If you live in Charleston, there are limited iterations of low country scenery to photograph within a day’s striking distance.  Mostly they are salt marshes, beaches, oak trees, plantations, and the like.  I had not been back to Botany Bay on Edisto Island for awhile, so on Saturday I decided I would re-visit one of my favorite haunts.  It is a treasure.  Here are some of my finds from Botany Bay Plantation, and along the way.

This was a fun family shoot to celebrate the arrival of baby David.  His parents and four sisters are thrilled of course, and all the exuberance and excitement made this a hectic but very rewarding session.  Congrats!

Some images of this Charleston asset taken fairly early in the morning during very unstable weather conditions, which made for the inclusion of wonderful clouds.

Sylvie took us to visit this beautiful castle in Maincy, about 10 miles away from her home.  Today we are heading off through the Loire River valley for a couple of days.  Life is so tough!

So for three years, I had participated in a secret plan to attend my friend Sylvie’s 60 birthday celebration in Fontainebleau, France.  Her brother organized everything, including a road trip which we will embark upon tomorrow, met me at Orly airport, and we just showed up at Sylvie’s house yesterday.  She was expecting her brother and his wife, but certainly not me.  Although we have known each other for almost 40 years, we had not seen each other for 15 years.  Needless to say, she was surprised.  Another mutual friend, also of about 40 years, joined us later that afternoon, having driven from Geneva for the reunion.  I will be posting pics over the next few days, but this is the first batch, taken in the quaint Castle town of Fontainbleau.

Feel free to tune out if Folly pictures become too ubiquitous on this blog, but it’s my favorite (and most convenient) walking and photographing destination.  Only a ten minute ride (except on weekends and other holidays), and always different.  This was after another rainstorm the other day.  The clouds cleared and everything looked fresh and new.  Love it!

The most fun during the summer is watching the kids swim in the river and jump off the dock.  Long, care-free days, ending in deep sleep from physical exhaustion.  We didn’t have enough adults today to supervise all the kids in the water, but Gideon got to swim, and the others will follow shortly I’m sure 🙂

A big change of scenery, courtesy of Aloft Aerial Photography based in Easton, Maryland.  While visiting family in the area, aerial photographer and pilot, Hunter Harrison took me for a spin in his Cessna Cardinal.  The weather could have been brighter, and we dodged some rain squalls, but it was beautiful nevertheless, and of course very different from what I’m used to photographing in the low country.  Thanks Hunter!

When the weather is dismal it is nice to think about evenings like this when it was perfect.