charleston

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.
 

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, 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.

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.

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.