Ramble On

Trigger...It's Part Of Willie's Distinct Sound

2012-02-14T16:07:00.015-04:00

Last weekend a good friend offered me a free ticket to see Willie Nelson in concert at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, GA. Considering what I had planned for the evening, this was an easy decision....hell yes! I have been a fan of Willie's since the late 1970's and it's been years since I've seen him in concert.

But this blog is not about Willie, it's about Trigger, that old guitar that is so worn out it has holes in it from decades of use. The sound that comes from Trigger is one of the most unique sounds in music. If only one note from his guitar is heard, most of his fans would immediately know it was Willie Nelson playing that tune.

Willie was given a three cord electric guitar by the Baldwin company in 1969, but soon the guitar was broken by the intense style he played. He sent the guitar to Shot Jackson in Nashville and was told it was beyond repair. Shot offered to replace it with a Martin nylon-string acoustic and Willie asked him to add the pickup from his Baldwin guitar and then...Trigger was born.

After decades of strumming a guitar pick across the strings a large hole has been worn into Trigger near the sound hole. Many guitars have a pick-guard where the hole is, but Trigger is a classical guitar and is meant to be played with fingers instead of a pick. Now, I'm no guitar tech, but Trigger's age and that big hole has to be a huge part of the sound that Willie creates when he strums that ol' guitar. Over the years, hundreds of Willie's friends have signed Trigger; from musicians, athletes, coaches and even lawyers. Due to his infamous run-ins with the IRS, Willie has known his share of lawyers over the years. As a matter of fact, in 1991 during one of his bouts with the IRS, he had his daughter Lana pick up Trigger from the studio and send it to him in Maui. An IRS agent was on the way to to list properties to be auctioned off and Willie was afraid Trigger would be auctioned off with everything else. He hid Trigger at his manager's office until his tax debt was paid off two years later and then...out came Trigger again.

And so, after more than four decades of making music and helping Willie write countless hits, Trigger is still hanging in there. On the day that Willie passes from this world, that guitar should never be strummed again. It should be put in a museum under a glass case and be given the rest of time off after a lifetime of making great music.

Thanks for letting me Ramble On...

Celtic Woman

2012-02-11T22:59:00.022-04:00

This week I had a shoot with Celtic Woman, a musical ensemble with four lovely lassies(as they say in Ireland) singing traditional Irish as well as contemporary tunes. They were in town to shoot a new concert DVD at Atlanta's Fox Theater. It was an early morning shoot, so I wasn't happy at having to wake up before 5AM, but it's a tough life and someone had to be there. Sometimes it's so hard to do these shoots, I mean who would really want to hang out all morning long with four beautiful women with incredibly sexy Irish accents, listening to them sing and tell stories of life in Ireland and on the road.

Yeah...it sucks, but like I said, someone had to be there. Never let it be said that I won't take on the tough jobs. Actually, I've been to Ireland twice on two week trips. Both times I was hired to shoot for a week in Galway on the western coast and then I stayed for another week after the shoot seeing Ireland on my own time.

River Corrib, Galway, Ireland

I rented a car and drove up and down the western coast of Ireland staying in B&B's, traveling through typical Irish countryside, visiting ancient castles and landmarks and checking out every pub that had music coming out of it.

All of the people I met while driving the countryside were consistently such friendly people. This was one of those slam on the brake moments. I was driving through Doolin in County Clare and these three girls were playing traditional Irish instruments outside this music shop. No….I didn’t set this up.

And Irish Woman just reminded me how nice the Irish are. It's early in the morning and they're in a small studio in a foreign country and they made themselves right at home...laughing and smiling all the while. At the end of the shoot they even asked me to take this picture of us all together. What? It could happen…

Okay...I'm just Ramblin' On now.....

