Website Updates

Have been working feverishly over the last few days on TennTrips.com.
Mostly working on speeding up the page load times, which I’m pretty close to finished with.

Page load times are drastically better than they were (better than twice as fast).
NEW AND IMPROVED MapSearch with streetview enabled!
Now it even works on Internet Exploder. (Internet Explorer)  Most previous coding and testing was done in FireFox, which in my opinion is a FAR superior browser to IE.  (mostly because my lack of skill is hidden well in FireFox).

After a lot of research, and several testing sites to check differences in page design, a few things were changed.  Not much aesthetically, mostly in code cleanup. The only thing missing are the direction arrows that used to show in the Towns Close By block.  No biggie the directions are still there, but loading all the graphics was adding an extra 5 second to the load time.

Also removed are a couple of smaller blocks of the Google Ads.  They weren’t doing much more than slowing things down (no $$), so they were removed.

I’m hoping the improvements will help in the Google search rankings, if they do, then the small ad blocks lost won’t be missed.  Make your local ‘City Page’ your home page for News, Weather, and Local Information.

Fall Shoot 2011

When to go..

I’ve made several trips over the last few years to get just the perfect timing for fall colors in the mountains.  Several factors determine the colors and the right time to go.

1.  An extremely hot and dry summer means the colors won’t be as good, and the change will occur earlier and not last as long before the leaves fall.

2. Frost – If the colors have already changed, and you can get out quick enough after the first frost (1 or 2 days after), you may still get your shots, but you have a MUCH shorter window of opportunity as the leaves will not hang on the trees as long after the frost.

If the summer has been mild, and frost hasn’t hit, you have a much better chance of getting to several locations.  Generally if the conditions were good, you’ll have about a week to 10 days to get some great shots.

Here in East Tennessee the season generally starts anywhere around the middle to the end of October.  I generally head out around the beginning of  the last week so I can get some of the ground cover of leaves as they’ve just started to fall.

Mountain Fire Road w/cover.

Where to shoot…

There are a lot of great places to shoot, including scenic highways, and sometimes even from or in town.  Color is color, and doesn’t have to be a huge mountain vista to be gorgeous, so just get out and shoot.

I personally prefer heading directly into the mountains.  I have the advantage of being less than an hour from some of the best ‘in the middle of nowhere’ mountain roads available.

Though I’ve pulled over and shot from a highway, or from the occasional parking lot,

From a parking lot.

I really like the old FIRE ROADS in the National Forest.

Here’s why….

I generally hunt for a shot at about 10-15 miles an hour with the window down to listen for wildlife and waterfalls. (try that on a highway).  When I see something, I’m not wasting the next 10 minutes trying to find a parking spot, I just stop, put it in park and get out and shoot.  This would cause a major traffic jam and get you arrested or killed on a regular road, but you can get away with it out here!  Generally when I’m out shooting I MIGHT see ONE car all day.  You also tend to get some of the best (natural) views from these roads.

View from fire road.

View from road 2.

Adding some of the foreground (peeking through the trees) can get you some pretty interesting shots.

Occasionally you’ll need to go ‘off road’ or up a path to find your shot.

Watch the side of the road closely for small walking paths that others have forged.

You’ll be surprised at what you can find.

View from a short path.

After walking up a short path, I discovered this gorgeous view.

There are literally hundreds of great shots from every road in the mountains.  The shots here are all from ONE road.  So get your batteries charged, load up the camera and tripod, fill up the tank, and go shoot!

Want to see more from this shoot (all taken from Turkeypen Road near Cisco, Ga.)?
Check out the rest of the photos HERE.

Randy

Just ONE of the dangers of being a photographer..

Randy the goose.

Randy – an affectionate term used by the Brits meaning HORNY.

Yeah, that’s me, and I’m gonna get ya!

Hi, I'm Randy.

And I’m Gonna Get Ya !!!

Oohhh Oohhh

No matter how much swinging, shaking or shooing this guy was DETERMINED !
Yeah, the shot’s not completely in focus, but I was being molested at the time..

Aaahhhhhhh..........

I feel good da da da da da, da da.

So good, so good, now that I had you.

A matter of perspective..

The following few photos are from the Powerhouse Recreation Area near the Apalachia Powerhouse on the Hiawassee river.

