shrimp trawler

Sol Legare Island

The Sol Legare and Kings Flats area has an incredible history. “During the Civil War, the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was one of the first sanctioned African American regiments in the Union Army. The 54^th fought on this narrow strip of land in 1863 during the Battle of Sol Legare. While fighting to free enslaved Americans during this battle, the 54^th lost 14 men, with an additional 17 wounded and 12 missing. A mere two days later they went on to fight in the Battery Wagner battle (which you can see in the movie Glory starring Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman). In the late 1800s, newly freed enslaved Americans settled on Sol Legare to farm and fish. Many of its current residents are direct descendants of these original settlers.For more than 100 years, the Seashore Farmers’ Lodge on Sol Legare served as a community building for meetings, school, church and funerals.” (quoted from Rheosgear’s blog).

I have frequented this area over many years now. Back in the day, I would visit Thomas Backman at his seafood dock. He would usually be found working on his boat, Backman Enterprise, getting it ready to put back to sea. Sadly that never happened, since he passed away suddenly a few years back, and now the old shrimp trawler sits in mud most of the time, dreaming of better days. Here is a photo of him, taken back in 2011.

I went back down that way today, and took the following photo. Sadly his dock is now a jumbled mess of planks in the marsh, thanks to the battering of many storms and high tides. I guess some day this property will be sold and reimagined as a cluster of condos. Time marches on.

The best of the Lowcountry

Last Saturday morning has got to have been one of 2021’s photographic highlights. We had scheduled an early morning trip out on the water off Wadmalaw Island to photograph shore birds and shrimp trawler activity. This was nothing new, but rarely do conditions come together to offer the best weather, light winds, gentle tides, and great subject activity, the subjects being the birds and shrimp trawlers. It was hard to pick a few images to showcase here, because we came back with hundreds of keepers. The thrill of a successful morning more than makes up for the many early rises and time spent drifting on the water in less than perfect conditions, having spent hard earned cash for pitiful results. This is the challenge of photography. The outcome is never a given, but this was a treat. Thanks to photographer, naturalist, and boat captain extraordinaire Eric Horan. You can find information about his lowcountry tours here: https://horanphoto.com/lowcountry-photo-tours-adventures

Another Fine Georgia Weekend

Last weekend I spent in the Georgia mountains, and this weekend it was the Georgia coast. A friend invited me down to Jekyll Island and showed me all around this unique piece of coastal heaven. I had visited many years ago, but had come away disappointed, not knowing where I should have spent time and feeling that I had wasted it. This time was different and I was introduced to all the locals’ favorite beaches that the visitors either don’t know about, or are unwilling to walk far enough to reach. On the way back to Charleston, we stopped at Darien to check on the shrimp trawler fleet. Some remain, but not nearly as many as there were years ago.

Birds Eye View of Southport, NC

When I fly for aerial images in Charleston, I am spoiled with being able to shoot out of a helicopter, without doors, which affords the best and widest possible viewing area. When I travel to smaller towns, helicopters are rarely available (especially at an affordable rental rate) so I made do with the next best thing, a Cessna 172 high wing plane. This is a challenge because you are constantly trying to avoid including part of the wing strut in the image. Also I find the vibration more excessive, which results in a higher percentage of blurry images. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful evening, and I was satisfied with my final collection. Enjoy the views of the area around Southport, North Carolina, definitely an area to add to your travel bucket list.