Ethan and Sansanee’s wedding was awesome and I will post a few pics soon. I haven’t had time to do any sorting or editing because I have been working my way steadily down the entire Blue Ridge Parkway and making the most of all available light, which entails very early rising and falling asleep exhausted. Last night I stayed at the Woodberry Inn at Meadows of Dan in Virginia, and tonight (my last night away) I am staying at The Homestead Inn in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Early tomorrow morning I will start the final home stretch for Charleston. In the meantime, here are a couple more scenes from the journey before I head out for the last time today to catch the evening light.Sunrise near the Saddle/Rocky Knob outlook this morningMeem’s Covered Bridge just of 11S near Mount Jackson in VirginiaWildflowers growing by the side of the roadHistoric Trails cabin at Smart View (MP153 approx.)

I have a wedding to attend in Winchester, Virginia this weekend, so thought I would use the opportunity to explore the northern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Today was a driving day, and not ideal for photography, but I did take a couple along the way. Hopefully I will discover some gems over the next few days …Raven’s Roost Overlook, MP11Fence and wildflowers along the roadsideOld logging train tracks at Yankee Horse Ridge, MP34View of field from James River Bridge, MP64

What Thomas doesn’t know about the places and people in the Sol Legare area probably isn’t worth knowing. He graciously posed for a couple of portraits on his dock. It was high tide at sunset with a light breeze blowing. An iconic southern scene.

This weekend I visited Mansfield Plantation near Georgetown, SC, again in my quest to put together a “Spirit of the Lowcountry” image collection. It is a magical place. The owners welcome pets too, so Logan goes with me and has a ball exploring the vast and varied terrain; cypress swamp, forest, rice fields, etc. This was a very specific planned capture that actually worked out. Sometimes the premeditated shots are the most impossible to realize, because all the contributing factors don’t always come together as planned.

This spot is one of Charleston’s, if not the Lowcountry’s gems. I return again and again to photograph it. It epitomizes the “Spirit of the Lowcountry” and I am looking for the best way to capture it for my upcoming exhibition, at the right time of day, when the tide is high etc. Last night I went by to check it out and narrow down my options. This was taken at last light.

I shot a wedding on Sunday afternoon at the historic St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in the old village of Mt. Pleasant. Couldn’t resist posting this image of the flower girl – she was so obliging, smiled for all the photos, cute as a button.

This afternoon, Bubba’s family threw him a 60th birthday party, and even though I’m sure he’d been looking under every rock for weeks for clues that something was up, I think he was genuinely surprised. No one I know enjoys birthday parties quite as much as Bubba does. Happy Birthday big guy!

My good friend Cosmo and I rode bikes down to the town of Folly Beach, ate great Tuna BLTs at Ritas and then walked down the pier where they were having one of their regular “shaggin’ on the pier” events. Lots of fun and we got to work off our dinners riding home again.

This weekend saw graduations, sailing regattas, and many other activities in Charleston. It’s almost as though the lowcountry folks are trying to get everything done before the Summer heat sets in. Good idea. I spent some time on Saturday evening photographing Daniel and Keller and wandering around historic downtown Charleston. Here are a couple of the images.
And then of course, there’s my favorite little person, Gideon

This evening we cruised up the Stono, under the Limehouse Bridge, under the old rail bridge (below), under Hwy.17 South and into the creeks lined with skeleton trees. The light was flat and not conducive to great photography but it was an enjoyable evening.