Fall Down in Georgia - Part 2

The drive up to Brasstown Bald was done in the dark, but as I was heading west to Dawsonville I was really able to see the bright Fall colors. I have been up to Helen several times in the last few years during this time of year, but never this far North. The trip to my next stop was only about an hour, but the scenery was so beautiful I was hardly in a rush. Coming out of Blairsville was mostly rolling landscape, but it eventually turned into the curvy up and down roads that I remember as a kid. I also got to go through downtown Dahlonega. There was much more green in the trees than at the top of Brasstown. It made for a beautiful blend between all the earth-tones and a bright blue background. The blue sky is beautiful in itself, but my Circular Polarizer really makes it pop in my photos. I was looking forward to using it. And I was really looking forward to my next stop, the tallest cascade in the Southeast, Amicalola Falls.

I did stop a few times on the way to take some pictures of the scenery, but eventually made it to Amicalola Falls. I had read on the GeorgiaParks.org website that there are a lot of visitors this time of year and there may be a lot of people. I found this to be very true as I pulled into the park. I was glad I was there on a Friday and not on the weekend; there were cars everywhere. I made my way to the small parking lot and fought the crowd for a spot. There seemed to be a lot of Buick’s.....im just sayin. The top of the Falls was right by the parking lot, I almost walked past it. Kind of anti-climactic when I found out that was it. I then found a stairway that lead down to the base of Amicalola Falls, and started down them. The sturdy wooden staircase zigzags along the side of the falls, but there were really no good spots to get a picture of it. This trek was probably the most colorful part of the day though as I was just beneath the canopy of colored leaves. The sun was shining bright and really lit up the path with bright orange, green, and yellow colors. About a 5 or 10 minute decent and I came to the base of the falls. The staircase wrapped in front of the falls and then continued on down. This made for a very convenient spot for taking pictures, however there was little creativity that could be done. Since you have to stay on the staircase, every angle of picture you take has already been taken before. I also had to wait in a line of sorts to get to the spot I wanted to shoot from. Nonetheless, still a beautiful site to see the falls surrounded by the autumn colors. I got a few pics and headed back to the truck.

Amicalola Falls is the tallest waterfall in the southeast at 729 feet.

If you want to see the falls in HD watch this on YouTube.

There were some colorful trees near the parking lot, so I decided to play around with my camera before calling it a day. Anytime I go out on a photo shoot I like to get a unique image that I can use to make an album cover. This picture below is what I came up with as the Photo Album cover and header for my blog post.
It was quite fun getting these spinning pics, and probably entertaining to watch for those nearby. If I had’ve know how cool they look on screen, i probably would have stayed there spinning for hours trying to get the perfect shot. My goal was to focus on a single leaf and then blur everything around it. I didn’t get exactly that, but it was fun experimenting with my camera settings. For the photographers out there- put your shutter speed to about 1/20 and continuously snap the shutter and you spin in a circle. It helps if the subject is directly above you as it was here. Be sure your ISO speed is not too high as that will reduce the bluuuuuurrrrr that you get in the pic. Also, you may need to use manual focus if your autofocus is going crazy as you snap so many pics while moving.
Well after all of this, it was time to head to the house.

 

I hope you enjoyed reading about my adventure, and I hope it inspires you to take a trip to north Georgia before the winter sets in. There was still some green in the trees but with the cold temperatures being more prevalent I’m sure the leaves will be gone soon. I would say that the first couple of weeks in November would be the optimum time to see the fall colors at their peak. It’s an easy trip and it’s very rewarding, even if it’s just a day trip like mine. As you can see I only made two stops, Brasstown Bald and Amicalola Falls, and it was well worth it. If you live in the Loganville area, Brasstown Bald is only about 2 hours away and Amicalola Falls is less than that. Plus there are plenty more options for you to add to your journey. For example Helen, which was on the way for me, or Vogel State Park, which is very close to Brasstown Bald. No matter where you decide to adventure, I hope you are able to take a gander at the beautiful fall down in Georgia.




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Fall Down in Georgia - Part 1

Every year, when the leaves start to change color, I remind myself that I need to get up to north Georgia before the Fall is over. This year was no exception, and last Thursday I decided to plan my adventure. I decided to try and catch the sunrise somewhere, and then get some pictures of the fall colors.

