Category: News

Monday – back to work

OK – just a regular Monday. No opportunities or inspiration for a photo today, so we’ll go with this one taken over the weekend down near the City Marina under the James Island Connector.
Gotta go swim. MUSC replaced the pool heater so I have no excuse.

Sunday was good too

It was a good day. Church in the morning, catch up on household stuff, organize images, run Logan in the park in the afternoon, and Leigh, Josh, Matt & Chambers over for supper in the evening. God is good.

An unexpectedly awesome day


Some days are just gifts and today was just such a day. When I got home from running Logan in the park there was a message from Jay asking if I wanted to go up in the chopper and take some photos. Well yes – duh! OMG I think I could become addicted very quickly. It is the coolest sensation, even from the start when the rotors start to turn really fast and the machine kinda bounces and gathers lift. It’s almost like it’s saying “let me up, now, now.” I’m always a little anxious when I fly in planes, but this was so different, and even flying without a door, nothing between me and the ground, I felt safe – almost as though dancing through the sky with gusts of wind buffeting us this way and that, and Jay continuously adjusting the controls. Very, very nice. Here’s a bird’s eye view of Morris Island and the northern tip of Folly Beach. You can see more aerials at http://vanessak.smugmug.com/gallery/5969463_zg7G8#453050194_hANUJ

After that, Raymond and I hooked up to catch the moonrise and the shot of this container ship leaving the Charleston port under a full moon was taken from Waterfront Park.
The day ended with a great Mexican dinner and margaritas at Zia on Maybank with friends Marty, Donna & Chris. Can’t get much better than that.

OK – so I skipped a day …

Yesterday I had no opportunity for my “photo-a-day” except for another version of sitting in drive-home traffic, so I figured I’d spare myself that. Actually I could have taken one in the grocery store. That’s an idea for next time I’m fresh out of inspiration. You could probably do a lot with different angles of fresh produce – note to self. Anyway, today I worked through lunch and skipped out at 4pm, being Friday and all that. There was enough daylight time left to get home, throw on some sweats, scoop up the dog and head to the park for a run. The first photo was taken at the fishing dock at James Island County Park, and the second was taken at home. The moon is almost full. Expect another moon shot tomorrow when it will be full. Just cannot resist a full moon.

Cannot write every day

OK – it’s not reasonable to expect creative juices to flow on a daily basis – at least not my creative juices. That goal was a little ambitious perhaps so I think I will hold myself to the one-a-day photo and write something if I feel so inclined. Here’s a pic that I took through the car windshield as I was headed down Broad Street on my way to meet Nese for a drink after work this evening.

Work again tomorrow – holidays are over

Sunday, and the end of another week, the end of the whole Thanksgiving / Christmas / New Year shebang and hopefully the resumption of sanity. Church this morning and Russ talked about hospitality, so I took it to heart and had neighbors Tom, Nancy, Mitzi, Trina and Marcia over for a curry dinner. Also took some to Vaughn down at the Sumter House. It had been mostly cloudy all day, but in the late afternoon the sun found a gap between the clouds and the horizon, which is when I shot this pic.

No – Please don’t jump!

For some reason this morning I was wide awake at 5.30am. The kind of wide awake when you absolutely know there’s no going back to sleep. I figured I may as well spend my time productively so I headed across the connector into the pre-dawn fog with my camera thinking that the marina may look pretty cool as it got a little lighter. I parked my car at the City Marina and trudged warily up the connector with all my gear, wincing as cars and heavy trucks whizzed past, causing the concrete structure to bounce. While I was waiting for more light and thinking I was crazy to be there anyway, a patrol car pulled up to me, blue lights flashing, and the officer got out and approached me with some trepidation. We exchanged pleasantries as though it was the most normal thing in the world; he was solicitous and eager for my assurance that all was well. Turned out that a well-meaning motorist had dialled 911 and reported a possible jumper, I guess not having noticed my camera and tripod in the dark. Anyway we laughed and I could tell he was relieved not to have to deal with a crazy person so early in his day.

More Musings

So where did 2008 go anyway? Poof – just vaporized, and what did I do or contribute that was significant? I surely can’t remember, although hopefully there were a few things that friends and family might come up with. In any event, the point is not to delve too deeply into things profound and too philisophical, but to do something different with 2009. The blog is a start, and how about a photo-a-day too, not with the purpose of producing art, but just to document the passing of time, so that when I look back on 2009 there will be a record of the days. Here’s the image de jour, taken at the James Island County Park dog park, Logan’s favorite spot in the world.