No gear talk - just a few NX30 pics...

How refreshing, eh - no gear talk (or arguments).  Da Misses and I went on a day trip yesterday to the NC wine country (Yadkin Valley).  Had a blast.  With all the cams I could have brought along, I reached for the NX30 (and PZ zoom lens) instead.

As an aside, ever shoot in weather conditions where although the weather is just fine - around 78 degrees F, the sky was so hazy and bright that it caused the camera to stop down, thus resulting in very dark photos?  I hate that - even when you try to anticipate for this.  But I shot in RAW mode and via Lightroom was able to make the adjustments just fine.  There are one or two pics that might look like they were HDR'd, but that was not my intention.

Images are on the next posting.  Wait a few minutes before you reply with a "Wasss up, why no photos?"

All shot in RAW, auto ISO, AWB, Aperture Priority Mode - typically at either f5.6 or 6.3. Images were converted via Lightroom and then saved as TIF Masters. JPG's for web display were then created using the batch mode in Irfanview at a 95% setting. The dimensions for the web display files at 1800 x 1300 or so. Note - when converting to JPG in Irfanview, it does NOT retain Exif Data (that is when you are converting TIF to JPG files).

OK - all board for a vicarious one-day trip...

CLICK ON THE "ORIGINAL SIZE" LINK UNDER EACH IMAGE TO BRING UP A CLEARER VERSION:

Main street in Mt. Airy, NC - home of the famous actor, Andy Griffith. It was Mt. Airy that served as the model for the fictional TV town "Mayberry." Nothing much has changed in this since the 1950's - just a quiet country environment. It takes us two hours from Raleigh, NC to get here - lots of fun. Weather was overcast when we arrived.

During our quick stop in Mt. Airy, we headed right over to "Miss Angel's Heavenly Pies" which is located on Main street. Talk about pies and desserts that are guaranteed to make you squirm with please as you devour them. We purchased 10 pies and immediately put them in a cooler since there are no preservatives used in them. We then froze them when we got home, only to enjoy once we need them.

We next headed to one of our favorite wineries (of which there are over 130 in NC). This winery is called "Round Peak Vineyards" because it sits right near "Skull Camp Mountain" and is located on the outskirts of Mt. Airy. They have some of the nicest wines - all European varietals with various home grown types also. We went because they had a small outdoor music fest there the other day. It was pleasant outside, but the skies were very hazy and I had to balance my use of various sliders to get THE DR just right.

The tasting room in Round Peak Vineyards.

One of a half dozen bands doing their thing this date. We got there early and within the next two hours, the place was packed. Look at the backdrop - with Skull Camp Mountain in the background.

Some folks enjoying the southern outdoor game called "corn-hole." Now look folks, for those of you from the northern part of the USA (or other areas), when southerners say, "hey mannn, you want to play a game of corn hole," it does not mean to imply some form of sexual activity - OK - ya got that? LOL For southerners it means using a bean bag and trying to throw it into the hole on one of those boards. I know, the first time we moved to the south and somebody asked me if I wanted to play, I gave him the dirtiest damn look you could think of. But now I'm a Pro - meaning in the game version!!!!!!

Here's Skull Camp Mountain in the backdrop. The history (or lore, I might add) is that during the American Civil War, some runaway slaves hide in the caves up on that mountain. That's about all I know at the moment, but it is interesting and this small mountain (which sits in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains) makes for a really nice view beyond the vineyards.

As I said, it was early and I'm glad we got there early before the place was packed.

We then went to another smaller winery known as Flint Hill Winery and Vineyards located in East Bend, NC. The tasting room is located in a centuries old Victorian Farm House as shown here. What a delightful little place and they had some really nice reds and whites (again, European and homegrown varietals).

Another view of the Flint Hill Winery tasting room.

The inside is very, very old. This shot was taken at ISO 6400 of the tasting room.

We then capped it all off (and our main reason for the trip) to have dinner at a unique, hidden gem in the boondocks in East Bend, NC (population around 800 or so). Now if you drove past this turn of the century (1900 or so) building, you'd think nothing of it. Yet inside is an absolutely wonderful Italian restaurant called "Kitchen Roselli." People from all over the southeast come to eat here and what a delight - and it won't cost you an arm and leg. They haven't done much to the inside and it was intended this way - they kept it period-like. The atmosphere is superb, all natural ingredients, spices, and tricks of the trade are used here in their dishes, and the background music is Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and the like.

It is only when you actually walk up to this old building that you see the reference to Kitchen Roselli in the window - that's it. They don't need the advertisement as they draw lots of "foodies," among which we are one.

A view of the old, old, historic dining room. ISO 3200

Another view....once you've eaten here, you're likely to want to return often. Luckily, we live 2 hours and 15 minutes away from this location (East Bend), so for us it means visiting once or twice a year only. ISO 3200.

Their shrimp scampi special - unbelievable.  Truly had a gastro-intestinal o-r-g-a-sm!!!!   Shot at ISO 6400.

So thanks for coming along on our one day trip with the NX30. Here are links just for your reference to the places I mentioned above:

Miss Angel's Heaven Pies website (yes you can order them):

https://www.missangelsheavenlypiesinc.com/best-pies-mayberry-north-carolina.html

Mt. Airy, NC (general town websites):

http://www.mountairy.org/

http://www.visitmayberry.com/

Round Peak Vineyards, Mt. Airy, NC:

https://www.roundpeak.com/#top

Flint Hill Winery, East Bend, NC:

http://www.flinthillvineyards.com/

Kitchen Roselli, Italian Restaurant, East Bend, NC:

http://www.kitchenroselli.com/

Hi Ben, very nice pictures. North Carolina reminds me a lot to the landscapes of Germany´(Mosel). Before I had the first time a stopover in Charlotte I thought that NC is a desert place. So waking up before landing I thought the aircraft has going back to Frankfurt, even the skyline of Charlotte is similar to the Frankfurt's  one.

We live in the center of the State (30 minutes south of the Capitol, Raleigh).  When we want to see some of the nicest beaches on the east coast, we drive east for an approx an hour and 45 minutes or so.  When we want to see the mountains, we drive 3 hours west of here to the Blue Ridge mountains.

I was born in Moosburg, Bayern (Bavaria), so the mountains are in my blood (and I stiill consider myself a Landsmann).  And speaking of the mountains, here is a shot of one of my favorite wineries in Thurmond, North Carolina.  It is the Jones von-Drehle vineyards.  When I first found this winery (we were just driving through the hills and mountains), I thought I was in Bavaria.  The wines are superb!!! and the atmosphere here makes you just want to sit with a bottle of wine and some cheese and just enjoy the scenery.  Here's an NX500 shot of that winery/vineyards:

Their website is here:

http://www.jonesvondrehle.com/

All of them beautiful, the second one is great!