Abandoned house along SR 264 near Englehard, North Carolina
I mentioned that we had a new house, right? 🙂
I received a number of favorable comments on a similar photo I posted last week and I thought it made for an interesting subject, so I processed another shot from that same location to share as this month’s wallpaper. Â I thought about using a snow photo, but for some of us, we’re hoping that the little bit of snow we got this past week means that we’re done for the year and that we can get on to spring. Â We’ll see how that works out, but that is the optimist’s view!
Well here we are, already into the second month of the year. Â I know I am looking forward to finishing the moving in process at just about the time the weather warms up enough to make getting outside a bit more enjoyable. Â Here in the south, February can sometimes mean an early spring or it can mean “don’t hold your breath.” Â I’ve got my hopes on an early transition. Â We’ll see what happens!
Abandoned house along SR 264 near Englehard, North Carolina
Kathy & I have worked really hard in recent years to strike a balance between planning & preparing for the future and living a full & meaningful life in the present. A concept that we recently came up with was the idea that we should make it a point to “Celebrate Every Day.” It’s probably a product of age and maturity, possibly wisdom, but starting from the loss of my own parents nearly 30 years ago and continuing as recently as the loss of Kathy’s parents last year, we have made a point of evaluating our own priorities in this context. We finally gave it a formal name just recently.
One night last week – Tuesday, in fact – we decided to have one of our more “splurgy” bottles of wine. We often save those for what we might consider special occasions. But in keeping with our “Celebrate Every Day” theme, we decided to open that bottle “because it was Tuesday.” Thus was born the idea of Wine on Tuesdays. Any other day of the week would be appropriate as well. 🙂
Abandoned house along SR 264 near Englehard, North Carolina
Random sunset photo from our cruise aboard Celebrity Equinox
I’m not exactly a bandwagon sort of guy, but as I see other photographers post about their favorite photos from the year before I can’t help but think a little bit about my own favorites. I tend not to think of time in orderly chunks like years, but it is sometimes convenient to do so, since things like birthdays, anniversaries and tax returns tend to happen on a pretty regular basis. So, why not a post about favorite photographs from the previous year? Why not, indeed.
In St Thomas USVI from our cruise aboard Celebrity Equinox
Overall I’d have to say that 2013 was a very good year for me and Kathy. I didn’t do a lot photography relative to what I have done in prior years, but I didn’t exactly sell the cameras and take up basketweaving (not that there’s anything wrong with basketweaving). But my time, attention, energy and money was spent on things other than photography. The good thing is that the things that we did spend our time, attention, energy and money on last year are investments in our future, and should ultimately make it easier to do the things we enjoy, like traveling and taking pictures.
Winter morning on the Torrence Creek Greenway, Huntersville, North Carolina
Selling a house is not an easy task. Moving is a pain in the butt. Building a house is not for the faint of heart. We not only did all three, but we moved twice and actually sold two houses! Fortunately we only built one. But the one we built is intended to be our “lock and leave” house, allowing us the freedom and flexibility we seek in the next act of our lives. And of course, mixed in among all that work was a little play.
Winter morning on the Torrence Creek Greenway, Huntersville, North Carolina
I’m not going to recount my entire life over the last 12 months. Those who care have been around and already know, and those who haven’t been around probably already know as much as they want to know! I’m also not going to try and narrate every photo, although I’ll probably throw in a comment or two along the way. And finally, I’m not trying to keep this to a certain magic number, so we’ll see what we end up with.
Sunrise on the Beach, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Side Notes:
The Light Factory
If you are in the Charlotte area and have an interest in photography, there are two things that I wanted to mention.
Many folks are familiar with The Light Factory, a museum of photography and film that has existed here for many years. TLF is one of a very few organizations in the country that are devoted exclusively to photography and film. Their educational programs have been excellent and their outreach programs have helped a lot of people. I have taught classes for them over the years. In what is probably a sign of our times, near the end of last year the former board decided to close the organization down, citing declining revenues and increased expenses. The staff was let go and the doors were locked. A small group of dedicated members has taken over to move the headquarters and teaching space, which was accomplished in December.
Keep an eye on their website and Facebook page over the next few weeks as they get operations bank in gear. I understand that they are working on a Kickstarter campaign to raise some funds, and in doing so will be offering some interesting rewards for people who donate.
