A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
Yeah, it’s been a hell of a year. It started with big plans for travel and other projects. It ended with depression and wondering where things are going in 2025. There were lots of ups and downs along the way. On the positive side, I started my new podcast, Carolina Ghost Towns. That’s been a … Read More “2024 Wrap Up” »
With all the chaos post-Helene I haven’t had much of a chance to get out and explore. I’ve been working on scripts for season 2 of Carolina Ghost Towns, which will include an episode on the ghost town of Shelton in Fairfield County. It had been awhile since I had visited, so I thought it … Read More “Seeking Shelton” »
Each year about this time I get lots of comments like this – “You would make a great Santa!” This year it went even further. I was invited to be Santa for a local Christmas parade. I declined, mostly because I wouldn’t be able to find a good suit in the short time before the … Read More “Saint Nicholas – Sinterklaas – Santa Claus” »
I needed to do something totally unrelated to dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. For several months Debbie Weeks from the Upstate Cemetery Preservation Alliance has been inviting me to join them on several outings, but the timing just never worked out. This time the planets aligned and I was about to join them. … Read More “Antioch and GPR” »
We knew there was a storm coming. We had charged up all of our devices and power blocks knowing that we would lose power. We had stocked up on a few things that we could cook easily on a camp stove. We were ready. …or so we thought. Hurricane Helene really did a number on … Read More “Going to Helene and (almost) Back” »
It seems that my paddling group, Lowcountry Unfiltered, has fallen apart. We’ve all been pulled in different directions and Second Saturday trips are no longer a given. There’s another Facebook paddling group called Carolina Splash Mob that has paddling trips just about every weekend. My plan was to join them on Saturday for a trip … Read More “Paddling Keowee on a Busy Saturday” »
…or, rather, catfished AFTER a family reunion. Most of my ancestors have stayed right here in South Carolina and lived within a couple of hours drive of where I now live. That makes genealogy a bit easier for me. Especially on my mother’s side you just have to head down to the Greenwood-Abbeville-Edgefield-Saluda area (AKA, … Read More “Catfished at a Family Reunion” »
For well over a year now I’ve been playing in a Bluegrass jam at Fireforge Crafted Beer in downtown Greenville. The jam is hosted by Matt Puriton and Sam Kruer and features some amazing musicians from around the upstate. Each week I’m amazed at the quality of music that comes out, and we have a … Read More “Bluegrass at Fireforge” »
This story starts back last winter. It was a cold Wednesday morning at the Pickens Flea Market and we really wanted to get a fire going in Ralph Perry’s ancient 1902 vintage stove. The problem was that there was nary a match, lighter, nor flint amongst us. This being the flea market we were eventually … Read More “Looking for a Match” »
Five years ago I went down a rabbit hole. I started obsessing about the architect of McCarter Presbyterian Church, where I had served as music director for a number of years. I wrote about my research in a 2019 blog post about the Oeland Family and their involvement in the construction of multiple churches across … Read More “A Legacy of Faith” »