This was an experiment.  I chose Hunting Island not only because it is a beautiful part of South Carolina, but also because if car camping became intolerable at any point, I was only an hour and half drive away from home.  As it was, I had a site reserved for two nights (the minimum required) and was very happy to drive home to my own bed for the second night.  It was fun in a limited way, but there is just not enough space in the back of a SUV for food, clothing, camping equipment, photography equipment, and me.  Cons were the mosquitos and bugs that chased me into my car prematurely at dusk, and pros were finally finding a use for my moonroof and being able to walk straight on to the beach at dawn.  I stopped in at the St. Helena Parish Chapel of Ease ruins, and the old store in Seabrook on my way home.  All in all, another interesting adventure to add to my collection.

I only heard today that Mr. Thomas Backman (aka Mr. Love) passed away four days ago on November 20th.  I don’t yet even know the details, but I know that Charleston and the Low Country has lost a treasure.  To me he represented all that was iconic about the South; the creeks, marshes, shrimping, oysters, the stories… Oh my, he loved to tell stories.  I only met him about five years ago, but he was patient and tolerant with me and my camera.  I wanted to take a new set of portraits of him on his trawler, but he didn’t like posing so he would wave me off on that subject, and launch into another story about how it was on the island back in the day.  He was always tinkering with something on his boat, getting it ready to get back to working the seas again.  I know he was loved and respected by all and that he will be sorely missed by many.  To his family and his community I extend my sincere condolences.  He was a man of faith, so I know it is not goodbye, but you have dipped beneath my horizon for the moment.  Your boat slipped its moorings and you are home.  This photo was taken on his dock in May of 2011.

This evening we did a shoot with Tour Charleston, LLC, a local tour company that specializes in Charleston ghost tours.  They have exclusive access to the Unitarian Church cemetery after the gates have been closed to the public and this evening we took some photos for marketing purposes.  It was a lot of fun.  The only thing we agreed was missing as the time went by was some wine.  I wonder if anyone would think that a little weird, drinking wine in a creepy cemetery at night 🙂

I have photographed this little girl since we took her Mom’s maternity pics, and she is growing up fast.  She was a real trooper in this shoot and did everything that was asked of her with a big smile. What a sweet child.

Wow, this little trooper has come such a long way.  She was born needing multiple surgeries but she came through them all, and a sweeter, happier child you would be hard pressed to find.  We celebrated her third birthday yesterday and she had a blast.  We know God has big plans for her life – go Euphrates!!

I had been trying for the longest time to schedule a trip to capture some new aerial images.  I was trying to get ahead of Mother Nature and do it before the marsh grass turned brown, but I didn’t quite make it, thanks to weather related and other scheduling delays.  Saturday was hazy by the afternoon so it wasn’t one of my more successful shoots, but there were definitely a few keepers amongst the bunch.

I had the opportunity to photograph my favorite oak trees this afternoon.  They are on private property and so not very accessible, but I was given permission to be there and I hope these images go some way towards doing justice to the subject matter.

Well 800+ miles later I’m back home, always with heartfelt gratitude to my ever-vigilant guardian angels, as I wade through rivers, climb and wander along trails, usually alone and usually without a cell signal.  I am particularly grateful that I have repeatedly survived driving the I-26, especially through the Columbia portion, but that diatribe is for another time.  For the record, I believe that there will still be great color to be seen next weekend between elevations 2,000-3,000ft.

Fall is so brief and often very difficult to call.  Pundits will make predictions based on the rainfall and the elevation, etc. but nature has a way of doing as she pleases.  Many years I have been just too early or a little late, but this weekend the fall color is exploding in Maggie Valley, my base for a couple of days.  Just one thing messed things up – the dull and dreary weather.  Those drop dead gorgeous images you see in magazines happen either with a lot of luck, or a lot of planning and persistence.  Sometimes, as was the case this weekend, you need both. 

It’s hard not to notice, because Sweetgrasss is everywhere in Charleston, but it’s in flower at the moment and it’s beautiful.  I planted a Sweetgrass bed a few months ago, so I’ve been very gratified to watch as it daily explodes with purple hues.  As the sun was setting this evening I grabbed by camera and played with some compositions.  Funny how sometimes the neatest photo opps are right under your nose!