Author Topic: Taking Photos in Florida and North Carolina? (Read 5446 times)

pixel8 · « **on:** March 14, 2015, 11:13 »

Hi everyone, just wondering if anyone has done photography in Florida or North Carolina and how humidity effects your Camera. Do things get really fogged up, do you have to take it in more often for cleaning, and what are some of the challenges of working in humidity besides sweating?

Also if you do live in these states I am thinking about moving to either Orlando FL or Charlotte NC what are some good neighborhoods or surrounding towns to live in?

In Florida is it safe to live near Cape Canaveral coastal areas, especially for hurricanes?

In Charlotte are there tornados?

Thanks

sgoodwin4813 · « **Reply #1 on:** March 14, 2015, 12:44 »

I've taken photos in both states and own property in North Carolina so go there a few times a year. Humidity is not such an issue EXCEPT if you take a camera straight from an air-conditioned house to outside - then you will have some serious fogging until the camera warms to the same temperature. Let the camera equilibrate to the same temperature before taking off the lens cap and you will be OK. Of course the same thing happens in winter if you go from outside to in. The main problem I have in both states is salt spray and sand because I am usually at the coast - I always keep a filter over every lens and clean that when necessary. It sounds like you won't have a problem with that with the cities you mentioned.

Hurricanes are not usually that big a deal unless you are right at the coast - the main damage is from the storm surge, buildings in the US are designed to take that kind of wind. Of course if it is a category 5 then all bets are off. The other problem is falling trees, so don't buy a house with big trees nearby if you are worried about hurricanes (not such a big issue in Florida).

There are tornadoes almost everywhere in the US including Charlotte. Where I live now they have tornado sirens that they test the first Saturday of every month. A lot of tornadoes have been nearby but they so far have not damaged my house - their damage is usually over a very small area so the chance of getting hit is low. In Charlotte they are even less common so not worth worrying about.

Good luck!

pixel8 · « **Reply #2 on:** March 14, 2015, 20:42 »

If you had to choose Orlando or Charlotte which one would you choose based on Stock Photography Options in terms of whats available for not only access to stuff but for backdrops etc?

Thanks

trek · « **Reply #3 on:** March 14, 2015, 22:27 »

Nice people in Florida but the state is flat... very flat.

sgoodwin4813 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 14, 2015, 23:02 »

I don't think I'd make a choice of either city for stock options, and they are very different. Charlotte is quite a nice city of a decent size with a lot of financial industries - banks and things are based there. The airport is a hub for USAir so easy access to lots of other places. It is not too far from the mountains and a bit of a drive but probably 2-3 hours to the coast. It is in the Piedmont region so rolling hills and a lot of forests over red clay soils. Not too far from a lot of other interesting southern towns.

Orlando of course is the place for Disney World, Epcot and all that kind of stuff. Full of tourists and as trek said very flat. It is an hour or so from the space center and the east coast, maybe a but farther to the west coast, but plenty of places to photograph in Florida, plus tons of birds and other wildlife hang out there in the winter. It would be a bit of a drive to the Everglades but not too far. Decent air connections with Disney but not as good as with Charlotte. No snow and almost never frost in Orlando, but you would get some snow in Charlotte. Plenty to photograph in either place, it just depends on what you like best.

pixel8 · « **Reply #5 on:** March 14, 2015, 23:48 »

Quote from: sgoodwin4813 on March 14, 2015, 23:02

I don't think I'd make a choice of either city for stock options

If you had your choice which cities in the USA would you choose?

LesPalenik · « **Reply #6 on:** March 15, 2015, 18:56 »

Buffalo, NY. Lof of diffused light in the winter.

SLStudios · « **Reply #7 on:** March 15, 2015, 19:10 »

I live in Charlotte and lived in Florida for many years. I would recommend Florida long before Charlotte. Simply put, Charlotte is crime ridden and there is so little work here that the crime just keeps going up. It WAS a beautiful old southern city. Now it is a crime infested, gangland. I am not kidding. There are parts of this city the cops won't even go into because of the gangs here.

Go to Florida and enjoy the sun, surf, and seafood. I personally am leaving this cesspool as soon as I can. If you drive through Charlotte, don't stop... If you do, lock your doors. Seriously, I am not just being a jerk, I live here and the city is really gone to hell.

