Matthew is 3!

It's that time of year again to attempt to catch a winning photo of this ball of energy we call Matthew!  Honestly, I feel slightly defeated this go round.  His level of tolerance for sitting still and smiling for me has rapidly diminished - or maybe his desire to do the opposite has greatly increased!  At any rate, we set out for Bays Mountain Sunday afternoon and I caught fleeting glances of the 100 mph boy!

 A quiet, still moment - too bad he was drinking his juice!

What most of the day looked like - him running away from me with what I am pretty sure is a smirk on his face!

Sitting still - check.  Smiling - check.  My direction - nope!

 He loves to throw rocks and sticks into the water and I love this picture of him completely off the ground! 

Jonesborough - In Black & White

My dear friends are opening their own restaurant next month in a charming, converted house on the outskirts of Jonesborough and they've asked me to help fill the space with my photos!  After talking about it, Deanna wants to do photos from in and around Jonesborough of old buildings and barns.  Jonesborough is the oldest town in Tennessee, so we've got the old part covered!  We also thought black and white would be fun - it's my favorite, so I was an easy sell!!  If you want to see all of the photos (and in color!) check them out here - J. Commons Photography.

Here's phase one - Jonesborough in Black & White.

I thought it was nice of this train to come by for me!

I shot my first wedding at this gazebo - good and bad memories!

I'm in love with the side of this building - I actually like it better in color (which I won't say often).

A hike on the Appalachian Trail

This week I have been focusing on doing some freelance work.  Specifically, I have become determined to have photos published in A. T. Journey's magazine, I mean the Applachian Trail is in my backyard!  On Wednesday, my friends and I set out to get my first photos by hiking Round Bald Mountain on the TN-NC line.  It was breathtakingly beautiful at the top, well at the bottom, too!  If you want to see all of my photos from the day check them out here - J. Commons Photography.

The following four water photos were taken at the Roan Mountain State Park Visitor Center.  You drive through Roan Mountain State Park to get to Cherokee National Forest where Round Bald and this part of the AT are located.

These two photos are from an overlook about halfway up the mountain.

Carvers Gap is the trail head for Round Bald.

Deanna's girls were not quite prepared for the temperature drop, about 15 degrees, from the bottom of the mountain to the top.  I kept referring to them as a merry band of misfits!

Part of the trail meanders through a Spruce-Fir forest - and I love a good tree!!

Almost to the top!  And yes, Olivia is wearing my Grateful Dead-esque shirt!

The top of Round Bald - 5,826 feet up.

My new friend Michael - the one person I asked if I could take a picture of for the ATC magazine.  On the way up I realized I had not brought any model release forms and quickly downloaded an app, but I didn't really care for it.  Not only is Michael a Taurus, like myself, but his mom's birthday is the same day as mine - how random!

Feeling my inner Ansel Adams