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  #1  
Old Posted Aug 29, 2013, 4:24 AM
ChiTownCity ChiTownCity is offline
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Charlotte, NC: In The Shadow Of Papi Queso

I was debating with myself whether or not I should make this thread since it's very limited, but I decided it'd be more of a waste to just sit on them so enjoy the small photo dump of my trip to Charlotte last month.

This is the part where I ramble on and on about my experience so feel free to skip this part:

I was only there for business for two days but I was lucky enough to get some time in downtown when the crew got hungry and wanted to find a decent restaurant to chow down at. Unfortunately, my leisure time was cut short when it started to rain pretty hard before I could really do any exploring so back to the hotel it was (luckily my camera wasn't damaged even though it did get drenched as I dashed back to my transportation.)

One thing that really surprised me while I was walking around was the serious amount of homeless people and panhandlers on Charlotte's main street downtown that were not only pandhandling, but also allowed to lay fully out on the benches and sidewalks. All day and night. I don't know if that just so happened to be the case while I was there or if that's the norm, but it was strange nonetheless since there was valet serviced restaurants, shopping centers, etc. right in the vicinity instead of a few blocks away. I would think that having a schizophrenic hold a full blown conversation with an invisible person next to a panhandler right outside of your place of business would be considered a huge deterrent in attracting new customers, but everyone seemed to completely ignore them as if they weren't there.

I was also surprised at how many people approached me and asked me to take their picture and seemed really enthusiastic about having what they thought was a "semi-professional photographer" take their picture. Even though my walk was very short (definitely less than an hour) I was able to make a quick 50 bucks and had a few people trying to figure out how I could come to their event only to find out that I live no where near North Carolina . That was a definite first and, more than likely, a last. Needless to say, it was a fun experience that left a good impression for me. Charlotte seems to be full of friendly people, great food, and interesting subjects!

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47. And that'll do it. Goodbye, Charlotte.


48. As I exit the city....


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50. ....To make that long trip back to the middle of the west
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  #2  
Old Posted Aug 29, 2013, 2:06 PM
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Danny Danny is offline
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Smile

Amazing set! Thanks for sharing.

Semi-professional photographer? You´re a professional taking pictures. Great sharpness, intense colours, very nice perspectives and angles...

I´ve liked all your shots in this tour, but my favourite is the first one: Charlotte´s skyline and that dramatic sky in the background with those towering cumulus. WOW!

The last one is amazing too.

Congrats and greetings from Madrid, Spain.
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  #3  
Old Posted Aug 29, 2013, 5:26 PM
MightyYoda MightyYoda is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Danny View Post
Amazing set! Thanks for sharing.

Semi-professional photographer? You´re a professional taking pictures. Great sharpness, intense colours, very nice perspectives and angles...

I´ve liked all your shots in this tour, but my favourite is the first one: Charlotte´s skyline and that dramatic sky in the background with those towering cumulus. WOW!

The last one is amazing too.

Congrats and greetings from Madrid, Spain.
Agree with all of these points. Great photo set! How far out of town are those last 2 photos?
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  #4  
Old Posted Aug 29, 2013, 8:38 PM
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definitely the best CLT thread in a while, if not of all time. OF ALL TIME!!!

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  #5  
Old Posted Aug 29, 2013, 10:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MightyYoda View Post
Agree with all of these points. Great photo set! How far out of town are those last 2 photos?
Those are the mountains of Western North Carolina, about two hours west of Charlotte, that you're seeing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by LSyd View Post
definitely the best CLT thread in a while, if not of all time. OF ALL TIME!!!

-
I know, right? I loathe Charlotte and even I think it looks pretty cool in this thread.
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  #6  
Old Posted Aug 30, 2013, 3:35 AM
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VERY cool thread.
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  #7  
Old Posted Aug 30, 2013, 12:01 PM
durhamite durhamite is offline
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Good thread. There are many sides to Charlotte that seldom get revealed in photos and this thread displays a few of them. It's actually a pretty cool city that has made great rebounds since urban renewal almost decimated the place. Yea, those mountains are probably a couple of hours away, but foothills and the lower range of mountains are within an hour or so drive of Charlotte and are easily visible from top floors in uptown buildings.

BTW, really diggin the sista girls.
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  #8  
Old Posted Aug 30, 2013, 2:33 PM
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volguus zildrohar volguus zildrohar is offline
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Well well well - sharp shots!
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  #9  
Old Posted Aug 31, 2013, 4:47 AM
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Very good stuff ChiTownCity. Your thread introduction sold yourself short. If this was your 'very limited' stuff, your comprehensive stuff should be quite impressive - my expectation was greatly exceeded. You should post your pics more often.

Charlotte is looking good.
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  #10  
Old Posted Aug 31, 2013, 7:09 PM
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Nice pics, I think Charlotte has done a great job with the cards they've been dealt so to speak. They seem to have made a determined effort to invest in downtown and make it attractive, although I'm surprised to hear about the panhandlers but what can you do I guess. This, in a very anti-urban state generally.

It's amazing that my current home state of NJ can't get it's act together to clean up Trenton and Camden, despite it's affluence and progressive politics. Long run, people are going to exit the state and move to cleaner, cheaper, nicer places like Charlotte, if we don't have urban cities to attract longer people.
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  #11  
Old Posted Sep 1, 2013, 8:13 PM
ChiTownCity ChiTownCity is offline
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Thanks everyone for the views and comments!

