time and space: An October Collage

WHEN: October 2012
WHERE: Charleston, SC

Look at me go!

Two posts in less than a month? Wow!

OK, that may be a tortoise's pace, but at least I'm attempting to keep this blog moving along.

I figured before November rolled around or before any of the dwindling faithfuls to my blog began thinking my last post offered empty words towards maintaining my blog, it was time for at least a monthly update.

Nothing too exciting here, just some pictures I have enjoyed capturing this month. As I mentioned in my previous post, I have not taken advantage of many photography opportunities over the past several months, even though I bought a new camera (and iPhone) back in May. October has proven to be a month I am trying (purposefully or not) to make up for those missed photo opps this summer.

Stacie flew home to Iowa the first weekend this month, to celebrate her dad's 60th birthday. Me? I made one last trip to the beach - something I have a hard enough time getting Stacie to do in July, let alone in October.

Jelly Palm (foreground) and Fountain Palm (background)

No, I didn't go to Australia for beach day.

Oh, beautiful ocean. How I have missed thee. We had not been to the beach since my parents were here during the last weekend in July. It was about time I got back to the beach!

Waves at my feet...

...playing in the surf...

...I was a happy boy!
The water was noticeably cooler than our last visit in July, but still refreshing on a 90-degree day.
(Current US sea surface temperatures)

Wide open to myself (and the birds)

Who said tidal waves are big and scary?

By mid-afternoon, storm clouds were brewing.

Though beautiful, they were not consistent with my idea of a good beach day in October. It was time to bid the beach farewell for another year and head home.

The expansive marshes of the Charleston Lowcountry

I eagerly await the greening marsh grass in the spring, signaling summer (and beach days) are nearing. There was no mistaking that this was not that time of year, as fall was now the season creeping around the corner.

Since that day at the beach, fall has quickly begun to take hold of the calendar. I don't dislike fall, I just hate when it's not summer. But colorful mornings like this are hard not to appreciate.

I caught this ship (NYK Remus) cruising down the river one morning. Still fog over the river, oranges, reds, and purples filling the sky and reflecting off the water, crisp and still air...these are what fall days are made of.

Had to slip this one in here (to satisfy my aviation fix).

Boeing delivered its first ever South Carolina-made 787 Dreamliner on October 5 (to Air India). It's remarkable what Boeing and it's employees have done over the past 3 years in Charleston, given the reality of the coincident bad economy. It has brought a lot of pride (and jobs and business and improvements and attention) to the area. Something even those that aren't aviation enthusiasts can appreciate. Me, all the more.

More proof it is fall...roadside pumpkin patches on every other corner. We got sucked in to this one two weekends ago.

We got some mums

And pumpkins

And other goodies

Stace has been a busy bee in the kitchen this month, whipping up her favorite fall/pumpkin delights. I think this is her favorite time of year to cook.

Just because it's October doesn't mean the Atlantic Ocean doesn't have a lot of energy left in it from summer. Case in point, Hurricane Sandy taking aim at New England this weekend.

Summer(like) storms in October

A beautiful October sunset

The above pictures were all taken with my iPhone. It's amazing how well a phone can act as a camera these days. Who would have thought that even 15 years ago? The below pictures, however, are some of the first that I have deliberately captured with my new camera (which I am still learning). In my book, phones still have a ways to go. :)

Last Saturday we started off the day in Marion Square downtown, at the farmer's market.

King Street in October

I took this picture of King Street in 2010 (October 16)...

...and this picture last Saturday (October 20).
(Enter the cliche, time and space.)

Two of our favorite spots on King Street - Mellow Mushroom and The Vault - which coincidentally happen to be neighbors.

Charleston Place (hotel) on King

And from the rear entrance

The main lobby

Daughters of the Confederacy building (1841) at the Charleston City Market

The always beautiful St. Phillips Church

One of the first pictures I took in Charleston (in 2009) was of this restaurant (Southend Brewery and Smokehouse). We had never eaten here before but finally did on Saturday.

We had heard it was a tourist trap, but it always smells so good and looks interesting. The food was admittedly average but the ambiance and architecture inside helped make up for the mediocre food.

Capturing Stace, capturing Charleston

Which is easy to appreciate when it comes to photography

Bikes in a row
There may have been even more brides downtown this day. In terms of weather, October in Charleston is a hard month to beat for having a wedding. The girl I sit next to at work actually got married this same day. The weather was perfect.

I'm not sure what kind of trees these are, but they are always the first to turn "color" here. I say color because leaves here only turn brown or yellow (or stay green year-round). No one would mistake it for the rolling hills of New Hampshire or mountains of Appalachia. Either way, Stace is always excited to see the first pops of color in fall, whatever the tree or color.

Charleston streetscape, with hints of fall creeping in

Waterfront Park, one of our go-to spots downtown

Snapping a candid...my favorite trick (she is not a fan of the solo shots I take)

Great ambiance...makes for easy pictures

Christmas card 2012?

Sailboats in Charleston Harbor

Found this guy hiding (and napping) in the marsh next to the park

Fort Sumter (site of the Civil War's commencement).
To provide context here, the fort is 3.5 miles away from where I took this picture. Can't get that kind of zoom on my iPhone!