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Chris Johnston (left) and John Walsh, both of Charlotte, N.C., wear caricatures masks of the presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain Friday during the 7th Annual Ocean Isle Beach 4th of July Parade in Ocean Isle Beach. 

This morning I covered the Ocean Isle Beach 4th of July parade and had a hoot hanging with the Walsh family of Charlotte who dressed like the presidential candidates. They even had a family member portraying a secret service guy running beside their float. I laughed till tears were coming down my cheeks.

Go to myrtlebeachonline.com to see the other images from the gallery.

rlh 

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Once again the controversy over the May motorcycle rallies in Myrtle Beach has found it’s way into the hot coals of the news.

Many opponents of the rallies feel the way to stop the “May-hem” is to have local governments stop issuing vendor permits during the month of May.

On Tuesday night 700 plus bikers and a few opponents descended on the Horry County council to lodge complaints.

I decided to pull out all my multimedia gear for the occasion and tackle a video, photo gallery for the myrtlebeachonline.com and still images for the paper.

In the end my shift was very long but considering all was shot and edited on deadline, things worked out pretty well.

I just wish the modern cameras could keep up with all the demands being made of me.

Please Canon…..

Combine my HV 20 and EOS 1D and give me a tapeless multimedia workhorse.

rlh

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The fire tower near Mt. Pisgah, N.C. is one of those places where your knees will start to wobble as the wind picks up and moves the gigantic tower from side to side.

Here are a few more places that will make the knees wobble.

1. Walking across the glaciers at Mt. Adams in Washington State.

2. The top floor balcony of an apartment building on Rector Street in NYC.

3. A rickety bridge at a temple nearby Chiang Mei, Thailand.

4. Overlooking the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.

5. Standing on top of a rotting lifeguard chair in North Myrtle Beach. (Sometimes they will fall and rip a gapping hole in your pants)

6. Photographing from a construction platform on the side of the 20th floor of the Camelot in Myrtle Beach. Construction platforms will not only make your knees wobble but they will also give you a heart attack.  

rlh

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The innocent map session started with a cold fountain coke on the back deck of my friends Bob and Brenda Sinners of Leicester, N.C.

With help from fellow hiker Shane Huddleston, Bob worked hard to plan a waterfall heavy day-hike for our last day in the beautiful NC Mountains. 

A beautiful sunset added a hint of color to the green laden landscape an hour into the session. 

Two-hours into the session the camp lights were summoned to aid the map mongers as they narrowed the search.

Exhausted, gentle dog Rufus nuzzled to sleep on the Sinners’ comfortable sofa.

Was a trail finally chosen? Only the Buddha will know for sure.

The answer will only come when our journey begins and our true destination is chosen.

As Shane often says to me “Anicca my friend, anicca.”

rlh 

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Competitors look for a quick start in one of 22 races Sunday during the 2008 Hydro-Turf American Powerboat Association Nationals held Sunday in Myrtle Beach. Professional and amateur racers from across the country competed in the event held near Springmaid Pier over the weekend. The event was sponsored in part by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and was one of the events of the 57th Annual Sun Fun Festival in Myrtle Beach.

If you have to work on a Sunday then what better way than to cover a jet ski competition.

Check out my gallery at myrtlebeachonline.com

rlh

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Members of the St. James High School class of 2008 toss their caps at Commencement Exercises Thursday evening at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.

This year for the newspaper’s website, the photo staff is covering all area graduations including the alternative schools. This means lots of photos and travel time between the schools in three large counties.

Here is a gallery I produced on Thursday for myrtlebeachonline.com

You can think what you like about the process of these galleries but for now they are keeping me employed and happy. 

rlh

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Beer girl Tanya Ledoux of Concord, N.H., takes orders Thursday evening at Suck Bang Blow 4 Corners in Murrells Inlet. 

In May, driven by interest for two major motorcycle rallies in Myrtle Beach, our newspaper’s website myrtlebeachonline.com set a record with over 10 million page views. For us it was due to interest in daily photo galleries from rally events posted by our staff. 

During the same month and with just as much promotion on the site, the video coverage received just a fraction of the traffic.

Now, roaming like a hot motorcycle engine, my energy is shifting to the photo gallery and away from time consuming video production. As time goes on, I have the skills to do video and will use the media when needed.

This gallery from Thursday evening of Harley week produced by Steve Jessmore and myself was the second highest viewed gallery during May. 

rlh

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Last week I accidentally took this photo while kneeling down to take a shot with my other camera.

I was focusing my attention on head knight Mark Passarello of Medieval Times in Myrtle Beach when I inadvertently tripped the shutter on my short lens camera. This photo is way better than anything I took from the profile.

Does this tell you anything about my skills?

rlh

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My stepmother Aura Lea Hill died on May 30, 2008, after complications from a stoke she suffered in mid-May. She was a wonderful mother and a keeper of a giving heart. 

I was not comfortable blogging about the experience and wanted to respect the privacy of my stepfamily. 

Here I will say she will be missed and I loved her with all my heart.

I was blessed to have two great mothers.  

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After a 12-hour sleep session last night, I’m happy to report my survival through a 24-hour ride along with the crew of station one of The Myrtle Beach Fire Department. 

Being bike week in the area, this was an idea I had for coverage from a different angle. 

At one point during my stay there, the firefighters responded to three motorcycle accidents in less than one hour. 

This web gallery is larger than I normally like to produce. I decided to upload my images throughout the shift and between emergency calls. Later, with the help of copy editor Dan Golden, we placed the images in chronological order. (I just noticed some of the time sequences are wrong on the gallery and I will correct them later.)   

Please go to the gallery at myrtlebeachonline.com

rlh

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