Category Archives: Travel

Fall in Roanoke

November 14, 2012 Tom Dills 2 Comments

I’m getting back around to working on some photos from earlier this fall. In no particular order, just whatever my attention span allows me to concentrate on!

I had mentioned in a previous post that Kathy & I had decided to spend our fall weekends differently than we have the past few years. Rather than chasing color up and down the Blue Ridge Parkway (something we enjoy but have grown a little weary of) we spent a weekend in Florida at a jazz festival, a weekend in Roanoke, VA visiting friends, and a weekend in which I took photos at a recreated pioneer village and photographed some kids. That was a different fall for us, indeed.

Kathy & I have had an attachment to Roanoke since spending a single night there very early in our marriage. I don’t even remember for sure what we did, where we stayed or where we ate, but we’ve always had good memories of our short time there, and have wanted to go back and spend some time. This year we got to go to Roanoke twice. Of course it was made easier because we have good friends there. We go to see Steven and Cheryl, and just like us, they enjoy wandering around town, taking random photographs, shopping and eating. What a deal!

We’ve found a nice historic hotel right in the downtown area that is walking distance to just about everywhere. We can literally park the car and enjoy the weekend without having to drive. Although this visit we did spend a little time exploring the countryside, visiting a winery and one of Steven & Cheryl’s favorite restaurants, which is now also one of our favorite restaurants!

Ginko Leaves, Blue Sky — Bright yellow leaves of Ginko Biloba trees celebrate fall in downtown Roanoke, Virginia

One of my objections to the constant driving we have done in previous years is that I get tired of driving. And I get really tired of traffic. Kathy drives sometimes, but my creativity seems to suffer when I view the scenery from a moving vehicle, regardless of who is driving. And the addition of crowds just makes it harder.

The other thing with fall is that it’s often very hard to find really interesting scenes. Fall color gives the impression of being interesting because everything is a different color, but in actuality it is much harder to make an interesting photograph in the fall because of the color. Much of what we see in the fall is just as boring as it is in the summer, it’s just a different color. My opinion, anyway.

Fall happens everywhere, not just in the mountains. And it’s not just colored leaves that make up fall. The air is crisp and cool, the light is warm and contrasty, and a lot of interesting things happen in the fall, such as festivals, concerts and farmer’s markets. So my goal was to find and photograph fall in different places. I think it was a successful approach, and in many ways I think am happier with the results than I’ve been from those in previous years.

Photography, Travel

Time for Reflection

November 11, 2012 Tom Dills 3 Comments

Boat Reflections on Far Creek, Englehard, North Carolina

Kathy & I are visiting Belhaven, North Carolina this weekend. One of our many favorite weekend destinations, Belhaven is ideally situated near a lot of places that I love to photograph. And this weekend has proven – once again – the advantage of returning time after time to some of the same places.

Boat Reflections near Swan Quarter, North Carolina

The weather has been perfect “Chamber of Commerce” weather. Clear, blue sky with no clouds to be found anywhere. Well, there were a few around late this afternoon, but not enough to make a meaningful difference in the weather forecast. A little tough for photography, but not if you know where to look. And I had a pretty good idea where to look!

I love shooting the boats around Swan Quarter and Englehard. I never get tired of going there, and these are especially good places in the late afternoon on these clear days when I know there will be golden light if I am patient enough.

Once the sun was low enough that the boats were cast in shadow we headed back down the road to Lake Mattamuskeet to see what like of post-sunset color we might find. We found a little, and it was quite nice.

Cypress Trees at Sunset at Lake Mattamuskeet near Englehard, North Carolina

One of the advantages of an early sunset is a little more time to spend processing photos, so I have broken from my usual routine to process a few photos from this afternoon and get them online the same day. I’ll have a few more once we get home and I get them processed on my regular computer.

Sunset at Lake Mattamuskeet near Englehard, North Carolina

Photography, Travel

Farmer’s Market

October 28, 2012 Tom Dills 4 Comments

I really love fall because it is a great time to travel and take photographs. But the hard part about fall is that we do a lot of traveling and take a lot of photographs! I was already a few weeks behind on processing my photos from the last two weekends, and then this weekend I went and took another 1,000 or so photographs, so I’m even behinder now than I was before. But we’ll slow down a bit in November and December, so with any luck I’ll have some time to get caught up on my processing and my writing. Wishful thinking, perhaps, but that’s the plan.