Tree and brick wall, Charleston, South Carolina
Second Tuesday of the Month Club
A long-time tradition of the Charlotte photographic community is seeing some new life. Joe Ciarlante, a local commercial photographer and educator, has recently taken on the task of revising these meetings. Held fittingly on the second Tuesday of each month, the first such meeting of the resurrected group is this coming Tuesday, January 14 at SparkPoint Studio at 625 Griffith Rd. Suite 105 in Charlotte. Time is 7:00-9:00. This is a great forum to get to know other photographers, get feedback on your work, talk about equipment, or just hang out. Stop by and check it out if you are in the area and have an interest.
Kidston Island Lighthouse, Bras d’Or Lake, Baddeck, Nova ScotiaHigh Tide, Hall’s Harbour, Nova ScotiaBlue Rocks, Nova ScotiaPeggy’s Cove Lighthouse, Peggy’s Cove, Nova ScotiaDowntown Davidson, North Carolina under a nearly full moon and some amazing cloudsCharleston County Courthouse, Charleston, South CarolinaThe Glenora Inn and Distillery, Glenville, Nova ScotiaEither, Or
Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse, Peggy,s Cove, Nova Scotia
I’m still working on Nova Scotia photos…hoping to come up with 12 that are calendar-worthy. Not that I don’t think I can find 12, I just don’t want to find the perfect one after it’s too late!
Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia
Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia is a real tourist destination, and for good reason. Â It’s a beautiful location, has a little history, it’s got a lighthouse, a bunch of boats and a quaint little harbor. Â The day we were there is was relatively uncrowded and the weather was beautiful. Â And even in the middle of the day, the light was fantastic.
Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia
The biggest challenge for me in photographing a place like this is deciding whether I want people in my shots or not. I like people just fine, but I don’t always want to include them in my photos of a quintessential maritime fishing village! Sometimes I just need to be patient, and other times I just need to accept that there will be people! 🙂
Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia
Another thing that works well is to photograph someplace that people are less likely to be, like the edge of a dock. Most people don’t like to spend time in the water in places like this.
Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia
And they don’t let people climb the lighthouse, inside or out.Â
Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse, Peggy,s Cove, Nova Scotia
 Nobody cares about old boats laying in a field.Â
Sunset at Cowee Mountains Overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway MP 430
Generally when I am in the process of taking a photograph, I have a basic idea what it is going to look like when I am finished processing it. Â When I’m sitting at the computer working on an image, it just sort of “develops itself.” Â Most of the time the direction I need to go with an becomes pretty clear to me. I open up an image in Lightroom, work on it a bit, and after a few basic tweaks it is pretty much done. Â Unless I’m going to make a print, there isn’t a whole lot more I do.
This particular photograph has me a little perplexed. I processed it exactly how I expected to. It’s a little more processed than usual, but there’s quite a lot of dynamic range going on here. But for some reason, I just can’t seem to get comfortable with it. Â There’s nothing really “wrong” with it, in fact a lot of people would probably wish that they had taken it themselves. Â But for some reason I am struggling with it.
It’s a typical Cowee Mountains Overlook sunset. Â It’s got a nice sky, detail in the foreground, and there’s a lot going on. Â Too much, I think. Â It is a very “busy” image, as opposed to a lot of my photographs that are a bit more simplified. Â I’ve definitely processed it a lot more than I usually process an image. Â Maybe that’s it, I’m not sure.
I think the thing that I keep coming back to is that it doesn’t seem like it’s mine. Â It’s the sort of landscape photograph that I’ve taken for years, but I just can’t seem to connect with this one. No, I didn’t switch memory cards with someone by mistake, but it’s just such a departure from the type of photography I’ve been doing recently that I may just have to spend some time with it to figure it out. Â In the mean time, it just doesn’t feel like my style, and I find that interesting.
Another copy of the same photo used in the monthly wallpaper and my printed calendar.
I have received a number of compliments on the photo from my last post and for the same photo that is on this month’s print calendar. Â This truly is a wonderful photograph, one of my all-time favorites. Â This is a location I have visited a number of times, at different times of the year and in varying conditions. Â The particular evening that I made the photograph that became this month’s calendar, I had exceptionally nice light. Â It only lasted for a few moments, but that light, combined with very still water, made for just the right conditions.
The same location in really good, but not spectacular, light.
I remembered a similar photograph that I had taken at this same location several years earlier, and went back and pulled it up. Â While nice in it’s own way, it was a more cloudy afternoon and the light is much more subdued. Â The lighting was much more subdued, which is what I would typically favor for a lot of the photography I do. Â It is still a very nice photograph, but not on the same level as the later one.
Another photo taken the same evening as the first one. A little more water movement, but similar light.
It is a good example of why we return often to a familiar location. Â Because you just don’t know what conditions you might encounter.
