For the next week or so I will be checking two destinations off my travel bucket list; Monument Valley and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  I’m participating in a workshop with a small group of other photographers (really fun people) and the getting up early, hiking, carrying heavy equipment around is really tiring, but so worth it.  I love this red rock country – makes me want to keep breaking out into my happy dance, when I have the energy that is.  Here are a few from our first couple of shoots.

The annual James Island Christian Church womens’ retreat was held this weekend at Camp St. Christopher on Seabrook Island.  One of the optional activities that was offered was some time in “The Mud Pit”.  I had zero interest in actively participating, but I did tag along because I sensed a photo opp in the making. Sure enough my nose didn’t let me down.

Several family members have birthdays this month so it was decided to throw one party for all of them.  The formula was low key; just come, bring something to add to the food pot, and hang out.  I think the guys enjoyed this one the most. They rigged a slip ‘n slide from an old tarp they found in the garage, set up the sprinkler nearby, soaped everything down and the fun began.  Then of course there was the river …  This is all about the boys; big and small 🙂

There are still places in this day of advanced technology where you can still get very lost.  Google let me down big time (or maybe I should shift the blame to Verizon) because when they can’t find you, you can’t find anything.  I was happily following a road that dead-ended into a new highway that is being created somewhere west of Myrtle Beach.  Don’t ask me for more details because I have no idea where I was.  While Google remained obstinately silent, my on board nav system screeched every 15 seconds for me to do a legal u-turn, a futile option since it was directing me in “square circles”, not being in the loop concerning the new highway.  Suffice it to say that I probably drove more miles than I needed to (and burned more gas), but I am safely home with a determination to search out “downloadable maps”.  One plus for the interstates, better signage and cellphone coverage.

I know that sometimes you just have to get from A to B quickly, and so the obvious routing choice is the Interstate. Other times though, urgency is not such a priority and taking the roads less traveled is a great way to get a better appreciation for the history and beauty of our state.  So much more interesting than trees, bridges and eighteen-wheelers.

I was settling down for an uneventful evening when I got a text from a friend alerting me to the really interesting lighting outside.  Storms were in the area and I wasn’t sure it was safe for an inexperienced jet ski driver to be out there, but my radar app told me we were in the clear, so I grabbed my stuff and went for a short ride.  These images were from the Stono, Penny Creek, and the Wappoo Cut.

Perhaps it’s symptomatic of a midlife crisis, but I bought a jetski a few weeks ago to serve as my “water taxi”.  I tried a small jon boat awhile back which didn’t work out too well – couldn’t get the hang of it at all, but I love this jetski.  First of all I had to get comfortable just riding on it, but now I am learning to manoeuver it on and off the jetport and generally take care of it.  Today I learned another (expensive) lesson courtesy of the SCDNR – lifejackets are not optional accessories.   Anyway, it was a really pretty evening and the jetski served it’s purpose well.

I think I heard someone say this is the first blue moon in 3 years; the first time we have had two full moons in one month in 3 years, hence the expression meaning it doesn’t happen often.  It was busy down at Folly beach; folks fishing, photographing, walking, or generally enjoying a summer evening. These images were taken with my new “baby camera” the Sony RX10 II with a fixed 24-120mm lens. For walking in the heat or traveling, it is far more portable than my Nikon with multiple heavy lenses, so this was a test run for the Sony.  I think I’ll keep it 🙂

I had no commitments this weekend, so I decided to hit the road and photograph some more of our state; specifically the farms and rural areas of Pickens, Greenville and Anderson counties.  A friend (who is also a networking queen), put me in touch with some farmers and property owners who were amenable to me photographing on their land. Some of the images will probably show up on SCIWAY’s website, contributions to their “Picture Project”, but I traveled over 700 miles in 3 days and had a blast.

It may be as hot as hell in the summer here, and the bugs may be aggressive enough to carry you away, but it’s still inspiring to watch the sun rise at the Coastguard end of Folly Beach, with a view of the iconic Morris Island Lighthouse.  It’s even better to re-live the experience after a shower, sorting through the images while sitting at your air conditioned desk with a cup of java 🙂