Defining Photography

2012-02-02T15:46:00.011-04:00

The word photography comes from the Greek words phos(light) and graphis(stylus or paintbrush), which together mean to "write or paint with light." Over the years as I have learned more and more about photography, I have found that this is the most important thing to understand to be able to take better images. With this blog I am going to try and give a few examples of how much light can influence how we feel about an image.

First let me say, to take really good landscape images you have to be willing to either get up early to catch the morning light or maybe forego that relaxing dinner to catch the last light before the sun sets. These are the two best times of day for landscape photography. The reason for this is that the light from the sun at these times of day gives off a warmer cast than the boring white light of midday. I won't get too deep into the science of this, but it is about the distance the light has to travel through the atmosphere when it's closer to the horizon, which effects the specrums of colors that reach the landscape. Also, the shadows created at these times of day usually can enhance the drama within the image.

Let me first show you two examples of a sunrise at Reflection Lake in Mount Rainier National Park. Notice how the different colors created as the sun comes up makes you feel differently about the images, even though they are practically the same shots.

The sun has yet to crest the top of the mountain in this image, which gives it a cooler appearance.

In this image the sun has just crested the ridge and has added a warmer feeling to the scene.

The next set of images are four shots taken at practically the same location as the sun sets on Otto Lake in Alaska. I can't remember the exact time frame for these images, but my guess would be about an hour or so. Notice as the sun goes down, light hitting the landscape changes not only in color temperature, but intensity, as well.

I would call the lighting on this image more like late afternoon. It is warmer than midday light, but still has a whiter look to it. This is a really good time to begin shooting because the shadows are just starting to creep across the landscape, as you can see in the foreground.

In this image the sun is so close to the horizon that only the mountains can catch the light. At these times of day, a split neutral density filter is needed because the amount of light hitting the mountains and the foreground differs so greatly that the foreground would appear too dark to make a good image and in some cases may go almost black. This is not manipulating the image, it is just giving you a helping hand to show a closer representation of what you saw when you pushed the shutter release.

In this image, the sun is just setting down below the horizon, which means only the last levels of the red spectrum are allowed to hit the landscape, giving a pinkish hue to the light. It gives the image a very soft feel and is one of my favorite lights of the day to photograph.

The sun has now set below the horizon, which now gives the image more of a blue cast. But in return the colors of the leaves on the lake shore are a bit more intense.

To me, all of these are good images but because of the different ways that the sun is lighting the landscape, the way in which the images are interpreted by the viewer is greatly effected. Because of the effect that light has on my images, I usually only shoot landscapes for a few hours a day. Most sunny days when I'm shooting landscapes, I usually quit shooting within an hour after sunrise and only begin shooting again just an hour or so before sunset. Many times when I'm shooting in a national park or similar location, since I woke up at maybe 4 or 5 AM to get to the location I wanted to shoot, I find myself a nice spot by a lake or river to take a nap after lunch since I won't be shooting any images once the sun is higher in the sky.

Now cloudy days are another story, but I'll save that for another blog. Hope this has helped you understand just a little bit more what it takes to be able to take better images that you would be proud to hang on your wall and not just snapshots that end up in a box in the closet under your winter coats.

Thanks for letting me Ramble ON

2011 In Pictures

2012-01-30T01:30:00.023-04:00

Well, 2011 for the most part was a fun year. I thought I would share some of my favorite shots from Rambling On down the highway and some cool stuff from some of my shoots. Kind of a way to show what kind of year I had in the fun factor....I hope you enjoy.

I'll start off with Lakota and a rare snowfall in Atlanta. The winter of 2011 gave ALT more snow than usual and of course Lakota loved every minute of it.

Although I'm a rock and roller at heart, The Zac Brown Band has become one of my favorite country artists. I did a shoot with him at his house and he was a great guy to hang out with.

Of course it doesn't hurt that he offered to let me ride his bad ass Ducati Diavel, 165 HP of pure power.

And of course I had just had to get the picture that makes us look like good buddies...well he did invite me to go riding with him and his friends sometime. That could be something for 2012.