Over the weekend of 10/19-10/21 we headed to Roanoke, VA to spend time with our good friends Steven and Cheryl. One of the things I had been looking forward to was visiting their Farmer’s Market, which is right downtown, in the Market Square area. There is a block-long section of street that has been permanently set up for local farmers and craftspeople to display and sell their goods. It was quite an experience, and for me it was a real photographic treat. And all I did was shoot vegetables! I could have make an entire day photographing people, although many of them were not nearly as photogenic as the food. 🙂

I’ve not spent a lot if time at farmer’s markets, although I certainly need to do more of it. The quality of food for sale is much better than that found at even the better local grocery stores. Most if it is truly local, and you can be pretty sure that whatever you buy was picked just a few days before you bought it. We always tell ourselves that we don’t buy enough produce to make it worth the trip, but I think there’s a lot to be said for buying fresh and for buying local.

The fall colors were coming into their own while we were there, and I’ll try to follow up with another post on that subject in the next few days.

I have a number of friends who seem to be able to race home and see who can be the first to process and post photos from their weekends, but I don’t seem to be able to come close to that, so I don’t care to waste much effort trying to compete. In the mean time I’m currently trying to download and process another batch of photos from our two latest adventures. One of them was for a paying client today, so I’ll have to give those photos a higher priority. But I’ll get back to these soon, so stay tuned.

Special thanks to Riverstone Organic Farm from Floyd, VA for allowing me to shoot their vegetables!

Photography, Travel

Something A Little Different

October 14, 2012 Tom Dills 6 Comments

Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, Florida

Most of my nature photography friends headed off to the mountains this weekend in search of fall color. Based on early reports and a few “brag” photos I’ve seen online, fall is in full swing in the High Country. Kathy & I headed a little different direction this year – actually a complete 180-degree direction – and opted for warmer climes, and for a good reason. We headed to Amelia Island, Florida, primarily to attend the Amelia Island Jazz Festival, but also because October is a great time to visit Amelia Island.

While the photographers up on the Blue Ridge Parkway were more than likely looking at morning low temperatures in the 30’s, we were walking around in shorts and sandals enjoying comfortable upper-70s with little humidity and mostly clear skies. That in itself was a clear change of pace for us, and as far as I’m concerned (and Kathy agrees!) was a welcome change. Fall is not necessarily all about fall color, and more and more I’m finding that colder weather isn’t necessarily my first choice. Plus, what that heck? A little change is good!

I don’t have any photos from the jazz festival itself because photography wasn’t permitted, but we enjoyed the music of a number of big name musicians, capped off by the jazz of David Benoit on Friday night and the sounds of Spyro Gyra on Saturday night. The festival itself is pretty new, and even with these big name acts there were only about 400 people in attendance each night, so that made the who experience very pleasant. That made the trip worthwhile even without all of the other things we were able to do. We met up with some friends that live there and had a nice lunch with them, we ate some good food and drank some nice wine. We had a nice relaxing time and even managed to get in a little photography.

The main town on Amelia Island is Fernandina Beach. We stayed right in town and could walk just about everywhere except the festival itself, which was a 20-minute drive but we only went there in the evenings. The rest of our time was spent walking around town and the city marina.

Fernandina Beach is a vibrant little town, with a number of interesting shops and some excellent restaurants. We didn’t get to investigate the restaurants as much as we would typically do because of the concerts, but we did get to try several places and look forward to a chance to go back.

This coming weekend we are doing something a little more traditional and heading up north to Roanoke, Virginia. But we’re hoping to enjoy the town of Roanoke, the farmer’s market there and in general the sights and sounds of the area, mixed in with a little fall color. Again, something a little out of the normal routine for us, but still something with a fall flavor.

So yes, I’ll be putting the warm weather clothes away for a while. At least until January, when it might just be time to head someplace warm again!

Travel

An Early Fall Getaway

October 2, 2012 Tom Dills 7 Comments

Morning light and clouds at Pounding Mill Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway MP 413

Kathy & I had a last-minute chance to take off to the mountains this past weekend and meet up with some friends. There are definitely signs of color in some spots, primarily the higher elevations. We didn’t spend a lot of time photographing, preferring instead to explore the towns of Waynesville and Sylva. I did manage to crawl out of bed early on Saturday for an attempt at sunrise, but we left with no evidence that the sun had risen other than the fact that the sky got lighter. We did end up seeing some sun later in the day and on Sunday, but for the most part things were on the cloudy and foggy side.

Like many weekends in the mountains, this was one of widely variable conditions. We found sun in some spots, were totally socked in with fog in some spots. We discovered fall color in some places, while in others summer was still holding on tight. We stopped by a waterfall along one of the side roads and in 15-20 minutes didn’t see a car, while earlier on the Parkway traffic was starting to get busy.

