Heather & Chopper's Wonderful World of ... » charleston

Christmas parade

Heather — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:14:17 +0000

Our Christmas parade in downtown Charleston is one of the most random collection of people and things I have the pleasure to witness all year, and this year was no exception. I was holding out hope for cops on Segways all decorated for the holiday, but maybe next year.

KING TUT WITH BUBBLES!

We really hoped that the driver of this eighteen-wheeler was a trainER, not a trainEE, considering the rather sharp left turns that are necessary to get the truck on the parade route.

Basset hounds!

… and a tree made out of chain link.

The rest of my photos are on Flickr.

Mepkin Abbey crèches

Heather — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 03:47:23 +0000

Chopper and I went to the annual exhibit of crèches at Mepkin Abbey for the first time today and were amazed at what we found. The exhibit, which sadly was over today, was fantastic. The variety and quality of the crèches on display were startling.

I shot many photos with my 50mm lens (which I continue to adore) which are all available for your viewing pleasure in my Flickr photostream.

Our favorites:

This one is cut from a duck’s egg by a Vietnamese woman selling crafts on the side of the road. I’ve blown out eggshells to dye them for Easter before and I am just stunned at how delicate this is. The lines are very clean.

This more abstract wooden piece was Chopper’s favorite.

We couldn’t figure out what kind of dark stone would be readily available in fairly large pieces and were extremely surprised to find out the figures are carved in coal. The photo doesn’t quite do justice to how luminous the surface is - almost more like metal than stone.

And finally … a wise man who has a startling resemblance to comedian Jeff Dunham’s puppet José Jalapeño on a Stick.

We have lizards

Heather — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:23:32 +0000

We have had a small population of very tiny, nimble lizards living in the house over the past few weeks. I find them charming rather than creepy. When I first spotted them, I saw three near one of our window air conditioners and they were probably an inch and a half long max. I’ve now seen several, progressively larger but still wee, around the apartment and even one on the doorknob as I was coming home from work yesterday.

I found one today and he or she was courteous enough to stay put long enough for me to take a few photographs. Our little guests are Mediterranean geckos, an invasive but harmless species that tends to live in walls. (Surprise! I knew that already.)

If they eat bugs, they can stay.

On a separate note, Tropical Storm Hanna is passing just to the east of us, and we’re fine. Conditions are going to deteriorate as the evening wears on but we’re tucked in for the night.

Playing with the new lens

Heather — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 23:43:20 +0000

I went outside with my new 50mm lens for the first time today. It is a lot faster than my other two lenses. I shot a series of photos of the camellias in the church yard next door starting at one full stop overexposed to two stops underexposed, and the best of the lot was the two stops underexposed. It’s going to take some getting used to but in a low light environment, I can definitely see the advantage. Chopper suggested shooting indoors without flash to get a better sense of it, and I’ll probably use that as my project for tomorrow.

While I have a ton of camellia photos in the gallery already, they never stop being an appealing subject for me. Nikon D70, ISO 400, f2.0, 1/500, 50 mm.

I also caught sight of a truck driving by with a rather distinctive logo and purpose, and I couldn’t resist taking a photo. Yes, I looked like a tourist. Oh, well.

My Christmas parade is more random than your Christmas parade

Heather — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 02:25:02 +0000

Chopper and I watched the annual Charleston Christmas parade (photos in the gallery as usual) with the usual mixture of delight, amusement, and confusion. First, I’ll say that we have some outstanding marching bands in the area and I always love to hear the police bagpipe band. So very festive. And the Basset Waddle for the Basset Hound Rescue is always charming.

But can anyone explain to me why we had a man dressed as a toilet, King Tut (with bubbles), and a personal floatation device in a Christmas parade?

King Tut is my favorite.

Sunrise Park and Angel Oak

Heather — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 01:41:41 +0000

Mom, Dad, Chopper, and I spent a gorgeous day outside at Sunrise Park and the Angel Oak. The photo of the day is a butterfly from Sunrise Park. Not sure what kind, but I’m sure someone will tell me. Nikon D70, ISO 400, F5.6, 1/350, 200 mm.

