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It’s been too cold for anyone to smile with any sincerity outside, so I took some portrait shots of Diane in the studio today. Here are a couple that I liked.

Here are a couple of images from this authentic, uncommercialized plantation. One is of the stables and the other overlooks the rice fields. There are more images posted here on my photo website www.vanessak.com.

So a friend and I decided to leave the party animals in Charleston to do their thing on New Year’s eve, and we took a trip to explore and photograph the Georgetown area, overnighting in the most amazing plantation / guesthouse, Mansfield Plantation. We left early Friday morning to be on the Georgetown waterfront at sunrise, which is when I shot this image with the old steel mill as a backdrop. Will upload a couple from the plantation grounds later. Happy New Year!

Christmas seems the perfect time to update family portraits. Here are two portraits taken yesterday of visiting Maryland family. Good thing we found the time yesterday because today is miserable and snowing – in Charleston!

I set my alarm for 2.30am this morning to see the eclipse and it was worth getting up and getting cold for. It was a huge challenge to photograph and this is not good! Photographers will notice that the stars are streaked which happens when your exposure is longer than a couple of seconds. Everything is in motion so the image is not sharp. This was 8 seconds at 400 ISO with a 200mm lens using a 1×1.4 converter – the trade-off when you don’t have a $2,500 camera and fast 500mm lens(yet!). Anyway, lousy image aside, it was wonderful to see.

A great photography mentor and all-round great guy Don Gale died today. He lost his battle with cancer in the early hours of the morning. His houseboat workshop on Lake Powell, AZ about 7 years ago was the first one I ever attended, and so began my passion for landscape photography. I subsequently attended his workshops in Yosemite, Sedona, Zion, New England, Cades Cove and probably a couple more that I can’t remember right now. He taught me a lot, always with great humor, encouragement and patience. He had many friends and will be sorely missed. My thoughts and prayers are with his family tonight. This short slideshow features Don and a whole bunch of fun characters that he introduced me to along the way. For a better resolution version of the slideshow, I posted one on my photo website here: www.vanessak.com

(To the tune of “It’s a most Wonderful time of the Year”)

It’s a most challenging time of the year
All the pipes they are bursting
and drivers all cursing
devoid of good cheer
It’s a most challenging time of the year

It’s the wack-wackiest season of all
With way too much eating
and diets a-cheating
My jeans are too small…..
It’s the wack-wackiest season of all

Bridge
There’ll be houses and backyards
with such little regards
for proper and tasteful decor
With brightly lit planters
and bloated fat Santas
and garish big reindeers and more …

It’s a most penniless time of the year
All the gifts we’re a-buying
My checkbook is sighing
But why should we care?
We’ll just make a whole bunch more next year.