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This central link is contact for this primary photo site and for our image storage website. Once there, move up the page to find and easy path to multitudes of photos, providing a great insight into Thomas Haynes Photoshoot.   This site is where your gallery will go if we do your photography work.
  
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Mildred..Grand Lady of Clinch River Raptor Center

 For now,  click for a larger view. The Facebook page for the rehab center is gone as of June 8, 2018, as is the now closed center.. And, this wonderful hawk who helped educate many children and adults  passed on late May, 2018. She was approximately 26 years old!  A wonderful red tailed hawk, she is missed, as is the Clinch River Raptor Center. Owl Ridge Rehab is open in Washburn, Tennessee. It is home for some of the educational birds formerly living at the Clinch River Raptor Center.

Nanny Goat and Two Kids, Appalachia Style

An easy drive east and we come to the Museum of Appalachia,  John Rice Irwin’s fields and woods filled with cabins, barns, work buildings and some livestock typical of old rural Appalachia.  The buildings include a log church house and one room school building carefully moved from original locations in the country and reassembled there for tourists and the rest of us to visit and get a tiny feel for life a few years ago in this part of Tennessee in and around the green Cumberland mountains.    Small pastures border the entrance road and it is in these fields we often find subjects for our photographs.  We noticed the quite small and very, very cute baby goats a couple of months ago when they were almost to short to reach their mother for milk. Today, the nanny and her two kids were in the field near the road.  They are small animals, full of energy and typical goat rambunctiousness.  We got these photos then went into the front building for a simple Sunday lunch. 

See a neat draft horse from the field toward this old barn at our commercial photography blog site, first page on the blog.  The Museum of Appalachia is a fine visit if you are in the area or passing through on I75.

TIME FOR A FULL REDO..Turning this Blog Around and Fresh Again

This blog was initially to cover interesting topics of nature, religion and what might come up worth considering.  The intent was to illustrate topics as well as could be with photographs from our commercial photography blog.

Basket of Sunshine

 We did not want this to be just another extension of photo business marketing efforts but to have a life of its own, even if awkward at times.  This Landing Heron blog was for us to be a breath of fresh air, set apart from our gallery website 
and from our photo blog.

As time has worked on us, we used this blog to promote our photo business then moved most of that off the Landing Heron blog, trying to restore the original focus and to once again find this a place to comfortably write and illustrate a variety of topics where we find separation  from business pressures in the meantime.  We hope it works because such rest is very much needed.

This basket-full of sunshine is what we need... and is a goal of approach and attitude for this blog in its new makeover.

A Photograph, not a Snapshot

With literally thousands of snapshots and selfies are recorded everyday,  I have seen a decline in clients looking for a professional photographer.  Weddings and baby photos are exceptions, however often the quality and artfulness of the photos in print miss the mark when people go for the least cost and often least experience in doing that work. Over the years, I have discovered that time spent editing a group of photos is 2 to 3 times the minutes or hours spent in actually "taking the photos".  During that time at the computer, in a nutshell this is what happens:  The best images are selected and set aside.  A second review is done for the selection of first choice photos. Photos are corrected for accurate color. This and the other basic corrections mentioned next, require in the least a calibrated monitor.  The primary monitor I use is a NEC­­­­® and calibration requires software and external measuring device used directly on the screen. Colorite® color cards are used to calibrate the camera.  Contrast, intensity of color, strength of shadows and highlights are adjusted. (Differences in these visuals and composition define differences in styles of one photographer next to another. Images are sharpened for print, projector or computer monitor and cropped(edges adjusted) to allow specific print sizes and provide the best display in print or on Internet.

Photography has a definite place in fine art and this photo is an example. This is the photographers interpretation of the time and place, presenting it as the photographer wants with an atmosphere and mood you would be pressed to find on an everyday drive here, rain or not.

Photograph posted for the pure joy of seeing it...

That is how I feel about this photo from July of 2012...joy and peace of a rare coming together of the right elements,  making composition and memory all in the right place. I remember being quite peaceful standing at the river edge as morning fog came in and surrounded me.  A moment later the fishermen were not visible through the cool mist.