Some other notable photos from today (left-right): My mother the treehugger, a bee, and the miniature regatta in the harbor.

Charleston Museum ruins

Heather — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 22:33:05 +0000

In a park between Ashley and Rutledge Avenues, just down from Calhoun, are the ruins of the oldest museum in the United States. The Charleston Museum is now located on Meeting Street, but there’s something about the few remaining columns and brick walls in the park that catches the eye. I stopped and took some photos today, and have three photos of the day for you. They’re all portrait orientation, so they don’t look quite right in a square thumbnail. Sony Cybershot DSC-P10, ISO 400, see EXIF information on the photos (detail mode) for other details as it varies from shot to shot.

Sunrise Park

Heather — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 22:55:29 +0000

Sunrise Park, on James Island, is one of my favorite places in Charleston. It has, hands down, the best views of the new Cooper River Bridge that you can get without being on a boat. Since I’ve been photographing a lot of things around the apartment, I thought it was past time to get out a bit and enjoy the absolutely gorgeous October day.

I had a lot of trouble picking a single photo that I liked best, but I finally settled on this one, which I shot with a very small depth of field to blur the bridge in the background. I’m pleased with the result. Nikon D70, ISO 200, F4.5, 1/1000, 70 mm. Since there were others that I liked, I’ve added them to the Sunrise Park album.

No white picket fence, this

Heather — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 23:32:46 +0000

Happily, I’m finding that I’m not as frustrated with my little point-and-shoot camera as I have been. There’s a limited program mode where I can set, at least to some degree, ISO and exposure, although I can’t control shutter speed or aperture directly. I shot with the automatic bracketing on today, and I’m pleased with the results.

Today’s photo is of the fence in front of the John Rutledge Inn on Broad Street. Sony Cybershot DSC-P10, ISO 400, F3.5, 1/30, 14 mm, slightly underexposed.

A photo a day - October

Heather — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 16:58:13 +0000

Part of my desire to get the Photos section of this site back up and running is that I have a cool project to share. During the month of October, I’m shooting a photo a day to document the month. It’s likely to be some humdrum stuff but I’m hoping that the rigor of having a mini-deadline each day will help me get some interesting shots, too.

Since I’m obviously behind in posting these photos here because of the technical difficulties, I’ll go ahead and share the first five days worth of photos. I’m shooting with two cameras: my beloved Nikon D70 DSLR and my small Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P10. If you go to the album itself, choose Detail mode from at the bottom right to show EXIF information.

October 1
The first photo of the month was one of those “interesting shots” I’m hoping to get. I was contemplating what to shoot, and then I spotted a tiny intruder on our kitchen table, running laps on Chopper’s wedding ring. Nikon D70, ISO 1600, F4.5, 1/60, 70 mm, exposed according to the meter.

October 2
A palmetto tree and street light outside the Harris Teeter on East Bay Street. Sony Cybershot DSC-P10, ISO 100, F5.6, 1/80, 8 mm. Slightly underexposed -1/3 EV. I took an overexposed shot at +1/3 EV and liked the detail I got in the light filament better in the underexposed one.

October 3
The floor in our living room, which is original heart pine. Nikon D70, ISO 1600, F4.5, 1/20, 70mm, exposed according to the meter.

October 4
A pile of my gadgets. My personal laptop (bottom), work laptop, iPod, Palm TX, work Blackberry, and my cell phone. Nikon D70, ISO 1600 (and you can definitely see the grain in the larger version), F4.5, 1/180, 50mm, underexposed according to the meter with fill-in flash.

October 5
Sony Cybershot DSC-P10, ISO 120, F2.8, 1/30, 8 mm. My photography class instructor would say “soft focus.” I say “out of focus.” Wish I’d had my Nikon but we were walking to dinner at Jestine’s and one cannot always have a DSLR and multiple lenses.

I have to give some kudos to MidPhase, our web host, for their very speedy response to my (eventual) request for aid on the broken Gallery2 installation. I’ve been very happy with them as a provider, so if you’re looking for a host, I really recommend them.