The opening reception for the exhibit is October 6th from 7-9pm and features delicious hors d’oeuvres, fantastic photography and a nail-biting awards presentation. (OK, maybe not quite nail-biting excitement, but the competition is fierce!)

This year there were over 480 images submitted, and the judge, Fay Gold, selected 101 for the exhibit. I had three images juried in; “Hurricane Carnival Ride“, “International Harvester Hood Ornament” (pictured at left) and “Glowing River.” Each of my images are matted with double-white mats and framed in black. My framed images are all available for purchase at $195 each.

If you are in the area, stop by the RVAC and take in some beautiful photography!

What does “juried” mean? A juried show is where photographs are submitted for entry and a judge(s) selects the photographs that will make up the show. This year there were more than 320 entries and 85 were selected for the show. Two of my entries were selected for the show:

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Sunrise on the Highlands (click photo to enlarge) was shot this past June at the Atlanta Athletic Club, in Johns Creek, Georgia. My employer sponsored a day at the club and I took advantage of the beautiful scenery on the golf course prior to the shot gun start.

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Sunlit Trees, Smith Plantation (click photo to enlarge) was shot this past April at the historic Smith Plantation in Roswell, Georgia. I used an “impressionistic photo painting” technique where I moved the camera while taking the photo. The movement of the camera caused the colors of the sunlit trees to streak, similar to an artist’s brush strokes. If you squint, you can see the tree trunks and the green foliage in the branches as well as on the ground.

The Jones Bridge section of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area  is one that I have driven by many times, but have never explored. I knew from a friends Flickr photostream that Jones Bridge offered an old, half torn-down bridge which was my intended subject for the morning.

Scout the Location Online

There are three sites I visited Friday night, the National Park Service (NPS), Google Maps and Flickr. While looking at other photos of the bridge/park on Flickr I learned that on the east side of the river is Jones Bridge Park, one of Gwinnett County’s parks.

Prepare Equipment

Before I left Saturday morning, I reformatted my memory card, selected three lenses (Nikon 18-200mm, Nikon 35mm and Tamron 10-24mm), circular polarizer filters, and reviewed my ISO, auto-focus and file format settings on my camera. I attached the tripod mount to the bottom of the camera and checked to make sure I had the wireless remote control in my bag. Lastly, I brought a LED flashlight for my hike. Knowing that I would arrive in the dark, I wanted everything to be ready to go when I took it out of my car.

At the Site

When I arrived at the park around 6:30 am, I was pleased that the gates were already open (yeah!), parked my car and gathered my equipment from the trunk. It was still dark and I was glad that I had my flashlight. I reviewed the park map and began my short hike to the bridge. While the bridge and the morning sun provided some good shots, I had not found anything that I was crazy about.

Plan B

I decided to drive (several miles) to the park on the east side of the river. By the time I arrived and explored the east side waterfront area, the sun was providing full light, typically not what I desire. I continued to shoot photos of the bridge from the east side and with the help of my circular polarizer filter, was able to capture my favorite image of the morning (featured to the right). In this image, the sunlight highlights the rusty half-bridge as the lush green foliage and deep blue sky reflect in the water below.

View all six photos from my Jones Bridge set on Flickr.