Random Sights, Charleston Area, South Carolina, USA

This discrete brass placard is, without a doubt, among the classiest and most polite choice of words I've ever seen. In the north, our sign would say in six-inch high red letters: "KEEP OUT - NO TRESPASSING."  But southern gentility takes a much better approach to accomplish the same thing: "Beyond this point, by invitation only."

Gulls and sunset are often a successful photographic combination. The ghosting and multiple imaging is a result of the HDR function built into my camera - in high contrast situations, the software captures three images in rapid succession and sandwiches them together to create a better final photo. It can produce some interesting results if there is a lot of movement in the picture - like flapping gulls.

Sunlight through palmettos.



A storage barn beside a backwater dock.

A slice of life - in youth, a surfer; in mid-life, a man with a dog; and in old age, a couple - it seems a universal feeling to enjoy the beach, especially near the time of sunset when the golden glow brightens smiles and makes people friendlier.

Mysterious looking image in the tree boneyard on Folly Beach.

More gulls at sunset.

Random Sights, Charleston Area, South Carolina, USA



Innie or outie?  I am fascinated when the angle of the early morning sunlight, and the right amount of moisture in both the air and sand, and the location of the receding tide, all combine together to create this innie-outie optical illusion. (The photo above shows a regular footprint, recessed in the sand).

Humankind is compelled to not only reshape nature, but we also tell each other exactly where to position oneself - are we control freaks or what?

This would seem to be rather common sense but...........

A 2011 Cadillac is faintly reflected in the lovingly polished and preserved side of a 1948 Cadillac.

Consider an oceanfront condo deck view on Isle of Palms......

......or a quiet walkway somewhere South of Broad in Charleston........

.....or a secret side garden also South of  Broad,...........

........and mix-in a 75-degrees Fahrenheit day in January and you have a complete Charleston area package. It's easy to see why many come to visit and then end up moving here.

Kites, Isle of Palms, South Carolina, USA

Start with a jumbled pile of color, string, and nylon.

Lay them out in a straight line.

Add wind and gently tease them into a standing position.

And then, increase tension in the control lines and - voila! - they are airborne.

To climb and dance.....

And dive and swirl......and make beautiful swooshing sounds. Kites are generally happy things - who doesn't like a kite? Who can see a kite and not remember some child-like glee at the memory of flying one, or building one, or seeing the string snap and watching the kite fade away into a tiny speck in the distance?  Of course that last part probably wasn't a happy moment.........

White Point Gardens, Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Located at the southern tip of the Charleston peninsula, this popular landmark park provides a view of Fort Sumter and Charleston Harbor, where the Ashley and Cooper rivers meet and feed into the Atlantic Ocean. It was first used as a public garden in 1837. With the outbreak of the Civil War, it became a fortification for the city. Visitors today can find a display of historic mortars and cannons from the Civil War period.

Southern live oaks are the primary tree in the park.

Palms line the roadway and side of the park toward the water.

Dogs can run off leash under certain conditions/times.

Hats, South Carolina, USA

I don't like hats.  I have never liked hats. I don't like the way I look in a hat. I don't like the way they squeeze my head.  But, I must wear a hat to protect my cancer-prone skin from direct sunlight.  Baseball caps only protect the top of the head and the front of the face, not the ears and neck. Stocking hats provide warmth but don't have a brim for protection.  Cowboy hats don't usually work on a city boy.  Golf hats are just too dorky looking.  I need to find the right hat.

This is my current default  hat.  It makes my head too hot, it's heavy, and it doesn't look right.  I almost replaced it last year when I was in Otavalo, Ecuador and found a winner but, I opted instead for only a new hatband - bad decision.  The Otavalo hat may have been "the one that got away."

This is a good hat when it's cold and windy - not so good when hot or sunny.

This could be good if I sang in a barbershop quartet - I don't.

This could be good if I liked mint juleps - I don't.

This could be good if I was going on a turtle safari - I'm not.

This doesn't protect my ears and neck.

Maybe I could be a cowboy.........'howdy pardner.'

No.

Definitely no.

Again - definitely no.

The search goes on - someday, I will find "the perfect hat."

South of Broad, Charleston, South Carolina, USA

The area South of Broad Street at the tip of the Charleston Peninsula is one of the more beautiful residential neighborhoods in urban America. The elegant architecture spans the entire range of American history. You can see Georgian gables,  Adamesque staircases and moldings, Greek Revival columns and parapets,  Italianate arches, cornices, and decorative Victorian turrets and chimneys. The live oaks dripping moss, the sculpted gardens, and the picturesque street scenes display a timelessness that makes Charleston a special city in which to wander around.

Most of these random photos are on or near South Battery.  They speak for themselves about the feel and ambiance of this charming area of the city.

Random Sights, Charleston Area, South Carolina, USA

Some have asked what camera I use - here is a photo by Amy of my hands taking a picture of the Citadel bulldog.  (The camera is a very small Sony DSC-TX55 point and shoot).

Amy wanted to make an unusual portrait - so I stood on my head for her. I'm getting too old for this kind of stuff.

Dawn of another perfect day in Isle of Palms - there sure have been a lot of them.

A sailing school at the Charleston Harbor Marina in Mt. Pleasant.

Ravenel Bridge from the Patriot's Point entrance walkway.

We tried riding the bus one day from Isle of Palms into Mt. Pleasant.  It was comfy like an airport shuttle - we like comfy.

I saw this bumper sticker on the back of a South Carolina pick-up truck.........

Storm clouds at sunset frame St. Michael's Church in downtown Charleston.