We survived our first mask outing last evening, not that we expected anything different. We went to a local seafood place with some friends/neighbors and had a nice time. It was only our second meal out from home, and it was nice to “test the waters” some more. One thing’s for sure – it really clarifies the difference between cooking and eating at home and restaurant food, especially in terms of price and portion sizes. It’s a reminder to keep the restaurant outings to a minimum!
I have four of these little vignettes that I’m planning to post through Tuesday – still drift fences (sorry) but a slightly different view – then I plan to end the post-a-day routine. It’s been fun but it’s time for a break, so I’ll get back to my not-quite-daily occasional posts. 😉
Drift fence shadows on the beach in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Read on another blog earlier today:
“Wearing a mask is NOT a political statement. It’s an I.Q. Test.”
Needless to say, that’s a little harsh. Until now I’ve resisted the mask thing, but now our Guv’nor says we’re going to have to wear them for a while. Despite my resistance I do believe in the science. I’m just…stubborn. Fortunately we don’t go too many places where it’s an issue, so it won’t have a huge effect. Interesting how it’s easier to accept something when you’ve been told you need to do it, instead of just having it “recommended.”
Photo is another one of those irresistible drift fences on the beach. Sigh…. 😉
Old train station in Blacksville, South Carolina that now houses the Blacksville Public Library
I mentioned this find in the previous post, and here are a few photos. The rotunda design reminds me a bit of the station in Hamlet, NC but that station is much larger. This station now houses the public library. I like to see these old stations repurposed and maintained as they should be, respecting their history.
Old train station in Blacksville, South Carolina that now houses the Blacksville Public LibraryOld train station in Blacksville, South Carolina that now houses the Blacksville Public LibraryOld train station in Blacksville, South Carolina that now houses the Blacksville Public LibraryOld train station in Blacksville, South Carolina that now houses the Blacksville Public LibraryOld train station in Blacksville, South Carolina that now houses the Blacksville Public Library
There are rail lines all over rural South Carolina, and on our backroads travels we often find them paralleling the highway. Every time we go through a small town, we look for a likely spot for a train station. Many of them are long disappeared, but occasionally we come across one. As we passed through the town of Kline, SC we came across this old depot. Still in pretty good condition but could use a little TLC.
Sand castle on the beach in Hilton Head, South Carolina
Kathy & I have caught up from being at the beach last week and having the boys over for dinner yesterday. I didn’t take any photos – the camera stayed in the closed. I couldn’t think of anything useful to say today, so I decided just share a quiet photo from the beach.
The photo in my previous post was processed using the “Vintage 01” profile in Lightroom. My default setting is usually an Import Preset I’ve developed using the “Camera Velvia” profile, with some of my own secret sauce. The Velvia version with that subject came out way too saturated, so I started messing around with a few other treatments. I created new Virtual Copies, changed to a new profile then made a few additional tweaks based on what I thought each version needed.
Original with Velvia Profile
No verdicts or preferences at this point, but it was interesting to see what the different options can do.
I have always loved the look of a wide angle lens but feel like I struggle to come up with wide-angle photos that I love. I forced myself to carry my 10-24 with me yesterday afternoon, expecting to find some long shadows in the afternoon. I was not disappointed! It’s especially hard (in my opinion) to use a super wide focal length without a tripod, because it is virtually impossible to get the framing I intended. Some of these came out OK!
Drift fence shadows on the beach in Hilton Head Island, South CarolinaDrift fence shadows on the beach in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
So far, so good with our little “experiment” of being away from home. We visited our favorite Hilton Head restaurant yesterday evening, and it marked the return of their Wednesday night live jazz, which is main reason we like to go there on Wednesdays. It’s “the beach,” so everyone is fairly relaxed anyway, and things aren’t a lot different now. We’ve seen very few masks on the beach, but when we went to the grocery store about 75% or more of the people were in masks. We’ve only been to three restaurants. At two of the restaurants all of the servers had masks, while we haven’t seen a single guest wearing one.
Ominous clouds to the north due to a low pressure system off the coast
We’ve overheard and had several conversations with people about where they are from and how those places have been coping, but very little “hand-wringing” or negative talk. It seems like most people are doing what makes them comfortable without a lot of judgement. Although sometimes you hear a comments about “anti-maskers” or some such nonsense.
I’ve taken the camera to the beach at some point just about each day, although I have not tried to make photography my main goal. I do think I’ve gotten some pretty nice shots, though. And I’m learning more and more about how to make this new camera do what I want it to do.
Kathy & I have tried to be very careful in our travels to not carry around too much – as we like to say it – ‘shit.’ To be polite I’ll call it ‘gear’ but the idea is the same. Whatever our “thing,” there is a certain amount of gear that we all have to have with us.
If you are a photographer, your travel packing list has to include a certain amount of camera equipment. If you are a cyclist, you need to have a bike or bikes, plus all the requisite tools, spare parts and clothes to suit your needs. If you are a kayaker, the same applies. Fishermen, metal detector-ers, sunbathers, surfers, the list goes on. RV-ers and boaters – my heart goes out to you. It ain’t for me, thanks. Nothing like loading our Subie up with two bins for clothes and food, a cooler and a camera bag and heading off for parts known or unknown.
What triggered this conversation was watching endless people either carrying or pushing carts loaded with chairs, umbrellas, coolers, boogie boards, toys and other gear to the beach. And it is even worse for those who come to the beach with kids! It’s no wonder people have huge cars with car top carriers and luggage racks hanging off the back. Too much gear!
Searching for that perfect spot
When we packed to come to the beach, we were feeling like we had over packed, but quickly realized that the majority of the extra stuff we brought with us wouldn’t be going home with us. It was mostly water, food and adult beverages, to minimize trips to the grocery store. When we go to the beach in the morning we take a small cooler with breakfast, water, iced coffee & tea and a beach bag with towels and reading materials. And usually my camera. That’s it! We rent chairs from the life guard service, but it is our choice to pay a few dollars instead of carting chairs and umbrellas (not to mention buying them in the first place) from home and then to the beach and back every day. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just our choice to pay for the convenience.
Years ago we started to have a bug about living on a sail boat, but eventually realized that it wasn’t the sail boat the appealed to us but the idea of a life without all the extra gear. We’re not completely down to the bare bones level, but we do tend to travel that way. And we like that!
Oops. I spent all morning and most of the afternoon doing stuff and forgot to finish my homework! Here it is, a little late, and without any witticisms to accompany it. I doubt anyone will be disappointed. 😉