This photograph is like a rare few in my collection over the years, able to stir the emotional memory to the surface.  Only a few photographs are able to locate deep memories memories  and bring to our senses a moment of emotion from similar to what we once had. Imagination alone may not serve well enough to create mood but sound, smell, or sight like this photograph are catalyst enough to make "it real" once more,

This is when a photograph speaks to us...

Once earlier in my photographer life, a gentleman told me a photograph does not speak. He derided the notion.  I pitied him for seeing nothing from his ivory tower but the technical aspects of the craft...and for feeling nothing from events in his life to create a library of recollection to live again, if only for a short moment.  I suppose if you cannot feel a situation in the first place, you will not have memory strong enough to be lifted again in the elusive joy of past events.

I am a professional photographer, better described on my web galleries and business blog.  This particular blog, Landing Heron, is for the fun of it all and the joy.  We welcome business talk through these other places on the web:  Photoshoot, my business blog   and in my gallery of photos at this location  thomashaynes.zenfolio.com/

Painting to Fool the Eye

I found these photos from 2003, taken with a "state of the art" 4mp Minolta point and shoot while attending the 140th Reenactment Commemoration of the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Frederick, Maryland was the closest we could find lodging and is where we "found" the wonderful "Community Bridge" mural project: Artist William Cochran and his assistants painted the entire structure by hand, using trompe l'oeil ("deceive the eye") techniques. Yes, this is all flat wall, none of it is real but the structural elements and the wall behind the paint.

Another surprise in Frederick is the Frances Scott Key memorial grave site at the Mount Olivet Cemetery. He wrote the lyrics for the "Star Spangled Banner" during the War of 1812.  I have been told he wrote the National Anthem also.

Cat Bath..how good can it be?

This is one of two boy cats who showed on the front porch just as my wife was returning from the vet with a little adopted tortoiseshell female (aren't they all female?).

             
Soon enough the boys were part of the cat family.    This is Davey, a kitty much like a Russian Blue in many characteristics.  Their personalities are very, very good for house cats. They will be trained to go outside on a leash and to stay in the area of our home...that's the plan.  It has worked before and might work this time, too.  He was on the ironing board, set up beside where I sit when editing photos.  Not having used the video feature of my Nikon DSLR, this was the opportunity. One thing is needed:  External Microphone instead of the little one built in.  The built in mic does ok but picks up sound of auto focus and my breathing if I happen to sigh or such.  This video is a couple of steps down from highest quality/ largest size to make web use easier and to show on Android type phones.

We do still photography of animals and pets, with family and children or without. Check out our business blog at ThomasHaynesPhotoshoot  and use contact form on blog site to ask for information.

Sitting alone in tree rows with a few birds flitting around...

It was pleasing for the while.

Keep in mind:  We sometimes do free photos for non-profit organizations.  Contact us and tell about your organization and how the photos would be used.  
 See our photo business blog here, Thomas Haynes Photoshoot.

New Life Emerging Among Thorns

This is taken from  Thomas Haynes Photoshoot,  my photography business blog---a photo of spring and perhaps for Easter, depending on how deeply symbolic go the thorns.

This partial view is of an old rose bush, handed down in the family by cuttings to preserve its heritage. The bush likely came to this country about 200 years ago.

It is  an aggressive grower and is contained by turning back new canes to form a sort of birds nest, a perfect summer bramble for Peter Rabbit™!

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Working within reasonable drive from our location in Clinton, Tennessee 
-- near Knoxville in East Tennessee --

A bird returns and a thought on pets now gone..snowy February

"Excuse me while I touch the sky..." This shows all but the most recent kitty grave on the hill behind our little house. It is just to the right. I wanted these with a breath of snow and got that. There are no kitty spirits here; we believe the same God who breathed life into us is big enough to take care of the Creation He loves. Those spirits are in a place special and unknown to me.
 

This is a hermit thrush, the only thrush to winter over in the USA.  Last year was the first to show here and we also found one dead on our front deck. When this bird showed up this year, it was a nice surprise.  The winter birds have plenty of feed and suet here.