Waterfall on West Fork Pigeon River, Route 215 Lake Logan Road, Pisgah National Forest

I’m still struggling to find my photographic “groove” and I didn’t help myself much this weekend. I guess I’ve just allowed myself to get out of practice. It has been a crazy year so I have a good excuse, but it’s frustrating to feel so out of it, creatively. I’m back on the upswing though, and am confident that I’ll get things back on track over the next month or so.

All in all we had a great weekend. Good food and good times with friends are tough to top!

City lights of Hendersonville, NC shine through the pre-dawn fog from Pounding Mill Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway MP 413.

***

I love the Blue Ridge Parkway, and it is one of my favorite places to visit any time of the year, especially in the fall. But more and more I find myself struggling with the sheer number of people that head for the Parkway when the leaves start to peak. In particular I’m bothered by what appears – to me at least – to be an increase in the irresponsible behavior and lack of respect that some drivers have. This past weekend I witnessed a number of “bad apple” drivers, in particular motorcycle riders, doing stupid and reckless stunts. Passing on curves and in no-passing zones, tailgating and intimidating drivers who weren’t going fast enough to suit them. It really takes away from the peaceful experience that I have always gone to the Parkway for. I understand that not everyone goes to the Parkway for peace and quiet, but when the antics of a few people manage to wreck the experience it is hard to tolerate.

I had already made plans to experience fall in other places this year, but after this past weekend and some similar experiences last year, I think I’m going to wait until I have time to plan my visits in mid-week to hopefully avoid most of the crazies. I realize that most drivers and riders are careful and responsible, and that for the most part their biggest offense is making a lot of noise, but I think I’ll wait and head back in November and December, when only the most hardy adventurers are willing to brave the elements.

Morning light and fall color at Pounding Mill Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway MP 413

Fall happens everywhere, and I think my goal for this year will be to find Fall in some of the less-discovered places! We’ve got some interesting adventures coming up, so stop by again soon to see what we’ve been up to.

Morning light and fog at Pounding Mill Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway MP 413

Photography, Travel

P.O.P.T.P.

September 26, 2012 Tom Dills 4 Comments

Sunrise on the Beach, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina — This wasn’t my idea…she just stopped in front of the camera. Sometimes you take what you get!

It’s been sort of an unofficial and undeclared project of mine to take photographs of people taking photographs, aka Pictures Of People Taking Pictures. ‘Unofficial’ because I don’t “set out” looking for such photos, I just happen upon them. ‘Undeclared’ because I haven’t published or printed any groups of them. I just have a growing number of “P.O.P.T.P.s” in my collection and sort of figured that one day there would be enough decent ones to make up a series.

I was on the beach at Hilton Head a few weeks ago taking photos at sunrise. Most people see the tripod and walk behind me. A few of them are so oblivious to my presence that they walk right in front of the camera. Occasionally they stop.

This woman was with a group of 4 people walking by. I was set up for my shot and had Live View activated, so I was able to watch the scene in case they “posed” for me. One of the hidden advantages of Live View is perhaps the ability to take pictures when it doesn’t look like you are taking pictures? I was able to watch as they walked into my scene. I thought they were going to keep walking, but at the very last moment this woman stopped and took several shots. While she was standing still I was able to click off a few frames of my own.

Photography, Travel

Protection, or Overkill?

September 18, 2012 Tom Dills 14 Comments

When I was growing up I had an aunt, or a cousin or some relative who had the seats in her car covered with plastic. I always thought that was a little strange, to take this nice comfortable fabric and cover it with hot, sticky plastic, just so it wouldn’t get dirty or wear out. I don’t remember for certain, but I think she might have had the furniture in her house covered in plastic too. People used to – probably still do – use plastic carpet runners to keep people from walking on the carpet. I’ll admit that I can see the logic in covering carpet with carpet runner, in the winter, when it used to snow, and we people would come in the house with snow on their boots. But in the middle of summer? Nah!

Today, we can’t buy a cell phone without being offered a “screen protector.” I don’t understand why I would buy a fancy new phone with a gorgeous display and stick a piece of foggy plastic on it. So it won’t get dirty? It’s a touch screen, for Pete’s sake! It’s going to get finger marks on it! When I bought my last laptop, one of my students was appalled that I hadn’t paid another $50 or more for some rubberized piece of goo to cover the computer. I said, “someone went to a lot of trouble to make this computer look so nice, why would I want to cover it up?” We get sold $10 UV filters to put in front of our camera lenses, we can buy “skins” to cover up our cameras and lenses, but for what? So it won’t look like we use them? Come on, we don’t use them enough as it is, why cover it up with some aftermarket stuff someone thinks we need, just to keep our gear looking nice.

I have no idea why that was stuck in my head today. Well actually I do, and I feel much better now. Thanks!