As for Florida, I lived in Cocoa Beach for awhile and got to watch the rockets launch from the beach... The bank industry here in Charlotte is only helpful if you have a degree and want to work in that industry (which is a very small part of the population). And the tornados, yeah. Do worry about them as they are on the rise. Season after season they have been getting more and more common.

Just my thoughts on the subject.

robhainer · « **Reply #8 on:** March 15, 2015, 19:17 »

Quote from: pixel8 on March 14, 2015, 23:48

Quote from: sgoodwin4813 on March 14, 2015, 23:02
I don't think I'd make a choice of either city for stock options

If you had your choice which cities in the USA would you choose?

I would choose Orlando. Housing isn't really any more expensive than Charlotte. No state income tax. Better weather year round. Easy drive to most places in the state except the panhandle so you can see a lot of things and do a lot of travel stock photos that will sell. Three hours to Miami or Naples, one hour to Tampa, two hours to Jacksonville, one to two hours to all the stuff on the space coast.

With Charlotte, it's two hours to Asheville in the mountains and about three hours to Myrtle Beach or Charleston. It's not bad, but it wouldn't be my first pick.

I live near Atlanta, but I've spent a lot of time in both areas.

pixel8 · « **Reply #9 on:** March 16, 2015, 00:31 »

Quote from: robhainer on March 15, 2015, 19:17

Quote from: pixel8 on March 14, 2015, 23:48
Quote from: sgoodwin4813 on March 14, 2015, 23:02
I don't think I'd make a choice of either city for stock options

If you had your choice which cities in the USA would you choose?

I would choose Orlando. Housing isn't really any more expensive than Charlotte. No state income tax. Better weather year round. Easy drive to most places in the state except the panhandle so you can see a lot of things and do a lot of travel stock photos that will sell. Three hours to Miami or Naples, one hour to Tampa, two hours to Jacksonville, one to two hours to all the stuff on the space coast.

With Charlotte, it's two hours to Asheville in the mountains and about three hours to Myrtle Beach or Charleston. It's not bad, but it wouldn't be my first pick.

I live near Atlanta, but I've spent a lot of time in both areas.

Does Atlanta have a lot of crime?

pixel8 · « **Reply #10 on:** March 16, 2015, 02:59 »

Quote from: SLStudios on March 15, 2015, 19:10

I live in Charlotte and lived in Florida for many years. I would recommend Florida long before Charlotte. Simply put, Charlotte is crime ridden and there is so little work here that the crime just keeps going up. It WAS a beautiful old southern city. Now it is a crime infested, gangland. I am not kidding. There are parts of this city the cops won't even go into because of the gangs here.

Go to Florida and enjoy the sun, surf, and seafood. I personally am leaving this cesspool as soon as I can. If you drive through Charlotte, don't stop... If you do, lock your doors. Seriously, I am not just being a jerk, I live here and the city is really gone to hell.

As for Florida, I lived in Cocoa Beach for awhile and got to watch the rockets launch from the beach... The bank industry here in Charlotte is only helpful if you have a degree and want to work in that industry (which is a very small part of the population). And the tornados, yeah. Do worry about them as they are on the rise. Season after season they have been getting more and more common.

Just my thoughts on the subject.

What about surrounding towns 20 min to an hour out? Like Kings Mountain?

robhainer · « **Reply #11 on:** March 16, 2015, 07:45 »

Quote from: pixel8 on March 16, 2015, 00:31

Quote from: robhainer on March 15, 2015, 19:17
Quote from: pixel8 on March 14, 2015, 23:48
Quote from: sgoodwin4813 on March 14, 2015, 23:02
I don't think I'd make a choice of either city for stock options

If you had your choice which cities in the USA would you choose?

I would choose Orlando. Housing isn't really any more expensive than Charlotte. No state income tax. Better weather year round. Easy drive to most places in the state except the panhandle so you can see a lot of things and do a lot of travel stock photos that will sell. Three hours to Miami or Naples, one hour to Tampa, two hours to Jacksonville, one to two hours to all the stuff on the space coast.

With Charlotte, it's two hours to Asheville in the mountains and about three hours to Myrtle Beach or Charleston. It's not bad, but it wouldn't be my first pick.

I live near Atlanta, but I've spent a lot of time in both areas.
Does Atlanta have a lot of crime?

Like any city, it depends on where you go. I have no issues going downtown by myself with all my expensive camera equipment at night to do cityscapes. There are parts of town I would not do that in, but they aren't worth photographing anyway.

