Anderson Grist Mill, 2012

It's been two great days this weekend!  The only problem is...they are over!

I'll tell you about yesterday in a future blog, but for now, let's talk about today.

Last year Annette and I arranged for the camera club to go to the Anderson Grist Mill near Mercersburg, PA.  The participants who attended the photo shoot last year were very excited about all of the opportunities for pictures inside of the grist mill.  Several asked if they could get in on their own!  The club president said that it was the most requested photo shoot of the year.

So, what could we do but an encore.  Annette and I arranged for the Camera Club to go to the Anderson Grist Mill near Mercersburg, PA for the second time.  The weather shaped up right on cue.  It was a beautiful day full of warm fall air and wonderful sunshine!

The grist mill is so full of ingenious contraptions that I just look for more time than I spent taking pictures!

Inside the grist mill there was a tool room with all kinds of hand tools laying on the work benches and hanging from the wall.  There was also quite a bit of old junk.  In the middle of the floor was a table with window light hitting it just right.  So, I used that table as a place to "stage" some of the junk treasures.

This first picture includes a bottle, just for Annette.  On one of our first workshops, Annette found some old bottles and arranged them just so against a colorful rusted bucket.  I wondered why she was photographing trash!  Now here I am doing the same.

This second picture is of a wooden box with an orchard brand name stamped into the end.  I set up the box so that the sunlight would rake the side of the box and create shadows in the imprint so that the imprint would be more visible.

There were three planes in the tool room.  One of them had so much dirt and grime that you could no longer see the wood grain.  So I set up the two other ones.  I wanted the handles to echo one another.

I even had a chance to make an abstract photo.  The lights in this abstract are from holes in the wall of the mill.  I used a longer shutter speed to get more length to the streaks.  I was pointed up a little so I think the blue color comes from the sky.

One other thing that deserves more telling than I am going to do is that it was great to see fellow photographers in action and share tips and tricks.  This is the way that friendships are born.  I think some were birthing today!

Well, I hope you enjoyed hearing from me again and also enjoyed the pictures.

More importantly, get out there an keep making photos!

Kenilworth Aquatic Park Flowers

 On July 21, 2012, Annette and I found the time to go to the Lotus Blossom Festival at the Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens.

It rained off and on during the drive down.  So much so that we wondered if this was going to be a wash out.  But we kept on going.

When we arrived it was lightly sprinkling.  We took our ponchos along just in case.

We arrived at 3:00 pm and it looked like most of the activities for the day had already left.  There were a couple of bands still left on the schedule and they both bravely trooped on, but their audience had all but disappeared.  Oh well, we didn't come for the activities, we came to see the flowers.

At first, I was a little discouraged by the rain.  Nobody likes to get wet when they are facing a two hour car ride home in wet clothes and every photographer wants to protect his gear (electronics and water do not mix!).

But I dutifully followed Annette into the gardens.  It turns out that it was worth the trip, in spite of the rain, or maybe because of the rain!

The wind from the storm had turned some of the more fully opened blossoms almost inside out!

Lotus Blossom feeling the effects of the Rainstorm

The huge bowl-shaped leaves of the Lotus plant caught and retained some of the water from the storm. I wondered how the plants put that water to good use.

I also liked how the shape of the leaf and the shape of the blossom mirror each other.

In the image below, it appears as if the pedals are wrapping themselves defensively around then core of the blossom, protecting it from the effects of the storm.

This new blossom appears to be coyly emerging from behind the leaves.

Besides the Lotus Plants there were many others, such as this blossom on a vine.

I was worried that the monochromatic, gray sky would be a problem, but in this picture,  it reduced the contrast (versus the bright, harsh sun in a nearly cloudless blue sky) such that you can actually see the reflection of the blossom rather than just a black shadow.

The rain also added some interest to this next Lilly pad image.  It is what was making the ripples in the water.

After an hour and a half, the drizzle turned into a shower.  You should have seen Annette!  She had on her poncho with the hood up and her camera, backpack on her back!  She also poked a hole in the poncho so that she could look through the viewfinder with the camera under the poncho.  She is one die hard photographer!

I guess I am not that dedicated to my craft.  I thought that when the rain came, it was a good time to look at the displays inside of the park office building!

Talk to you next time.  Keep on Clicking!

Shem Creek

Shem Creek is a great little area near Charleston.  Annette and I went there for dinner and spent the rest of the evening taking images.

Shem Creek used to be a very active port for fishermen in the area.  However, as of late, the fishing industry is having its challenges and the fleet is shrinking.

There was a great pier/walkway that was built quite a ways out along Shem Creek.

The end of the pier.

Pier Light from below.

 I can't take credit for the concept for the Pier Light photo above.  I saw Annette taking the picture and had to have a picture of my own.

