Holiday Weekend Sale - 30% off Prints

Huge Holiday Weekend Print Sale

www.etsy.com/shop/therickydavisgallery

Instead of a one day sale for Black Friday, or Small Business Saturday, or Cyber Monday...I've made a four day sale for 30% off some of my prints.  You'll find an array of different landscape, travel, and film photography that I've done. If you have favorites that aren't listed, feel free to message me and I'll take care of you.

I also want to thank all of you that have supported my work over the years. Your kind words and encouragement means the world. Sometimes it can get difficult being a local artist, but your support really makes a huge difference.

This weekend, checkout other local businesses and support local. They are people that actually care and appreciate your support.

16 Things I Learned on Vacation....

16 Things I Learned on Vacation...

1. Waiting to try to make it up Clingman's Dome to photograph the sunset until twenty minutes or so before is a bad idea....especially if you're out of shape.

2. Hiking in the heat of the day in 90+ degree weather plus ridiculous humidity, not a great idea...especially if you're out of shape.

3. I'm out of shape...but not as much as I was when I started vacation. :)

4. No matter how much you plan on catching up on some reading, you never get quite the amount done that you really wanted.

5. Having a cabin outside of cell phone coverage is a blessing...

6. 90+ degree weather and a hot tub....it still works.

7. Ratty A/C in the cabin, a bit annoying.

8. I am most assuredly not a morning person. As much as I planned on getting up at 6 am at the latest every morning to go out and shoot landscapes...it happened one day.

9. Sometimes no matter how much talent you have, or how you've perfected your craft, if you stay in your bubble, you're just going to be a blip on the radar of this thing called life.

10. I don't want to be a blip, I want to be an earthquake and shake things up a bit.

11. I have awesome friends that will come and hang out, even when they are bruised and burnt. :)

12. I wish I'd had more time to grill.

13. Elk love to eat dead leaves...

14. I'm not a fan of trying to take photos while my glasses keep fogging up due to humidity.

15. People don't like to email your assistant to get answers rather than continuing to ask you questions via Facebook when you tell them to email because you're out of town.

16. Sometimes you need to slow down and enjoy life and family a bit more.

How you see the world...what is and isn't there? TRD Photography

How you see the world?

The other evening I was driving back from an event in Middle Tennessee. I was looking around and along the way I saw a few images that stuck out to me that would have been pretty cool if composed right. Of course, I had taken the day as a chance to leave my camera behind just to have a breather. The thought made my mind wander though.

Have you ever seen photos that were just so beautiful that you wanted to go there to experience what the person taking the photo experienced? Back in 2013 when I road tripped to Portland, Oregon, and later back again, albeit a different route, I was excited to see the country and experience all these amazing things and places I've seen photographs of. My experience was rushed, but even so when in the moment, I was a little disappointed. Things didn't add up.

Fall Colors in the Smokies - TRD Photography

I've had several people talk to me about how some of my photos have made people want to experience places. They see a waterfall and want to sit next to it. See the coast and want to sit listening to the waves. It's interesting how a photo can illicit such emotion and just open up our visions of the entire scene. We can see it all in our minds eye. I'm no different. I see photographs and get jealous all the time that I wish I could experience these places. It's interesting for me though because having taken some photos, I've been on the other side of it.

At the Wreck of the Peter Iredale (the photo at the top) - I was surrounded by people, people walking in front of me, climbing on the ship, people walking along the water. There was no way I was going to get a clear shot. I knew the photo I wanted but I was seriously disappointed the day of because I didn't think I got it. It actually took about a year to get it cleaned up enough to where I felt comfortable posting it.

The Fall Colors photo (above) had a car parked beneath the trees. The waterfall photo below is one I've been asked about a good bit. People asking where it is because they want to see it in person. It's not a usual falls though. It was more the result of spring runoff, and dried up soon afterward.

Waterfall in the Smokies - TRD Photography

What I think it all boils down to is how do you see the world? Sometimes amidst all the clutter and garbage, there's beauty right in front of our face. Sometimes it beautiful places you can be so overwhelmed by everything there that it can all run together. You have to stop and breathe and learn to look for compositions. Look for the snapshots, whether it's in actual photography or taking mental images. Sometimes you see a grove of trees and as a whole it's just a lot of trees, but you compose it a certain way and boom, it becomes something else.

In photography, it's all about the eye. We are blessed to have people share the way that they view the world. As photographers too, we should count it as a blessing to sit back and enjoy each others work and see different ways of viewing the world around us. Not everyone sees the world the same way. It's amazing when you can see things from a different point of view, and realize what is and isn't there is all a matter of perspective.

If you feel like checking out some of my work available as prints - check out my gallery at www.etsy.com/shop/therickydavisgallery   - new photos being added all the time.

The Tongue River - Wyoming - TRD Photography

Back in 2013 I was driving back from Portland, Oregon to Tennessee with my family. We were trying to see as much as we could along the way. One day we drove through Yellowstone, which was an amazing experience but the photo opportunities were limited due to rain quite a bit. The next day I didn't expect quite so much but that's where I truly experienced the most beautiful country that I have gotten to see, at least in my opinion.

