Category: News

Summer Family Portraits

This young family was visiting Charleston from North Carolina last week and wanted some portraits taken at the beach. The little girl was a real trooper and quick to oblige with all ideas and suggestions for activities. The baby was somewhat overwhelmed by my camera lens and sobbed inconsolably every time it was pointed in her direction. This called for some sneaky creativity on my part, but on the whole we managed to produce a series of images that they loved. I did add in one of the outtakes just for fun – there were quite a few!

Folly Beach Frolic

There is nothing more fun than to photograph kids at the beach. The Southwest end of Folly Beach is the perfect place to create natural, animated images as they run and play. They’re a lot of work to keep up with, but so much fun. I’m pretty sure this little munchkin slept well that night. I know I did!

Fun New Project

I have just begun a new project for clients who own an historic downtown Charleston home and whose passion it is to create window boxes that represent the four seasons. The idea is to photograph the window boxes for Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, and then to create a finished art collage of one canvas that includes a favorite image from each season. Here are a couple of images from the Spring collection.

Driving the False Bay Coastline

There is so much to do and see in and around Cape Town that it is hard to narrow your choices. I chose to spend yesterday following the coast of False Bay and stopping off at the various beaches and fishing villages along the way. Long before GPS was invented, the sailors of old returning from long sea voyages to the east confused this picturesque bay with the more famous Table Bay a bit further along the coast, thus giving False Bay its name.

False Bay is an huge C-shaped curve in the coastline to the southeast of Table Mountain. At its widest point it is a staggering 20 miles across the bay! The bay is littered with small villages and numerous long sandy beaches, some of which have managed to escape any form of urban development. One of my favorite spots and a place I have visited numerous times over the years is the fishing village of Kalk Bay. As they have since the early 1900’s, the brightly colored boats ply the clear waters daily, bringing in fresh fish that is sold at the harbor upon their return. Seals await the scraps and compete with the seagulls for the choice portions.

The picturesque railway line that connects all the little towns along the coast is an important commuter link with the city of Cape Town.

South Africa – land of beauty … and potholes

Upon arriving back in South Africa after being away for over a year, (courtesy of COVID19) I was constantly reminding myself to drive on the left hand side of the road. I came to the realization however, that in many parts of the vast Free State, it was a moot point. The general rule is that you drive on the side of the road that has the least potholes. More than once I was surprised by an oncoming car on my side of the road, but after a quick re-calculation, I realized that no, I had not reverted to the American way, this was the new South African way. Once I got the hang of it, I was weaving happily from side to side at top speed with the best of them.

Road Trip to SC Peach Country

Spring in the south is a wonderful thing. For refreshing the soul, try driving randomly through the area of Ridge Spring, Johnston, and Monetta in upstate South Carolina while the peach orchards are in full bloom. Every year I am compelled to take that run up Highway 78 from Charleston and every year I am so glad I did.

Pecan grove

St. Augustine Road Trip

View from the Ponce de Leon Bridge

On a whim, my road trip buddy and I decided to drive down to St. Augustine, Florida for a couple of days. An easy cruise down the I-95, and as we drove further south, we noticed that the onset of Spring became more evident in the greening up of trees and marshes. There is so much to do and see in this quaint and very historic town. Here are just a few of the places we visited in our short time there.

Formal Gardens at the Washington Oaks State Park
Tacky Souvenir pic with the Fake Alligator
Coquina Rocks and Seaweed at Marineland Beach

New Challenge for a New Year

Every so often I find I need to switch gears and focus on a new thing in order to keep growing and keep learning. I have decided to spend my “growing” energies in the pet portraiture genre. I do love animals, and so I will work on applying my “people portrait” expertise to producing portraits of pets. These are some that I have done in the past, but I also have ideas for different styles; quirkier, different, amusing. Stay tuned.