I also did a shoot with Maroon 5...I'm not much of a fan, but the kids seem to dig 'em... : )

I took several road trips to the North Carolina Mountains, which I always consider my one true home...with Montana running a very close second.

The Blue Ridge Parkway has to be one of the best places in the world to ride your bike. I have logged thousands of miles on this scenic highway, including two end to end to end rides.

I Rode down the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi, 455 miles through forest, farmland and swamps with no stop lights, stop signs or billboards.....

....on my way to the Mississippi River.

Visited the grave site of Blues legend Robert Johnson....

...stopping by Clarksdale, MS to go the crossroads of highways 61 and 49 where legend says that Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil to be able to play guitar like he did.

I also used this trip to raise $4000 for two different animal rescue organizations, Atlanta Wild Animal Rescue Effort and the Animal Rescue League of Northwest Georgia.

Although there was much more to 2011 than just these few pictures, these are just a few of the highlights. Please visit the Ramble On photo gallery to see more photos from my travels as I Ramble On.

Ramble On Is Back and So Am I

2012-01-29T22:17:00.005-04:00

Wow...it's been a really long time since I updated this. I kinda forgot I had it and for a while I couldn't even remember how to access it. But....I'm back and maybe someone will be bored enough some nights to see what I'm saying or doing.

I think it's time for a change...well, at least I'll go back to where I used to be. I have been a "shooter" in the television industry since 1986 and I've worked in many places around the world meeting some incredible people on some of those shoots. In all of those years, some shoots were more exciting than others, but it's been a great time. My real love was still photography though. At one point I was making a nice part of my living having my images published, leading photo safaris and had even begun to teach some photography classes. I was even getting some articles that I had written published in some regional magazines. It was a good time for creativity.

About seven or eight year ago, something happened that made me put my camera down. I just stopped shooting...I had lost my passion for photography. I don't want to get into the reasons for it, but I just didn't have it in me anymore. I put my photography gear away in my office and didn't pick it up until recently.

Ironically, it was Facebook that helped me begin to get my love for photography back. For the last few years, the only camera I had was a little $300 Panasonic digital camera. I used it every once and a while at family or friend events and road trips, but that was as far as it went. I started posting pictures from those road trips and events on Facebook and some of my friends started giving me encouragement to post more of my pix. I also made a Facebook fan page called Albright Images where I posted some of my portfolio and had a few strangers post some kind words about my images. I started to feel that urge to shoot again.

So that leads us to where I am now. At the end of last year, I bought a brand new Nikon D7000 digital camera and picked up my camera bag to see how much of my old gear I could keep using. Well, when I picked my bag up it had been so long since I had used it that I literally had to go outside and beat the dust off of it. The next step for me was to get a domain name and put up a website for my photography work. Well, that's all done now. The website is nearly finished and I have actually begun working on a personal photography project of my own....I'll get into that on a later blog.

So....that's what's new for me now. I feel the passion once again for the one thing I think I'm not bad at. I can't wait to start shooting more family or individual portraits. I can't wait to be on the road looking for those great travel images or to hike down that trail to catch the perfect late afternoon light once again. I really am excited again. I can't remember who said it and this is a paraphrase, but it goes something like this....the person who finds a way to make money doing something they love will never work a day in their life.

Ramble On Folks...

I'm a Redneck...No I'm a Redneck

2009-03-04T00:23:00.007-04:00

Today I had the opportunity to work with one of America's favorite comedians, Jeff Foxworthy. He was doing interviews via satellite uplink promoting his new childrens book, Silly Street. Right away I saw that Jeff is exactly what you see on stage. He is a good ol' southern boy who likes to joke around, tell stories and just have a good time. One thing that made me quite proud was that he actually laughed at a few of my jokes and stories. That's how much I like to Ramble On...I'm in the studio with one of the best story tellers in the country and I'm telling him my redneck stories. When he asked me where I was from and I told him North Carolina, the first words out of his mouth were about how much better the barbeque is there than anywhere else. Of course, I had to agree. We also talked about our Nascar experiences...which or course lead to even more redneck stories from both of us. I think what makes Jeff so good at what he does, is that he listens and asks questions. That's what makes his observational comedy so good...all he has to do is watch and listen and all of his jokes will just happen. What could be very cool is if sometime in the future something I mentioned today makes it into his routime...... What...it could happen.