Photography, Travel

A Week At The Beach

September 15, 2012 Tom Dills 6 Comments

Sunrise on the Beach, Hilton Head Island, SC

I’ve been away for a while. I didn’t go far, but things are finally settling down after a difficult and hectic August. Kathy has gotten her Dad’s affairs pretty much in order, and to the extent that I’ve been able to help I have helped. Work demands have taken some of my attention too, so there just hasn’t been a lot of time for writing and creativity. The blog got pushed to the side for a little while, but here I am.

Kathy & I spent Labor Day week at the beach. Besides all the hoopla that was already playing out in Charlotte (the DNC, for those who pay even less attention than me) it was time for a break. Kathy was just about wrung out and so was I, so it was perfect timing. A trip to the beach was definitely in order.

Our “beach of choice” is Hilton Head Island, SC. We’ve been going there for years, starting with a weekend each year, then a week, and now we try to get there for a week and several weekends each year. We like it there, the beach is beautiful, and it’s generally quiet. There is plenty of activity for those so inclined, but this year we literally rented beach chairs for 7 days straight and sat on our backsides. We walked, talked, read and just generally chilled. And I took a few photographs. Not many, but I managed to haul myself out for sunrise a few mornings, and even got Kathy to come with me for one (I promised her breakfast!).

One of the best things about “going to the beach” for us is the state of mind we go with. We don’t live hectic lives by a lot of peoples’ standards, but it gives us a chance to “put it all away.” And yes, while the DNC was perhaps a historic event, just because it happened to be in Charlotte didn’t change my lack of interest, and it certainly didn’t give me reason to turn on the TV. We don’t watch TV anyway, so we certainly don’t do it at the beach. I guess we had a TV, but I never opened the doors of the entertainment center to look.

I do very little blog reading or Facebook on vacation. I don’t have a need to post constant “jealousy updates” that my friends can “Like” and tell me how lucky I am. I do some photography but that is not the focus of our time or attention there, and unless I have a rainy day with nothing else to do, I’ve gotten completely away from processing photos. I prefer to live in the moment, and the minute I put my nose into the computer screen “the moment” goes away.

The same holds true with writing. I sometimes think I’d like to spend some time writing while I’m at the beach, but instead what I do is think and take notes. For the same reasons I don’t like to process photos, I don’t want to take time and attention from being there. In many ways I write for escape, and when I’m already “escaped” I want to keep it that way. So I think my thoughts and make my notes to refer to later when something sparks the need to write. I plant seeds. I like it that way.

We don’t completely escape from reality on vacation. Hilton Head has numerous wonderful restaurants. We have a number of “have-to” favorites and always like to try some new places. This year the new ones were about 50-50 successful, some of the old ones are getting a little old, and a few places we had been to only a few times but tried again were worth a visit. We sometimes get out to do some shopping or visit a gallery or two, but this year the weather was so beautiful we didn’t have a reason to leave the beach. We do more of that in the winter if we visit in January or February.

But we’re here now, back to “reality” for a little while. I’ve got some photos to share and a few stories to tell. And we’ll be back to our usual traveling routine after a few weekends at home. So, sorry if you missed me, but thanks for sticking around.

Photography, Travel

Finding A New Normal

August 19, 2012 Tom Dills 8 Comments

South Beach Marina, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

This year has truly exemplified the term “roller coaster ride.” Kathy’s Dad died last week after an extended illness. Her Mom died in May. They had both been ailing for quite some time before they moved to an assisted living facility in April of this year. In between we managed to squeeze in a trip to the beach, several weekends to the mountains, including a great weekend with friends at Shenandoah National Park in April. Then her Mom died in May, later in the month we took a wonderful vacation to Alaska and California, and since then we managed to sneak in a few weekends away, but in general the last several months were consumed with taking care of Kathy’s Dad.

It’s been a tough year.

Kathy & I love to travel, obviously. And we often use our travel as a way to escape – both mentally and physically – from our everyday realities. The last 6 months or more have been emotionally and physically draining, and we feel fortunate to have been able to intersperse the grief and sadness with some well-timed getaways.

Beach at Sunset, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

It’s surprising how the body and mind can take on additional burden without us realizing it, until such time as the burden is lifted from us and we realize how much we had been carrying. We are starting to feel that lifting now, and it may take a while longer before we fully appreciate it.

We were talking with friends this past week and one of them mentioned that we would be “trying to find our new normal.” That comment hit home for both of us, and we have talked about it a lot over the last few days. I really like the concept of “a new normal,” as if feels like what is happening to us now (I say ‘us,’ but of course Kathy has been carrying the burden, and I have been supporting her as much as I can).

