Tag Archives: North Carolina

December 2014 Wallpaper

March 1 2009 Snowfall in Huntersville North Carolina
March 1 2009 Snowfall in Huntersville North Carolina

Well, here’s the 12th in the series of abstract wallpaper, and the last for 2014.  I hope everyone has enjoyed these as much as I have enjoyed sharing them.  I don’t have any way to tell how many people actually take the time to download these, but I sure would appreciate your letting me know via comment or e-mail.  I’m thinking about trying something different for 2015, but if I get a lot (any?) requests to keep them just the way they are I’m open.

I hope everyone has a joyful and happy holiday of your choice, and we’ll welcome in the new year very soon!

Black Friday

Random photos from Bath, North Carolina
Random photos from Bath, North Carolina

There’s a sign in front of a church that I pass by that is advertising for an upcoming “financial planning” seminar. The sign has a picture of some snake oil salesman-looking guy holding a bundle of cash and says “Normal is Broke, BE WEIRD!” I’m not sure what kind of financial planning seminar would be held in a church but I hope it doesn’t involve praying for more money. 😉

Right after I pass that church I get to the Walmart, which seems to be a much more popular place for people to spend their time and money, because Walmart is always packed and I only see people at the church on Sunday. Maybe the church needs to take marketing advice from Walmart and attract people there by having sales.

I guess it’s the whole “SALE!” thing that is on my mind, mostly. But it ties into the idea of financial planning because the two ideas seem to be diametrically opposed.

Random photos from Bath, North Carolina
Random photos from Bath, North Carolina

Because I don’t watch television, don’t listen to commercial radio, have Ad Blocker on my browser and stopped subscribing to the local “junk mail disguised as yesterday’s news” newspaper I am mostly insulated from all of the “it’s on sale” mentality that gets people all excited about Black Friday. But I hear people at work all the time making plans to go shopping on Friday because “they’re (whoever “they’re” is) is having a sale on (INSERT NAME OF ITEM HERE).

Random photos from Bath, North Carolina
Random photos from Bath, North Carolina

Kathy & I just don’t buy stuff. Other than trips to Lowe’s to buy the few things we have needed for our house, we buy food, wine and gasoline for the car. I will admit to making a few trips to Best Buy while I was rounding out my Sonos system, but that’s it. We went to Target a few weeks ago and bought a few things that we needed, and realized that was the first time we had been there since January. And it’s not because we shop somewhere else – I haven’t been inside a Walmart in probably 5 years!

St Thomas Church in Bath, North Carolina
St Thomas Church in Bath, North Carolina

Just for fun I pulled up Walmart’s (and this is not a slam at Walmart, they just make a convenient example) Black Friday ad and looked through it. In a 39-page ad, there isn’t a single thing I would buy now. It’s not that there isn’t anything I would have, but generally if there is something I need I already have it, and if I need to replace something I have, I usually can’t wait until it’s on sale!

Admittedly, some of the sales are pretty good. If you just happened to be in the market for Beats wireless headphones ($280 – really?) $149 is a pretty good price. I liked the idea of Skullcandy earbuds for $9, but if I needed a set I would already have some that I paid $18 for and wouldn’t be laying up extras “just in case.” About three quarters of the pages are for clothes and junk toys that I wouldn’t buy for anyone’s kid. And best of all, if you don’t have the money for all this stuff, they have special financing available! Take 24 months to pay for this year’s crap! What a deal!

I’ll admit that the excuse that a lot of people use is that they are buying Christmas gifts, and to a certain extent that is probably true.  But I’m not as concerned about who the stuff is for as I am that people feel like they have to buy stuff at all, for them or for someone else.

Anyway, I’m really not judging. Really! Some people enjoy the thrill of the chase, some have money to burn and shop just for fun.  I choose to do otherwise.  So do what you want, buy what you need and remember to share some of your good fortune with others less fortunate than you. What am I doing for Black Friday? I usually go to work on that day since I often figure it’s a lousy day to waste a vacation day on. This year though we’ve decided to do something a little different on Black Friday. We’re going to the beach for the weekend. Have fun!

