Flat Rock Park, Columbus, GA

Due to the holidays and lingering vacation days I needed to use by the end of the year, I have been off work since December 19th. I will not be back to work until January 2nd. After a week of being totally lazy, I thought it was time to go for a walk. It had nothing to do with the amount of food consumption over the holiday… I swear! 😉

Typically, midday light is considered harsh light and not preferred for photography. It really depends on the subject and objective. If your compositions include shadows (which help provide depth) the midday light can produce wonderful images. It is more about the photographer understanding the light.

This time I was going to walk the road that meanders through the park. The round trip is two miles, which I sorely need (I don’t move enough). The road is one way, going clockwise from the entrance. Most people walk in that direction, which really confuses me. I walked counter-clockwise so I could see the cars coming at me.

Come on, this way!

I’m always curious if these book swap boxes get used much. I didn’t open it to see what my options would be for a book. I have enough of my own I need to still read. Maybe I should bring a few over and contribute to the swap.

If you can’t tell, I’m fascinated by this stone bridge. It was one of the first photographs I captured at the park when I moved to Georgia. I missed my opportunity for another autumn pic with the bridge but I do like this view. I will need to capture another one once we see more green in the spring.

Another object I’m fascinated with at this park. I’m sure frequent readers are getting tired of seeing this one. Still, the yellow reflected in the water with the blue sky and green pines is pretty cool, right?

OK, this one was giving me a Charlie Brown Christmas vibe. You can’t pass by this and not capture an image. I thought about replacing the one red bulb that had fallen but it kind of makes a statement, so I left it. The background is very busy, I went with a shallow depth of field in an attempt to help highlight the subject.

This one shows how to use the light to my advantage. The sun is coming in high from the left. Plenty of shadows on the trees to give the image definition. The road leads the eye toward the brighter trees in the distance. You probably wouldn’t guess this was captured in the middle of the day.

I keep feeling like there is image I want to create with these different sites throughout the park. Picnic tables and places to cook. A little sad that they appear to be neglected and rarely used. I do like the stone work though…

Behind the G10 site is a group of trees that I keep trying to capture. The trees are lifeless but the bare trunks attract my attention every visit. This time, I put in the effort to capture an image of what I’m seeing. I believe this one shows it best…

We are just about back to where we parked the car. Sitting on the edge of the rocks in an area that feels like an amphitheater I liked the defiance of this tree. No one is telling it it shouldn’t trying growing among the rocks.

It felt good to use the old leg muscles. Typically, I drive the car and park in the various locations, partly due to time constraint but that is only an excuse. From now on I need to park once and walk more. You are welcomed to join anytime.