A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
Every day from Last Saturday, December 1, through next Saturday, December 15, my schedule has been incredibly structured. Every evening I’ve got something going on, whether it be a rehearsal, concert, class, or holiday dinner. The holidays are always busy, but this year seems particularly crazy. I’ve even scaled back, without a church of my … Read More “Parties and Frisbee in the Dark” »
One of my Flickr contacts, Matt (aka greenkayak73), has posted some interesting photos of a day trip he took to the communities of Stateburg and Horatio, both located in Sumter County. Of particular interest were his photos of the old LeNoir Store in Horatio, which has been operated by the Lenoir family for nearly 200 … Read More “Virtual Tourism” »
I still felt like the least experienced person in the class, but tonight I asked lots of questions, and learned a lot. Two sessions and I already feel like I’ve gotten my money’s worth from the class. Tonight we talked about resampling, color modes, adjustment layers, and various methods for converting color images to black … Read More “Advanced Photoshop – Second Session” »
Some years ago I considered myself a purist when it came to taste in Christmas music. All I wanted to listen to were the classics, anything that came out of the Oxford Book of Carols, or anything written and arranged by David Willcocks or John Rutter. Basically, stuff from the British school and Lessons and … Read More “Annoying Christmas Music” »
Today is the first Sunday of Advent. For those of us who refuse to live by the commercial calendar, it’s the start of the Christmas season. Well, not really that even, but the preparation for the Christmas season. I’ve mentioned before that one church where I worked, the minister would not allow any Christmas music … Read More “Gloria” »
On my way to work there is a big sign that shows how high the lottery has gotten. Lately I’ve been watching it grow larger and larger, but I just hadn’t gotten around to buying a ticket. It finally reached 155 million for last night’s drawing, and I fully intended to buy a ticket, but … Read More “Unnessary Disappointment” »
Last night I began a four-week class on Advanced Photoshop. The class is being taught by John Simo at the West End Darkroom in Greenville. I thought I knew Photoshop. I’ve been using it for the past twelve years, ever since version 4.0. I knew I had barely scratched the surface, but I wasn’t prepared … Read More “Advanced Photoshop” »
Wednesday morning I had a rare opportunity. I was invited to work with a high school government and economics class, introducing them to Google Earth. There was a class of about 30 students in the media center’s computer lab, and I showed them basic navigation, how to create placemarks, and some general features of the … Read More “No child left behind, except for gifted” »
Two household chores – last weekend we cleared brush at the lake’s edge to improve our view, and yesterday Laura washed the picture windows at the back of our house. Those two items contributed to a fantastic wildlife show this morning. I got up just as light was breaking over the lake. There was frost … Read More “Hawks, Herons, Mallards, and Merganzers” »
My goal for the day was to avoid any center of commerce or any road leading to such an area. Since it was such a beautiful day, I thought it would be nice to get out and take some photos. Before heading out on my photo tour, I did make one stop at a store. … Read More “Black Friday Blues” »