Last weekend I had the pleasure of joining some work friends for a nice getaway weekend in Western North Carolina. We were on a beautiful private lake in the mountains named Lake Tahoma. The views were gorgeous, I loved it.
Lake Tahoma is a private lake about four miles outside of Marion, NC. The dam which created the lake was built at the height of the Roaring Twenties by the Buck Creek Development Company. They had planned to use this lake as the centerpiece of a planned resort community and the dam was to provide electricity.
The Casino, made out of stone and wood, was designed by Earl Draper, a well-known city planner of that era. It is approached by a gated long pier and has a large open circular room attached to a roofed docking area.
The dam which created the lake was built at the height of the Roaring Twenties by the Buck Creek Development Company.
The first evening we arrived, I decided it was a great opportunity to introduce my friends to light painting. After we had a few drinks while playing some games in the cabin, we made our way down to the dock to get some long exposures!
There was a floating dock about 10 feet out from the main dock and I knew it would be a great spot to spin some steel wool from. My friend Jared (who had previously gone light painting with me) was also on the trip, so I let him show everyone what a wool spin looks like. Jared was a great sport and put on his swimsuit, and hopped in the lake. We tossed him the materials from the main dock, and he let ‘er rip.
Jared spinning some wool on the floating dock.
After a few shots from the dock, I decided I needed some more distance to get a better composition as well as to add some context to our surroundings. I moved my tripod back on land and further down the shore. It provided me with a much better shot.
After Jared spun some more wool from my new angle, I instructed him on how to spin an orb. He gave it a try and I was pretty impressed with how well he did for his first try!
I deemed this as the shot of the night and we headed back into the cabin to celebrate! Stay tuned for photos to come from the second night at Lake Tahoma where I did my first attempt at star trails!
-Johnny