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New Kitties are in the Family

Not quite a year ago three cats were rescued and moved in.  The first was a tortiseshell female who had been living in a barn at a farm.  The farm house was being  maintained but the barns were essentially storage for anything wanted at least partially out of the rain.  Not being a working farm, the cat was in a line of other cats who had lived and sometimes passed on there.  A kind lady gave us the cat and we took the tortie right to the vets to be checked over, vaccinated and checked for parasites.  She had a name but was renamed to Callie, a name more suited to this gentle and somewhat skittish little girl cat.

Tortiseshell refers to the coloration of the coat, variegated like the shells of certain sea turtles which are now legally protected.  The highest percent of tortie cats are female.  Having lived with much time to herself and likely harassed by larger and more predatory animals such as coyotes, we found Callie liked to stay to herself and would only venture around the home, near the walls, in very definite areas where furniture and such provided a quick place to hide.  We got the impression this quite gentle kitty with a very soft and beautiful fur coat felt insecure without a ready place to hide. She had not learned that she was safe her new home. 

The Photograph-
Her eye and coat colors are very close to accurate as seen on my calibrated monitor.  Does she often pose like this? No, she does not.  This photo is the result of her tolerating a camera in her face for several shots, most of which were not good because of her squirming out of frame just as the shutter was pushed.

She Now Feels at Home- She is comfortable in this home now and has learned that fears she may have faced living in the barn are not present in this home. She has become used to the other cats and plays running and toy games with them. She is not a lap kitty but once in a while will jump up on the sofa to warm your legs for a moment...it must be her choice at the moment.

SURPRISE, OTHER KITTIES SAW THE SIGN
We joke that there is a sign visible to homeless cats somewhere leading to our front porch. Cats see this "vacancy" light set to "yes" and come up to hang around until noticed.  We lost a precious cat to a fate of illness far before her time in December of 2012.  Barely 4 years old, she had come here as a rescue and had the best medical treatment to take care of conditions normally reserved for very elderly cats. Her loss was difficult and even if we are not ready for more kitties when one is buried and their God given spirit is taken to new life beyond birth, life, death and decay...that is when the light saying "vacancy" appears to be turned on.

This is just what happened...we received Callie early in 2013.  As she just reached the the front porch in the carrier, coming back from the vet and ready to move in,  two little young gray cats ran up the steps and sat one step down, watching intently. They were still kittens/young cats and perhaps slightly younger than Callie.

What is this! More cats? Well, weather was turning bad as it seems to do when you find a stray cat on the front porch. "They will leave and have a home in the neighborhood even if they are too small to be out like this and should be inside anyway...", I thought, hoping at the time it was so and they had not been cast out with no home. The second day they were given a box and blanket for warmth on an adjoining deck. By week's end, they were the vets to be checked out, neutered and vaccinated.  Because of parasites they were housed in a large crate (cage) in the garage with heat and cover.  Several weeks went by before they were free of persistent problems.  The health issues did pass and the two boys were then introduced to the other cats in the home, including Callie who kept her distance. 

Our eldest kitty took to them quickly and was a friend and companion. Lizzie died in the arms of my wife in the fall of 2013 and our hearts still cry for her, with fond memories of 20 years of joy from a stocky little black and white long-haired girl kitty.  The totally neat part is how the blue* boy cats stayed with her the night she died.  Apparently it was a stroke and she seemed confused for a moment then lost ability to use her right side.  Somehow, she made it to the food dishes and while trying to walk upright, one of the new boys stood directly beside her, holding her up from falling and they moved in unison to a feeding dish.  Within 2 hours and sleeping in the arms of my wife,  this little girl simply went limp and did not wake up.  She had reached that  wonderful goal: A long life, death and passing to a new world while in her sleep, apparently with no pain at all.

This story tells something about the boys who saw that "vacancy" sign.  They have no papers and brought none with them. However, they carry the undeniable characteristics of Russian Blue cats. Only a few gray cats are Russian Blue and to rescue one from a shelter or in the wild is quite unusual.  These do fit the checklist in most ways we can determine.  Even personality is right for that wonderful breed.  A photo of one of the blue boys is below. Eye color is still developing. 

