Chip Oglesby

What an end to an amazing weekend!

This morning started out as a very cold and dreary day, but ended with the announcement by President Barack Obama that Osama Bin Laden had been killed.

“For over two decades, bin Laden has been Al Qaeda’s leader and symbol,” the president said in a statement televised around the world. “The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat Al Qaeda. But his death does not mark the end of our effort. There’s no doubt that Al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must and we will remain vigilant at home and abroad.”

So after reading the news on facebook and twitter and following the Presidential address, I grabbed my camera and headed over to the White House. A short trip in a cab and I was ready to join the mob of people already assembled near the White House.

People were already gathered from the gates and filling most of Lafayette Square. Here’s what the New York Times said about the event downtown:

The news touched off an extraordinary outpouring of emotion as crowds gathered outside the White House, in Times Square and at the Ground Zero site, waving American flags, cheering, shouting, laughing and chanting, “USA, USA!” In New York City, crowds sang the Star-Spangled Banner. Throughout downtown Washington, drivers honked horns deep into the night.

Photos from a recent shoot with Aubrey and Ryan.

Texas sure does have beautiful light in the evening. You know, the nice golden light that every photographer loves.

Pedicab on Trinity.

The balcony at Iron Cactus.

Downtown Austin.

Texas State Capitol Building.

Side streets in Austin.

Local band at SXSW.

Just a quick post of photos from my first trip to South by Southwest in Austin Texas.

See the rest of the photos here:

This is a recent photo of my mom, sister and her daughter Elizabeth from our Thanksgiving trip to Wilmington.

It’s amazing getting to watch my niece grow up. It seems to happen so fast.

Anyone who’s lived in the south long enough will tell you that it doesn’t snow very often. It’s really rare that it snows in Columbia, even more so when it snows twice in one winter. Here are some photos that I took while walking around my neighborhood this afternoon.

By the numbers:

• 4,400: Number of pictures taken
• 7,983: Miles traveled by plane
• 32: Subway rides in New York
• 9: Plane flights taken
• 4: Metro rides in Washington D.C.
• 2: Amtrak rides taken
• 1: Best year yet!

I told a friend earlier this year after being laid off from The State that 2010 would be “The Year of the Chip!” What I should have said is that it would be a “year of firsts.”

Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined how great 2010 would turn out to be. The good news is, I’m only getting started and 2011 looks like it’s going to be even better!

The year of the firsts

Here’s what’s happened to make 2010 a year of firsts:

1. This is the first time since graduating from college that I have not worked for a newspaper. I was laid off in January 2010, along with numerous others, in a cost-saving-reduction plan (boo-hoo). Leaving The State was probably one of the best things that could have happened for my career. Presently, I’m employed at The South Carolina Policy Council, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank in downtown Columbia (another first!). Although I do miss working in the newspaper industry on occasion, it’s been very exciting and rewarding working for SCPC so far.



2. I took my first Amtrak ride this year. Originally, I planned on traveling from Charlotte to D.C., D.C. to New York and then New York back to D.C. I still have the ticket from NY to D.C. because I never went back. You can read my old post about the Amtrak ride here. Let’s just say Amtrak is not the most efficient way of traveling. It took us nearly 13 hours to get from Charlotte to D.C. If you can drive and don’t want to fly, just drive – it’s much quicker.



3. Speaking of New York, that’s another first. My first trip to the ‘Big Apple.’ I was in NYC from February until the middle of March before I returned home. Looking back, I could write an entire series on every aspect of New York, but let’s just sum it up in one word: Amazing! Living in New York for the short time that I was there was beyond my wildest dreams. Most movies and pictures I’ve seen don’t really do it justice. It’s something everyone needs to experience for themselves firsthand. One thing that amazed me most about New York is how many people live in the city. With population of 8 million over 468.9 sq miles of city compared to Columbia, SC which has a population of 129,333 and the city covers 133.8 sq miles. The density of New York mind-boggling. When I returned to Charlotte for the first time, it amazed me how much more “breathing room” there was. If I get the opportunity to return to New York or D.C. and spend a few years there, I will be going.



4. 2010 was also the first year I flew on a plane. Amazing right? I use be afraid to fly on a plane, but after my first few trips to and from New York, I was able to conquer those. Then after joining SCPC, I was flown out to Denver and up to Cleveland. Flying isn’t really that bad. I’m sure it’s worse now with TSA pat-downs, but I had no trouble going through the back scatter machine at the airport. The worst part about flying though is the layovers in airports. If you can, always fly direct it’s totally worth it!



5. Denver was my first trip out west. When I first arrived at the airport, I had no clue where we were. I expected Denver to be more mountainous, like Asheville’s airport. Instead, we just landed in a field and drove 30 minutes into town. Denver was amazing. The land in the Rocky Mountain National Forest is so open and vast! The temperature change from downtown Denver (90) to the top of RMNF (52) was a little drastic, something I wasn’t prepared for. While in Denver I also went to my first Major League Baseball game and a concert at Red Rocks.
6. I also went to Cleveland and visited the Great Lakes Brewing Company and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I wish I had more exciting things to say, but we were at a conference the entire time, so I didn’t really get to go out and explore, but I did learn a lot at the conference.

Washington D.C.

Gramercy Park NYC at night

Pier 59 in Chelsea, New York City

Snow in Gramercy Park

Georges State Park, Turtleback Falls

Lake Estes, Colorado

Sailing in Wilmington, NC

Signs of Fall in Bluefield, VA

Thanksgiving with the family, Wilmington NC

Winter Wonderland in Van Wyck, SC