Wishing on Wisteria

Wishing on Wisteria




 What a beautiful flower! Last Fall Stephen Brownlee of the Serenbe Photography Center told me he would like to see how I photographed wisteria. I wasn't sure what wisteria was at the time. I recently visited the library and noticed the book by Peter Valder titled Wisterias and checked it out. His book is full of photographs and facts. The author was first introduced to the beautiful vine as a child when his father planted one in their garden.

The pretty flower grows in purple, pink, and white variations. The blooming grouping is called a raceme. There are varities of both Chinese and Japanese orgins. Valder explains the history of the climbing tree, but does not go into details from a gardening perspective. From the masses growing, I would guess wisteria is easy to grow.

After my trip to the library, I ventured to Macon, Georgia where I found some amazing wisteria vines overtaking the landscape. These established plants are stunning and pictured here. The image above is on Etsy for purchase as well.



Grace by Hazel Berger

High Falls Georgia State Park Right Off Interstate 75

If you are looking for an escape from the everyday, High Falls is just a few minutes off of Interstate 75 about one hour south of Atlanta. We stayed at High Falls a few years ago because I really enjoyed mountain biking at near by Dauset Trails. There is an easy trail that is beautiful. It will certainly get your family hooked on mountain biking. Take 1,2,3,11,18,19,20. Moonshine Trail is the really pretty part, if I remember.

One of the first times I went camping with my kids, we stayed at High Falls. When we arrived, there were three college age boys putting together their tent. My children and I pulled out our REI base camp 6 and together had the tent set up before the young men finished figuring their tent out. That night it rained heavily... but my REI tent with a liner underneathe kept us very dry. In the morning, I noticed the college students were long gone.

But as you notice on the Dauset Trails Map, Indian Springs State Park is right near Dauset and may be a better choice for scenery.

High Falls State Park
76 High Falls Park Dr
Jackson , GA 30233

(I am visiting, photographing, and blogging all of the GA state parks in one year. This is park number 12 out of 48.)

Billy Currington's Stories Are Worth Listening

One of my favorite artists is Billy Currington. His country music strikes a chord with me. His song... Good Directions... has a neat ending, but you really have to listen. I just took this photograph in Macon, Georgia this past weekend in Hill Street Park and titled it "Good Directions." I wish I could have seen this cherry tree at the height of the bloom.

Good Directions

I was sittin' there sellin' turnips on a flatbed truck
Munchin' on a pork rind when she pulled up
She had to be thinkin' "This is where Rednecks come from"
She had Hollywood written on her license plate
She was lost and lookin' for the interstate
Needin' directions and I was the man for the job

[Chorus]

I told her way up yonder past the caution light
There's a little country store with an old Coke sign
You gotta stop in and ask Miss Bell for some of her sweet tea
Then a left will take you to the interstate
But a right will bring you right back here to me

I was sittin' there thinkin' 'bout her pretty face
Kickin' myself for not catchin' her name
I threw my hat and thought, "You fool, that could've been love"
I knew my old Ford couldn't run her down
She probably didn't like me anyhow
So I watched her disappear in a cloud of dust.

[Chorus]

I told her way up yonder past the caution light
There's a little country store with an old Coke sign
You gotta stop in and ask Miss Bell for some of her sweet tea
Then a left will take you to the interstate
But a right will bring you right back here to me
Is this Georgia heat playin' tricks on me
Or am I really seein' what I think I see
The woman of my dreams comin' back to me

She went way up yonder past the caution light
Don't know why, but somethin' felt right
When she stopped in and asked Miss Bell for some of her sweet tea
Mama gave her a big 'ol glass and sent her right back here to me

Thank God for good directions and turnip greens.

Hazel Berger Photography Opening Octane Coffee 03/12/2011 Octane Coffee ...

Amazing

We traveled to Hard Labor Creek State Park today. I found this tree on the way there in Rutledge. This is an unedited photograph.

Preparing an Art Show

I am about to hang my second photography show tomorrow. I learned a lot the first time, and I took a different approach for this show. I thought I would share the information here.

Just to give you the time-line:

June 2007 -- Trip to Barcelona (I decide to start selling my photography)
Sept. 2008 --Women in Focus juried photography show (Faye Gold selects 3 of my images for group show)
May 2010 -- Magnolias on Magnolia Street (32 images of magnolias at the Roswell Tea House)
July 2010 -- Sunflower Farm Festival (Rutledge, Georgia)
March 2011 -- Floral Photographs on Canvas (12 images at Octane Coffee Bar & Lounge)

My first show was in May of last year and the first art festival that I started learning "what sells" was in July. I definitely have a good record of what images sell and know what to expect at an art festival now. My priority is selling art at art festivals, so that is my means to an end. I think art shows are about getting the word out and into the community. A lot of people will visit Octane Coffee between March 12 and April 3 (my show dates), but there won't be a sales person to close the sale.

The Magnolia show included different treatments: unframed canvas works and framed fine art paper photographs. My goal with the show was to illustrate how varied the gorgeous magnolia flower was. My goal today is different. I want to display a representative sampling of my work. I am selecting art that hasn't been shown in Atlanta. My show is more gelled. I know that I am selling 12" x 18" canvas works regularly, so I am displaying 10 works on canvas that size unframed. I am certain that I will be able to sell this size image in an upcoming art festival, so no worries about the investment, which was limited.

My 24" x 36" canvas titled Magnificent pulls people right into my photography booth at art festivals, so I will display this work at Octane. And, I created another 36" x 24" canvas titled The View, below, for this show. It is my newest image. This work will be super to add to my show booth. Yes, this portrays what I felt looking at those gorgeous trees in Griffin, Georgia.

For this show, I purposely selected four of my best selling images as a base. The owner of the coffee shop likes my works which are mixed medium, so I have included four images where I was able to add acrylic paint on top of the photograph. I personally have a "love affair" with my latest image until I take the next one that I like better, so I have included four brand new images. For this show, I selected a variety of flowers (subject matter within my specialty), not all magnolias. Lately, I have been more conscience about looking through previously shot work, which I did not release, for something I might have overlooked. This show will include one new image from my archives.