A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
During the summers we work a modified schedule in order to save energy costs. Monday-Thursday we work extended hours and our office is closed on Friday. Sounds like a fantastic idea. However, those long days can get to be really long, especially since I usually get up at 5:00 am to make it to work. … Read More “Summer Malaise” »
UPDATE: I regularly check to see what search terms bring people to this site. Apparently lots of people are copying phrases from the list below and pasting them into Google to try to find the answers. Sorry, but I think that should automatically disqualify you for Geekdom. If you can’t phrase a search properly, you … Read More “From Wired – 100 Essential Skills for Geeks” »
I’ve got to admit it. I’m rough on point-n-shoot cameras. I try to have one with me at all times, so for awhile I was keeping first a little Nikon S1, then its replacement, a Nikon S50 in my pocket. Both cameras kept banging against keys, coins, phone, or whatever else I had in my … Read More “The Perfect Point-n-Shoot” »
I was wondering when this would happen. Many of the “free” online applications that we’ve come to take for granted are now coming with strings attached. I guess they have to make money some way, but this week two tales of monetization have really taken the Web 2.0 world by storm. Here’s the scoop… First, … Read More “The Not-So-Free Web” »
The problem with traveling during a week of fog and rain is that all of your shots start to look the same. The only way to remedy this is with a bit of post-processing. Adding a texture layer can be a quick way to add interest, but it can be overdone, and it can obscure the main focal point of your photo. Here’s a quick tutorial on adding a radial mask to your texture layer to preserve your focal point.
We had just spent last weekend in Maine, so why not head to another corner of the US for this weekend? That’s what we decided to do. I had a four-day weekend for the July4th holiday, so we loaded up the car and headed out after work Thursday even to visit Laura’s sister, Amy, in … Read More “Fourth in Florida” »
It was pure serendipity. We were making the long drive from Greenville to Laura’s sister’s house in Florida, and I had downloaded several podcasts from NPR’s This American Life to listen to along the way. At random I selected the episode “Leaving the Fold”, and was treated to a story that has many parallels with the story of Gov. Mark Sanford’s fall from grace.
The first part of the episode tells the story of Jerry Springer. If people think of him at all, they know him as the host off the off-beat TV talk show where idiots yell at each other about ridiculous things. The truth is, he was a very promising politician in the Democratic party in the late 1960’s, working with Robert Kennedy’s campaign. It looked like he had a bright political career of his own ahead of him. That was all brought to a crashing halt by an indiscretion similar to Sanford’s.
Early Sunday morning we missed breakfast at the inn, but our host had set aside coffee and scones to go for us. We loaded up the rental and made the trek from Belfast through August and Lewiston to Portland. Rental returned, flights boarded, we made the trek home without incident and found both cats and … Read More “Lighthouse Score Sheet” »
Saturday, June 27
At breakfast this morning there were two new couples. Our friends from earlier in the week had moved on, and were replaced by newcomers. Laura and I were now the old-timers at the inn, and could talk about the breakfasts, what to do in town, etc.
We wanted to visit Acadia National Park once more. Even though it was a Saturday and likely to be crowded, and the weather was still not cooperating, we decided to head roughly in that direction.
When we reached the bridges over the Penobscot Narrows we decided to visit Fort Knox, located on a bluff over the river, and possibly see if the bridge observatory was open. Laura had hear rumors that the elevator had recently gotten stuck in the 42 story tower, and wasn’t keen on giving it a try, so I was by myself for that jaunt.
Friday, June 26
Strange, but tragic news this morning – not only did Farah Fawcette succumb to her cancer, but there was news that Michael Jackson had died suddenly. Add in the death earlier this week of Ed McMahon, and the celebrity death trio is now complete.
Yesterday’s puffin cruise had been canceled because of fog. Today didn’t look much better. We were afraid to commit ourselves to one direction with the possibility of another cancellation, but did so anyway, heading south. Before we got too far along the way I called the boat company, and they said that they planned to sail. We guessed that things must be better down near the coast.