Long exposure time.

I am traveling to Seven Lakes, NC after a couple of evening photo sessions and the multiple lights of a feed mill on Highway 211 catch my eye.  As with many scenes I think to myself that this could make a nice photo, but I continue driving.  During the next 2 miles I am still thinking about the feed mill.  I have my gear with me and  am not rushing to another appointment.  I make a u-turn and head back to the feed mill location.  As I drive by I scope out a decent area to pull off the road to setup a tripod with camera. Conditions were great.  No moisture in the air and there wasn't any haze from the mill around the structure.   I dial in my camera settings, click the remote and wait for the photo to be captured.   After 5 or 6 shots I felt good about the results on the screen and packed my gear and continued my journey.    I've also included a few more long exposure photos that I have captured in the past.  I enjoy setting up a camera and tripod to capture some night time shots.  I like to capture the sparkle form the lights and as much detail as possible.

Perdue feed mill, Bensalem, NC

Perdue feed mill, Bensalem, NC

Cemetery, downtown Columbia SC

Downtown Columbia SC

Christmas decoration, Downtown Rockingham, N.C.

4th of July fireworks, Rockingham, N.C.

Rare snowfall at Harrington Square, Rockingham, N.C.

Disney Hollywood Studios, Florida

Washington Street, downtown Rockingham, N.C.

A quick view of the sunset.

In a previous post I commented about sitting in traffic.   Once again today it too me approximately 40 minutes to go 10 miles.   South of Charlotte, NC there is an area where Interstate 77 dumps hundreds of cars into I-485 traffic already loaded with hundreds of cars.  Traffic becomes a slow crawl with a few idiots constantly changing lanes to a complete standstill.  Today I witnessed an ambulance trying to get through the four lanes of congestion.  A few of us pulled off of the road, but I was sad to see the rescue vehicle come to a complete stop in front of me because cars were not getting out of the way.   For the next mile or two I expected to see a fender bender, but there was nothing.  somehow the traffic manages to magically thin out and everyone remaining races to get to their final destination.  Just before I was preparing to exit on Highway 74 east in Matthews, NC I caught a glimpse of the sunset in my rear view mirror.  I managed to get my iPhone changed to camera mode to capture the photo below.   The struggle through traffic was worth the view behind me as I continued my journey home.

Social Media Marketing 101

I have been using Facebook and Twitter for a long time and thought that I knew a lot about both.  During a Social Media Marketing seminar today I learned that there was much more to learn about these sites and the thousands of second tier sites sprouting up daily. 

It was interesting to meet and exchange thoughts with people from other industries. There were lawyers, physicians, photographers, sale representatives, municipality managers and new paper publishers present. Although we were from many different jobs our missions were similar.  Reach more people.  The presenter was a former ad rep and knew the difficulties of reaching new clients and retaining current ones.  I learned many uses for social media sites and how to prevent from overload while using them.

The seminar covered about 3 days worth of material into one.  I am still soaking in the ideas and experimenting with different procedures. Since I was out of town I had to take advantage of being close to some favorite businesses that I follow on Facebook.  Krispy Kreme and Carrabbas was less than two miles apart.  My brain needed some comfort food.

The photo above captured the first batch of doughnuts coming off the line and soon into my hands. :)

Ocean Isle Beach - Oysterfest Weekend

I am always happy to add beach weddings to my schedule.  I enjoy all outdoor weddings, but I am very fond of the beach locations.  When possible I take advantage of the opportunity to spend some time on the beach and enjoy a restaurant or two.


Sharkys is a must visit restaurant when I visit Ocean Isle.  I've been to Sharkys before or after every wedding that i have photographed at Ocean Isle.  In addition to Sharkys, I have another new favorite place just across the bridge called The Causeway Gourmet.   Following the wedding we arrive at The Causeway gourmet just before closing.   The staff was very accommodating and prepared some delicious sandwiches for us.  

This particular weekend was also the weekend of the NC Oyster Festival.  I was a bit concerned about making trip between several destinations during the day because of the expected crowd. I am happy to say the the traffic control was on top of things and the crowd never became an issue for us during the day.

We had a wonderful day of food and wedding photography and were happy to retire for a good nights sleep.  Beside discovering an new restaurant I was very pleased with the accommodations provided at the Winds Resort Beach club.  This will definitely be the place I crash after future wedding gigs at Ocean Isle Beach.

The following day was just as beautiful as the previous and we spent some time on the beach as well as visiting the festival grounds to see tons of crafts and sample some food. 

Copyright - Jimmy McDonald Photography

Ocean Isle Beach on Dwellable

Colorful Asheville North Carolina

Our second trip to Asheville, N.C. this year was planned with extra time to enjoy downtown Asheville to witness the colorful cultural entertainment and enjoy some good food.

I enjoy walking around downtown Asheville to experience the artists and street musicians that line the streets.  There are many locations that we attempt to visit when in Asheville.  The Grove Arcade is a beautiful building built in 1929 as one of the first malls in the United States. Ownership of the building has changed a few times with the Federal Government several developers and currently the  Grove Arcade Public Market Foundation.  The building is currently home to many shops featuring local crafts, boutiques, fresh food and several restaurants.

Mast General Store is another highlight of our visit with over 500 old-fashioned candies available, we usually leave with a bag or two of goodies.   There are old fashioned toys, jams and jellies, real maple syrup, stone ground cornmeal, comfortable rocking chairs, hiking boots, clothing, and more. They stock a little bit of anything.

Pritchard Park is a great location downtown to rest in the shade and enjoy live music at the mini-amphitheater.  There also are several restaurants located in the area.

A couple of other Asheville areas that are worth visiting are the The North Carolina Arboretum
and the The Western North Carolina Farmers Market.

 

 Copyright - Jimmy McDonald Photography

Taking the long route to Cherokee

 For  the past two years my family has traveled to over 70 counties of North Carolina to visit and take a picture of the current and previous courthouse buildings.   Most of the remaining counties are in the western part of the state.  We planned a trip for June to locate courthouses for the south western section.  I mapped out that we could drive to approx 11 different counties in one day with our final destination just south of Cherokee in Dillsboro.    A point "A" to point "B" trip would  have been appox 4 hours.  The modified route had us on the road for 11 hours.  With prints outs of each county seat and iPhone GPS we took a very scenic route through the Blue Ridge Mountains.  We made stops in Murphy, Brevard, Hayesville and several other towns.   It's interesting to see how many small towns have been  though or in the process of revitalization.

The route took is up and down winding roads past steep cliffs and waterfalls.  We all slept well after the long day of riding.

The following day was spent site seeing the area including tubing down the Oconaluftee river, indoor putt putt and Paula Deans Kitchen at Cherokee Casino.   Site seeing continued the third day as we visited a few more courthouses with the final destination of the day being Asheville.

We arrive in Asheville in time to get the Buncombe County Courthouse photo and walk around downtown for a couple of hours.  Downtown Asheville was lively as usual with plenty of street performers and bakeries to slip inside for a snack.