Friday, November 29, 2013

NO Turkey Sandwiches this year....


Sweet potatoes with small marshmallows. Yummy.

Eat these only about once a year - around Thanksgiving - so I added some to my plate.

And sauteed green beans.

Along with a dozen peel-and-eat shrimp.

No, they are not local. Not even from this continent. Yikes.

A holiday meal with all the trimmings. Different trimmings.

Oh, some traditional foods - like sliced ham - of course. And rolls.

Dining out on Thanksgiving is a big deal, depending on where you go to eat.

Downtown, there was an array of upscale eateries open. Pricey and tempting BUT...

I wanted to stay close to home in North Charleston on a cold, blustery evening after scattered showers during the day.

Spending hours preparing a meal has never appealed to me.

Even watching others do that distracts me from watching football games on tv.

Around the corner , so to speak, is Teppanyaki Grill & Supreme Buffet. 

Yes, the name says it all.

Peaceful.
Tranquil.

Familiar foods.
Sushi

And, an Hibachi Grille in the back of the large main room.

The cook splashing teriyaki - or soy sauce - on your plate of food simmering on the grille.

Noodles or rice, bay shrimps, broccoli, chilies, peppers, onions, steak, pork, etc.

You load up as much as you think you'll need.















Moderation is hard in a place like this!

There are still all the buffet stations to navigate. Grab a claean plate and move around.















Did I mention you also serve yourself in the desserts area?

There is an art to tamping down ice cream.

Saves a trip back for seconds.

Or thirds.

(Click on the photos for more details.)

Serve yourself and treat yourself well.

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Sunday, March 31, 2013

Happy New Year!

Well, not THAT New Year.

It's the first day of my 8th year of posting this blog. Hurrah!

My celebration is filtered however.

Literally. The clouds look great in this picture over my brother's house, right?

This was shot through my brand new CPF.

The Circular Polarizing Filter is used to darken blue and it makes clouds really pop out.

The primary use of this filter is to eliminate glare.

You look at the image in your camera and slowly rotate the filter.

In the sky, things get darker and clouds become whiter.

This wood floor has light streaming in through the door on the left and, as the filter turns, the glaring streaks slowly disappear.

Poof.

Gone.

You have to see it to believe it. We did.

About ten days ago I became able to use this - and other - filters with an adapter just added to my camera.

The delay has been the ordering process online and waiting for the mailman to deliver the new tools.

In addition to "polarizing" a scene, I soon can use my new Neutral Density filters to create  images that don't really exist. Well, not to our eyes.

Flowing water and ocean waves can be shot in daylight with long 10-15 second exposure times and the movement is transformed into a misty, foggy effect. Waterfalls become ribbons of frothy white.

I've seen the end results taken by some talented people and I'm eager to experiment with my much smaller camera that - up till now - lacked the ability to place filters in front of the lens.

I was having a delicious Easter dinner with my brother and his wife.

Naturally, I brought along my new camera set-up, my tripod and several of my new filters.

Pretty exciting to see some of the effects.

He broke out his camera too as we enjoyed the meal and snapped photos of each other.

At one point I noticed that his cat "Bebe" had curled up in her spot in the afternoon sun.

She moved just a bit - to get comfortable - and snoozed, ignoring our foolishness.

My attention turned to a great looking meal.

I see all the food groups are well displayed.

A little white wine poured all around and we
dug in.

Yes, a tin foil-wrapped plate came home with me for a future tasty meal.

Dennis and his wife Jerri know I don't "cook."

More of a "freezer/microwave" prep in my kitchen.
Thanks Bro.

Have a Happy New Year.

(Click on the photos for more detail.)

Hmm. She packed me more ham for later.

Maybe a ham sandwich tomorrow.

Or two.

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