot each place. I quickly had to decide what, who, and where to shoot.  It demanded a thorough knowledge of my camera, the ability to make quick decisions about how to light the shot, quick posing of waitresses and owners, and telling as much of the restaurant’s story as possible with each shot. This renders down into what is called photojournalism—a wild whirlwind of photographic fun.  Now, where is the next dessert sample?

Duggar from 18 and Counting

Duggars from 18 and Counting

Duggars about to ride Zorb

I was blessed to be hired by the PR firm for Pigeon Forge, TN, to cover a celebrity visit. The Duggars from 18 and Counting, a TLC reality show, came to Pigeon Forge for several days. If you are not familiar with the Duggars, they are a Christian couple with 18 children so far–and who knows how many more to come. You can visit their websites here and here. During their stay, they lodged in a large log cabin, visited the Pigeon Forge Welcome Center, rode Zorb (where you get into a giant hamster ball that rolls down a hill), went to the Smoky Mountains, hung out at the Old Mill complex and made pottery, went to the Dixie Stampede dinner show, visited Dolly Parton at Dollywood, met Pigeon Forge’s mayor and council, rode in the Dollywood parade, and I don’t know what else.

Photographing the Duggars was a very interesting assignment. With 18 kids, the Duggars run on what they call “Duggar time.” While our schedule said we were to meet them at 9 am, they didn’t arrive until 4 pm. Getting 18 kids together is difficult enough, but in addition, the dad (Jim Bob) had a dental emergency that gummed up the works even further. I soon realized that being fluid was going to be an important part of this assignment. I was on call the entire time they were in town, not knowing if or when I would be asked to shoot. I got some great images for the firm and felt blessed that I was able to overcome these and still other challenges quickly. For example, their film crew of about five or six people were constantly running about, and while I had to stay out of their frame, I had to keep them out of mine at the same time. Furthermore, because any flash interfered with their video cameras, I was unable to use fill flash–generally a great idea when the sun is high to fill in the shadows with a little light. To offset this challenge, I was very cognizant of where the light was coming from at all times. I quickly adapted and started to pick up on the timing of the film crew so that I could get the images that were on my shot list.  It was a bit difficult getting 18 kids together for group portraits. And keeping their names straight was also confusing because they all began with the letter J.

This was a great assignment, a wonderful opportunity to open the door with a PR firm that was fun to work with and a fabulous learning experience. I also got a good amount of exposure to many businesses in Pigeon Forge as well as the department of tourism. AND, can you believe it, I am now a star! TLC divided the visit into two episodes. The first episode featured me in two scenes. In the first one, I was in the background photographing the children. In the second scene, I was the main focus, getting the family together in front of the Pigeon Forge marquee and taking their photo. I haven’t seen the second episode yet but hope to have more air time there, too. I am now a superstar! Want my autograph? I’ll be happy to get right to it after I clear a space on my shelf for an Emmy–just in case.