Random photos from Bath, North Carolina
Random photos from Bath, North Carolina

A Sense of Place

Random photos from Bath, North Carolina
Random photos from Bath, North Carolina

Several discussions have been swirling around lately on the various blogs I follow about the relative suitability of ones location in terms of climate, activities, culture, economy, etc. And not coincidentally, Kathy & I have been having similar discussions as we ponder our own futures and plan our eventual withdrawal from the corporate meat grinder. Interestingly, I find a wide divergence of opinion on the role that location plays in one’s outlook, from the overall quality of life to intangibles like access to healthcare, a reasonable sized airport, and proximity to important things like the beach, the mountains, and an ABC store. 😉

Random photos from Bath, North Carolina
Random photos from Bath, North Carolina

For the longest time, Kathy & I regarded Charlotte as a place to live until our “real lives” began. We saw it as a good place to raise the kids, it had and still has a good economy with reasonable prospects for employment, and we have much better weather here than we faced in northeast Ohio in the years prior to our move. Now that we’ve been here for a while – in December we will have lived in North Carolina for 20 years – we find that we really like it here. We absolutely love our new house, and as we work to put the finishing touches on making it our “dream home” we find that it’s easier and easier to think about it as a place we don’t need to leave. But ultimately it’s just a house and a place to store our stuff. It’s our outlook and our state of mind that makes a place our home. For us, whether we are in Charlotte, North Carolina, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina or Fort Collins, Colorado, I think home is wherever Kathy & I happen to find ourselves, not necessarily where our house is located. Although Jost Van Dyke holds some appeal….

Random photos from Bath, North Carolina
Random photos from Bath, North Carolina

As we travel we wonder about other towns as possible places to move to, but for whatever reason we always come back to our current home as the place we look forward to getting back to. And we’ve pretty much felt that way about wherever we have lived. It’s not that we wouldn’t or couldn’t make a new home somewhere else, but that we are comfortable with ourselves and are happy to make the best of where we are, wherever that is.

Random photos from Bath, North Carolina
Random photos from Bath, North Carolina

One of the many life lessons that I have learned from my photography is that there are an endless number of places that I could be at a given time. If I’m sitting at an overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway socked in with fog and rain, someone else is at Clingman’s Dome in the Smokies witnessing a spectacular sunrise or sunset. I’ve seen people racing up and down the Parkway trying to find the perfect conditions, but I’ve made some of my favorite photographs from places where I have stuck around to see what happened and ended up making the best of the conditions I was handed where I was.

Random photos from Bath, North Carolina
Random photos from Bath, North Carolina

The key for me is to live my life and spend my time enjoying where I am and making the best of it, rather than spending a lot of energy worrying about where I’m not. And I realize that doesn’t work for everybody, but as I think about how I prefer to plan my days, I don’t worry about where I live, I just want to be sure that I do live, and that I make the best of wherever it is that I happen to be.

Random photos from Bath, North Carolina
Random photos from Bath, North Carolina

Lists, Goals & Plans

Fall Color in Historic Frog Level, North Carolina
Fall Color in Historic Frog Level, North Carolina

Kathy and I love to travel, of course, and while we aren’t the “world travelers” that some have made us out to be, we’ve seen our share of the world and we spend a lot of time talking about what kind of travel we want to do. We have our lists of places we “should” go, and all of those have varying levels of interest and priority. And of course there are places that we would love to go but probably never will. Some of our favorite memories are from places where most people would never bother to go. Of all the places we’ve been, a trip to Kentucky a few years ago still comes to mind as one of our favorite experiences. Who’da thunk?

Dogwood in fall colors, Waynesville, North Carolina
Dogwood in fall colors, Waynesville, North Carolina

Like a lot of things, what we do and what we enjoy has to come from within. We need to be able to take the time to figure out what means the most to us. What are our priorities, rather than a heavily cliché-ed “bucket list” developed by some magazine publisher to sell more advertising. Who we are and how we feel is a product of our own existence and our own experiences. Comfort level has a lot to do with what we are willing to try. Not everyone has that voice that tells us to step out of our comfort zones. But for those of us who do, we definitely need to listen.

Fall Color in Waynesville, North Carolina
Fall Color in Waynesville, North Carolina
Fall Color along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesville, North
Fall Color along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesville, North Carolina

Like a lot of people, I’m often tempted by the idea of “if I knew then what I know now.” But I try to keep a lid on those thoughts, because ultimately I didn’t know then what I know now, and my entire life’s experience ultimately contributes to where and who I am today. I can’t change the past, so the best approach for me is to look ahead, because that’s the only thing I have any degree of influence on – to make the best of what I have and who I am.

Fall Color along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesville, North Carolina
Fall Color along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesville, North Carolina

In many ways, this idea of comfort zone has parallels with the way we see the world. For those of us who are observers, we see things that other people don’t see, and sometimes others see things we don’t see. And we travel the same way. When I first started doing photography seriously I would sometimes get up in the middle of dinner, afraid that I was going to “miss” sunset. I’ve since learned that I’m always missing something, and that helps me reconcile the idea that I’m not going to get to “do” everything.