Motorcycles can fall down

2009-03-02T16:55:00.004-04:00

Did you know that motorcycles, because they have only two wheels, don't just stand up on their own? Well, it's true! And I have pictures to prove it.

A while back, my best friend Jimmy and I traveled to Townsend, TN to ride our bikes around in the Smoky Mountains. If you haven't visited Townsend, it ain't much of a going thing, which makes it a perfect place to visit the Smokies without having to deal with the crowds that can sometimes impede on your peaceful mountain vacation. Anyway, one morning while we're drying our bikes from the morning dew, a cleaning lady asked us where we are going that day. We actually had no idea. Other bikers will know that feeling, we may not know where we're going, but we know we're going to ride our bikes to get there. After telling the nice cleaning lady of our lack of destination, she mentioned that The Tail of the Dragon was just over the mountain and lots of bikers go there when visiting the Smokies. Well, Jimmy and I both perked up at this bit of information. We both had heard of the Dragon, but neither of us had been there. Let me fill you in on what the Dragon is. It is a road on the NC/TN border that is eleven miles long and has 316 curves. People come from all over the country and even the world, just to ride this road. And it's not just bikers, but sports car enthusiasts also. So...now we have a destination.

Now riding anywhere in this region of the country is a biker's delight. It took about an hour and half of riding beautiful mountain roads to reach the intersection that leads to the Dragon. After making a left turn, we are riding along the shores of a mountain lake and up ahead we see the road disappear into the woods. But, there is sight I will never forget. In a roadside pull off just before entering the woods, an ambulance with a couple of EMTs standing beside it was parked as if waiting for something to happen. Just like that ambulance you see sitting on the sidelines of every football game you've ever attended...it was waiting for someone to need a "ride." That should have been a warning to me.

Now, I had only had this bike for a few months at the time and was still learning how it handled. Up until that point I was feeling good. But after entering the Dragon under the canopy of the forest...things changed a bit. At first it was a great ride, lots of fun curves and great scenery. But slowly the traffic level began to pick up. After a while the first sport bike came right up my butt, insisting that I was in his way. Shortly after I let him pass...here comes a couple more. Then as I round a corner a couple of sports cars came sliding around the corner in the opposite lane. Now!, I'm beginning to pucker, if you know what I mean. You see, sports bikes and cars come here to test their skills and see how fast they can take the 316 curves. I'm on a touring bike...I just want to cruise through the mountains and have a good ride.

Now, one of the biggest mistakes we made was taking this road on a Saturday afternoon. It seemed that every bike and sports car driver had decided to take on the Dragon that day. And that wasn't the only kind of traffic either. There was a bus, yes a big white bus that couldn't even make it around a corner without leaving his lane. And one guy in a BMW decided I was in his way. This guy was so far up my butt, that by watching him in my rear view mirror I could recognize him on the street if I saw him. This, Jimmy said, was one of my other mistakes. What was I doing paying so much attention to the guy behind me...the road in front of me was challenge enough. Yeah well, hind sight(pun intended) is great. So this guy is up my butt, but I'm still just going my speed, trying not to let him rush me. As I go around a curve that I think is a forty five degree turn...to my surprise it's a hairpin curve and I ain't gonna make it. Okay...I have three choices. I can lay it down in the road...remember the BMW behind me? Or I can go down the side of the mountain or I can brake just until I get off the pavement and then lay it down. Which one would you choose?