My Friday started early, way too early. The first part of my trip involved beating the sun to the highest peak in Georgia, Brasstown Bald. I left a little before 5 and about 2 hours later I was in the parking lot at the base of the peak. It is about a 1/2 mile trail hike to the 4,784 feet above sea level overlook. I got my camera bag and tripod and headed toward the trail. When I got to the trail start, I was surprised by the “Caution : Ice” signs and yellow rope everywhere. I strategically found a way around the ropes and made my way to the trail. Ironically, I slipped on some ice when doing so, haha!
As I made my way up the trail to the top, I began to realize a couple things.
One: “It’s really cold...........in fact.........was that snow on the ground? yes.......oh my!” - Apparently it had snowed quite a bit the day before.
Two: “This is not a normal 1/2 mile hike......this trail is a constant incline.......ok, now I need to jog......ok, I think I need to walk.”

Finally I made it to the top of the peak, and to the overlook patio. The patio was covered in snow with up to 2 or 3 inches in the corners. I had made it in plenty of time before the sun hit the horizon, but I could already tell that the conditions would not be very good. In just the 1/2 mile hike from the parking lot, there was a lot of cloud cover and wind. Not great for getting a sunrise shot. I made my way to the eastern overlook on the patio and setup my camera.

After my heart rate slowed from my race up the mountain, I soon realized that it was stinkin’ cold up here. I had 6 layers, and the bitter cold was still getting through. I was glad that I had grabbed my gloves as I left the house, but they only helped a little. And it’s really hard to take pictures with frozen phalanges. I called my camera all sorts of bad words as I tried to hit the the shutter button with my ice-cubed fist. hahah! Really though, the view was amazing and no picture could do it justice. I always think of Psalm 50:1 when I see a sunrise, and know that these are the sights the author was writing about.


Above is a timelapse video of the sunrise from Brasstown Bald's Eastern overlook.
It is about 90 minutes compressed to 2 minutes.
Click to view on YouTube to see in 720 HD.

I was able to get a few decent pictures, but not what I was hoping for. I also took my pocket vid cam and was able to get the sunrise on video. When the sun had fully lit the land, I could really see the beauty. From the overlook patio you can see out very far in every direction. The fall colors were apparent no matter which way you looked and the trees near the overlook were still covered in ice. Really a beautiful sight to see. I stayed up there for about 2 hours enjoying the scenery and snapping pics.

As I headed down the trail to the parking lot, the snow and ice began melting off of the trees. I dodged the frozen drops as i quickly descended down the trail. From the parking lot you could again look out over the mountains of north Georgia and see the fall colors. And looking back up toward the overlook tower you could still see the bright fall colors meet the white ice in the tree line. What beautiful sights to see from the highest point around. It was definitely fall down in Georgia and I was so glad I got to see it in the mountains this year. The first part of my adventure was over, but as I headed toward Dawsonville and Amicalola Falls the beautiful scenery would only continue. (Read Part 2 - Click Here)


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A Whole New Web

Did you hear any of the fuss about Flash content on the web over the last few years? If you are like me, all the web lingo tends to go way over my head. All I know is that I like cool websites. I don’t really care how they are made. I know a little about HTML, but I try to avoid it as much as my websites will let me. However, as much as I dislike coding talk, I found a website the other day that made the subject become almost interesting. ( ahhh - but only for 1 blog post )

Flash, JavaScript, HTML5, WebGL are all buzzwords about how a website is created, on the backend. Over the next few years these, and probably other technologies are going to make surfing the web a whole new experience. We will see better, more dynamic websites, that are simpler and faster on the backend. The folks at www.creativejs.com have kinda started a community site for JavaScript aficionados. One of the things they do, is search the internet for cool and creative examples of this new web tech in use.

Instead of talking about the backend of a website, I am going to take the advice of my last blog post and Let the Pictures Do the Talking - Or in this case, games, videos, demos, etc. If you’ve got a few minutes, check out some of these interactive websites on the link below. Most are pretty simple to figure out. I will have to say that for me, the 3D racecar is the coolest, and Sinuous a close 2nd. Here is a video of my browser as I tested out a few of the games. (music during the video is from the game “Sinuous”)


Link to article:

http://creativejs.com/2011/09/a-mini-retrospective/

Links to Games:
1) http://www.sinuousgame.com/
2) http://rappdaniel.com/experiment/cubed/
3) http://helloracer.com/webgl/

Thanks for reading,
Enjoy!

Let the Pics Do the Talking

Team Up Mentoring - Monroe, GA
Personally, designing brochures is one of the most difficult items that I work with. There are several reasons for this, but I guess the main one is that you often have to focus most of your time on text structure and layout. When this happens, the creativity portion tends to fly out the window. Well, I just kinda rediscovered a way to creatively approach a brochure design and thought I would share the story. If your stuck with a boring layout, you only need one special ingredient - PICTURES!

