The Shem Creek Twilight Saga....
Sunsets are pretty to photograph.
Sometimes the clouds don't cooperate and it's more about colors and reflections.
Nearly 40 members of my
Photography Group experimented Wednesday night.
We gathered on the boardwalk at Shem Creek Park to try for a sunset at 7:57pm.
Then, we turned and looked in the opposite direction to see a full moon rising at 8:12. A celestial "two-fer."
As the sky darkened, the lights on the Ravenel Bridge caught our eyes and it stood out nicely.
Click. Click. Click.
Just a few minutes later, the new full moon (aka a
"Blue Moon") slowly rose on the other side of the creek.
This was becoming a regular
"Twilight Saga."
Looking up why the second full moon happening in the same month is called "Blue," I found that was a
mistake and not accurate.
Photographers would notice if the moon were actually colored blue.
We've seen and photographed a Harvest Moon and it really does look Orange....and is quite large.
Dinner later at
Water's Edge, seated out on the deck, gave another view of the moon.
It was much higher in the sky and my camera - with a long 8 second exposure - made it appear to have flares.
Sort of like the nearby street lights.
(Click on the photos for more details.)
When you take an exposure longer than 1/60 second, be sure the camera is steady on a tripod or on a flat surface.
That reduces camera movement and a sad blurred effect.
None of these pictures was taken with a flash.
I like "natural" lighting.
Thanks for entering The Twilight Zone with me.
**This is just part of the group of members who came out to shoot the moon.
Others were strung out along the boardwalk, setting up their sunset shots. Thanks!
(Photo by Bill Goff)
Labels: Blue Moon, Harvest Moon, moon flares effect., Moon Over Miami, Shem Creek Park, Twilight Saga, Twilight Zone, Water's Edge
A Welcome (Oil) Change...
Wow. Lucky me!
Just found a "lost" coupon I had bought for a discounted oil change. With tire rotation.
Yikes, I saw that it would expire this Friday.
So today I drove out Folly Road, just past the Wappoo Bridge, to
Clair's EXXON station for a full-service experience.
I went inside to show the coupon and
Mary Court assured me I was in the right place.
This "place" was started by her father more than 50 years ago.
I commented that gas was probably only 29.9 cents a gallon back then. We both sighed.
I saw another unusual sight from the past: pumps marked
"SELF SERVICE" and
"FULL SERVICE."
Mary said they clean the windshield and check the oil while you remain seated in your car.
I remember how great that had been during some bitter Winter days when I lived a year in Minnesota.
She smiled when I mentioned that and she added
"Also a good idea to establish a relationship with a nearby station so when a mechanical problem pops up, you have a friend to go to."
I was a little late for the free coffee but Mary's husband
Julio got started on my oil change.
Before he raised my car on the lift, Julio checked the fluids under the hood and added whatever was low.
Not surprisingly, windshield cleaning fluid needed a glug or two.
Well, nearly half a gallon.
Yellow pollen, smashed bugs, etc. use it up. You don't think about it until it's empty and you're staring through a smeared windshield.
He loosened the lug nuts on all four wheels, then began exchanging them from the back to the front on each side.
I've watched enough NASCAR pit stops to see he had a pattern and rhythm as he placed them near each axle to make sure none was missing.
I didn't time the process but it seemed like only about 20 minutes from start to finish.
The owner,
John Clair and his brother
Chris, were working on some cars in the bays.
I waved and thanked them for this full service treatment.
Julio completed the rotation of the tires and brought the lift down to add the new oil.
He even reset the reminder on my odometer so I could keep track of when the next oil change would be due.
I have written about past experiences as I try to maintain my 7-year old Saturn.
It has been basically a maintenance-free automobile.
Unfortunately,
Saturn no longer exists and my
Ion, the
four-doors-but-only-two-door-handles model
was offered for only two years.
People still gawk when I open both passenger doors wide and slide in a very large carton.
Would not work in most other cars.
So yes, when it's time to check the oil and other fluids, I'll probably come back to
Clair's.
As a special treat for the car, I filled the tank with a 0 percent mid range Ethanol gas.
Still leery of that 10% stuff.
(Click on the photos for more details.)
If you're looking for a change, go see Mary and Julio down by the schoolyard, er, I mean.. at 334 Folly Road.
Enjoy a free coffee.
Labels: 0 percent Ethanol, Brothers John & Chris Clair, Clair's Standard station, ESSO, EXXON, lug nuts, Mary and Julio Court, tire rotation, Twilight Zone
Don't Like Labels ....
Last night I was greeting members arriving for the monthly gathering of the
21st Century Photography Meetup group, something I started last February.
(It's the 2nd Wednesday of the month so please stop by.)
Each person is asked to sign in and fill out a name tag to wear. Nice little routine that gets people to introduce themselves.
I was suddenly reminded of a convention I had attended years ago in Chicago.
After a full day of sessions and travel industry trade talk, I was glad to plop down on a bar stool and enjoy a cold beer in the Windy City. A fellow seated next to me asked
"Been having a good day Chuck?"I looked up and I was sure I didn't know him. I asked
"I'm sorry, have we met?" He smiled and said
"You're wearing a red name tag that says Chuck Boyd."Sure enough, it was still stuck on my lapel and we both laughed as I peeled it off.
He said
"Do you want to hear something really strange?""Sure," I said and he answered
"MY name is Chuck Boyd too."He showed me his driver's license and, yep, Charles Boyd of Waukegan, Illinois. Well, he DID have a different middle initial.
Hey..come on, this wasn't an episode of
Twilight Zone.
Labels: Chicago, convention. name badge, labels, Travel trade, Twilight Zone, Windy City
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