Fun Bear Island WMA Visit Highlighted by Encounter with Roseate Spoonbills

Bear Island is a vast wildlife refuge comprising 5,385 acres of protected land and waterways

I photographed and videotaped a "bowl" of Roseate Spoonbills in a shallow canal Sunday, March 10, 2019, deep in the Bear Island Wildlife Management Area. This vast preserve is located about 45 miles south of Charleston in the wonderful ACE Basin.

It was the neatest encounter on a day full of bird activity.  I'll post photos later. Here is the video I took, put together on Kizoa, that runs one minute 15 seconds. Photos follow of this unique creature, other birds and scenes from the special place that is the Bear Island WMA.

Roseate Spoonbills

It's clear where the name spoonbill comes from in this photo

"Gravetrotting" at Bethel United Methodist Church

My College of Charleston students and I had a good mini-field trip to nearby Bethel United Methodist Church last Monday night.  I say "mini" because we only had to walk up Calhoun Street past the Addlestone Library to get to the historic 19th-century church.

Bethel's small but symbol rich churchyard (photo by Harper Richards)

Researching My Spanish Ancestry- the California Connection

(Click here to see a video introduction and overview I produced to go along with this story)

I recently mined ancestry.com, other online sites, my parents' memories and a brother's Southern California location to put together this probing post about my late Grandpa Frank.

Click here for the story. 

Below: Frank Gomez, always a dapper dresser and Frank and Anna, the early years of their long marriage

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Red Moon Eclipse a Sight to See!

It was well worth going outside in the cold late Sunday night to get a glimpse of a rare celestial event. This was the so-called "Super Blood Wolf Moon" lunar eclipse.

I took this photo from my backyard area at around 11:45 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019

"During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth blocks the light from the sun, giving the moon's surface a red glow, which many refer to as a red moon," according to Fortune.com.

Foggy Morning

I dashed outside my house- camera in hand- early one recent foggy morning to see if I could capture an interesting image or two.

This is the best shot I came back with as the fog quickly lifted. I just got one shot before the street lamp light turned off. Really like this photograph!

I processed the original image (below) using the great and free Snapseed photo editor app that I have on my iPad and iPhone. I like the high dynamic range or HDR filters especially. They can really make a picture pop.

Before bringing a photo into Snapseed, I will often use the basic processing tool on the iPad and iPhone. This is good for cropping and also making sure the image is even. 

Favorite Magnolia Cemetery Art

This image is the result of a project I was working on a few months ago in Prezi (aka PowerPoint 2.0). This version was not what it was supposed to be in the sense of not being an interactive Prezi. But I kind of like it anyway even with the red marks. To see the real Prezi, click here.  

So I thought I would share the image here on my blog. That's another nice thing about having a blog is that it can become a home to all sorts of content. 

Magnolia Cemetery is truly a special, beautiful and historic place. I am so pleased to have written two books about this grand Victorian necropolis.  See my links at the top of my blog for information about my books or go to my Amazon authors page.  

2018 Home Front Challenges

After the year we have been through in 2018 I will never again take for granted having a good roof over my head.

Christmas this year brought great gratitude for our beautiful home being whole again after a summer disaster.

Orangeburg Book Signing a Fun Day!

On Saturday, Dec. 22, just a few days before Christmas, I was part of a book signing at Swift Books in Orangeburg. The shop, owned by Dean and Edie Swift, is located on Chestnut Street in the Five Rivers Market antique mall.

I love the antique mall!  Before leaving I returned nearly half the money I made selling books after buying some Christmas gifts for the family.

Chicago's Holiday Season Charm!

On the eve of Christmas and New Year's, Chicago was a great place to visit for several days!  Alesia was sent there on a business trip and I was able to join her after completing finals and final grading. Our younger son lives and works there now too, so this trip was much anticipated, to say the least!

This may be my favorite photograph (from among the hundreds taken) during my Chicago December visit. The sax playing, Santa hat wearing musician provided a pop of sound and color on this one day that was very foggy from dawn to dusk.

This picture is a favorite too. I took it from the stairs going to the "L" train station near our hotel.

Sottile House Shines at Night!

Walking to my car Monday night after my College of Charleston class I stopped and admired the old Sottile House at 11 College St. The beautiful yellow Victorian mansion dates to 1890 but looks better than ever, especially at night.

With some processing tools from Snapseed, a free photo editing app, I created this image, which adds to the beauty of the elegant structure. Not bad for an iPhone 7 picture, right?

Nighttime Capture- love the lighting!