Quote:
Originally Posted by MightyYoda View Post
Agree with all of these points. Great photo set! How far out of town are those last 2 photos?
Yea, HauntedHeadNC has it right on the head; those last couple of shots were close to the NC/TN state line somewhere in the Smokey Mountains region. If I remember correctly, the Cherokee village wasn't too far from there.
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  #12  
Old Posted Sep 1, 2013, 8:21 PM
ChiTownCity ChiTownCity is offline
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Originally Posted by L41A View Post
Very good stuff ChiTownCity. Your thread introduction sold yourself short. If this was your 'very limited' stuff, your comprehensive stuff should be quite impressive - my expectation was greatly exceeded. You should post your pics more often.

Charlotte is looking good.
Thanks. I meant "very limited" by how much ground I was able to cover. There was a few spots in the downtown area that I wanted to photograph but didn't get a chance to because of the weather and my schedule. Plus I wasn't able to see what any of Charlotte's residential neighborhoods looked like aside from what was on the tract between downtown and our hotel. And on top of that, even though I had plenty to eat while I was there, I didn't have a tripod with me so I wasn't able to get any food shots from the low-lit restaurants we visited.

With all of that in mind I do think that what I was able to get was very limited. But I'm glad you enjoyed it nonetheless!
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  #13  
Old Posted Sep 2, 2013, 9:27 PM
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Great photos!
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  #14  
Old Posted Sep 7, 2013, 11:36 PM
sdimedru sdimedru is offline
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Awesome thread.

I just visited Charlotte for the first time (stayed at the pictured Dunhill) and I was floored by how gorgeous the downtown area is!

Friendly people and great restaurants, I'll be back next time for longer than 2 days.
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  #15  
Old Posted Sep 8, 2013, 12:38 AM
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Originally Posted by durhamite View Post
BTW, really diggin the sista girls.
This! They look like a lot of fun.
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  #16  
Old Posted Sep 8, 2013, 12:40 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dc_denizen View Post
Nice pics, I think Charlotte has done a great job with the cards they've been dealt so to speak. They seem to have made a determined effort to invest in downtown and make it attractive, although I'm surprised to hear about the panhandlers but what can you do I guess. This, in a very anti-urban state generally.

It's amazing that my current home state of NJ can't get it's act together to clean up Trenton and Camden, despite it's affluence and progressive politics. Long run, people are going to exit the state and move to cleaner, cheaper, nicer places like Charlotte, if we don't have urban cities to attract longer people.
The big banks made a concerted effort to build a nice Downtown (Uptown, as they call it), and it certainly shows. The place has never looked better.

Last edited by atlantaguy; Sep 8, 2013 at 12:55 AM.
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  #17  
Old Posted Sep 8, 2013, 12:45 AM
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Originally Posted by ChiTownCity View Post
Thanks. I meant "very limited" by how much ground I was able to cover. There was a few spots in the downtown area that I wanted to photograph but didn't get a chance to because of the weather and my schedule. Plus I wasn't able to see what any of Charlotte's residential neighborhoods looked like aside from what was on the tract between downtown and our hotel. And on top of that, even though I had plenty to eat while I was there, I didn't have a tripod with me so I wasn't able to get any food shots from the low-lit restaurants we visited.

With all of that in mind I do think that what I was able to get was very limited. But I'm glad you enjoyed it nonetheless!
This is a great thread, ChiTownCity. You captured "Uptown" (they don't call it Downtown) beautifully.

On your next visit, check out Dilworth if you get a chance. It's a beautiful streetcar neighborhood shockingly close to the core.

http://www.dilworthonline.org/
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  #18  
Old Posted Sep 12, 2013, 2:04 PM
ToddA ToddA is offline
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Really nice pictures. I'm curious as to how you achieved the "sun-drenched" look and crispness.

As for Charlotte. It always amazes me how much it has grown over the last 10-15 years. It has a much more urban look and feel than I would expect.
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  #19  
Old Posted Sep 15, 2013, 12:51 AM
ChiTownCity ChiTownCity is offline
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Originally Posted by atlantaguy View Post
This is a great thread, ChiTownCity. You captured "Uptown" (they don't call it Downtown) beautifully.

On your next visit, check out Dilworth if you get a chance. It's a beautiful streetcar neighborhood shockingly close to the core.

http://www.dilworthonline.org/
It looks really nice. Thanks for the info! Reminds me of some of Chicago's old streetcar burbs, but with narrower streets and hills. I would've loved to check this area out when I was there. Not sure when the next time will be, unfortunately.

Looking it up on the map shows it wasn't too far from my hotel. We were on Tryon street and this hood wasn't too far east of that ... opportunity missed. The furthest east we went was to South Boulevard and then south for about 5 miles before doing a 180 and heading into Uptown.
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  #20  
Old Posted Sep 15, 2013, 12:54 AM
ChiTownCity ChiTownCity is offline
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Really nice pictures. I'm curious as to how you achieved the "sun-drenched" look and crispness.
Thank you and I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I understand what you mean by a "sun-drenched" look. Can you quote which ever one you're referencing? In any case I use Lightroom for all of my post processing .
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