Patriot Park - Pigeon Forge, TN

Over the summer, my family decided to break from our yearly tradition of heading to the Outer Banks. Instead, we headed west to vacation by the creek in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

I was excited to be able to explore the mountains and to bring my camera for some unusual photos. Plus, it gave me an opportunity to scout out local areas for photo shoots. After some pre-vacation internet searching, I decided that sometime within the week that I would go to Patriot Park.

Let me first explain to you my biggest issue with shooting this location -- any and all directions or addresses that I found online did not get me to Patriot Park. I ended up driving past Dollywood because of a map with the wrong road name; but, when I back tracked to head back to the vacation home, I happened to pass Patriot Park.

Patriot Park is located on Old Mill Avenue off of US-441 Scenic. If you're coming US-441 from Gatlinburg, TN, you will come to Stoplight #7 and take a right on Old Mill Avenue. Cross the bridge and you will enter the Old Mill Village. Keep going straight and you will see the Trolley Depot on your right. Right behind the depot is Patriot Park. Luckily for all visitors, parking at the Trolley Depot is free.

Unfortunately, the weather was gloomy the day I shot this venue. I didn't let that stop me from getting some great shots of a place where family can play sports in an open field or picnic for the day.

Patriot Park is in essence an open field with a track-like walking park surrounding it. The open green grass acts as a great backdrop for sitting photos.

The huge bell is suppose to symbolize liberty and patriotism. It sits on the left side of the park in a chain link fence. I assume this is because the bell is mostly a lighted prop and perfect for a night shoot with the proper lighting.

Be sure to take a walk around the track. You will find some nice shrubbery and flowers to use for photos, as well as, my favorite part of the park -- the gazebo. I had so many ideas for gathering friends, family, couples, etc. to this spot and taking really nice photos here. The white of the gazebo and the tree covered background would work perfectly for a more formal shot.

Finally, be sure to take advantage of all of the patriotic emblems the park has to offer. The track is lined with flags and would be perfect for wide angle shots. Also, look for the soldier and war memorial statues at the front of the park. I apologize for not having any photos of these great photo opts for the park. At this point in my shoot, it began to rain and the abrupt change in temperature shocked my camera lens. I thought for sure it was broken for good; but, luckily after it dried out and evened out in temperature, it works just fine.

These patriotic spots are perfect for military families, enthusiasts, or just proud Americans who want to snap some photos.

I hope that if anyone visits Patriot Park for a photo shoot or some snapshots that its simplicity and possibilities are appreciated as much as I appreciated them. Also, I hope that no one has to drive around lost looking for the park with my directions posted above.

Patriot Park
Old Mill Avenue
Pigeon Forge, TN

*Remember Patriot Park is behind the Trolly Depot beside of the Old Mill Restaurant

Free MyPublisher Mini Photo Book on Facebook

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Sports Photography

Recently, I have been able to attend some local high school football games. I have been cheering my team for victory and snapping photos whenever I have been able to. Now, taking photos of a sports game isn't easy because there are a lot of factors that you have to consider.

1. Your location in the stands

Most of your photos will be taken from the stands. Only in special circumstances will officials allow you around the perimeter of the field for photos, but this is highly unlikely because both teams usually have their own photographers placed in this area. Sometimes it's not really the more the merrier when taking photos.

I suggest getting as high as you can in the stands. One would think sitting down near the field would get more action packed shots, but in reality you will have to deal with more people being in your way and missing play shots because you are at eye level with the field.

2. Bring a tripod or monopod

I always bring a monopod with me when I shoot anything. Not everyone has nerves of still or can take photos without camera shake every single time. Plus, when shooting high speed sports you will definitely need stationary device to hold the camera due to the high shutter speeds that you will be shooting at.

This photo was taken of a football player doing wide receiver warm-up catches. I shot this photo at a shutter speed of 1/1000 second. Anything less would have captured the image but I would have been more likely to see camera shake.

However, the next photo was shot at a shutter speed of 1/60 second. Here you can see significant camera blue because of the low shutter speed.

3. Keep in mind the time of day and lighting

If you are watching an afternoon game that will continue after the sun sets, keep in mind that you will need to adjust your settings to compensate for the loss of light. Shutter speed, aperture, and ISO will all need to be adjusted to allow more light to enter your camera. Don't forget that your shutter speed will need to remain fairly high 1/250 second or greater to continue to get stop-action shots of the players.

4. You can pan your shots

Sometimes you are following one player on the field to get a nice action shot for your collection. When you pan a player, this mean that you follow that player on the field with the lens. In the midst of all the action, you have focused on this one player and taken a photo. The photo will turn out something like the example below:

Notice how #50 is more in focus than the rest of the motion blurred players on the field. I panned the camera lens on him throughout the play to cause this effect.

5. Take continuous shots of a play or action

At a football game, you have the cheerleaders down on the track cheering your team to victory. During and between cheers and chants, these girls usually show off their gymnastics ability and do some sort of jump or flip. This is no different than if you were trying to capture the kick-off in a football game or the winning catch.

When trying to capture that winning moment or the cheerleader in mid-jump keep in mind that you need to adjust your camera to continuous shooting mode. This mode allows you to continue snapping shots without having to refocus the camera. You may get quite a few shots that are blurred or not the position you were wanting, but if timed correctly, you will get the shot you were looking for.

So, if you're out shooting any kind of sports game remember my above tips and you're sure to get some great shots of the team or your special player. These game shots can be great memories for years to come or great for those photo gifts that keep on giving.

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Free Photo Prints at Target

Target has photo prints on sale for $0.10 each until October 1!

For an even better deal, use the Target Coupon printable for $2.00 off of 20 prints.

Go print the Target Coupon and take it with you to the Target Photo Lab closest to you and get 20 photo prints absolutely FREE!

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Free Fall Items at Vistaprint

SIX FREE FALL ITEMS FROM VISTAPRINT
just pay shipping and handling

Shipping starts at approximately $4, but at Vistaprint the more items you purchase the cheaper your shipping will be per item.

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I added a standard tote bag to my cart, then created a new tote through this clicking the link provided in this post. I was able to get two tote bags in my cart for free plus shipping.

Keep in mind that any of the FREE items that you create will have an additional fee for any uploaded photos that you place on these items (unless the item comes standard with uploaded imagery). When I created a photo tote bag, it only costed me an additional $3.74. I would definitely order one of these totes for a little less than $8 including shipping.

Free Photo Book from Hotprints.com

I was able to get a my photo book from this service when they first started, but I was limited to only one free photo book per month and received free shipping for the photo book.

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HotPrints can offer these photo books for free because they have a 4-page spread in the middle of the book for advertising. My photo book also had these ads but did not hurt the photo book at all.

I was really excited when I got my photo book in the mail. My book was full of engagement photos from the day my fiancé proposed. It was the perfect way to keep all of our photos together from this important moment in our lives. The quality was great, and I would definitely place another order with HotPrints.

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