TOPIC: New Member

Hi folks, just joined the forum. A little about myself. Now retired I spend a lot of time in the woods of North Georgia shooting nature videos. You can see my work at http://vimeo.com/channels/3523 I started growing ginseng on my property about 12 years ago and have yet to harvest it. I don't think GA is a major player in the ginseng market because we are so far south but my plants seem to be doing ok despite the drought, heat and rabbits. I think this year I may dig up some roots and sell them. I am sure I will have some questions as that time gets closer. Anyway I have been reading through the forum and there is some really interesting information here. I hope to contribute to that.

Regards,
Mark Williams

Welcome Mark. I checked out your videos, great work there. We look forward to having you with us.

Hillhopper

Welcome to the forum!

I'd be interested in the size of your roots at 12 years.

Are you in the mountains? Near what city?

Really nice video you do there....

I am in Alpharetta. This is within site of the mountains. I don't know of anyone growing this far south.

Hi Mark,
I just got back in from a trip to the South Holston River. I also do some photography and video work on the mountain streams with a little bit of ginseng work as well.
Your videos are excellent and I am very envious. I think you'll find this expertise that you are developing will really add momentum to your ginseng sales in the future. It will create an open door to sales outside of the normal \"digger to buyer\" that most growers use.I have been using the Sony HDR-CX550, but most of my outside work is hand held with the occasional use of a tri-pod. I need more experience with better editing software to get the highest quality like you have. All of mine is done with Windows Movie Maker and that really limits you.
Glad to have you on board, and we hope to see more of your video work with ginseng.
Hugh

By the way, you wouldn't happen to know Mike Williams and his Yellow Lab, \"Boomer\" who live in Alpharetta, would you?

Hello Hugh,
Thanks for the nice welcome. I got interested in ginseng about 15 years ago when I read a book by Scott Persons. That information kind of stuck with me as I recreated in the North GA mountains but never saw any ginseng even way off the beaten path. That lead me to believe it was pretty well wiped out here. So I bought some seed from NC hoping to to revive it here. I'll never forget when I saw my first 3 leaf plants emerge. Been hooked ever since.

Have been working with video for about 10 years. I use a Panasonic HPX170 camera and edit with Edius 5. Lately I have been using a motorized camera slider and 4 foot jib/crane to get more interesting shots. I don't think I have ever not used a tripod. All this stuff sometimes results in two trips to get all my gear to where I want to shoot. I have produced three commercial DVD projects entitled \"Waterfalls of North Ga\", \"Amicalola\" and \" \"Anna Ruby Falls and Lake Unicoi\". I also shoot video for royalty free stock sale. I am finishing a redo of the Amicalola DVD which will be in widescreen format and feature all new footage. Since the government is discussing building a water reservoir (dam) on the Amicalola River I figure I should document as much of the area as possible in case it comes to be.

Anyway, that is what I have been up to. Don't know a Mike Williams nor Boomer but its a small world and you never know....