Boat Reflections on Far Creek, Englehard, North Carolina
OK, so I’m a little late this month – SORRY!  Actually I sort of forgot.  But at least ONE person contacted me to tell me that they missed my update.  Sorry, Kevin W, that you had to go almost a whole day without the latest calendar! 🙂
Lots happening in the House of Dills this month. Â Hopefully I’ll be broadcasting from my new “studio” for the December update. Â We’ll see. Â I’ve got some posts in the works, though. Â Words for some, photos for others. Â I just have to put them together.
For those of you who also have my print calendar, this is one of the few times that I’ve duplicated my print calendar with my desktop calendar. Â But when I turned the page on my printed calendar this morning, I liked the photo so much I decided to put it on my computer screen, too! Â I hope you enjoy it.
Sunset at Cowee Mountains Overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway MP 430
I’ve written lately about how I feel like I am in a bit of a slump, photographically. Many readers have made comments along the lines of “gee, I’d love to have a slump like that.” But I’ve recently come to realize what I mean by what I’ve written. What I’ve pretty much decided is that doing the kind of photography I like to do requires an investment of time, energy and dedication that, for a number of reasons, I just haven’t been committing to this year. And this applies not just to the shooting, but to the processing and printing parts of the process as well.
As much as I’d like to think I can, I can’t just show up at a place and take meaningful photographs. I can take photographs for sure, and many of them may be good technically. But to create photographs with meaning requires more time. I need to get to a place, get my mind and my heart tuned in to what is happening, and sometimes just sit for a while until I start hearing the voices. “Being open to the gifts” is what my friend Les Saucier likes to say. I can’t just pull the magic out of my camera bag, toss it out there and expect to take meaningful photographs.
Sunset at Caney Fork Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway MP 428
Mostly what this requires is an investment of time. Time partly to allow things to happen, but also time to get to a place in plenty of time for whatever is happening. Sunsets are a good example. I can’t just show up at a spot 10 minutes before sunset, pull out the camera and start taking amazing photos. Sometimes the best photos come well before the actual setting of the sun, sometimes as much as an hour before, such as when the sun is moving behind a low-lying layer of clouds and casting sunbeams, or highlighting ridgelines as they recede into the distance. Often by the time the sun sets all the magic is gone. Occasionally, the magic is just beginning at sunset, as the real color begins to appear after the sun has gone below the horizon. But I need time to “tune in,” to see what is happening, and to figure out what to shoot and how to shoot it.
Fall color along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waterrock Knob
The other way that my photography requires an investment of time is in having plenty of time to enjoy myself. Kathy & I enjoy good meals at nice restaurants, both at home and when we travel. That generally doesn’t involve sitting at an overlook with cold chicken and potato salad. Sometimes it does, but not usually. So in order to do a little bit of both, it’s often necessary to have more than just 24 hours in a place in order to really do it justice and to find that balance between sunset on the Parkway and dinner in Waynesville (or wherever). One of the ways that this year has differed from previous years is that we have been taking more 2-day weekends and fewer 3 or 4-day weekends. This results in less time in a specific place, and I find that this takes time away from everything. I don’t like to feel like the clock is ticking while I am photographing.  And the smaller window of opportunity that is dictated by a shorter weekend makes that clock tick like a parade of Harleys going by! With less time, success is more dependent on luck than creativity, and I don’t work so well when I am depending on luck.
Fall color along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Lone Bald Overlook, MP 432
So what does this all mean? Well, it means several things. First and foremost, I think it means that I need to do a better job of managing my time so that I have the freedom and flexibility I need to do the kind of photographic work I find most inspiring while also finding time to do the other things I love. Photography and fine dining aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. Some times of the year they are, so I’ll need to work that out. Sometimes it will mean a nice but late dinner, and sometimes it will mean cold chicken on the Parkway. The other thing it means is possibly traveling less frequently but for longer periods of time. And perhaps staying longer in one place instead of trying to see multiple locations and moving around constantly. I generally shy away from what I refer to as the photographic “death march” and don’t do a lot of good photography while I’m driving down the road. Give me a place to sit and chill for a while and I’m more likely to get inspired.
I’ve done some good work this past year and hope to do some more before it’s done. This year has been a little weird for a lot of reasons, and I’m looking forward to settling back into my usual routine next year. We’ll see where that leads, but I’m hoping it will lead to more fulfilling photography for me, and less of my whining about it to Kathy!