Everyone has heard the phrase, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. I recently had a couple projects where those words rang out in my mind, and I am so glad they did. When I was asked to do a brochure for Team Up Mentoring in Monroe, GA I was not really sure which direction to go. At first I was just going to update the current design that they had with new pictures and a fresh look. However, when the director gave me tons of spectacular pictures to choose from, I knew I really needed to focus on these. The purpose of the brochure was to help create interest in their program and these pictures would be perfect for that. Really all I needed was a layout that “let the pictures do the talking”. I remembered a picture frame idea I had used several years ago on a flyer, and decided to give it a try.



With the abundance of great pictures, I think the Team Up Mentoring brochure design was a success. What’s funny is just last week I had another brochure design request. A friend of mine, Chris Waye, is helping set up a missions trip called the “UK Vision Tour”. He needed an informative brochure to hand out to those that might be interested in a trip to England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Your probably thinking what I was thinking! What better way to convince someone to go to the these special places than with some awesome pictures! Once again, I was able to get my hands on some spectacular images to use in the brochure. And what better way is there to get folks signed up for a “UK Vision Tour” than to simply let the pictures do the talking.

So remember, next time you’ve got a project where words just won’t do the job - let your pictures do all of the talking!

UK Vision Tour 2012

PS:
If you would like more information about these click the pics or the links below.

Team Up Mentoring, Monroe, GA:
http://www.teamupmentoring.org/

UK Vison Tour:
http://www.totheisles.com/uk-vision-tour-2012/

New Football Season = New Good Commercials

Every year about this time I remind myself that Preseason NFL football is meaningless. I mean goodness, just last year was the perfect example. The San Francisco 49ers were 4-0 in the Preseason. They would end the Regular Season with one of the worst records in the NFC at 6-10.

“And to my only son Chauncey I bequeath my Direct TV......”

I am not here to bore you to death with sports statistics (though if you stay tuned I will give you some interesting numbers at the end)***. The NFL and its multibillion dollar majesty will bring out the very best advertising that everyone has to offer. You see all the corporate bigwigs know that people watch the NFL, and therefore people watch commercials during the NFL. So I guess Im trying to get everyone excited that the 2011 “OFFICIAL COMMERCIAL SEASON” is just around the corner.

I don’t know about you but I just love commercials! Wait.....let me take that back. I love gooooood commercials - yeah! And i get really stressed out when I see bad commercials. Like just the other day I saw a commercial with an indy car and a base jumper. It made no sense whatsoever! I began to rant about how awful the commercial was, and I couldn’t stop until I had convinced my roommate to agree. Anyways, back to happy thoughts.

With the new “OFFICIAL COMMERCIAL SEASON” just around the corner I thought I would share some of my favs so far this year. I know I will forget a few, but had to compile a 2011 Fav’s list recently to share with a friend. So here is what I’ve got so far.
Please let me know what you think about these, and send some links to your favorites. I do love a good commercial!

FUNNIEST:
DIRECTV - The Will
(featuring Chauncey......hilarious facial expression. I love it.  Chauncey is not the only star of the latest set of Direct TV commercials. There are several "characters" that spin the benefits of using Direct TV - The Whale, The Truth, Russian Guy.  If you get really bored, they are all worth watching. )

 

MOST CREATIVE:
Fox Sports South - BP with Chipper
(I know im a Braves homer, but this is a really good commercial, especially since its a regional one. These regional commercials are usually really bad trust me! I also give kudos, because this was really cheap and easy to put together. Two words that “the network” managers love to hear. Im pretty sure this was done in about 5 minutes at spring training this year. Plus it cleverly show’s Chipper’s favorite hobby to Braves fans)

MOST PROFITABLE:
Burger King - The New Whopper
(Finally a good quality fast food commercial. Im amazed at how many big corporations waste tons of money on bad advertising. Burger King went from slightly humorous “tiny hands” and “creepy King” commercials to HD footage of their Whopper that will make your mouth water. I actually want one right now!)

***Interesting NFL facts for sports nerds:
•2011 Chicago Bears went winless in all 4 games in the Preseason - yet they would finish with one of the best records in the NFC 11-5 (only trailing my beloved Falcons which choked after a 13-3 season, uggghhh!)

•2009 NFL revenue was a wopping $7.6 Billion dollars!

•2010 revenue has not been released yet, but are estimated to be over $8 Billion!

•Of the 32 NFL teams, the Dallas Cowboys are worth the most at $1.65 Billion

•I don’t know if you have heard, but they built a new $1.15 Billion dollar stadium last year.

•The bottom of the list is Oakland ($797 Million), Minnesota, and my beloved Atlanta Falcons. Probably because of their ties to the Georgia Dome.

•According to Reuters, the 2011 Super Bowl commercials will cost around $3 Million dollars for a 30 second spot

Most of this info is from this Forbes.com article
http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/02/nfl-pro-football-business-sportsmoney-football-values-09-values.html