Hunting Island, SC

This is the first dead dolphin I've ever seen and I hope I don't ever see one again.  I talked with the guy on the backhoe about what he thought may have caused it to die.  He said he wasn't sure, but we could see where it had some cuts and scratches and he thought it may have been in a fight and had gotten some kind of infection.

Starry Night

Jupiter shines bright over Hunting Island, SC on Friday night.

Spinning Steel Wool

Cheap fun with 00 steel wool, some string and a kitchen whisk.  We're out at the Sands in Port Royal. 

Angles

Sunny Beaufort, SC.

Cody Street

Saint Albans and Nitro firefighters take a break after battling a blaze on Cody Street Monday evening.  Photo by Molly Mitchell

Joe's Gym

From left to right is Frank, me, Mark, Joe, Darren and Mark.  After our workout today the guys presented Joe with a couple of Christmas gifts to thank him for having us in his gym, his expert coaching and his friendship.  Joe's a great christian and role model.  He's also 66 years old and can still dead lift over 400 pounds.  Don't mess with him!

John Amos Power Plant II

Another photo from the last Thursday morning.  I liked the way the light was hitting the cooling tower.  When I was in high school, one of my friends grandfather was in upper management at the plant and we went on a field trip there.  We got to go up in one of the cooling towers.  The towers have a walkway somewhere inside that goes from one side to another.  We got to walk across it.  I remember the guide that was taking us on the tour saying that walking inside the tower would be like "walking in London on a foggy day". 

John Amos Power Plant

I had to run some errands in Nitro this morning and noticed that the power plant was putting out some extra steam because of the cold weather.  I headed on down to Poca to get a couple of shots.  While I was making my photos I was thinking, I bet these would make a nice black & white photo.  This is a 2 shot panorama.  Click on it for a better view.

Market Street, Parkersburg, WV

Chams Lebanese Cuisine.  I liked the way the building was being lit by the street lamp.

Matt Poff and Friends

My friend Matt put on a benefit concert Saturday at the Alban Arts and Conference Center.  He played everything from Christmas carols to rock-n-roll to bluegrass.  It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

John Amos Power Plant Sunrise

I was hoping for a more spectacular sunrise this morning due to the storm coming in this evening.  This was a nice one, but not what I expected.  Plus, I wish I would've gone to Ridenour Lake instead of here.

Caution!!

Quarrier and Dunbar.

Evan's

On top of the now out of business, Evan's Lumber in South Charleston.

An Empty Coal Train...

...starts to pick up speed after turning off the main line onto the Coal River line in Saint Albans.

Saturday Afternoon

I had to run a couple of errands in Charleston this afternoon and had a nice walk around downtown afterwards.  I also took home a delicious Graziano's pizza.  The best in the world!

Entanglement Simulator

Saint Albans firefighters, Eric Tucker, Mike Lively, Jeremy Roncaglione, Luke Adkins and Sean Lowe make their way through the entanglement simulator during some Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) training Monday morning.

They call it the entanglement "simulator", but when you're in the middle of the box the entanglement isn't simulated.  You're just plain ole tangled up!

WV State Capitol

This is a photo of part of the rotunda inside the West Virginia Capitol building.  I liked the way the light was hitting the marble walls and the painted part of the ceiling.  It was only when I got home and looked at it on the computer that I noticed how symmetrical the photo was.  I shot this hand held at a pretty low shutter speed of 1/40th of a second.  This shot hasn't been cropped or straightened at all.  I don't think I could've lined it up any straighter if I'd been using a tripod.  Pretty cool if I do say so myself.  I usually don't get that lucky.

Monday Evening

There's not a whole lot that beats a pretty sunset.  This is a 2 shot panorama.  Click on it for a better view.

Saint Albans / Nitro Bridge

The Weeping Woman

Riverview Cemetery, Parkersburg, WV.

Haunted Parkersburg

We went to Parkersburg last weekend to do the Haunted Parkersburg tour that's hosted by author, Susan Sheppard.  It was pretty entertaining.  We were in a big group and we made several stops so Susan could tell stories of ghosts around the area.  At the bottom of the Quincy Hill stairs we stopped to listen to the story of the Quincy Hill water tank disaster when this young lady sidled into our group.  She was humming, Rock a Bye Baby.  Interesting.

If you click on the water tank disaster link, you'll see the house that's directly behind her in a couple of the photos.

Opening Day!!

A couple of photos from Friday morning.  The bridge is open!!!

Roger's Spider

59 Hours...

...and 38 minutes from now the bridge is going to be open!  I took this photo at around 10 a.m.  The fog didn't burn off 'til about noon today.  This a 4 shot panorama.  Click on it for a better view.

Saturday Morning

A View From The Top

Friday Evening At Beauty Mountain

We decided to run up to the gorge Friday evening to see if there would be a nice sunset.  When we got to the Beauty Mountain "parking area" there were 4 other cars there.  That's the most I've ever seen there at once and we've been going there for about 32 years.  All the cars were other photographers that had the same idea as we did.  We were still able to find us a nice rock right on the edge of the gorge.  The same rock where Molly and I left a snowman a couple of years ago to watch over the gorge.

New River Gorge

A coal train heads north through the New River Gorge Friday night under full moonlight and a sky full of stars.

This photo is a 30 second exposure at f/5.6 and ISO 1000.

6 More Shifts...

...and I'll go back to my 1 mile commute.  Woo double Hoo!!!!!

Shavers Lake Sunrise

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;          Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,          And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.          I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost

Almost Done!

A crescent moon and Venus look over Saint Albans and the almost completed Saint Albans / Nitro bridge Tuesday evening.

I talked to some bridge workers last Thursday and they said the bridge was going to be done around the end of the month and yesterday the lead story on WSAZ was about the bridge and it's early completion.

I converted this photo to black and white because of all the different color lighting in the area was kind of distracting.  This was shot hand held at 1/17th of a second at f/3.2 and iso 3200.

Purple Mountains Majesty

Sunday morning looking east towards Virginia from Snowshoe.

Rosie the Riveter

Doesn't Everybody...

...sit around and take pictures of their cameras?  Huh?

Weekend Shots

I made a post with this same title back on February, 10th.  Click here to check it out.  All the shots are kind of alike but different at the same time.  A different piece of yellow painted heavy equipment, a picture of the girl in almost the exact same spot but made with a different lens and a photo of our brand new bridge that's almost ready to drive on instead getting ready to be torn down.