When it comes down to it, almost all of the many cats who have had a home with us were rescues. We are not particular about breed but are concerned with the cats having a good home. To have these two blue brothers is a special joy simply because of their wonderful personalities and active spirits.

So, there is the story of a new kitty and her two new friends. All are members of this home for slightly less than a year and were rescued in early 2013.
*Blue is used to describe the color of a particular gray fur in cats. These kitties have that color and the silvery blue of the dual layer coat of the Russian Blue breed. For information particular to the breed, go here

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If interested in photography of your pets in their own environment, please do contact me. This blog is not my professional photography website. Rates are reasonable and most photos are done where the pet lives or at a place of your choice.  We work out of Clinton, Tennessee and within a reasonable driving distance. Thomas Haynes Photoshoot is the professional/commercial site for our business.

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More of our photography may be seen at the website used for client galleries, here.

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Pickett State Park, Tennessee. Easy trails, breautiful features, day trip from Knoxville

Pickett State Park above Jamestown, Tennessee is a relatively easy day trip from the Knoxville area.  From the southeast, take the road up to Jamestown to avoid  a section of very steep and curvy cutbacks at the base of Big South Fork National Park.  Big South Fork is a wonder in itself and should be given added time in the woods and rough and tumble mountains. 

Just west of Big South Fork and north of Jamestown, the smaller Pickett State Park is a worthwhile day trip from the Knoxville area or places of similar distances. We skirted Big South Fork, managed the steep curves and did not smoke the brakes.  This way from I75 is about 1 1/2 hour drive time. Coming back through Jamestown was definitely a longer but easier drive.

Once in Pickett Park, the trails are relatively easy and go to pleasing small wonders such as the natural bridge in the photos below. The sandstone of the area has given nature a sculptor's paradise and rock formations are both beautiful and enticing. 

We cannot assure you the tree with the tiny base is still standing! The photo was shot in mid-fall of 2013, showing apparent woodpecker work on the tree base down to hardwood core.  This tree was spotted aside the Natural Bridge trail. 

  Is this tree still standing since mid fall 2013? 

 High dynamic range photograph of stream and woodland, mid fall, 2013

 Trail to natural bridge is an easy walk.

 Furrows in sandstone, natures carvings

 Colors in sandstone under natural bridge

The natural bridge: Take secondary trail to cross bridge or go up rocky steps at   base of the formation

Mountain laurel along a stream: This view is easily accessed on foot or vehicle

We hope you enjoyed these few photos of a beautiful state park in Tennessee.

IS THIS YOUR DOG? FREE QUALITY PRINT MAY BE YOURS! See Below...

Go to our Thomas Haynes Photoshoot Blog for details...if your dog, you get a free quality print!

IS THIS YOUR DOG? LET US KNOW FOR A FREE PRINT! Here is a blue eyed sheep dog we saw at a special place in Kentucky on November 2, 2013.  A mile or two and we would be in Virgina. Once in a while a non-posed pet strikes us as special and it is not always looks. Disposition has a lot to do with us picking an "unknown to us" pet and offering a free print.  You just need to contact us and confirm where this photo was taken and what was around you at the time.

Professional photography is our business but this dog was such a sweetie it had to go on this blog, too.   Your dog? Use link above to our other blog to let us know and get a free high quality print.

Race and Walk Event to Raise Money for Cancer Research and more...Buddys Race

These dogs were friendly walkers at the Buddy's Race Against Cancer in 2012. 

 Two nice dogs walking with their caretakers.

 A few of the lead runners who have just finished the 5k race in 2012

The bridge near the Sunsphere tower from the 1982 Worlds Fair was the staging area for walkers in the 2012 Buddy's Race Against Cancer.  Speedy runners were placed at the front of the pack, to the left and out of view of this photograph. We will be participants again this year.

Ladies in the restroom line at the on-site Holiday Inn of Worlds Fair Park and location of Buddy's Race Against Cancer in 2023. In comparison, men had little if any wait.

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Why Do We Do Buddy's Race Every Year..The story below shows why we started.  Now the event is an expected part of our lives every fall.  



