Corvette

Corvette

Lighting at the Carolina Auto Show is a strange, fickle thing. It is held in a big, dark expo building. There are low power fluorescent lights for general lighting so visitors can see where they are going. The cars themselves are light by multiple, bright spotlights, plus they are polished to be as reflective as possible.

All of this means that you just can't count on the lighting, but you have to work with it. Add in the people around the cars and it can be a challenge to photograph stuff. How I handle it is by looking for particular details that stand out to me. Rather than photographing the entire car which likely has people inside and all around it, I will photograph the hood ornament, or the name badge, or some unusual set of lines. Basically, I abstract it I suppose.

This photograph is of the hood of one the more popular cars at the show. I helped that it was the first thing you saw when you came through the entrance. The 2010 Corvette had people around it and inside it constantly while I was there. However, I really liked the hood detail and the car's identifiable badge. It is red like a 'Vette should be. It looks like the hood of a fast car. It says to me everything that a Corvette is supposed to be. I didn't really need a picture of the entire car. This one said it all.

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Belated Happy New Year

Hood Art

Well, it is 2010. Time really seems to be speeding by me. It doesn't seem like very long ago we were worrying about the Y2K bug yet it has been ten years since Y2K became a memory. It still feels like I graduated from college just a couple of years ago rather than twenty. *Sigh*


We haven't been out much lately so there haven't been a lot of new photographs to post about. However, this past weekend I went to the Carolina Auto Show in Greenville. This was the third year that I went to the show. It was the first year that I went by myself though. I wanted some time to wander around alone and my wife was gracious enough to watch our son. There had been some things that had been getting me down and I really felt that I needed to get out by myself. I'm glad that I was able to. Walking around the car show with the freedom to photograph at my own pace helped to get me out of my little funk. I've said before that the camera has kept me sane these past couple of years, and this was another time that it was as much therapy as expression.

The car show itself was good, if a bit smaller than previous years. Most of the major manufacturers were represented. However, there were a couple of brands that I wanted to look at that were not at the show. Some of the local car clubs were present showing their Mustangs and Exotic sports cars. There was even a Tesla all-electric sports car. It was the first Tesla that I've seen first hand. I didn't know there was even one in the area until now. Plus, a there were a few after market vendors and organizations with displays as well.

The photograph above is of the work of an after market customization artist. It is the raised hood of a Toyota model that has been completely customized from the paint job, to the engine, to the interior. It was a beautiful car. You can see more of this shop's work at The Artwork of Richard Markham.

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2009 In Review

Furman University Clock Tower

It is the end of another year. 2009 has come and gone faster than I thought it would. Seems that the years speed up as we get older. Looking back through my photographs of past year, I can remember all of the good times I had behind the camera. That hunk of plastic, metal, glass and electronics has been a welcome friend, tool, and therapist these past twelve months and longer. Honestly, I don't know how I would have made it through the year as sane as I am without it. It says something though. We all need to have some way to express ourselves that can both keep the world at bay and put it into perspective for us.

Here is a link to my Favorite Photographs of 2009. Click through the break for a Flash slideshow of the 2009 Favorites gallery.





I hope that next year is even better than this year for you.

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The Night Before Christmas

Here are some photographs of the holiday lights in my neighborhood this year.

Zenfolio now lets it's users create embeddable, Flash slideshows. I hope this works.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

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Some Links

There hasn't been much going on around here because of the upcoming holidays. My son has had a couple of things, but I don't think anyone really wants to see pictures of those. Well, to be honest I'm not really happy with the pictures that I took and assume that people won't want to just see some snapshots.

One thing that I haven't done in a long time is post links to some of the other blogs that I read. I've found a few that I enjoy since the last time I posted the links. These are all sites that I visit and read.

First up is Scott Diussa's blog. Scott works for Nikon, but he doesn't talk much shop on his blog. Instead he posts some wonderful photography from some of the interesting places that he gets to travel to with his job. Places like the recent launch of the space shuttle Atlantis from closer than most people ever get to see them. My favorites are from his recent visit to Walhalla, South Carolina. He was visiting family, and it is kind of local to where I live. Actually I went to college not far from there and was thrilled to see his photographs which capture some of the beauty of the area. He is also a musician and concert photographer. On top of all of that, he also posts good photography tips and guides.

Next is a commercial photographer Ian Curcio. Great images on his site from someone that really seems to enjoy what he does.

Scott Hargis is a San Francisco area photographer whom I discovered through the Photography for Real Estate website and Flickr discussion group.

That was two links in one and what's up with all of the Scotts? Scott Disussa, Scott Kelby, Scott Hargis. There are a couple of other photographers named Scott who's blogs I read. Hmmmm.

Finally is Jim Richardson. He shoots assignments for National Geographic and other such publications. He has recently redesigned and reemphasized his site. Needless to say another awesome photographer ... guess I said it anyway but he is.

And as an extra link I am throwing in What the Duck. This is photography related comic strip where all of the photographers are ducks and you never see the humans' faces. It is a fun take on the trials and tribulations of professional and amateur photographers.

That is it for today.

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Maple Leaf

Maple Leaf

Where does the time go? I just realized that I hadn't posted today's image. This is my favorite shot from our walk on the Cottonwood Trail. I saw this maple leaf as we got close to the parking area at the end of our walk. The backlighting by the sun kind of caught my attention and I took a few photographs of it. There is still a little bit of the season's colors around if you look for them.

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Lawson's Fork Creek

Lawson's Fork Creek

Another image from our outing on the Cottonwood Trail. This is Lawson's Fork Creek which runs along and through the nature preserve. The particular area is surrounded by residential neighborhoods. There is also a Duke Power right-of-way on the property.

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