(Although it was the Fourth of September, not the Fourth of July *)
Just before he realized what I was doing.
Kathy & I met our son Scott and grandson Edison at nearby Tuckaseegee Park in Mount Holly, NC. They have a nice playground there plus several walking paths that run through the woods and along the Catawba River. Edison likes to take “nature walks” so we spent an hour or so there before returning to our house to a lunch of “Tube Steaks.”
Short break on a park bench.He doesn’t know the rules, but always “wins.”
Edison isn’t fond of my taking pictures of him but his complaints fall on (my selectively) deaf ears. 🙂
Obligatory sunstar.Water for the soccer pitch.Two of a kind!
* For the kids out there, a reference to a 1972 song by the best music group of all time. Regardless what they say about bands named after bugs or rocks. 🙂
Performer from El Alma de la Luna of Spain at the Folkmoot “Parade of Nations” in Waynesville, North Carolina
I’ve had some time to work on another new gallery for my website. This one I have decided to title “Faces In Places.”
Paul Cullen, former Bad Company Bassist turned wine impresario performing at Dressler’s Metro in Charlotte
I don’t consider myself to be a people photographer, and a lot of my photos have no people in them whatsoever. But on occasion we come across some irresistible or interesting subject that we just have to photograph.
Galley tour and dinner on Celebrity Summit
Most of these are completely candid, although admittedly there are a few where a connection was made. They tend to be the best ones, in my opinion.
Enjoying ice cream while watching Guitarist “Adam Kadabara” in Edinburgh, Scotland
I’ve been procrastinating a bit, but this morning I finally put the finishing touches on my first new website gallery titled “Nautica.” I discussed it in an earlier post but had been fiddling around with the pictures and updating the processing on the photos that I thought would benefit.
We’re off to the NC coast for a few days of R&R and visiting our Ohio relatives who insist on coming south during the hottest part of the summer. We love them anyway and look forward to a few days of sand and saltwater. I may take a few photos….
Boatbuilders shop along the waterfront, Lunenburg, Nova ScotiaSt KittsBoat Reflections on Far Creek, Englehard, North CarolinaCatamaran cruise in Nevis
I was recently scrolling through Instagram when I came across a post by Tony Sweet where he talked about how one of his most-photographed subjects is a single tree. I happen to know of one tree in particular in Cades Cove that I refer to as “Tony Sweet’s Tree” even though lots of other photographers know about it too.
Sunset at The Saddle Overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway near Meadows of Dan VirginiaTree in silhouette at twilight, The Saddle Overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia
In his post states that he has “amassed a pretty large collection of single tree images in various formats, weather conditions, and times of year.” It got me thinking about my own collection of trees, so I went out and found a few of them to post here.
Fall along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Licklog Ridge Overlook MP 349Tree and rocks, Pilot Mountain State Park, North Carolina
I’ve been thinking in terms of themes lately anyway, and his post made me think of another possibility for a website gallery. The choices never end…. 😉
Sunrise on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Laurel Knob Overlook (aka Licklog Ridge Overlook) MP 349
(As a side note, I noticed lately that a number of people who have subscribed for email notification of new posts were not getting emails. I think I have found and fixed the problem, but we’ll see.)
Morning along the Blue Ridge Parkway near the intersection with Virginia Route 97 near Galax, VirginiaPastoral view along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Meadows of Dan, Virginia
Sunrise on the beach on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
I’ve just finished up processing my photos from our Southwest road trip and from our recent visit to Hilton Head Island, SC. Just in time for our next adventure – we shove off again on Saturday! This will be our annual “Friends and Family Tour” as Kathy likes to call it. Other than our kids, most of what remains of our families is in Ohio or will be there for the Fourth of July. I’ve got a childhood friend who lives in western Pennsylvania, and we have friends in Wisconsin. 😉 So off we go!
Sunrise on the beach on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
I mentioned earlier that I only got up early on two mornings at the beach, but I chose them well. I’ve been going to Hilton Head long enough to know when the tides and times coincide to provide the pools I love to use as foreground. An added bonus is when the clouds cooperate too, as they did for me on both occasions. Sweet!
Sunrise on the beach on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
I found it interesting that, even though the conditions were virtually identical both mornings, the overall color cast was radically different – red the first morning and blue the second. I did minimal (for me) processing on this photos and the colors are pretty faithful albeit a bit more saturated than what I saw. I’m sure the difference in color is due to some sort of atmospherical anomaly, but I only know that it made for some purdy pitchers.
Sunrise on the beach on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Mornings are a lovely time on the beach. I could go out there without a camera, sit on one of the storage boxes the lifeguards use and watch the morning unfold. When the sunrise is early – around 6:15 – like it was in May and June, there are very few people out – just me, a few birds and sometimes a few dolphins. Most of the people are walking, so even if they walk through my frame, a slow shutter speed makes them blurry and sometimes invisible. There was one guy with a dog that had a light on its collar which was kind of annoying, but he thankfully stayed out of my view!