It’s a huge change, to go from caring for two people who have loved you for your entire life to having them gone completely in a few short months. I went through it myself years ago and it still comes back and smacks me in the head when I least expect it. And I suspect it will continue to do so for a long while to come.

The attraction of this “new normal” idea is that it presents one of those rare times when we have at least a little bit of influence about what that “normal” looks like. Will it mean big changes for us? Probably not. But I know that losing both of my parents at an early age – my Mom was 53 when she died, my Dad was 54 – has had a profound influence on how I have looked, and how I continue to look, at my own life as I approach (and hopefully pass) those ages. Let’s just say that I’m hoping for a heck of a birthday party for July 2013!

The concept of “a new normal” is very appropriate to me, because it aptly describes the adjustment process that inevitably takes place when a major change occurs in our lives. Many of these changes are very subtle, such as not having to remember to make a phone call, or not having to plan our route so we come home via Statesville. Some of them are pretty major, as in the fact that having someone living close by and being primarily responsible for their care was one of the major influences to us in terms of staying in the area. Does that mean we’re going to sell the house and move to Alaska? Not today, but when we do decide it’s time to sell the house – which is the only “physical” thing keeping us here – who knows? The kids are here, and our jobs (for as long as we want them or as long as our employers want us) are here. But fewer ties mean more possibilities. And that is what “new normal” means for me right now. What will it mean in a few months or a few years? Time will tell, but I’m looking forward to figuring it out.

We had already planned a trip to the beach over Labor Day weekend, but we had an opportunity to extend that into a full week. I think a week of sand, sun and ocean will do us good. Some quiet time to think and talk, a nice beach for long walks, and a number of good restaurants where they treat us like locals. It is one of our favorite places to visit, and a good place to start getting in touch with our new normal. Indeed.

Photography, Travel

A Visit to Roanoke

July 22, 2012 Tom Dills 9 Comments

Mill Mountain Star in Roanoke, VA. In-camera HDR with Canon 5D Mark III

Kathy & I recently visited Roanoke, Virginia to visit with our friend Steven Norris and attend the opening of a gallery show that Exposure Roanoke is having at a gallery there. We had visited Roanoke many, many years ago, and had good but fading memories of the place. We had been intending to return for a long time, and this gave us a good chance to go.

We didn’t have a lot of time there, but we stayed at the Hotel Roanoke, which gave us easy access to the downtown area. With the expert guidance of Steven & Cheryl we visited some of the downtown highlights on Saturday night, and I returned for a little shooting on my own on Sunday morning, before meeting up with our friends for the sumptuous breakfast buffet at the Hotel Roanoke.

Tomato Water Martini — I’m not exactly sure what ‘Tomato Water’ is, but if they can make a Martini out of it, how bad can it be?

Roanoke is a railroad town, having grown around the success of the Norfolk & Southern, now Norfolk & Western. A lot of coal moves through Roanoke. With a population of just under 100,000 with 303,000 in the MSA, it’s a happening place without the sprawl and congestion of larger cities. Situated right near the mountains and The Blue Ridge Parkway and an easy drive from Charlotte, it’s a place we need to spend more time visiting, especially with friends there.

Despite the amazing number of railroad tracks, there are numerous bridges and pedestrian walkways, so getting around is easy. Our hotel had a walkway right across from the entrance, so we could be in town within minutes of leaving our room. And with the exception of going out to the gallery, once we parked our car we didn’t need it again until we left. My kind of place!

We didn’t visit the Transportation Museum, deciding to spend our limited time seeing more of the town. We did visit the O. Winston Link Museum on Sunday afternoon and learned the story of Link and is railroad photography. The Link museum is a fascinating place, located in the former N&S passenger depot. It’s definitely a must-visit for any photography and/or railroad buff.

The Taubman Museum of Art is across the tracks from the Link Museum, and provides an interesting architectural contrast with much of the older architecture in the area. I got the impression that there were only two opinions about the place most residents considering it either a hideous eyesore or beautiful. In my opinion there’s no point in making an art museum look like a Wal-Mart, so I guess I would fall into the “beautiful” camp. I’d vote for spending my tax dollars on it.

We had a nice weekend in Roanoke, a wonderful visit with Steven and Cheryl, and hope it isn’t another 30 years before we return for another look.

Tom Dills Photography Blog

Category Archives: Travel

Fall in Roanoke

Time for Reflection

Farmer’s Market

Something A Little Different

An Early Fall Getaway

P.O.P.T.P.

Protection, or Overkill?

A Week At The Beach

Finding A New Normal

A Visit to Roanoke

Photographs and stuff!