These shots are from an old railroad track that leads to the plant.  They show a huge difference in what you’ll get just by changing your perspective.

The shot from a curved section of railroad.  Part 1 pretty much just straight on.
Part 2 just a little lower, and 3 from right on the tracks.  The one right on the tracks adds a feeling like the trip is a lot longer.  Notice all the waves in the track on the last shot.

Finally from the walkbridge (same location).
The first shot is great for showing distance, at this angle it seems to continue right into the mountainside.  The middle is great for showing the structure, while the right one adds a little more mystery to the distance.

Fort Loudoun State Historic Area July 2011

Fort Loudoun State Historic Area
338 Fort Loudoun Road
Vonore, Tennessee 37885

Ft. Loudoun Mushroom

Sometimes the unexpected happens.  While walking the path at Ft. Loudoun, someone (seeing my camera) pointed out this rather healthy mushroom.

Ft. Loudoun Barracks (back).

Shooting the barracks (if you’re going for realism) can be difficult.  Boaters, visitors, and even houses from the other shores, can interfere.

Ft. Loudoun Barraks (steps).

Using background items like the fence and trees help, but sometimes you have to do a little creative editing.  A foot was removed coming out of the barrack steps towards the other end with Photoshop.  Sometimes you just can’t get perfect timing on a shot, especially when there are other visitors to an attraction.

I would have loved to stay at this spot and shot a lot more that day, but it was
about 102 degrees in the shade.  I rested a bit while my daughter investigated.

We’ll get back there someday, in the mean time watch for more scenic posts!

TennTrips – Info 24/7

TennTrips.com offers News, Weather, and Local Information for almost every
town in the U.S.. It makes a great home page, or when you’re
looking for vacation ideas.

We’ve tried to make this site a ‘one stop’ place to find what you need.

Select a state, and the state planner page will appear.

State Planner Page

The state planner page contains a list of towns available in the state that can be sorted by name or by county to help you find local towns.
You’ll also find state weather (based on the center of the state), weather alerts for the state, LIVE doppler weather radar, and LIVE weather satellite views of the state.

From the state planner page, select the city or town you would like information about, and you will be taken to the ‘city page’.

City Page

The city page contains a ‘Map Search’ feature which allows you to find just about anything in the area – from restaurants, gas stations, local shopping and more.
You can click on the results to get directions, or for more information.

When available, an ‘About Town’ story is displayed with local information about yearly events, or other special attraction information.

TennTrips listings (which are provided free) will also be displayed when available,
with information provided directly from local attractions.

Discount lodging is also available, with our own listing service which will
search for the best internet hotel rates in the area.

You’ll also find local news stories, local gas prices (when available), links to local
T.V. and radio listings, local News Paper lists, and links to the city page for
‘towns close by’ sorted by distance (as the crow flies) so if you don’t find what,
you’re looking for, you can search near by.

Also on each city page (near the top in the menu)
is a link to that towns weather page.

City Weather Page

(the weather page is probably our most used page)
It contains up to the minute local weather information,
Alerts, Forecast, Radar, Vidcast, WebCams and more.

WEATHER ALERTS – directly from the National Weather Service to keep you
informed of important weather statements.

Current conditions, also up to the minute from the National Weather Service, so you know what’s going on in the area right now.

5 Day Forecast – Live Feed from weather.gov and the National Weather Service,
for the most accurate information available. Provides expected conditions by day and night for the next 5 days.

You’ll also find our Interactive Weather Map here. Packed full of information!
4 day forecast, Current Temp, Wind Speed and Direction. Selectable views from,
map or satellite imagery including infrared cloud view. Selectable local weather
stations allow you to instantly see what’s going on close by.
LOCAL WEATHER CAMS can be viewed, along with Weather Video-cast, and
‘Wind Movie’ for a 6 day wind forecast. Iowa Environmental Mesonet info and link.

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We hope you’ll enjoy TennTrips, and check in often.
Bookmark your local city page, or weather page to keep up to date.

Your local weather page makes a great place to start the day, or check your
local city page for current news or gas prices.

DON’T sit around waiting for your local news, or weather on T.V.,
it’s on TennTrips 24/7 !!

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