Always something to photograph on a walk.
Found On A Walk, Charleston
Category Archives: Shooting A Grand Old House
Grand Staircase, Charleston
Working in sepia, Topaz AI Sharpen.
Testing a new Topaz software.
Doors Can Be Windows
It makes perfect sense, and was common.
Charleston is hot, old buildings get even hotter.
A walk through town shows you which direction the ocean breezes came from. A ‘door’ on either side of the house gave a cooling cross wind right down the middle.
I believe the ‘X’ covered earthquake bolts but I couldn’t get close enough to see for sure.
Back Buildings
On the streets of Charleston, South Carolina, visitors see the grand homes once owned by the merchants, traders, and wealthy plantation owners.
What you don’t, or can’t, see is the hidden back where life was much different. One reason is the buildings may have been ruined by time, land sold off for needed cash after the Civil War, or many buildings are now private residences.
However this old home still has the land and buildings. They are old and not restored, which to me is better than being renovated to what someone thinks they might have looked like.
The enslaved and servant quarters were here. Also stables, laundry, kitchen, and carriage houses are hidden from street view.
The following were taken inside the building displayed above.
Click any image to view details.
Back Buildings
Back Buildings
Back Buildings
Back Buildings
Back Buildings
Back Buildings
Historical St. Micheals In B&W
In a town filled with old historical churches this one stands out.
It dates back to pre-revolution era, the spire was used as a look out in the US Civil War, and a few hurricanes and an earthquake came by.
Shooting in a church like this means you don’t know where to start first.
For these shots I just stood in the middle. I turned left, next I turned right. I had to start somewhere.
The Doors Are Locked
I’m a photographer living in one of the most beautiful and historical towns in the USA… and the doors are locked. No opening in sight either.
I decided to look back at one of the last shoots of an old manor house to see what hasn’t been published.
My habit of first shooting an entrance to a room to support any larger images paid off. I rarely publish the ‘intro’ shots. They are for reference.
It turns out they make decent standalone photographs.
Built by Nathaniel Russel, 1808, Charleston, South Carolina.
Virtual School Trip
With the Covid-19 school closings this academic year looks to be ended. Even if they could push classes through the summer there would not be enough time. The kids would melt too.
On-line classes are the new normal. One thing they cannot do is the end of year school trips. Recently I was contacted by a local middle school who had seen my work in a South Carolina State Historical web site. The children had a trip cancelled, were disappointed, and a virtual trip was being created.
When shooting some of these historical sites we provide photographs for on-line research projects. I guess this shows how a simple thing like this can be used in many different ways.
We were more than happy to provide a series of images for a ‘virtual walk through’ of an old Charleston Grand House.
Inside St. Michael’s, Charleston
Built in 1750 this is the oldest surviving church in Charleston.
St. Michael’s sits on one of the ‘four corners of law’ and represents ecclesiastical law. The other corners are the country courthouse, city hall, and federal courthouse. All are 200+ years old and listed on the various national registries.
This building survived both the Revolutionary and Civil War.
The stained glass windows include works by the famous Tiffany Studios.
The church grave yard contains a long list of major US historical figures include signers of the US Constitution. Charleston was one of the wealthiest cities before the Civil War and all the church’s in town reflect this.
This series of photographs were in shot March 2020.
Also on this web site are similar articles presenting many of the other historical churches in Charleston and the surrounding area.