Fall Color along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesville, North Carolina
Fall Color along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesville, North Carolina

Kathy & I are very close to the point where we can decide to walk away from our corporate lives. Quite often we find ourselves feeling that that day can’t come soon enough. There are other days when things seem to go along fairly well and it feels like collecting a few more paychecks won’t be all that difficult. The difficult thing is going to be determining when the right time might be to call it quits. We have established many checkpoints that will tell we’re on the path. Some of those we have met, many we’re close on, but a few major ones have yet to be realized. But we have a plan and hope that when the time comes we’ll have the guts to say, “NOW.”

Pumpkin Patch at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville, North Carolina
Pumpkin Patch at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville, North Carolina

For me, my primary goal for what I want to do in retirement is to stay retired!   If I end up doing some kind of work I’d like it to be for personal satisfaction rather than to pay the bills. The good thing is that there are a lot of rewarding things we can do that don’t cost an enormous amount of money. While they may not check other peoples’ boxes for fulfillment, they might be just fine if that was the alternative.

Fall Color in Historic Frog Level, North Carolina
Fall Color in Historic Frog Level, North Carolina

 We’ve never paid a lot of attention to the “if money were no object” scenarios because it was always our intention for that not to be an issue. Not that we expect to never have to think about money, but the idea all along has been to have provided for a level of financial security that would allow us to continue living the life we have become comfortable with. And if that doesn’t work out, I suspect we’ll figure out how to travel and buy wine with whatever we do have! So for now, we hope to hold on to the jobs we’ve got for as long as we can, and every paycheck is a victory of sorts. Murphy’s Law would suggest that as soon as we decide for one of us to stay home, the remaining job we’d be counting on would go away.

Fall Color along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesville, North Carolina
Fall Color along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesville, North Carolina

For a lot of people, their biggest fear with retirement is that they won’t have anything to do. That is the thing that I worry about the least! Whenever we decide to walk out of that corporate world, I know that there is a whole lot of world out there to explore. And while I don’t have a chance of ever seeing it all, Kathy & I both plan to make a point of enjoying whatever we do see as much as we possibly can. That doesn’t take a list, and it doesn’t take a lot of planning, but I think it is a pretty good goal.

Fall Color along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesville, North Carolina
Fall Color along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesville, North Carolina

October 2014 Wallpaper

Fall in Motion 2

One technique that I’ve found works well for abstracts is to put my lens into manual and deliberately throw it out of focus.  It’s funny, but as much as I love shooting abstracts I often forget to try that.  When I was looking for an abstract for this month’s wallpaper, I wanted something that was about fall color.  I came across a lot of shots, but then I remembered these.  I only did a few of them but need to do them more often.  I love the effect, as it is a lot like the results I get when I shoot moving water.  But instead of the moving water making the patterns they come from the shades and tones in the scene.

Fall seems to be coming a little early around here.  The weather in general has been very strange the last month or two.  I hope everyone is able to enjoy fall wherever you are, or spring for those who are “upside down” on this earth 😉 .

Have a Fifth on The Fourth!

Queen Anne's Lace, Torrence Creek Greenway, Huntersville North Carolina
Queen Anne’s Lace, Torrence Creek Greenway, Huntersville North Carolina

One of my former bosses had a bunch of “Bob-isms” that we heard holiday after holiday.  I think a few of them may have ultimately gotten him fired.  But this was one of the tamer and sillier ones, and I felt like using it as the title of this silly post.  Accompanied by a couple of my “nature’s fireworks” photos.

I hope everyone has a weekend that allows you to do whatever makes you happy.

Seed or fruit of Yellow Goatsbeard aka Jack-Go-To-Bed-At-Noon growing on the Torrence Creek Greenway, Huntersville, NC
Seed or fruit of Yellow Goatsbeard aka Jack-Go-To-Bed-At-Noon growing on the Torrence Creek Greenway, Huntersville, NC

Playing Catch-up

Fishing boats in Swan Quarter, North Carolina
Fishing boats in Swan Quarter, North Carolina

My typical practice when I get back from a trip and am going through photos to process for my blog is to toss some of the picks into a Quick Collection in Lightroom.  I’ll process those and when I’m done I’ll have a little group to go with whatever words I’ve had bouncing around in my head.