From my days as a kid, I've always been fascinated with Native American history. I found myself driving through places with names that I remembered from reading any book that I could get my hands on. We were driving over the Big Horn Mountain range and I was so blown away by the height, and just the energy of that place. It was like nothing I've ever experienced. We stopped on top of the mountain at the Tongue River. The only noise that you heard was the wind whipping all around you and the gurgling of the water. The whole time we were there no other cars came by. It was just you and this incredible energy. I took several photos, not many even get close to doing it justice.

I was thinking about the experience the other night, just remembering how it felt. I wanted to share one of my images from there with you guys. I hope you like it. Hopefully you've experienced a place like that in your life. I think we all need a place to get grounded, even if it's just a memory. Hope you guys have a great night! If you happen to like this image, prints are available - http://www.trdphotography.com/landscapeprints/tongueriverwyomingtrdphotography

Ricky

Prints Now Available - TRD Photography

Prints Now Available

One question that seems to come up fairly often is can I get a print of this? Then you say yes, and then you never hear from them again about it. 

If you are interested in seeing some of my work in your home or office space, I just launched an easy way to order prints. Here on my website, there is now a print section. You can order them directly from my sitestarting as low as 6.00, depending on which size you'd like to get.

Currently, I have a limit on how many prints I can have up at a time, so I plan on rotating prints to have available from time to time. Currently I have landscapes, cityscapes, some art concepts, and a few film prints available currently. If you have a favorite you'd like, feel free to email me and it can be made available. trd@trdphotography.com

Hope you Enjoy!

Ricky

Keeping Portland Weird - Perspective with Film by Ricky Davis

Keep Portland Weird....

It's a slogan you see everywhere in Portland, or at least in all the Made in Oregon stores. This summer I made my third trip to the City of Roses in the last four years. This time I really didn't have time to do a whole lot of anything IN Portland. Sadly, our plans got kind of redone when my wife's uncles unexpectedly passed away and we made a trip down to California for his memorial service. That was really unfortunate but it did allow us to see family that we wouldn't have had the chance to see.

I was able to make my way into Portland one morning for a couple of hours while I was out there. There were things that were the same, and things that had changed a bit since the last time I wandered around downtown.

Everyday Music Record Store - Downtown, Portland Oregon. Photographer Ricky Davis of TRD Photography - Ilford 400 HP5 Film

One thing that has changed in the time I left, I went into some record stores in Portland, actually looking to pick up some records. In 2013, I actually had sold my records before going out because I didn't want to move them across the country. When we came back to TN, I didn't really think about albums but started picking them up again some last year. I honestly didn't want to pick any albums up this year because I didn't want to have to ship them back, but I found a copy of Shooter Jennings debut "Put the O Back in Country." and a Waylon that I didn't have, so yeah, I got them back.

Homeless girl sleeping on the sidewalk - Portland, OR - Photographer Ricky Davis of TRD Photography - Ilford 400 HP5 Film

Sadly, one thing that hadn't changed was the amount of homelessness in Portland. In 2013, it was bad. Under every bridge it seemed like a community. This year, when we first arrived I didn't see anyone. I thought maybe things had improved. When I went walking around downtown though, people were everywhere. Some were extremely nice and talked, some definitely had some mental issues. One thing that really impacted me was walking down the sidewalks and the amount of people just sleeping. All around them, people were walking by without seeming to notice. It was almost like two different worlds operating in the same vicinity.

Painting outside a Homeless Camp in Portland, OR - Photographer Ricky Davis of TRD Photography - Kodak Ektar 100 Film

This photo is one of the first color film shots I took. I definitely want to work more on color film, but this sign really stood out to me. I was walking by what I guess was a lot that had been converted into a homeless camp. There was a wooden "wall" built around and tents and lean-to's inside. Outside different people had made signs to put on the wall. This sign stood out to me, with the message of having the right to dream, too. If you think about it, it just seems to be very poignant.

Mural in Portland, OR - Photographer Ricky Davis of TRD Photography - Ilford 400 HP5 Film

I love seeing different murals, and graffiti. When I was in Portland before, I never was able to really find near as much graffiti and paintings as I'm accustomed to in Chattanooga/Nashville/Knoxville. As I was walking around I saw this, and it was just gorgeous. This was my favorite photo of it. Below is one that has a lady walking next to it, just for size comparison. Whoever did this did an amazing job.

Mural in Portland, OR - Photographer Ricky Davis of TRD Photography - Ilford 400 HP5 Film

Mural in Portland, OR - Photographer Ricky Davis of TRD Photography - Ilford 400 HP5 Film

Here's another mural that was farther down on a wall from the other lady. The detail and emotion in this paintings eyes I thought was really outstanding and just drew you to it.

Building in Portland, OR - Photographer Ricky Davis of TRD Photography - Ilford 400 HP 5 Film

I love checking out different buildings, in different places. I really love buildings that are designed in this style. It's just so much more interesting than typical square buildings.

No Boundaries - Portland, OR - Photographer Ricky Davis of TRD Photography - Kodak Ektar 100 Film

I'll wrap up this blog with this last shot, another from my Ektar 100. No Boundaries. I guess that could mean a lot of different things, to a lot of different people. It can be a good motivator, and at the same time in the wrong hands "No Boundaries" can be a horrifying thing. I choose to think of it as we tend to set boundaries on what we can achieve, or we allow others to set boundaries on what we are capable of. Really it's all on who we give control. We can choose to believe it, or we can push ourselves beyond what we're told is possible. That choice is yours.

Ricky