Do you remember the BMW up my butt? How many times have you seen a accident and the cars trailing the accident just keep on going? Well, notice this hole never even hit his brakes. If you look up a head in the next curve you can see that he is just trying to catch his buddies....I'm finally out of his way.

Speaking of my butt....that night it was damn sore after bouncing along the side of the road.

Can you believe that the only damage to the bike was to the crash bar...which is why bikes have crash bars in the first place. I had a couple of cracked ribs and body bruises, but other than that...a few guys on the side of the road helped me up and then helped me get my bike up and I continued on down the road. Well, at least for a little while. Jimmy was riding in front of me and he didn't even know that I had gone down. At the next pull over I could find I pulled in just to get my breath back. While I was collecting myself, Jimmy had realized that I was no longer behind him. He found me sitting on my bike and when I told him what had happened he didn't believe me until I pointed out my bent crash bar. At the end of the road is Deal's Gap, a little shop with biker gear, souvenirs, refreshments, motel rooms and...The Tree of Shame. The Tree of Shame has many motorcycle parts hanging from it's branches left over from the many "accidents" that happen along the Dragon.

I did slay the Dragon, but it did put up a fight. And no...I left none of my bike's parts hanging from the Tree of Shame.

So see...motorcycles can fall down...unless you pay attention.

Ramble On...

The First Ramble

2009-03-02T11:49:00.002-04:00

So now I'm a blogger. Okay...I don't know why, but I guess it doesn't really matter. It's not like I have anything to say that is important enough to put down...but I've read plenty of blogs that say nothing...so once again, I'm not the first. I'm not going to start by giving a life story or any BS like that...if you're reading this you probably already know me better than you need too. Let's just say that I've been around for a while, I travel a lot for work and pleasure and I love my dog Lakota and my Road King. That should do for now. Hopefully over time, you'll meet some of my friends and through my postings see what I do for a living.

So I'll just begin with yesterday's snow in Atlanta...that's right snow in Atlanta.

I began with the same attitude toward actually seeing snow on the ground that anyone who's lived here for any length of time would have toward that possibility...

Okay...I'm sure you sense my optimistic attitude toward actually seeing snow anywhere except falling from the sky...but within just a few hours....

Even Lakota seems confused. I know, all my friends in the NC mountains and further north are smiling at the amount of snow...but I think it is relative when you realize that the ATL never gets snow. I think this is the first real accumulation I've seen here since 1993. So, if you love snow like I do, you can understand why it could be kinda fun to get out in it and imagine, although just briefly, that I am back in the NC mountains walking the Blue Ridge Parkway with my dog in the snow. Yeah...okay...it was very brief. So in true ATL style...

That's right...it's melting away and by the end of the day there will be little evidence that even a single flake fell from the sky. That's snow in Atlanta.

So what's next? Well, not to beat a dead horse, but this is Atlanta. So now it's time for warm weather and making plans for riding the bike...anywhere. Right now I have plans to ride this weekend to Boone, NC to see my best friend Jimmy...but there is a new reason to go this time. I joined facebook at the end of 2008 and since joining have found some very good friends from my college days in Boone and Banner Elk. And some of them are meeting up there this coming weekend for a kinda reunion. I haven't seen any of them for almost 25 years, so I'm really hoping to make it up there to see them. There are plans to visit one of our favorite party spots, Elk Falls. We used to go there after classes to drink our favorite beverages, well not really our favorite, really which ever one was the cheapest at the time...we were broke college kids afterall. Anyway, we would all go there to party and some of us would do the young and stupid thing and jump from the top of the falls...

So...hopefully....weather permitting I'll be riding to the NC mountains and try to relive my youth with some really good friends. If not...I have to ride somewhere....it's my birthday weekend.

So for now, that's all I have. My first blog is done...hopefully it will get better with time. In the furure I'll be writing about trips, shoots and other BS. To my friends I say hello and I hope to see you on here soon. I would also like to say thanks to Frenchy for the inspiration.

Ramble On Folks