I have photographed the onset of Spring at this location many times over the years, so this year I tried something a little different. There is a genre of photography called ICM (Intentional Camera Movement), which I have been playing with. It involves using longer shutter speeds and moving the camera intentionally while the shutter is open. It’s kinda hit and miss at the moment for me, but I’m enjoying the new challenge. Here are a few examples.
One has to time one’s visit to this location carefully, otherwise you run the risk of driving an hour South from Charleston, walking the trail to the ocean, only to find that a high tide has rendered it completely impossible to access the beach. I saw a low-tide opportunity during the late afternoon yesterday and decided to pay a visit. The weather had been unsettled and was overcast in Charleston, but at this time of year it is so changeable that it was worth a try. The beach is always wonderful, and I so enjoy just being there, but the air was hazy with smoke from the Canadian wildfires, and the colors were pretty dull, so I decided to convert the images to black and white. Here are a couple.
As quickly as spring burst upon the scene a week ago, so we watch it fade again. A few days ago, my calendar was clear for the afternoon, so I decided to take one more foray into the country for the season until next time. A friend and I drove from Charleston to visit the Cypress Wetlands in Port Royal, but were unimpressed. We were looking for spring landscapes and although there were many birds and alligators to admire, it was otherwise ho-hum. With a little help from Google, we found the Old House Plantation near Ridgeland (also known as the Daniel Heyward Plantation), birthplace and burial site of Thomas Heyward, Jr., one of SC’s four signatories of the Declaration of Independence. Nothing much is left of the original buildings except the family cemetery and surrounding brick wall. The house was destroyed by fire in 1865. The driveway and Avenue of Oaks are really beautiful although the azaleas had peaked already.
After we had wandered around for awhile, we headed for home via Tomotley Plantation and the Old Sheldon Ruins. The Sheldon Ruins have been further “ruined” (at least for photographers) by the addition of an ugly black fence that surrounds the remaining structure. One can understand why however, since some people just can’t seem to resist defacing these historic relics that we should be actively protecting.
Yes, we are choking on pollen and sneezing all day, but the upside of Spring in Charleston is the beauty all around us. These images are pretty typical of what we are seeing at every turn. Enjoy!
Winter can look bleak sometimes. Not much color anywhere. Seems almost as though everything and everyone is resting, waiting for Spring. So it seemed on my walk around the historic downtown residential part of Charleston the other evening. My images definitely needed a little editing help, so I played a bit with software and came up with these whimsical renditions of classic Charleston cameos.
It was a beautiful day and I didn’t have much that I had to do so I decided to do it at Middleton Place, one of my favorite low country plantation properties. I bought a very expensive lens (Sigma 135mm F1.8) that I was not sure that I wanted to keep. Running out of my return window time, I ran it through its paces in an effort to make a decision. I think I am going to keep it.
Sometimes things just don’t work out as planned. Such is the case with my English expedition. The plan was to meet my sister in Stanton, the Cotswolds, spend a couple of nights in this cosy B&B, and then continue on to her home in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Well, the entire family came down with COVID (again) so as my Google Maps app says, “re-routing, re-routing”. Missing Mandy, I nevertheless found old ruins to explore, traditional pubs in which to dine, country walks for exercise and also for photo opportunities. Here are a couple more of those Cotswold area photos. Next, instead of going to Wales, I am heading in the opposite direction to the Isle of Wight, where I have found a place to stay that is part of the Home Exchange program that I belong to. Currently I am on a train bound for Portsmouth Harbor, and I will get the hovercraft from there to the IOW Ryde ferry terminal. I don’t yet have the exact address of my destination in Ventnor, IOW. Just praying that info comes in by the time I get there!
It’s that time again. Halloween decorations are everywhere, thoughts are turning to Thanksgiving plans, and then before you know it, Christmas will be here. Some are getting organized ahead of the curve and getting their Christmas card photos done and dusted. Charleston has so many picturesque backdrops that’s it’s hard to choose a theme. This family chose historic downtown for personal and aesthetic reasons. It’s always amusing because everyone wants to have these memories later, but they don’t much enjoy having to endure their time in front of the camera. Kudos to these guys, especially the kids. They did great. If this is something you’ve been meaning to schedule, please contact me. It really is a relatively painless process and kids grow up fast 🙂
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.
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.
