A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
When I did my mini-review of “Skyfall” I speculated out that James Bond must be a Time Lord because he keeps changing his appearance. However, he’s not the only Gallifreyan in the mix. MI-6 is lousy with Time Lords, and here’s the proof…
Blofeld
Doctor Who’s arch nemesis (apart from the Daleks, Cybermen, Weeping Angels, Sontorans, etc.) was another Time Lord known as The Master. Like The Doctor, The Master could regenerate, and his appearance changed over the long life of the series.
My friend Fred Graham (aka Photobug Fred) has the same camera I do – the Nikon D7000. Since buying mine last summer I really haven’t had a chance to get out and learn how to use it. This fall in general I haven’t had a chance to get out and shoot at all. So, when Fred suggested a downtown photowalk, I jumped at the chance.
It started out as a perfect fall day with interesting clouds and bright sunlight. Our plan was to meet at 3:00 at Falls Park to take advantage of the late afternoon sunlight. However, as the time approached the clouds started building. I wondered whether or not the good lighting would stay with us. When the time came, the clouds had broken into interesting patterns, and it looked like it would be a great shoot after all.
I me Fred by the fountains at the top of Falls Park. The fountains had been colored purple for some sort of cancer awareness something or other.
It looked like half of Greenville’s population had joined us. What’s more, it looked like most of those were similarly armed with cameras. And, it wasn’t just camera phones – there were quite a few high-end cameras out and about. After awhile I stopped counting. Fred and I wondered how may thousands of photographs had been taken in the park just this afternoon.
…or “Sean who??” I believe that James Bond is a Time Lord. That’s the only way to describe his regenerative abilities and ability to change appearance over the past 50 years of movies. In this latest movie, under interrogation Bond himself states that his hobby is “resurrection.” Be that as it may, in this 23 … Read More “Skyfall” »
As one might imagine, digital camera technology keeps getting better and better. Cameras are tinier than ever with even more features. Smartphones with editing apps are almost eliminating the need for point-and-shoot cameras. Even with all this, there are a couple of cameras to come on the market in the past couple of years that look like potential game changers – the Lytro camera and the GoPro Hero.
First, a note of disclaimer for my beloved wife – having just bought two fairly high-end cameras over the summer, I am NOT considering these for purchase. I just think they are worth mentioning here, and if someone I know does get one, all I ask is the opportunity to play with it for a few minutes.
Disclaimer out of the way, I’ll start with Lytro…
At the EdTech conference this year the theme was “A High Tech Adventure!” Some of the conference staff were wearing camo, and camping gear made up most of the floor displays. The vendors always give away some freebies – usually pens and pencils, with a T-shirt being the high end of the spectrum. This year … Read More “The End of My Rope” »
It was 25 years ago this weekend that Laura and I met. Hard to believe how fast time flies. It was Furman Homecoming Friday night, and we were both there under unusual circumstances. Here’s the story…
The Friday night of Homecoming Weekend students begin constructing floats on the mall. Well, not really “floats” in the technical sense, but displays. The alumni come back to wander along the mall and party with the students. There was always music and free food, and at one time there were even fireworks.
At that time Laura lived just around the corner from Furman. She had just given a big chemistry test that week, and had just celebrated her birthday. She was tired from staying up and grading papers, but couldn’t rest because of the noise from campus. She decided she would head over and at least enjoy the music in person.
Of all the ethnic holidays, I think I like Oktoberfest the best. It brings with it hints of cooler weather, fall colors, and one of my favorite cuisines – German food. However, fellow kayaker and chef Darren M. recently pointed out that authentic Oktoberfest has a very specific date range – two weeks running from late September through the first week of October. Any restaurants or festivals advertising Oktoberfest this late in the year (such as Walhalla this weekend, but I guess a fake Norse town can have a fake Bavarian celebration any time it wants) is doing so purely for advertising promotion. I guess it’s not that different from seeing Halloween ads all October, or promoting Christmas just as soon as the after school sales end. That being said, when my friend Keith Dover proposed heading up to Haus Heidelberg in Hendersonville to take advantage of their Oktoberfest specials, I jumped at the chance, cultural authenticity be damned.
I have long complained about the dearth of German restaurants in the area, especially with BMW and all the other German industry in town. But, I guess that number is increasing. Joining Haus Edelweiss and Schwaben Haus are Hans und Franz and The Bavarian Pretzel Factory. Even Strossner’s Bakery is now on the list of places offering German food. German restaurants seem to be more prevalent on up in the mountains, I guess hearkening back to the Alpine nature of Bavaria. Both The Black Forest in Ardin and Haus Heidelberg have been long-time staples of German food in our region. However, I don’t get up that way often enough to take advantage of them. This was the first time I’d been to Haus Heidelberg in ages.
The drive up early Wednesday evening was spectacular. The October sky was brilliantly lit with the setting sun, and the leaves are just shy of being at peak. Keith and I drove on up through Flat Rock, enjoying the ride.
I love time-lapse photography. I’ve experimented with it a bit, with both iOS devices and various cameras. However, time-lapse really takes commitment. I’ve done this math on this blog before, but I’ll do it again. Let’s say that you’re shooting one shot every 30 seconds. If your video is a standard 30 frames per second (fps), then it would take 15 minutes for one second’s worth of video. One hour would give you four seconds. 24 hours would be 1.6 minutes worth. That’s not a lot.
However, for good time-lapse you need some persistence of vision. 30 fps is probably too fast. You could either reduce the frame rate, or you could decrease the time interval to something like once every 5 seconds. Either way it’s still a commitment in time.
Plus there are other factors to consider. If you’re shooting outdoors or on location you have to protect your gear from the weather and you need to keep it secure. There’s also the issue of power. Will your camera run that long on batteries, or does it need external power? It can be daunting.
I’m beginning to develop a love-hate relationship with autumn. Last year about this time we lost my father and two friends. This year, stresses at work and various health issues have had us at bay. Then today I found out that another long-time friend had passed away last week. Robert Ridgeway was one seriously unique … Read More “Fall Passings” »
The Death of Blogging has been touted for years now. Even the term “micro-blogging” for services such as Twitter has fallen out of favor, being replaced by “social media” and the like. Therefore, it’s very encouraging when I come across new blogs that have lots of potential. Some of these have been around and I’ve … Read More “Blog Round-Up” »