A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
When I knew that Laura was going to be out of town this weekend, I contacted a couple of my Chorale/Furman friends to see if they would be interested in a photo safari. Ken Cothran took me up on the challenge, so early Saturday morning I picked him up at his place in Clemson and we headed out.
Our first stop was the town of Pendleton. Once the major city in the Upstate, the whole area is now on the Register of Historic Places. We walked around the little town square and took a few shots.
Conditions were ideal for a photo trek. I had a day of vacation I needed to use before the madness of summer system installations started up. Laura had left town for a conference, so I was on my own. And I had gotten new information about an interesting place to visit. My main target for the day would be the old railroad trestle that crosses the Broad River near Peak, SC.
Jay Hope had e-mailed me earlier in the week with a link to a story in The State newspaper about completion of the aforementioned bridge and opening of a new section of the Palmetto Trail. Jay’s family has been working to restore the nearby Hope School, which is one of the historic Rosenwald schools. The trail passes through Jay’s family land and close to the school, and he knew that I had an in the area, so he tries to keep me informed. I followed up on his suggestion, and after getting Laura off to the airport, headed south.
Been a busy week, so this is the first of three quick posts… Wednesday night Karen Buchmueller’s husband, Herman, and Laura had a meeting with the American Chemical Society, so the two of us decide to do a photo walk downtown, starting at Falls Park. We spent some time right at the entrance to the … Read More “Photo Walk with Karen B” »
Evening view of downtown Greenville from Wade Hampton Boulevard
I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of broken dreams
When the city sleeps
And I’m the only one and I walk aloneGreen Day – “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”
The joy you find here, you borrow,
You cannot keep it long, it seems.
But gigolo and gigolette
Still sing a song and dance along
The boulevard of broken dreams.Nat King Cole – “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”
Two shadows in the moonlight
Dance silently along the boulevard
Of dreams
TonightDada – “Boulevard of Dreams”
A boulevard isn’t just any old street. According to Wikipedia, it is a “wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare…often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery.” Naming a road a “boulevard” means that it should be something special, something to evoke poetry and song as noted above. Some cities are known by their more famous boulevards – the Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Sunset Boulevard, Santa Monica Boulevard, Wilshire Boulevard, and Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, for example. Greenville has Wade Hampton Boulevard.
Lots happening, and not much time to write about it. Laura and I discussed this, and we blame Furman. Since they have gone on a semester schedule their term is ending much earlier, and that’s thrown us off completely. I think, “Oh, Furman’s commencement is next weekend, so my school must be winding down” when we actually have a month more to go. With the compressed schedule, it seems like more is happening each weekend, and this past one was no exception.
Session two of our Town and Country photo class was this evening. Most of our class gathered at Diane Hopkins-Hughs studio to critique the photos we took on the “town” portion of our walk in downtown Greenville. We were to select our five best shots and print them. I gamely jumped in and printed my … Read More “Photo Class Critique” »
NOTE: This location is now closed. We were on our own for lunch today. Laura had stuff to do at Furman, and I had a rehearsal this morning. I’d planned on something quick after rehearsal, so was en route to Taco Hell when I saw that Belgian Delights was now open. I had to give it a … Read More “Belgian Delights” »
This weekend I took part in a “Town and Country Photo Hike” class taught through Furman University’s Continuing Education program. The course was taught be photographer Diane Hopkins-Hughs, and I was looking forward to getting some new tips on photo composition, and learning about new places to shoot in Greenville. Ann Martin also helped lead the class. This session was the “town” portion, and we would be exploring the downtown Greenville area. Next session will be the “country” portion, where we head out into the Upstate somewhere.
In most of the classes I’ve taken there is a wide range of abilities and skills. You have some folks that really are just starting out, and you’ve got some that seem like they are taking the class just to show off how much they already know. Even if the class turns out to be a very beginner class, as this one did, I try my best to stay out of that latter category. I just don’t want to be that guy. Even when a class doesn’t turn out to be quite what I expect, I always try to find something to take back from it.
This Saturday our Lowcountry Unfiltered group gathered for its monthly outing. We rendezvoused just southwest of Columbia to explore the Peachtree Rock Nature Preserve, managed by the Nature Conservancy and the South Carolina Department of Natural Services. Dr. John Nelson, botanist at USC, director of the state’s Herbarium, and member of our group would serve as our guide for the day.
In addition to John and myself, five others joined us. We gathered at the entrance to the preserve at about 9:00, and got some preliminary information from John. The area is one of the first set aside by the Nature Conservancy, and contains several unique habitat areas, including a long-leaf pine ecosystem. The geology is also unusual. A hard layer of rock called ironstone covers softer layers of sandstone. The sandstone has been eroding out from under the resistant upper layer, creating unique geological formations such as the namesake Peachtree Rock.
NOTE: This restaurant is now closed. I was in the mood for good New Orleans food. Unfortunately, that seems to be in short supply in Greenville since the demise of Betty Pearle’s on Main. There’s Chop’s, which has excellent Cajun cuisine, but is a bit cramped and out of the way. A quick scan of … Read More “London’s Restaurant” »