Monday, June 29, 2009

South Carolina's Riverfront






It was a Thursday evening a couple of weeks ago and I had stopped by my sister's house for dinner. I was born in Detroit, but had spent a lot of my growing up years in North Augusta. It's nice to cruise around the places I used to hang out. One place that is certainly not reminiscent of the 'good old days' is the riverfront along the Savannah River. Excuse me, I mean South Carolina's Riverfront. That's what marketing people call it. The development around the river has really changed the look of North Augusta. They've had the Greenway for a number of years, which is a nice paved walkway that spans several miles and connects different parts of the city. But on that Thursday evening after a pretty strong storm and gone through the area, I decided to spin around town before heading back to Aiken. I had seen the new City Hall, a multi-story modern building that looks so different from the North Augusta I grew up in, but I didn't know of the development behind it close to the river. As I pulled up behind the new City Hall, I saw a a rainbow. While the clouds were pitch black and there was a little sunlight breaking through, I could see the rainbow steaming down over Augusta. I pulled over and pulled out my camera, which is usually by my side. I clicked off a few shots and kept driving behind the new building to discover a road that lead to a little park. The park was connected to the greenway. I parked the Jeep and jumped out. "A new place to explore!" There was a trail that went past a little pond and through a wooded area to another pond. There were ducks and a small covered picknic area and as I left, I saw a deer running through the woods. "I'll have to come back here with Dee", I thought as I drove away.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Friday Freebie

Ah, I love when Friday rolls along, especially when I don't have to rush out of the house early. As I was lying in bed this morning waiting for the coffeemaker to do it's thing, I got to thinking about my next blog post. I have some great photos lined up for my weekly post, but I wanted to share a recent find. I was planning on printing some of my photographs to mat, frame and sell after I finished building my website (which is almost there) and remembered a suggestion from a friend-- mpix.com. Late last week, I selected a couple of photos to print, went to mpix and placed my order. I found the website easy to interact with, as I created my account and uploaded the images. A large variety of sizes were available, along with editing tools and adding borders. I submitted my order and waited. Well, the photos arrived yesterday and they look incredible! The colors were vibrant and the detail was, well, detailed! As much as I enjoy displaying my images on my blog, nothing quite compares to a finished print that's well done! Do you have some photos from that special trip or occassion? Go to mpix.com and bring that moment to life!

Stay tuned for more weekly tips!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Sailing on Lake Murray





Dee's birthday was on a Saturday a couple of weeks ago and she wanted to take a sunset sail on Lake Murray. All week long, it was either raining with thunderstorms or threatening and Saturday's forecast wasn't looking very good, but we made the arrangements and hoped for the best. Paula Adams, our captain's wife, assured us if that if the weather didn't cooperate, she would call us and make arrangements for another time. Saturday arrived and as we pulled up to Lanier Sailing Academy, the clouds seemed to break up a bit. Dee and I piled on a nice 22 footer along with Brian Adams, our captain. The weather turned out to be perfect! Living in the 'Sunny South', I've come to expect hot and humid as the main course of the day and night, but we were pleasantly surprised with a nice cool breeze. As we made our way across the lake and the sun steamed towards the horizon, we encountered other boaters along the way and managed to learn a bit about how to sail. Brian was a gracious captain, telling us stories and giving us pointers along the way. The time came to turn around and as we slowly made our way back, the sun all but slipped away, leaving us with a full moon to guide us back. I mean really, can you ask for a more romantic night?

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Five months and going strong


In January, I decided to commit to building this photography blog. I had no idea where it would take me and only a few thoughts on what I would like to see. There were weeks that I didn't have a lot of time to go out and shoot new photos and thankfully, I had a storehouse of images taken over the past couple of years that I could reach into.

Next week will be five months of consistently posting new images for people to enjoy. As I look into the coming months, I'm excited about what new changes I have in store for you!

Do you tweet?

I think technology changes by the second. More and more, the internet offers us new ways to learn, enjoy our hobbies and reach out to others. Earlier this year, I signed up for a twitter account. Twitter is free and if blogging is about sharing thoughts with others, then twitter is sharing them on speed! I have started posting some photos on there yesterday and will post an image or two daily, so if you're interested, check them out at my blog or here. Come follow me....


Why Facebook

Facebook is another social medium I'm trying to take advantage of. Why? Facebook is about building relationships and business is all about relationships. Keep an eye on your inbox and I'll keep you posted as I build my Facebook business page.

Sold!

With all the different options for hanging a hat in the websphere, one might forget about the 'old-fashioned' way: a website. I finished a design earlier this year and am in the process of working out the technical bugs. The website will also include a way to offer prints for sale, both matted & framed and unframed.

Here's to you!

I hope you've enjoyed my photos as much as I have enjoyed making them! While most of you are getting updated through my weekly newsletter, don't forget to stop by the blog at http://hall-photography.blogspot.com. If you enjoy the photos, don't forget to leave a comment and pass this site on to your friends!