Panther Creek Falls Trail

Panther Creek Falls
Fannin County, GA
3.5 miles to Panther Falls

       It's well into the new year and I must say this year has been a strange one so far. It seems as if everything shifted leaving things scattered, chaotic and in need of growth in order to regain balance. I know i'm not the only one thats felt this shift that happened, many around me, far and near have been experiencing it as well. This escape into the woods helped clear my head, recharge my energy and allowed me time and space to digest the everything thats been happening since the stars and planets came into such a rare alignment earlier this year.

       It had been too long since i'd laid my head down to sleep under the stars whilst listening to natures sweet lullaby. I excitedly packed my smelly backpack and joined some friends for an overnight trip to Panther Creek Falls in North Georgia. The hike in gradually declined, playing peek a boo with Panther Creek, providing a good warm up before it leveled out to a quiet and forgiving trail with a small scramble just before reaching the falls. 

Middle of 21, beginning of 22.

I haven't updated my blog since I hiked the Smokies over the summer. 

So now i'm going to play catch up. 

Here are some of my favorite cellphone snaps & DSLR snaps from the past six months.

Illinois & Wisconsin

The Great Smoky Mountains.

       About a month ago me and three other friends, grabbed our backpacks and drove to the Smokies for a three day, two night hiking & camping adventure. The smokey Mountains are beautiful, these photographs don't do it justice. We got to experience more fireflies then i've ever seen before. We swung from Tarzan vines, naked, screaming are heads off. We played in creeks and streams. And we had the time of our lives.

Day One
Hiking to the Jumpoff

BTS of my recent self portrait.

       It's been a long time since i've done a serious self portrait. I forgot how therapeutic it can be & I will start taking them more regularly, like I use to! Above are all of the shots I liked from the series.

Here is a before & after for the photograph I released today!
Its just a simple self portrait, but I thought that it was a perfect example of the power & impact Curves in Photoshop can have on an image. I achieved this image by using Curves, Layer Masks & a small amount of Gradient Maps.
I am currently working on my own color study (because i'm a black & white fanatic). So i'm pushing myself to get out of my comfort zone color wise. So far I am extremely happy with the results!