A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
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.
Thursday, June 25
This was supposed to be our best day, weather-wise, so we had reserve a place on a Puffin Cruise that was supposed to sail from Port Clyde. However, things didn’t look quite as nice when we got up. We started out anyway, headed back south through Camden and Rockland. We had just stopped for a bit more coffee when I got a company from the Monhegin Boat Line that the port was socked in, and that the cruise had been canceled.
They did rebook us for Friday, but it put us in something of a quandary. We had wanted to head back to Acadia at some point, especially before any weekend crowds gathered. Now, though, we were on the opposite side of Penobscot Bay, and we were possibly obligated for tomorrow. We decided to continue in this direction and see if we could find some of the lighthouses along these lower peninsulas.
Our first target was Pemaquid Point. I had remembered visiting here from our previous trip to Maine, and remembered the fort and beach. I thought it might be a good diversion.
Thursday, June 25 “Motels are for the anonymous. B&B’s are for the gregarious.” That was the conclusion I reached at breakfast this morning. In addition to the couple we had met earlier, we were joined by two other couples. One person kept introducing himself over and over again, making almost too much of an attempt … Read More “B&B Life” »
Wednesday, June 24
The weather continued to be rotten. It was alternately cloudy, foggy, or rainy and sometimes all three. We were really glad to have our new rain gear from L. L. Bean. It had been a worthwhile stop.
The breakfasts continue to be fantastic at the inn. This morning was another three-course meal, culminating in a wonderful fritatta.
Despite the foul weather, we decided to head up to Acadia National Park. We figured that mid-week would be less crowded than the weekend, so now was the time.
We headed north out of Belfast on US 1, retracing the route we had take Monday. Once again, I had to resist the urge to stop and photograph every one of the Victorian mansions we passed. Of particular interest to me was the traditional Maine farm house. This usually consisted of a small wood frame cottage, usually with Victorian Gothic trim, and a huge cedar-sided barn that would be attached to the house via a passageway. I guess the farmers wanted a way to get to their barns without having to trudge through winter weather. In many of these the barn had now been converted to living space or garages, so the actual square footage of the house had been greatly increased.
US 1 from Bucksport to Ellsworth was fairly non-descript. Ellsworth itself was a quaint town, with a lovely riverfront area. However, the town was much larger than others we had encountered. The town was somewhat extended even further, by virtue of it being near a National Park. The route from Ellsworth to Bar Harbor was lined with motels and the types of distractions that come with such parks – campgrounds, miniature golf places, etc., etc.
Wednesday, June 24
This morning I got up very early to do a photo walk around the little town of Belfast. It was still misty outside, but that seems to be typical for this area. I figured I could still get some good shots of the historic buildings and waterfront area. I had a general goal, but wasn’t sure if i would have the time or energy to get to everything.
My first stop was the village green. This large open area has great views of the entire Belfast Bay. There are a few walking paths and benches, and looks like a great place to just hang out and watch ships pass.
From the green I walked on down to the waterfront. It’s typical of most of the small Maine waterfront towns. There are a fair number of recreational boats, but many more lobster boats. Lobster floats can be seen throughout the bay. I had wondered aloud to Laura, “At what point do lobster floats cease to be scenic?” There were also a couple of restaurants and pubs along the waterfront that we may have to explore further.
