by hankinslawrenceimages | Feb 20, 2015 | Flowers, News, Wildflowers, Workshops
Some of you have heard me talking about how wonderful it is to visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the spring for years. It’s my favorite national park – and late April is my favorite time of the year to visit. But just in case you haven’t heard me raving about the Smokies in the spring, I thought I’d share my top 5 reasons to photograph in the Smokies in the spring.
5. The entire park is open!!! Several of my favorite sections of the park including the Motor Nature Trail and the road to Clingman’s Dome are closed in the winter. By late April, everything in the park is open and I can photograph sunrises like this from the parking lot at Clingman’s Dome.
Smoky Mountain Sunrise © Patty Hankins
4. You can cause a Dogwood Jam!!!! If you’ve been to any of the national parks known for their wildlife, you’ve likely been caught in a bear jam or moose jam (a huge traffic jam caused when people see photographers along the side of the road with their cameras on tripods with long lenses). While bear jams are pretty common in the Smokies too, it’s the only park where I’ve caused a Dogwood Jam when I was photographing some dogwood blossoms in the woods with my long lens. About 10 cars parked behind my car, and several people came running over with their cameras asking “Where’s the bear?” You can just imagine the looks on their faces when I told them no bear – and that I was photographing the dogwood blossoms.
American Dogwood © 2013 Patty Hankins
3. Mountain streams!!! One of the wonderful photographic subjects in the Smokies is all the wonderful flowing water. From mountain streams to waterfalls, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of photographs of water just waiting to be taken in the park.
Smoky Mountain Stream © Patty Hankins
2. Great no-hike photo opportunities!!! There’s nothing like hiking in the mountains and seeing scenes that most people never see. When I’m in the Smokies, it’s not uncommon for me to hike a few miles up and back on a trail. But you don’t have to take long hikes to find wonderful photo opportunities in the park. All the photos in this article were taken within 100 feet of the side of the roads in the park.
Crested Dwarf Iris and Star Chickweed © 2009 Patty Hankins
1. Wildflowers!!!! My top reason for visiting the Smokies in the spring is the wildflowers. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the most biologically diverse places in the country. There are literally hundreds of different wildflowers that bloom in the park from March through October. The peak bloom and what the Smokies are best known for are the Spring Ephemerals the bloom briefly in the spring, usually in late April.
Yellow Trillium & Purple Phacelia © 2009 Patty Hankins
I am really looking forward to trip to the Smokies this spring. Bill and I would love to have you join us for our Spring in the Smokies workshop from April 26-30.
Early Bird Registration for the workshop ends on February 23 – and the registration fee will go up on February 24. So register now and save if you want to join me in the Smokies this spring.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Nov 28, 2014 | News
Are you looking for the perfect gift for the flower lover on your list – especially the one who is impossible to shop for?
If you are, I may have the solution to your gift-giving problems.
My 2015 Wildflower Calendar is a year-round reminder of the the wonders of wildflowers. $ 19.95
My boxed sets of notecards are perfect for friends and family members who love sending beautiful cards. $ 14.95
My book, Wildflower Meditations: A Gift for the Spirit brings a few moments of beauty into your day with 90 of my wildflower photographs and 90 inspirational quotations. $ 24.95
Shipping and handling for books, notecards and calenders usually starts at $ 5.95. Between now and December 8, shipping is FREE on all packages sent to U.S. addresses.
So order now to get the perfect gift for the flower lover on your list and save with Free Shipping.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Apr 23, 2014 | News
I’m really excited to share with you that I will have two of my flower photographs in the Washington ArtWorks “Spring: A Burst of Color” exhibit which will be on display for the month of May in the “Urban by Nature Gallery” at Washington ArtWorks, 12276 Wilkins Ave, Rockville, MD. The juried exhibition show features art of all mediums, including painting, mixed media and photography.
