Pictures from Altama Plantation, Southeast Georgia

This past week I had the opportunity to visit the Altama Plantation, formerly called Hopeton, near St Simons Island, Georgia.  It is such a beautiful property with a rich history with records dating back as far as 1763.  It was most recently owned by the Jones family that also owned Sea Island.  One of the original owners studied water control in Holland and put that knowledge to work in a diking and drainage system that supported the rice fields of Hopeton. It was also home to sugar mills, and ruins still remain, two of the chimneys pictured below with the year 1899 engraved with cut bricks.  The ancient oak and pine trees are just stunning with drooping Spanish moss, and Gardenia’s like you have never seen before left over from prior owners gardens.  Wildlife is abundant, while only there for 24 hours we saw an alligator, wild hog, tons of deer, a water moccasin, a turkey, several hawks and a massive owl.  Coming from Atlanta it was simply amazing to be in a place like that.

I spent some time looking for information on Altama, and this is one of the best records I could find: Georgia’s Land of the Golden Isles

Below are pictures I captured while there.  All of these images are available on www.CarsonMatthewsPhotography.com/Travel/GoldenIsles

Thanks for reading,

Carson Matthews
www.CarsonMatthewsPhotography.com

Twisted Tree – Chattahoochee Nature Trail

I love this tree along the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area trail.  I’m usually running when back there so never have my camera and certainly not my tripod.  I took both out for a hike on Friday afternoon and got a picture of this twisted tree.

How I did it:

ISO 100
17mm
f/9.0
5 exposures 1/30 sec – 1/500 sec
Shot on Tripod
Processed in Photomatix Pro 5 & Lightroom

View or purchase a high resolution image at http://www.carsonmatthewsphotography.com/Photography/OntheStreets/i-LzQ3Ncz/A

Thanks,

Carson Matthews
www.CarsonMatthewsPhotography.com

Buckhead Lenox Road Skyline

We were leaving Phipps Plaza on Friday night after stocking up on winter clothes at Belk and I got a couple of pictures of the skyline looking west over Lenox Road.  There are a lot of great perspectives from Phipps Plaza of nearby Buckhead high rise buildings.  Here is how they were shot:

Nikon D800, Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
ISO 500, 14mm, f/5.6
5 frames 1/10-1/160 sec
Processed in Photomatix Pro and Lightroom

Prints of these images and many more available for purchase at www.CarsonMatthewsPhotography.com

PRUMC Soccer at the Atlanta International School

This past weekend our son’s PRUMC soccer team the Ninjas played their game at the Atlanta International School fields in Buckhead.  What an amazing venue for a soccer game!  The fields are all turf, the historic buildings hover over the fields, and on this day the sky was just perfect.  Here is a shot of the back of the school and some action shots.

Washed up Seaweed on Sea Island Georgia

We went for a walk on the beach after a storm on Monday and found all sorts of creatures washed up on the shore.  I don’t have any idea what kinds of seaweed these are, so chime in below in the comments if you can identify any of these seaweed species.  Both of these are 5-image HDR shots taken with the lens resting on the beach sand (very carefully).

Print available for purchase at www.CarsonMatthewsPhotography.com

Print available for purchase at www.CarsonMatthewsPhotography.com

Sunset over the Marsh in Sea Island Georgia

Last night I got this shot of the sun setting on 13th Street overlooking the Marsh in Sea Island.

How it was taken:
ISO 100
14mm
f/2.8
5 images 1/50 – 1/800 sec

Print available for purchase at www.CarsonMatthewsPhotography.com 

Atlanta Supermoon

Last night I headed over to the North Fulton Golf Course in Chastain Park to capture some pictures of the supermoon.  This vantage point gave me a great look at the moon along with a view of the Buckhead skyline.

Stone Stairway at the Master Grill

This stone stairway is part of the Master Grill in Chastain Park.  The Master Grill was developed in the 1920’s under the leadership of William L. Monroe Sr., a master stonesman.  This is a 5 file HDR image processed in Photomatix Pro and Lightroom.  This photo was done for the 2013 Weekly Photo Challenge I am taking part in this year.  You can read more about Chastain Park in an article I wrote for Buckhead Patch http://buckhead.patch.com/articles/chastain-park-a-world-class-neighborhood-and-park 

NIkon D800, ISO 100, f/11

HDR Halloween Yard Decorations

Today we capped off Fall Break by decorating the front yard with some Halloween decorations.  Here’s a shot of the scary grave yard.

Summer at Camp Mac

Yesterday we took our oldest son Henry to Camp Mac where he will spend the next 10 days likely having the time of his life.  I took this picture off the back of his cabin.  I have several friends that saw it on Facebook and said it literally hasn’t changed in 30 years.  I thought it turned out pretty timeless myself.  It’s a 3 image HDR photo processed in Photomatix.

Swimming at Chastain Pool

Last weekend we took our new GoPro out for a spin at Chastain Pool. We had a lot of fun trying it out and getting some underwater footage.

 

Carson Matthews

Thanksgiving Turkey Preparation Timelapse Video

Here is a iPhone 6 timelapse video of our Thanksgiving turkey preparation on Thanksgiving morning. After this it went into the Big Green Egg for several hours and came out perfect!

Timelapse Compilation of Sunrise and Weather

Here is a video compilation of time-lapse videos out of our front window. Our house faces East so we get great sunrises and a consistent look at clouds and storms moving through.

Sunset over the Chattahoochee River

Here is a picture of the sun tonight as it began setting over the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta. This shot was taken from the East Palisades Trail of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area looking west to Cobb Parkway as it crossed the Hooch.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8

70mm f/8.0 5 frames processed in Photomatix and Lightroom

Saturday Down South

Saturday Down South