Flat Rock Park

When I was at Flat Rock Park Saturday morning I pulled out the Lensbaby Sweet 50 lens to play with after I captured the view I had in my head. I bought the Composer Pro II setup awhile ago after seeing amazing images online. I’m still learning how to use this lens. First up though is a grander view of the landscape…

The Sweet 50 optic has an adjustable in-focus area with a soft blur around the edges. This is a manual focus lens and my biggest challenge has been getting the center of the image sharp. I know I need to use this lens more not only to refine the focus process but also to find the images that work best with this effect.

Flat Rock Park

I don’t know if the injection of camera time yesterday is still in my system, but I didn’t sit on my butt when I saw the fog this morning. I had another image in my head and I was determined to see if it existed. I drove over to Flat Rock Park to capture the gate control in the lake (pond?). Was it worth the drive?

Callaway Resort & Gardens

Near the Azalea Bowl at Callaway Resort & Gardens sits the Ida Cason Callaway Memorial Chapel. I have been capturing pictures of the chapel over the past year but I was never happy with the results. I struggled with the best way to capture this wonderful building, until this October. Maybe I was helped by bringing my whole camera backpack with me while I walked around Falls Creek Lake. Allowing me to access a greater range of focal lengths. Maybe I finally slowed down and truly saw the images in front of me… or maybe I finally got lucky.

Pumpkins at Callaway
Callaway Resort & Gardens
Walktober II

I did it! I made it to the Pumpkins at Callaway event at Callaway Resort & Gardens. Time was running out and work was taking up a lot of my time but I got my ticket to attend. And, I didn’t get lazy or conjure up some silly excuse. I went to the place with the crowds… LOL. I’m thinking I will add this to Dawn’s Walktober post as another opportunity for people to see that I haven’t forgotten how to get outside and explore with the camera… 🙂

The area around Robin Lake beach is the center of the event. Plenty to do, plenty to eat and plenty of people. Still, the tower of pumpkins was calling me like a moth to a flame.

I also couldn’t resist the giant, inflatable pumpkins… yeah, I’m easy…

I explored a little, checked out the concessions and the merchandise but was really looking forward to see how Cason’s Garden was setup. This garden is where I photographed the tulips this past Spring. I knew about the corn maze but was very curious what else I would find.

I could have followed the crowds and stood in line to get a ride over to the garden but it is a short walk around the lake, so I walked. There is a small “lake”, Chickadee Lake, along the trail that appears to have paddle boats. The area is closed but the scene was very cool. I loved the mist (probably from the spooky trail fog machines) hanging over the water. I also thought the lone swan paddle boat was perfect for the scene.

Cason’s Garden was nice. Two big corn mazes to explore (I didn’t partake) but the sunflower garden would have been amazing. I wish I had explored the event earlier in the season because by this time of the year there were very few sunflowers still blooming. I did manage to find this one willing to pose for me…

The remainder of the garden was starting to fill up with people and I took that as my cue to go back to the main event. It was beginning to get a little darker and maybe it was a good time to explore the Enchanted Pumpkin Forest. So, come walk among the spookiness with me.

I decided not to stay until the end as I did not want to fight the crowds getting back out of the resort. I do know I will be going back next year, probably a little earlier so I can see more of the sunflowers. Let me know if you enjoyed the Pumpkins at Callaway.

Walktober Post
Callaway Resort & Gardens

Walk what?

Walktober.

I need more.

Seems self-explanatory to me.

Maybe, but I need more.

Fine. Go for a walk in October to your favorite place, or maybe somewhere new, and chronicle it in a blog post for others to share in your adventure.

Isn’t that the same as a normal blog post?

Well, no, because the host of the original post inviting everyone will collect all our posts into a single post so you can find everyone’s adventure in a single spot.

So, like WordPress?

You’re missing the point.

Sure.

You’re being obstinate.

Just get to it.

{clears throat}

My friend Dawn over at Change is Hard asked for our contributions to Walktober. Considering how sporadic my adventures have been of late, I definitely needed the encouragement to get myself outside to enjoy the autumn season. Although, I do have to admit, autumn in the South is not like it is up North. Leaves are changing but seem to fall almost immediately. I don’t see the grand panoramas of color I am use to seeing in New York. I can still work with this…

I chose to go to Callaway Resort & Gardens. I wanted to see how the Pumpkins at Callaway event was setup. My ultimate goal is to go back for the evening event and explore all the spookiness. I also got to see how the setup for Christmas at Callaway is progressing. There is a Fantasy in Lights that looks amazing and I am determined to go this year (not sure why I didn’t last year).

Anyway…

For my Walktober post I decided to do something a little different. Frequent readers will know I enjoy a good bench image. My walk around Callaway focused on the benches I see along the trails. So, without further ado… the benches.

Ok, not a bench, but I couldn’t resist the light coming through the trees.