Last night I went over to campus to view the fireworks show. Due to a closed off road it was a bit of a hike down to the lake, but worth it. The display didn’t last very long, but I took a number of pictures. I have never photographed fireworks before, so they didn’t turn out great. It was still a lot of fun though.
Well, it is officially (as declared by me) firefly season on the Mountain. While we were up there these past few days I was able to go out and photograph them some evenings. I had a blast and am fairly pleased with some of the results.
In some ways the front yard of the cottage is the ideal location – nice trees, easy access, and tons of fireflies. However it suffers because of the lights from the military museum next door. They cast a sickly glow over everything. I was still able to get some pictures before they came on though. I’m not crazy about my compositions, but I was a bit lazy and waited until the last minute before setting up.
I set up three cameras here, and was a little lazy. Instead of manually controlling and adjusting the exposure I set it to automatic. Part of this is because the cameras were so spread out. The first camera was set on a little waterfall. Unfortunately there weren’t many fireflies there at all. The second camera was on the dirt road. More bus there, but not a ton. The third was overlooking the lake. It was also lacking fireflies. This was a disappointing evening because the compositions had more interesting elements, but the lightning bugs just didn’t cooperate. Maybe I will try this spot again.
On the back side of campus there are a few thousand acres of managed forest. There is one maintained road going through the heart of it and lots of trails. It is always a very relaxing place to be; I photographed the fireflies a number of times there last year. Once again I used three cameras. I got there a few minutes later than I would have liked, so focusing was a little bit of an issue, but I’m pretty pleased with how things turned out. One camera was set up on the road, and the other two were on trails. I’m thinking to remove the biggest firefly trails in all three pictures, as they are rather distracting.
I had never thought to photograph on the trail before, but our evening walk inspired me. So I set up shop near Pearl’s at the en of the wooden bridge. I pointed one camera back at the bridge. It didn’t capture that many fireflies. The other two I pointed down the trail – one with a shorter focal length, the other a bit longer. I think this spot has potential for some better photos, so I will return.
I definitely can’t wait to get back to the mountain soon. I’m not sure when that will be though. The fireflies are such a fun challenge. There are some new locations I want to try as well.
My alarm buzzed at 4:30 this morning and I immediately turned it off and went back to sleep until eight. Liz nursed Luke in the meantime, and then they went back to sleep until ten. So not a productive morning. No walk or goats. Our friends Michael and Sally came up just before noon, and we had a great time together. We just relaxed for a while at the cottage and then took them on a little mountain tour. We saw the natural bridge and several overlooks, went to the crafts fair, and of course went to see the goats. Luke was incredibly well behaved the whole time. After Sally and Michael left we went to dinner at the Blue Chair tavern. We sat outside and enjoyed the fresh air. I played with Luke for a little while back at the cottage, then drove over to campus for the fireworks show. Roads were closed and so I had to walk all the way from the main chapel. Tons of people were there. I set up my camera next to the lake. The show started fifteen minutes late and lasted all of twelve minutes. It was pretty cool though. I’m not sure how my pictures turned out; probably not great. It’s a little bit of a downer that we’ll be leaving the Mountain tomorrow. I don’t really want to go back to “real life”.
Despite my best intentions I again slept past sunrise this morning. I realize that much of the blame rests with me for not setting an alarm. I was also up pretty late last night writing a letter to Luke. We went on our standard walk this morning and checked in on the goats. A little tummy time added to the fun.
Late morning we were paid a visit by Liz’s friend and former coworker Sam. She lives in nearby Tracy City and is currently turning her candle making business into a full time endeavour. After a tasty lunch at the Mexican restaurant she was kind enough to give us a couple of her products. They are really top quality.
We all took afternoon naps and then went on another walk. The fading light was very lovely and the atmosphere felt great despite the humidity.
I dropped Liz and Luke back off at the cottage and returned to the Goat Trail to photograph the fireflies. I set up three cameras to the side of the trail. It wasn’t ideal because I would have liked to have been composing from the center of the trail. My caution was justified though when a couple of bikers passed by. They stopped to ask what I was doing and we chatted briefly. A little later a runner came through. I felt like the volume of fireflies was a little lighter than usual, but we will see how the pictures turn out.
Back at the cottage I cooked dinner while Liz nursed. Luke had a busy day but he handled it well. Hopefully he will continue to sleep well at night.
Unfortunately I slept in again this morning and missed sunrise. Three days left up here on the Mountain, and hopefully I will make sunrise all three days. Little Man slept in too, but that’s okay, since he turns three months old today. After breakfast we went on a nice walk along the Mountain Goat Trail. It felt great outside with the fresh air. I really hope that he enjoys these times. Afterwards we drove over to campus and saw the goats, who were in a new field.
Like most days up here the afternoon was pretty relaxed and everybody napped. Luke has been eating well and getting rid of that food efficiently too. We went on another walk this afternoon on the same stretch of the greenway. It was overcast and felt very nice out, despite being rather humid. Of course we had to go see the goats again after. Back at the cottage Liz nursed Luke while I went to Piggly Wiggly. They had amazing sweet cherries for $2.49 a pound, so I bought a bag. I also got a box of Kix.
Liz and I talked for a while before I went out to take some pictures. It was too cloudy for sunset so I just went to the back side of campus to photograph the fireflies. I wish I would have arrived just a few minutes earlier, because it would have been easier to focus with a little more light. But I was able to get three cameras set up and running. It was so calm and relaxing out in the forest all alone. The lightning bugs were really active, although I struggled to get compelling compositions. Phone picture below shows the dark scene.
Back at the cottage we bathed Luke. We didn’t have his flower pad but he was a good sport about it. I made Liz a sandwich and had a little dinner myself. Luke had more of his usual.