We have been part of the fall event since a brother went through treatment and was finally healed by God of metastasized melanoma several years ago.  He was treated at one of the best facilities in the USA, M.D Anderson in Houston.  In the end, after the final surgery,the doctors came to the waiting room and essentially said, "We are sorry he had to go through this surgery. We  were in there and there absolutely was no cancer there, regardless of what the testing a few days before had shown". We consider it a miracle from God, prayers and anointing a few days prior combined with the brother feeling that he was going to pass on and what he really wanted was a clean soul when he met his Creator.  A miracle it was in the final event.  Melanoma internalized is a definite killer but was not the winner in this case.  After that, we have been part of the Buddy's Race Against Cancer every year.

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If my feet cooperate, I will be in the race with my wife.  If not, I will be an independent event photographer for my point of view of the happenings and the people.

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With so many similar events including the emphasis on 

breast cancer research,  events like Buddy's Race should not be neglected. The turnout is in the thousands and just being there raises the spirits of the hurting and touches the warm hearts of the others present. The link at the top sentence in this blog provides a link to official race information.

See us in Craigslist here: Knoxville Craigslist

Tell Us..Do You Want Pet and Animal Photography? Please Comment or Email

DO YOU WANT PET AND ANIMAL PHOTOGRAPHY

 to be a larger part of Thomas Haynes Photography?

We are thinking seriously of going more into the pet and animal direction but in this economy, change is risky even if seen as needed...and advertising is costly. PLEASE EMAIL OR COMMENT TO THIS POST AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. If you comment and want it private, say so and it will stay private, guaranteed from our end.  Sure, if you want to talk over doing some really nice photos of your animals with you or your family, get with us by email and we will get right back. We work out of Clinton in the greater Knoxville, Tennessee area.

As with that and other business photography work, we will move the business content of our work to the commercial sister site of Thomas Haynes Photography:  Thomas Haynes Photoshoot

The following images are from personal shots, not purchased or sold.These are not portfilio images and are here to get you attention..and we think they do deserve a look. Photos for clients are discussed beforehand so we get  photos closest to everyday life in the relationships with your animals or pets.

 Dogs ready for a 5k at Buddy's Race Against Cancer, fall 2012,Thomas Haynes Photography

 Two high class mules at blue grass festival,thomas haynes photo. They won at mule showings.

 Bernnie, local male cat, Thoms Haynes photo

Molly, wonderful  girl kittie, passed at age 4, too, too young. Thoms Haynes photo

We have done family and pet photography in natural settings of animals with the people, life for them as it is and not staged.  This has been well received but do we need to advertise this part of the business?  Not everyone is willing to have professional photos done of their animals...and the animals interacting with them as a family activity, which it is.   This is photography for the person who truly wants more than they can photograph with the cell phone or point and shoot camera. And, these clients love their animals, whether cats, dogs, horses or more exotic creations.

More often than these sample photos show, the critters are in action doing what they love to do.  It is not easy photography but is a part of this work we love doing.

We need feedback on this one.  Please EMAIL OR COMMENT!    We will move this as with other business interest to the sister blog, ThomasHaynesPhotoshoot but published these thoughts here first for you to consider and let us know.  

Thanks so much for what you might have to say.

Gettysburg...reenactment of an horrendous Civil War Battle:Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863 Introduction..more to come.

Reenactment of the final event called Pickett's Charge

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 To see even in reeactment the horrendous slaughter in the infamous Pickett's Charge

was heart rending. Overall, the reenactment can bring the spirit closer to 

those events of July, 1863.  It was for us an educational and emotional, heart

tugging event...because 150 years ago it all was real and men were

 becoming calualties in huge numbers. Actually, perhaps
 not so ill planned as some believe, many factors
 contributed to the defeat of
 Lee's army in the battle.

It is estimated between 46,000 and 53,000 were casualties at the Battle of Gettysburg.  Played out on the farmland and low hills surrounding Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the actual battle could not possibly be replayed for the sake of history on those hallowed grounds.  The actual battlefield areas provide a memorable driving tour with many markers in memory of soldiers from several states.  During the reenactment dates is not a good time to tour the battlefield simply because it is too, too crowded and parking at the visitors center is best skipped and a shuttle taken from town.  A few days after the reenactment, parking is easy.

