South Carolina – Page 17 – Random Connections

World’s Fastest Leaf Blower

November 21, 2012 Tom No Comments

Photography

Raking leaves is an exercise in futility. This is especially true since our trees still have loads of leaves on them. I’m tempted to just wait until they all fall, then hire someone else to clean them up. that strategy has worked well in the past.

Alas, though, I’m bowing to neighborhood convention, and at least cleaning off the front yard so that the house looks respectable. However, there’s nothing that says that I can’t have fun doing it.

I had thought about this video the last time I cleared the leaves off of our front yard. This would make an excellent time-lapse video. My new Nikon D7000 has an interval timer build into it, so why not put it to use?

Dueling D7000s Downtown

November 12, 2012 Tom 3 Comments

Local, Photography

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.

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Saluda Lake on a Fall Saturday

October 7, 2012 Tom No Comments

Paddling

It seems like it has been ages since I’ve been out on the water. When Alan suggested a quick paddling trip for today, I jumped at the chance. His daughter, Caitlin, and her boyfriend, Ben, were in town while Furman is on fall break, so we were looking for a quick trip somewhere close by. Saluda Lake fit that bill nicely.

There are two public access points for Saluda Lake. Saluda Landing is on the Greenville side, and is a privately owned boat ramp and marina. On the Pickens side there is a relatively new public park. The last time we were there, Saluda Landing charged us $3 per boat to launch, whereas the Pickens park charged $3 per car parking fee. So, the question was, is it worth $6 for the convenience to Furman and a launch closer to where we wanted to paddle? We decided it was, and agreed to meet at Saluda Landing. However…

Marching Band Season

September 30, 2012 Tom 1 Comment

Entertainment, Music

As my friend Duck Hunter pointed out on his blog, not only is it football season, but it’s also marching band season. The Furman Band has really been sounding good the last several years, and this year continues this trend.

Of course, we’ve taken more interest in the band the past several years since the son and daughter of our friends Alan and Mary have been in the band. Joshua graduated last year, but Caitlin still has a couple of years to go. So, we’ve been following the band’s repertoire closer than usual.

Pickens County Ramble

September 17, 2012 Tom 4 Comments

Local, Photography, Rambling

I’ve been going a bit stir crazy. The weather has been perfect for hiking or kayaking, but with this lingering cough I just haven’t wanted to risk getting sick again. Laura was busy writing an exam, so sister Glynda and I decided to head out and find something to photograph.

For this ramble we repeated a trek that I had made with Duckhunter back last year. Our route took us north of Clemson and into some of the old communities of Pickens County.

From Greenville we drove to Easley, then followed 93 to Liberty, then on to Norris. From Norris we headed north to our first stop at the mill village of Cateechee. Glynda had never visited this part of the state, so it was new territory for her. We circled through the mill village and looked at the ruins of the mill, then drove around to the old Cateechee School.

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Getting Religion on the Edisto

August 12, 2012 Tom 1 Comment

Paddling, Photography

The Current be with you.

And also with you.

May the waters of the Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto flow over you and bless you…

I’ve mentioned before how our Lowcountry Unfiltered core group tends to consist of guys with names of the disciples. On this latest trip to the Edisto River we noticed other religious aspects. While not a defined liturgy, we do have our own order of service, dictated by the nature of the paddling venue. There is The Gathering then The Launch. Instead of wine and wafers we take communion with beer and brats, and our preferred method of baptism is via rope swing. What happens in between tends to be more free-form Charismatic than Episcopal, with a touch of Calvinism thrown in for good measure.

Two Libraries, Revisited

August 7, 2012 Tom 4 Comments

Local

Back in 2010 I wrote a piece entitled “Two Libraries, Two Attitudes.” In that article I took the Greenville County Library to task for their Internet blocking policies. At the time they blocked lots of sites, such as Twitter and most blogs, because their Acceptable Use Policy stated that the computers couldn’t be used for chat. By extension, this included most forms of social media, including Facebook, Myspace, and other similar sites.

The other night one Brian Dykes, who apparently is an employee of the library, left a comment stating that the information in that post was now incorrect. The snarky tone of the comment aside, I decided to take Mr. Dykes up on his challenge, and revisit the library to see if they had, in fact, reformed their policies.

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Lake Blalock Paddlefest

July 29, 2012 Tom 1 Comment

Paddling, Photography

This past Saturday Spartanburg Water held their first annual Paddlefest on Lake Blalock. In addition to highlighting paddlesport opportunities on the lake, the event was designed to promote water quality and watershed awareness. The Western Carolina Kayaking group announced the event, so I decided to sign up and check it out.

Lake Blalock is located in northern Spartanburg County. It is fed by the Pacolet River, which it shares with its upstream neighbor, Lake Bowen, and by Buck Creek. The lake is a small lake with limited boat motor size, and a watershed buffer zone around the lake between landowners and the lake’s edge. That makes it ideal for paddling.

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Habiba Mediterranean Restaurant

July 24, 2012 Tom No Comments

Restaurants

After our Georgia trek on Sunday, Glynda and I decided to get a bite of dinner. I had seen that a new place had opened on Haywood Road that looked interesting, so we drove by. Unfortunately, it was closed on Sundays. So, Monday on my way home late from work, I stopped by Habiba Mediterranean … Read More “Habiba Mediterranean Restaurant” »

Furman Photo Walk

July 23, 2012 Tom No Comments

Local, Photography

Despite the earlier disappointment with the new camera, the D7000 had a chance to redeem itself. I had signed up for a photo walk at Furman with the Upstate Photography Walks Meetup. I managed to make it home from North Carolina in time to catch a quick nap and meet the group at the Furman Bookstore at 6:00 pm for an evening walk.

I’ve participated in the Greenville Canoe and Kayak Meetup, but not the photography group. I didn’t know any of the participants, but was willing to give it a shot. I was joined by seven other photographers for a walk around campus.

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