The show opens with a reception on May 2 from 6 pm to 9 pm at the gallery. The public is invited to attend and meet the artists. This is the first juried exhibition my photos have been accepted into – and I would love it if you would join me at the opening reception on May 2.
The gallery show will be on exhibit from May 2 through May 30, 2014, open from 10 am-10 pm Monday-Thursday, and 10am-4pm Friday – Sunday. The exhibit will be closed Monday, May 26 for Memorial Day.
Reception:
Friday, May 2
6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Washington ArtWorks
“Urban by Nature” Gallery – 3rd Floor
12276 Wilkins Ave.
Rockville, MD 20852
Looking forward to seeing you on May 2 at the opening reception
by hankinslawrenceimages | Apr 22, 2014 | News, Workshops
Are you frustrated that when you edit your photos they still don’t look the way you want them to?
Are you confused about what steps to take to edit your photos so they look their best?
Do you understand the potential of the Lightroom’s gradient tools and adjustment brush?
On June 7-8, Bill and I will be teaching a workshop designed to help you think about what your vision for one of your photos is – and how to edit so that you can share your vision with other. We’ll focus on specific Lightroom tools used for local adjustments, including the adjustment brush and gradient tools.
This workshop is designed for people who are ready to take their photo editing to the next level. You should be comfortable with using Lightroom’s Library Module and the global adjustment tools (Crop, Spot Removal Tool, Basic Panel, HSL Panel) in the Develop Module. You should have a sense of what you what to say with your photos – but may not know how to edit your photos to share your vision.
If you aren’t comfortable using the global commands for editing in Lightroom, you may want to take my Introduction to Lightroom workshop before taking this one. We’ll do a quick review of some of the topics from my Introduction to Lightroom workshop during this workshop but will not be discussing them in detail.
By the end of the workshop you’ll know:
- How to think through your editing process before you start moving sliders
- How to emphasize what you want to draw your viewer’s eye towards in your edited photos
- How to use the local adjustment tools (gradient filter, radial filter & adjustment brush) to move past just doing global edits on your photos
To participate in the workshop, you’ll need:
- A laptop computer with an external mouse or graphics tablet (recommended)
- Lightroom 5.3 installed on your computer (30 day trial version is fine)
- A willingness to learn
Registration Fee: $ 197
Full details about the workshop including tentative schedule and registration information is available on my website.
Questions: Email me and we can find a time to talk
by hankinslawrenceimages | Jan 10, 2014 | News, Virginia, Workshops
In late December, Bill and I made a quick trip to Chincoteague VA. We spent time photographing and figuring out details for our January 24-26 workshop we’ll be teaching there.
I thought I’d share some of the photos I took that weekend.
We photographed a wonderful sunrise in the marsh
Sunrise at Chincoteague © 2013 Patty Hankins
Sunrise at Chincoteague © 2013 Patty Hankins
Some wildlife – including a pony who was where he wasn’t supposed to be 🙂
Snow Geese at Assateague Light © 2013 Patty Hankins
Willets and Snow Geese © 2013 Patty Hankins
Great Blue Heron © 2013 Patty Hankins
Pony at Chincoteague © 2013 Patty Hankins
Sunlit marsh grasses
Marsh grasses © 2013 Patty Hankins
And ended the day with a beautiful sunset.
Chincoteague Sunset © 2013 Patty Hankins
We’ve still got a few spaces left in our workshop if you’d like to join us in Chincoteague on January 24-26, 2014.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Oct 30, 2013 | News
I will be at the at the 12th Annual Arts Festival at the Harford Day School in Bel Air, Maryland on Saturday November 2.
I will have a number of new photographs on display at the show. You can see all of my new photos on my website.
Show hours are Saturday from 9 AM to 5 PM. Harford Day School is located at 715 Moores Mill Road in Bel Air. I’ll be in booth #34 in the Field House.
Hope to see you at the 12th Annual Arts Festival at Harford Day School this weekend.