Sunset at Cowee Mountains Overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway MP 430
“The Sidewalk Juggler” performs at the Mountain Glory Festival in Marion, North Carolina
Kathy & I visited Marion, NC this past Saturday during their annual Mountain Glory Festival. This particular festival weekend is the only Saturday that  Bruce’s Fabulous Foods, one of our favorite eateries, is open.  The are typically a Monday-Friday lunch-only restaurant.  We get there as often as we can, but their schedule and ours don’t often overlap.
“The Sidewalk Juggler” performs at the Mountain Glory Festival in Marion, North Carolina
After our yummy lunch, we spent some time walking Main Street and checking out the vendors and performers. Â We came across this guy, The Sidewalk Juggler, also known as Kyle Brown, who is a professional juggler. Â This guy is good!
“The Sidewalk Juggler” performs at the Mountain Glory Festival in Marion, North Carolina
I think the thing that impressed me the most was the effortlessness with which he performed his act, smiling and joking with his audience all the time. Â It’s clear that this is someone who truly loves his job. Â This is evident not just from the constant smile on his face, but also because only love for your profession would inspire someone to work the number of hours that he obviously had to work in order to learn to do what he does.
“The Sidewalk Juggler” performs at the Mountain Glory Festival in Marion, North Carolina
This is hard work, and about as tough as it can get, I think. Â Completely dependent on the generosity of others through their tips, his performance truly makes or breaks his livelihood. But talk about a portable skill! Â This guy can work anyplace where there are people! Â As I understand it from his Facebook page, his territory is ‘Western North Carolina.’ Â Check out his page and his YouTube videos.
“The Sidewalk Juggler” performs at the Mountain Glory Festival in Marion, North Carolina
My photos hardly do him justice, but I managed to capture a few frames that show the passion and concentration that this guy obviously has for his work. Â I didn’t really appreciate it while I was taking the photos, but later on I thought about it and realized what a dedicated effort someone like this guy has to put into his profession.
“The Sidewalk Juggler” performs at the Mountain Glory Festival in Marion, North Carolina
Home of the largest tidal change of anyplace on the planet, the Bay of Fundy was probably the Number One Must-See location for all of us on our recent visit to Nova Scotia.
High Tide, Hall’s Harbour, Nova Scotia
There are many places to experience the tidal change, depending on what you want to see. Most people want to see the highest vertical change, there are places where the horizontal change is very large, and there are a few places where you can experience a tidal “bore,” where a river actually reverses direction as the tide comes in and heads into a narrow inlet such as the mouth of a river.
Waiting for The Tide, Hall’s Harbour, Nova Scotia
The so-called tidal bore can be pretty exciting in the right place at the right times, but generally requires the right astronomical conditions, such as a full moon, to really experience anything more than a ripple.
Low Tide at Hall’s Harbour, Nova Scotia
We experience pretty large horizontal tidal changes along the east coast at places like Hilton Head, where the beach “disappears” at high tide but is enormously wide at low tide. Â Been there, done that! Â We decided that the way we wanted to see the tidal change was to experience the vertical change, since this is what the Bay of Fundy is really known for. Â In my opinion the tidal bore is more of a tourist thing. Â Others will undoubtedly have their own opinion, and that’s dandy.
Tide coming in, boats starting to float. Hall’s Harbour, Nova Scotia
The highest tides on planet Earth occur at a place called Burncoat Head. The water level at high tide can be as much as 52 feet higher than at low tide.  We stopped there and spent some time, but we were enroute that day and got there at just about high tide.  As a result, there wasn’t a lot to see and we didn’t have time to wait for the tide to recede.  Even with the amount of change, it can sometimes take a couple of hours to really notice the difference.  So we moved on, and the next day visited our planned destination to watch the tides, Hall’s Harbour.
Tide coming in, boats starting to float. Hall’s Harbour, Nova Scotia
About an hour’s drive from our lodging in Wolfville, we arrived at Hall’s Harbour around mid-morning – the time on my first photo says 10:27.  That was right around low tide, so we had a chance to “walk on the ocean floor” as they say, for an hour or more, looking at the fishing boats that literally sit on the ground while the tide is out.  Very fascinating!  Hall’s Harbour is an actual fishing village, with a small restaurant that serves lobster.  LOTS of lobster!  They had lobster dinner, lobster salad and lobster sandwiches, and a great place to sit and enjoy the day.  Our day was picture perfect, as far as weather goes.  We talked to a couple who had been there the day before who said that it was so foggy that they couldn’t see a thing.  So we were just a bit lucky!
High Tide, Hall’s Harbour, Nova Scotia
Within a few hours, all of the places we had been walking were covered by about 40 feet of water! Â It was quite an amazing experience, and a wonderful way to spend the day.