Two Fishing Boats in Daylight

Fishing Boats along Shem Creek

Fishing Boats on Shem Creek at Dusk

Fishing Boats on Shem Creek at Night

 

Fishing Boat on Shem Creek at Night

Downtown Details

On one of the early days of our trip to Charleston, Annette and I walked through the old-time neighborhood and took pictures of some of the great details of the beautiful houses.  Check out these pictures and see what I mean:

This park bench detail can be seen all over Charleston.  I thought it looked better in black and white.

Cobblestone street.  Very difficult to walk on.

Gas Lantern.  Actually field by gas.  They were everywhere in downtown Charleston.

Entryway.  Notice the gas lantern.

Entryway.  Notice the gas lantern.

Entry.  Beautiful Ivy.

Wrought iron detail

This address may be hard to find behind the greenery.

I thought it was fascinating how they trained the ivy all over the front of the house.

Door Knob and Ivy

A great look for stairs

This is the first vertical sun dial that I have seen.

The Ravenel / Cooper River Bridge

If you ever go to Charleston, you will not miss the Cooper River Bridge.
It's huge.
It's unique.
And, it's in a very visible location.

Underneath the bridge is a very nice, well-maintained Memorial Park.  It has playground equipment for the kids and a beautiful setting for the adults.

One evening, Annette and I went to the park and hung out until dark.  We saw families, couples and an exercise class that was sitting on their butts, lifting their feet off of the ground and using both hands to swing a weight back and forth.  That should help the abdominal muscles!

Anyway, we waited until the sun set and the lights on the bridge came on.  These are some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge) at Sunset 

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge) at Sunset 

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge) at Sunset

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge) at Sunset

Oh, yeah, by the way, we also walked the bridge during the daylight hours.  I had read somewhere that the bridge deck was 195 feet above the water surface!  I was OK until we got to the first tower.  At that point I could feel the bridge move with every car that went by.  I don't know much about the fatigue life of concrete on steel beams, so I was starting to freak out.  We turned around and went back!

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge)

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge)

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge)

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge)

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge)

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge)

Sunrise, Sunset

Generally, when a normal person goes on vacation, it is a break from work and the work routine of getting up early and making the commute.

Not so for Annette and me!!!

We were up for several sunrises.  In fact, we commuted over an hour to try to get to a photo opportunity before the sun was up.

Here are some pictures:

The Pier on Isle of Palms

 Obviously, for the image above, we were in place before the sun actually rose above the horizon.  And then we continued to shoot after the sun rose for the picture below.

The Pier on Isle of Palms

For the three stark images below of the remains of trees near the ocean's edge, we hurried to get to the spot, but it was an hour and fifteen minute's drive from where we were staying and then it was a 15 minute walk from the car to the beach by the trees.  We didn't quite make it in time.  Annette was very disappointed.  However, we were able to salvage a few shots.

Botany Bay Plantation Boneyard

Botany Bay Plantation Boneyard

Botany Bay Plantation Boneyard

The two images below are shots of the huge houses along the battery.  We were there just after sun up and before there were cars parked on the street.  I have to tell you, it was cold!

Enormous House along the Battery

Enormous House along the Battery

I wish I could do that!

In April, Annette and I went on vacation to the beautiful city of Charleston, South Carolina and the neighboring area.  I will eventually get some pictures up from the trip.

But there were a couple of occasions on the trip that Annette was able to do what I cannot.  She happily and cheerfully approached people and asked to take their picture.  We arrived in the area on Saturday and on Sunday she started.

We were in Waterfront park in Charleston and there were a lot of people out in the Easter finery, including a cute young couple.  Let's call them Jane and the Seersucker Man!  Jane had on a pretty blue sun dress and her escort had on a Seersucker jacket along with shirt and tie.

Annette had her eye on this couple from the moment she saw them.  Finally she approached them and found them to be great kids, who were very willing to participate in an impromptu photo shoot.  Annette took some pictures with her camera and with Jane's camera.  You can see an overall shot below.

Jane and the Seersucker Man

After we left them and as we were walking through the park, we saw some young kids doing cartwheels.  Annette talked to them and got pictures of them and their cartwheels.

When we were at Shem Creek, Annette approached a guy who was fishing and took several pictures of him.  The guy was willing enough that, when we were both in the  parking lot, he came up with his email address to make sure that Annette would send him some pictures.

One morning during the week we got up before sunrise and went to the pier on Isle of Palms.  We were taking pictures when this group of young girls came walking by.  It turns out that they were a softball team from upstate New York.  They were taking pictures of each other and Annette volunteered to take pictures of the group with their cameras.  Then she got some shots in with her own camera.  Here is a picture of the arranging of the group.

Softball Team Photo

But, Hey! I got some pictures of people.  It's just that I did if from afar and did not have to actually ask if I could take their picture.  Here is what I mean...

Cadets