Saint Albans, WV

This photo was made from the roof of Riverview Towers.  It's a four shot panorama.  Click on the picture for a better view.

Looking At Clothes...

...and being pestered by ole dad.  She quit paying attention to me after a while. :-)  The only light was the computer monitor.  Shot with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 lens at iso 2000.

314 Days...

...'til the bridge is finished, hopefully.  They're taking the concrete deck out now, then they'll start taking down the steel.

Honey Locust

My friend Frank bought a honey locust for his back yard and we planted it yesterday.  He and Molly and I went to pick it up and luckily for us they loaded it into the back of the truck with a fork lift.  We didn't realize how heavy a 12 foot tree and it's root ball could be.  Frank recruited a couple other people to help get it around the house and up the hill to the hole.  Actually, getting it up the hill was the easiest part, but still, "that dern thing was heavy, hard to carry too."  (slingblade).

Photo by Molly Mitchell

John Amos Power Plant

I went out this morning to see if the fog conditions on the river were the same as they were yesterday but they weren't.  Yesterday the fog was laying right down on the river.  It looked like you could walk across on the fog.  I didn't get any shots yesterday because it was either pouring the rain or it was getting dark and I didn't have my tripod in the van.

Hunting Island Snags

Over the last 20 years the island has eroded back into the forest of Hunting Island.

Snails In My Celery

I was having some celery for a snack this afternoon when I found these little dudes inside the stalk.

One And A Half More Days

A group of runners cross the Saint Albans / Nitro Bridge before it closes Monday morning to make way for a new three lane beauty.  I walked up to the bridge this morning after I got home from work to get a few final pictures before it's gone and  I'll probably walk across it again tomorrow morning one last time.

Port Royal

We did a little exploring Saturday afternoon in Port Royal.

Independence

The Independence, from American Cruise Lines, was docked at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park for a couple of days while we were in Beaufort (bew-foot).

This was a 6 second exposure without a tripod.  It was in the van and I didn't want to walk back to get it.  I balanced my camera on the back of my hand and one of the piers that the chains are hooked to.

Brickyard Point

This is the place where I cut my knee a couple of summers ago and had to get seven stitches.  It was awful!!!!  Just ask me.

 I took this shot with a 10 stop neutral density filter and a circular polarizing for 61 seconds at f/11 and ISO 100.

Hunting Island Tooth

We weren't even looking for shark teeth when Molly glanced down and spotted this beauty.

Fripp Inlet...

...lit by the almost full moon.  The water there is full of dolphins and I could hear them blowing and splashing but I couldn't see them because it was a lot darker to me than to the camera.  It was really cool to be there listening to all the night sounds in the quiet darkness.

This is a two shot panorama taken about 9PM with an exposure of 30 seconds at f/5.6 and ISO 1000.  Click on the picture for a better view.

Nitro Fire Department

Nitro and Saint Albans firefighters worked to extinguish a fire in the 300 block of Main Ave. this morning.

Merry Christmas!!!

A home made Christmas ornament cut from the pages of Harlot's Ghost by Norman Mailer.  :-)

Frigidator

Junkyard Wall.  New River Gorge.

Tip Off

Justin Wojcieszak of Teays Valley Christian tips off against the Patriots of Calvary Baptist Academy Friday night.  The Lions beat the Patriots 82 to 51 giving them a 6 and 1 record.  Justin was the high scorer with 25 points followed by Elias Beacom with 22, Zack Moore (he lives just around the corner from us) with 15 and Ben Parsons with 11.  The Lions play Greater Beckley Christian this afternoon in the Hoops Classic at the Charleston Civic Center.

Charleston Town Center

Kim and I had to do a little more Christmas shopping this evening.  I got some pictures after we ate and while Kim checked some work emails.  This photo is composed of 10 vertical shots, handheld with a 40 mm lens at f/4 and 800 iso.  Click on the picture for a better view.

23 More Days

A frosty fog shrouds the soon-to-be-closed Saint Albans / Nitro bridge.  More fancy talk!  ;-)  I  went over this morning to get a couple pictures of the bridge before it' gone.  While I was there, Bayer Crop Science came to the ramp and put their boat in.  I helped the operator tie up the boat and I stood around and talked to him while he waited for his passengers.  After a while, most of the fog burned away.  That's when the Drema G. Woods cut through the icy waters of the mighty Kanawha River beneath the worn and tired bridge.  Double fancy!

The top picture is a five shot panorama.  Click on it to get a better view.

Thurmond, WV

A CSX coal train heads northwest through the town of Thurmond,WV which is nestled in the heart of the New River Gorge.  Man, that's fancy talk.  ;-)