Fishing boats in Swan Quarter, North Carolina
Fishing boats in Swan Quarter, North Carolina

These photos have been sitting in my Quick Collection folder since we returned from our visit to Belhaven in late March.  I think 6 out of the 8 were done, I just hadn’t finished them.

Fishing boats in Swan Quarter, North Carolina
Fishing boats in Swan Quarter, North Carolina

I thought I had better clear them out before I start posting more Hilton Head photos.  So here they are, better late than never, I guess!

Along the Pamlico River waterfront in Washington, North Carolina
Along the Pamlico River waterfront in Washington, North Carolina
I guess her tripod didn't come with a manual.  Points for the Holga, though.
I guess her tripod didn’t come with a manual. Points for the Holga, though.
Along Main Street in Washington, North Carolina
Along Main Street in Washington, North Carolina
Along the Pamlico River waterfront in Washington, North Carolina
Along the Pamlico River waterfront in Washington, North Carolina
Along the Pamlico River waterfront in Washington, North Carolina
Along the Pamlico River waterfront in Washington, North Carolina

It May Be May

Flat Rock, Morning
Flat Rock, Morning

This month’s wallpaper continues the abstract theme.  I don’t have many landscape motion abstracts, and the ones I do have tend to be vertical images.  Those would make good tablet or phone wallpaper but not so much on the computer screen.  I do have a lot of moving water abstracts that I really like, primarily because I spend a lot more time shooting water at the beach than shooting mountains.  Plus, making good motion landscapes is hard!  It seems that I have a lot more luck getting water abstracts that I like.  But no matter.

This image is titled Flat Rock, Morning, was one of my first print sales a few years ago and continues to be one of my most popular photographs.  So out of the archives it comes to live for a month on your desktop if you so choose!

Kathy & I will be headed to the beach later this month, so don’t be surprised to see some more moving water photos in June!

Familiar Territory

Outside the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina
Outside the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina

One of my favorite places for wandering around with my camera is downtown Charlotte.  Because it is close to where Kathy has a parking space, I especially spend a lot of time in the area around the NASCAR Hall of Fame.  It’s just an interesting building, especially the metal work over the main entrance and all around the outside.  I think it is supposed to represent a high-banked racetrack, but to me it just looks cool, especially at different times of the day as the lighting changes.

Outside the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina
Outside the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina

I’ve never been inside the building, although if someone came to visit who was interested, I would certainly consider going.  While I have given up following auto racing along with all other professional sports, I still have an appreciation for the history of the sport as it existing before money spoiled it (IMO).

Outside the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina
Outside the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina

So Thursday evening before the baseball game, we wandered around this area killing time.  I have photographed this building numerous times, but I never get tired of it, since there is always another shadow or angle that I haven’t seen before.  Just the color of the sky can change how the metal reflects the light.

Outside the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina
Outside the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina

One of the advantages of visiting a place repeatedly is that there is always something new to see, another angle to explore or a different way the light and shadow plays with the subject.  In this case it is the shapes and lines of the building.

Outside the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina
Outside the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina

Did I end up getting anything that I haven’t gotten before? I did.  I found another interesting section that for some reason I had never seen.  Many of these photos are of the same views as before, but one or two of them are a fresh look at something I have been looking at and photographing for several years, and which I will hopefully be photographing often in the years ahead.

Outside the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina
Outside the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina

Play Ball!

Charlotte Knights baseball game at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, NC
Charlotte Knights baseball game at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, NC

Kathy & I are having a little “stay at home vacation” this weekend as we have Bill & Cathy, our friends from Ohio, in town for a few days.  Thursday evening we ventured downtown to check out a baseball game at BB&T Ballpark, the brand-spanking-new baseball stadium here in Charlotte.

Charlotte Knights baseball game at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, N
Charlotte Knights baseball game at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, N

I’ve never been a huge sports fan, but I do like baseball.  And while Major League sports in general have lost their appeal to me, there’s something enjoyable about heading to a minor league ball game on a chilly spring evening.

Charlotte Knights baseball game at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, NC
Charlotte Knights baseball game at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, NC

I called ahead to confirm, but they do allow cameras in the stadium.  Big yay!  So off we went, and I got a few shots to show for it.  I think we’ll probably head back there soon.  It was a great deal of fun and is a beautiful place to watch a ball game.

Charlotte Knights baseball game at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, NC
Charlotte Knights baseball game at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, NC
Charlotte Knights baseball game at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, NC
Charlotte Knights baseball game at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, NC
Charlotte Knights baseball game at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, NC
Charlotte Knights baseball game at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, NC