A Short Diversion from Admin Duties

Last week we scheduled an hour in Holy City Helicopter's R44, expertly piloted by Dylan, for the purpose of photographing our hydro survey vessel working in the Cooper River.  It was a beautiful day with great visibility, even though as a rule I prefer to do aerial photography in the late afternoon.  Since the chopper moves a lot quicker than the boat, we had some time to photograph other stuff while we were waiting for them to get to their next location.  Communication efforts between us and the boat captain were interesting, and after trying radio, texting and cellphones, we finally resorted to good old hand signals out the (non-existent) chopper doors. Here are some of the images we captured as we buzzed around.

GEL Hydro Survey boat in the Charleston port, Cooper River

Midstream Terminal, Cooper River

Phil's hand signals - um ... say again?

Riverside Park, North Charleston

Shipyard Creek, North Charleston

CCPRC's Cooper River Marina

The Citadel Military College Campus

Madeline and Mallory

Kids portraits are always a hoot.  You just never know what to expect so you just have to let it all happen and grab the shots you can when they're not pulling funny faces or picking their noses.  These little munchkins were giving their mother a fit the whole time, and I know she felt completely despondent as she packed them up and left.  When I went through them later though, I found enough gems to make it all worthwhile.  

The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad Experience

Gideon wanted to ride on a train, so we booked a cabin in Bryson City and took the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad train from there to Dillsboro, NC and back again this past July 2014 weekend. These are images taken along the way that document Gideon's big day. I think he will remember it for a long time.

All Aboard!

Tickets please...

Waving goodbye

Our mountain man story teller

Euphrates also enjoyed the ride

All tuckered out on the way back

SPE Extraction in the Lab

It's been a slow week at work because many folks have been out on vacation.  I took some time to photograph some very cool looking tests going on in our HPLC Prep lab.  Don't ask me what all that means - I just photograph the stuff.  The chemist in charge told me it has something to do with explosives analysis so I thought that sounded cool as well :)  I do like my job - wouldn't trade it for anything (most days).