The large fields provided better scale to the Gettysburg 150th reenactment.

If not on the battlefield, where is the reenactment done?  Local farms have provided the land, room enough for several thousand reenactors, somewhere betweeen 12,000 and 16,000 are numbers posted here and there.  A definite number will be found and this blog post revised as need be for accuracy. We stayed from Tuesday through Monday morning, July 2-8.   The reenactment played out July 4-7, one day added so an additional battle could be played out with the climatic conclusion of the long and devestating Confederate charge now known as Pickett's Charge.  

 We counted over 100 cannon at the  Gettysburg battle event

As more time is given to writing and editing of a multitude of photographs, this post will expand and will eventually become a page so all will be kept in order, not the last to first pattern of blog posts. (A blog page is an article with a permanent link just below the header of the blog site. You will see tabs for pages at the top.)

The days were quite hot and all ended as it did in 1863...the rains came down right after the last shot.

More to come...check back.  Comments appreciated. Guest blogger will be considered.

Close Up Pictures: Titmice, Chickadees, Finches, Red Bellied Woodpecker

My opinion changed radically when I actually knew what I was talking about.  Humm..ever happened to you?  Years ago I appreciated bird photos but felt like “bird feeder photography” was like cheating.   I espoused photos of nature taken in the wild…yes, that was the real stuff.

Titmouse Dancing With the Stars...

Then I got good cameras and lenses and found that taking good in the field bird shots meant patience, good weather, good lighting and a truly cumbersome combination of circumstances coming together at the right time while I was there and alert  in a place harboring wildlife.  In other words, if you want to do that, get used to what it takes and treasure the fine “in the wild” photos you actually have.  Taking bird photos while they were closer at hand and yes, eating, was gaining appeal.  What is  good about these photos? First of all, it is a good way to fill photo time when going some miles to find the critters is not feasible.  Next,  these are fun to shoot and do provide a good look at the local birds.  These tiny creatures are definitely not easy to photograph and to have good close-ups is worth it.  Take a look and see what you think.

Seeing more than I would if I was a believer in Naturalism...

Instead of believing nature is nature and that is all there is, no supernatural, no creator, I choose to believe in Creator, the God who did bring all this into being.  Should I be one to care for the earth and its contents, living and otherwise?  Should I honestly believe when that God said this through David in the Psalms, that He meant it? 

Psalms 8, a psalm of David
³ When I consider your heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
    which you have set in place,
⁴ what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?

⁵ You have made them a little lower than the angels
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
⁶ You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
    you put everything under their feet:
⁷ all flocks and herds,
    and the animals of the wild,
⁸ the birds in the sky,
    and the fish in the sea,
    all that swim the paths of the seas.

⁹ Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Certainly other bible verses tell of mankind having dominion on the earth and over its creatures and a responsibility given with that position. It tells me,  even if we might not be able to catch them, the least we can do is care for them  and should not catch them in the first place, not without a truly valid reason...do not destroy them or our planet and its living things! Doesn't it make sense that a person who believes in this Creator God should respect and care for the earth.  Oh my, that is much responsibility and where to act and when not to act are tough questions to answer.  However, one who does destroy the earth and practices poor, wasteful and destructive stewardship is in my understanding clearly violating what Creator wants from mankind regarding our home.  Much begins with caring for each other, all created in the image of the Creator.

Now, on with the birds and their favorite and dependable place to find black oil sunflower seed...

A male Purple Finch with a mouthful of seed to shell.

Notice the low stance of the Red Bellied Woodpecker.  This is close to the surrface, just as if on a tree standing very close with tail as a support.  This is a female. The male has more red over the top of the head in the bright cap.

That is it for now...more birds from the photo files will be posted next unless something more pressing to publish comes up . Thanks for looking. Comment or contact as you wish. Contact with the text box and then we can email directly should you have a bird photo you would like to send to see here. (It must be your photo, not the © work of someone else.) God Bless.