Atlanta's economy is more diverse than a lot of cities. There are still lots of jobs in a lot of different industries especially entertainment such as music and film, and there are a lot of corporate headquarters. Georgia has done a good job at stealing business from Hollywood. A lot of ares in the city have gentrified, and are home to lots of young professionals. Housing construction is coming back in the suburbs.

That said, there are still bad areas and traffic is a total nightmare. Probably some of the worst traffic in the country. I would pick Atlanta before I would pick Charlotte if I were choosing between those two. But I might still give the edge to Orlando if I had business opportunity there.

SLStudios · « **Reply #12 on:** March 16, 2015, 08:07 »

Quote from: pixel8 on March 16, 2015, 02:59

Quote from: SLStudios on March 15, 2015, 19:10
I live in Charlotte and lived in Florida for many years. I would recommend Florida long before Charlotte. Simply put, Charlotte is crime ridden and there is so little work here that the crime just keeps going up. It WAS a beautiful old southern city. Now it is a crime infested, gangland. I am not kidding. There are parts of this city the cops won't even go into because of the gangs here.

Go to Florida and enjoy the sun, surf, and seafood. I personally am leaving this cesspool as soon as I can. If you drive through Charlotte, don't stop... If you do, lock your doors. Seriously, I am not just being a jerk, I live here and the city is really gone to hell.

As for Florida, I lived in Cocoa Beach for awhile and got to watch the rockets launch from the beach... The bank industry here in Charlotte is only helpful if you have a degree and want to work in that industry (which is a very small part of the population). And the tornados, yeah. Do worry about them as they are on the rise. Season after season they have been getting more and more common.

Just my thoughts on the subject.
What about surrounding towns 20 min to an hour out? Like Kings Mountain?

They are better but spend a little time reading the news for those areas before you decide. I wish I could say Charlotte is still that old southern city that it was 20 years ago, but it just isn't. NC in general very spread out too. To go to the beach from here it is four hours. To go to the mountains is three. If you are into racing, charlotte, Concord, and Kannapolis are close but if you are just coming to live and shoot stock, there is nothing particularly better here than Orlando or any other city.

jjneff · « **Reply #13 on:** March 16, 2015, 09:24 »

I live on the border of NC between Hendersonville NC and Greenville SC. Never had any problems with gear. This is a great place to shoot and live!

Annie61 · « **Reply #14 on:** March 16, 2015, 14:11 »

Quote from: pixel8 on March 14, 2015, 11:13

Hi everyone, just wondering if anyone has done photography in Florida or North Carolina and how humidity effects your Camera. Do things get really fogged up, do you have to take it in more often for cleaning, and what are some of the challenges of working in humidity besides sweating?

Also if you do live in these states I am thinking about moving to either Orlando FL or Charlotte NC what are some good neighborhoods or surrounding towns to live in?

In Florida is it safe to live near Cape Canaveral coastal areas, especially for hurricanes?

In Charlotte are there tornados?

Thanks

Any place that tends to have high humidity in the summer can present a problem with lens fogging - that would include both of your choices. We have a timeshare in Orlando and visit 1 or 2 times a year. I always have fog problems with my lenses in the summer down there. It can take a really long time for your gear to warm up after being in A/C and you really won't know until you remove your lens cap if you've waitd long enough. I started using these "Fog Eliminator" wipes made by Nikon. You can order them in a 3-pack from B&H Photo for $4.95 and they are reusable. They work really well for this issue. I always keep a pack in my bag just in case.

I am not really familiar with Charlotte as far as a place to live. I have some neighbors who transferred to my neighborhood from Charlotte and they LOVED it there. Orlando is a great vacation destination but can be crowded, hot and touristy in the summer. I would suggest you might look at the Savannah, Ga area. It's basically on the coast but not generally situated for direct hits from hurricanes (but it COULD happen). It's situated about 4 hours or so north of Orlando so would be an easy day or weekend trip. It has a cool historic river front district too. It would be a good alternative to consider I think….

pixel8 · « **Reply #15 on:** March 16, 2015, 17:44 »

Thanks everyone for the feed back.

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Author Topic: Taking Photos in Florida and North Carolina? (Read 5446 times)

pixel8

sgoodwin4813

pixel8

trek

sgoodwin4813

pixel8

LesPalenik

SLStudios

robhainer

pixel8

pixel8

robhainer

SLStudios

jjneff

Annie61

pixel8

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