Bring on Summer!

Stone Mountain State Park in beautiful Roaring Gap, NC is a heavenly place.  Kids and families flocked there last weekend to splash in the falls, hike the trails, and generally kick off that lovely season called summer. 

The Old "Alligator or Driftwood?" Debate

Deep concern was expressed by a passenger in that kayak. You never know what could be lurking in Lake Brandt.

Hug a Tree, Brother

Dude, it's almost Earth Day. And it's 4/20. Coincidentally, this weekend also featured the 2008 NC Tree Climbing Championship which happened to take place in Freedom Park in Charlotte. All joking aside, these people are serious and smart and very, very strong. They are arborists and tree surgeons and biologists and generally interesting people from all over the world. They can climb a tree faster than you can put your lens on your camera. No kidding. Here are a few shots from today.

International Race

One more shot from Maine, since I haven't been able to shoot much while away from school these last two weeks. These International One Design sailboats race several times a week during the summer in the waters around Northeast Harbor. This was the at the end of one of the Saturday afternoon races this August. After many years of trying to shoot these races without a telephoto lens, I finally had one this year and was able to get in pretty tight. Maybe next year I'll actually get an interesting moment! Anyway, I love these boats and watching (and hearing) all those spinnakers come billowing out is always exciting.


Shot on Nikon D1H
telephoto lens
f5.6 1/250
ISO 200