Sunrise on the beach on Hilton Head Island, South CarolinaSunrise on the beach on Hilton Head Island, South CarolinaSunrise on the beach on Hilton Head Island, South CarolinaSunrise on the beach on Hilton Head Island, South CarolinaSunrise on the beach on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The light on the horizon is actually a fishing boat, not the sun!Sunrise on the beach on Hilton Head Island, South CarolinaSunrise on the beach on Hilton Head Island, South CarolinaSunrise on the beach on Hilton Head Island, South CarolinaSunrise on the beach on Hilton Head Island, South CarolinaSunrise on the beach on Hilton Head Island, South CarolinaSunrise on the beach on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Arizona
For those sweating out the latest heat wave or monsoon, or someone who just has some time on their hands, I’ve completed posting galleries from our recent Southwest US road trip to my Adobe Portfolio page. There is some stuff there that I haven’t posted here (yet) but a lot of it just expands on photos I’ve already shared. Just be aware that there are 1155 photos over 11 galleries! 🙂
The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, ArkansasFrank Lloyd Wright’s Bachman-Wilson House at The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, ArkansasRiding the Sandia Peak Tramway to an elevation of 10,378 feet. Albuquerque, New Mexico
I finally finished up processing photos from our recent Florida trip. I didn’t have an interesting story to go with them but they are pretty interesting on their own.
Lake Placid, FloridaHistoric Downtown Parking Facility – St. Augustine, FloridaHistoric Downtown Parking Facility – St. Augustine, FloridaTiles – St. Augustine, FloridaCastillo de San Marcos Fort in St. Augustine, FloridaCastillo de San Marcos Fort in St. Augustine, FloridaCastillo de San Marcos Fort in St. Augustine, FloridaCastillo de San Marcos Fort in St. Augustine, FloridaCastillo de San Marcos Fort in St. Augustine, Florida
I didn’t see the person who this belonged to, but this guy appears to be ready for anything, including a quick getaway. There’s even a mousetrap hanging off the back, I suppose for…well, I don’t want to think about it.
Park at Port Mayaca Lock & Dam on Lake Okeechobee, Florida
We’ve passed by Lake Okeechobee on a number of occasions as we’ve transited central Florida, but have never taken the time to stop until this last time. The reason we hadn’t seen the lake before is that it is almost completely surrounded by a 30 foot earthen dike, preventing views of the lake from the roadway, but keeping the water where it belongs.
Park at Port Mayaca Lock & Dam on Lake Okeechobee, FloridaPark at Port Mayaca Lock & Dam on Lake Okeechobee, FloridaPark at Port Mayaca Lock & Dam on Lake Okeechobee, FloridaPark at Port Mayaca Lock & Dam on Lake Okeechobee, FloridaPark at Port Mayaca Lock & Dam on Lake Okeechobee, Florida
The only way to actually see the lake is at one of the access points to the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail. Even in the few towns around the lake there is no actual ‘lakefront.’ There is a large roadside park at the Port Mayaca Lock and Dam on the east side of the lake about 30 miles south of the town of Okeechobee. We stopped there on our way to Okeechobee, where we spent the night before heading out to St. Augustine.
Park at Port Mayaca Lock & Dam on Lake Okeechobee, FloridaPark at Port Mayaca Lock & Dam on Lake Okeechobee, FloridaPark at Port Mayaca Lock & Dam on Lake Okeechobee, FloridaPark at Port Mayaca Lock & Dam on Lake Okeechobee, Florida
We only spent about an hour at this stop, but it looks like a place with a lot of photographic opportunities depending on weather conditions. If you don’t mind man-made objects like dams and pilings in your photos they might really add some interest to a nice morning or evening sky. We had a few clouds around for our time there, but it was a little early in the evening for really nice light. It had already been a long enough day, so we went on to our day’s destination. We’ll see about returning for longer on a future trip!
Anhinga drying his wings beside the lake in Nalcrest, Florida
While we didn’t specifically look for wildlife during our time in Florida, we did come across some examples of the local fauna. Here are a few of my non-wildlife-photographer results. I don’t think I ever saw an armadillo in the wild before. If I did I don’t remember it. I have seen plenty of the others, however.
Great Horned Owl at Lake Wailes Park, Lake Wales FloridaDolphins swim in the waters behind the Apollo Visitor Center at Canaveral National Seashore, FloridaAlligators enjoying the sunshine at Big Cypress Oasis Visitor Center on US-41/Tamiami Trail near Big Cypress National Preserve, Ochopee, FloridaSandhill Crane wading the shoreline at Nalcrest, FloridaLimpkin wading the shoreline at Nalcrest, FloridaOsprey in search of lunch in Nalcrest, FloridaOsprey nest on a platform in Nalcrest, FloridaAlligator enjoying a relaxing afternoon by the lake in Nalcrest, FloridaSnowy egret wading the shoreline at Nalcrest, FloridaLimpkin wading the shoreline at Nalcrest, FloridaWild turkeys wandering through the community of Nalcrest, FloridaWild turkeys wandering through the community of Nalcrest, FloridaArmadillo at Nalcrest, FloridaCathy’s green gator
