Old Video Draws "Spirited" Comments

Do you believe in ghosts?  If pressed for a strict yes or no answer, I would say no.

But I have heard several very credible accounts from people I know (or know of) involving "otherworldy" encounters they had. So a better answer from me to the above question would be "maybe." In other words, I'm on the fence about the existence of ghosts.

Dutch Photos in CNPA Magazine

I was excited to open up the latest issue of the Carolinas' Nature Photographers Association (CNPA) magazine and find this piece on page 1!

I had submitted my Amsterdam article and photos several months ago. A few issues of the magazine came out during that time without my story included, so I had pretty much given up on it running. 

So it was truly a "Dutch delight" to see it in this issue. I emailed the editor and effusively thanked her.  Cindy Landrum did a fine job condensing the text, selecting and laying out the piece. 

More of my photos and stories from last winter's visit to Amsterdam can be seen here.  Also produced a slide show using the fun Kizoa platform. 

Genieten! 

Back With More Backyard Birds!

Yesterday while doing some errands outside I heard the distinctive cackle of a bird I know well: the Belted Kingfisher.

Grabbing my camera and monopod, I went into the backyard, which is close to a small pond.  I soon spotted the Kingfisher and lucky me it landed nearby on my neighbor's Purple Martin house.

Harvest Moon in Full Glory

I was excited in early October (Oct. 3, 7:30 p.m.) to take these photos from my driveway of this gorgeous Harvest Moon.  I shot with my Canon PowerShot SX 50 HS "superzoom" camera. 

I was thrilled with the detail achieved when I zoomed in all the way

After all, the moon is 238,900 miles from the Earth! 

Still stunning to think that man has walked on the Moon!  

Magnolia Cemetery Welcomes CofC Students

Class photo at the unique Parker excedra site

On the eve of All Hallows' Eve (aka Halloween) my College of Charleston students and I took a field trip to Magnolia Cemetery. 

October 30 was a cool, clear and very pleasant evening to visit the grand necropolis on the outskirts of Charleston. 

By Green Taxis (some students drove themselves or carpooled) we arrived just after 5:15 p.m. Time was of the essence, as sunset, this final week before Daylight Savings Time, would come at approximately 6:45. 

Students explore the beautiful Gibbes mausoleum

I really enjoyed showing my students around the large rural Victorian cemetery that opened in 1850. Today, some 33,000 people are buried among the 150 acres. 

I showed the students many of my favorite Magnolia Cemetery monuments and memorials-there are so many!  But I also gave the students time to explore on their own.  For their blog posts on the visit, I asked them to photograph and write about three of their favorite grave sites.

Looking forward to reading their posts!

GoPro Shoot at Botany Bay Beach- Hurricane Irma Damage

Last Sunday, Alesia and I visited the Botany Bay Wildlife Management Area south of Charleston to see firsthand the effects of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irma.  Irma struck, in force, the Charleston area on Sept. 11.

For this video, I used my GoPro camera. Glad I took it because it allowed me to keep shooting as a hard rain came down as we were starting to leave but still had a lot of walking to get off the beach and back to the car.

Botany Bay was already a "boneyard beach" due its abundance of fallen trees caused, over time, by erosion and previous storms.  After Irma, there are lots more bones in the boneyard, as you'll see in this video.

Music is courtesy of the excellent free and royalty-free music site, Incompetech.com. 

Beach Visits in Review!

I didn't get to the Charleston area beaches too often this summer, 3-4 times maybe. But whenever I go, I always take my camera. You just never know what you may see there!  And often there are neat, unusual and/or interesting things and people to photograph.

This presentation features Sullivan's Island and Folly Beach.

Using Kizoa, a fun and easy (and free) program for creating slideshows and videos, I produced this three minute presentation.  Click below to view. If that's not playing properly, click here. Enjoy!

                                           The Beach 2017

The music used is courtesy of my go-to free music site, Incompetech.com. I found the song titled, "Parsail" among the Ambient music offerings. 

Back To My Birding Roots: Magnolia Cemetery!

Selfie- note the sweaty arm reflection- it was a hot day!

With Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irma impacting South Carolina today (Sept. 11), I am hunkered down at home and hoping for the best!

With no school, I'm trying to be productive by getting to a few blog posts I've been wanting to write.

Last month on a Sunday, Alesia and I went to Magnolia Cemetery to walk around and see what birds we can photograph.

Snapseed Phone App a Snap for Photo Enhancing

Recently, while driving to work on Ladson Road, I was struck by this photo opportunity. I liked the leading lines of the power lines on the left and the sky had a cool look too.

So I very carefully took a few pictures with my iPhone 7.

Red-Shouldered Hawk Pair

Like my previous post about the Great Egret downing a fish from the pond near my backyard, I also did not have to leave my driveway to capture these images last week.  These are Red-shouldered Hawks atop a pine tree across the street from my house.

First I heard their high-pitched call, then I spotted them, then I grabbed my camera and monopod, then quickly started shooting!