The Angel Oak

This is not an easy subject to photograph. Firstly, there are often many people wandering through your frame and understandably, they are in no hurry to move. Just when one bunch drifts off, another will arrive. Secondly, the best weather conditions would be even, overcast light - nothing too bright or dark. Also, the colors should be nicely saturated after it's been raining. With all this in mind, I took a drive there during a break in the weather this afternoon. I was surprised to find that there were quite a few people there, despite the miserable weather. It's amazing what an attraction this old tree is. Of course everyone has to be photographed standing underneath it too. The light was ok, but not ideal, and for some reason my wide angle lens was giving me a lot of flare. Anyway, you learn something from everything you do - if you know what's good for you - and I learned from the trip. Not quite sure what, but I know I did. Tomorrow I might head for a swamp - depending on the weather. I do love my weekends!

More shrimp boats

Yes, I know I have a shrimp boat fetish. Maybe I need to tag along for a day's shrimping to cure me of some of the romanticism of this subject. Anyway, until then, here's a couple more ..

Uneventful Sunday

Today was taken up with housekeeping issues, some cooking, some taxes, some laundry - rivetting stuff. Did take a little trip into the marsh to photograph the remains of this dock, and then caught a blue heron fishing in one of our ponds. Best I can do for today.

Christmas Pointsetta

A friend gives me a pointsetta every Christmas - it's become a tradition. Anyway, I'm not very good with plants as a rule. If they survive or (rarely) thrive, it is in spite of me. Anyway, it's almost February and this one is still looking so awesome that I decided to take it to the studio and practice some lighting techniques with it. Now it can die in peace - preserved digitally for posterity. Thanks Lee!

Another full moon sets over the Lowcountry

I have in my mind a vision of an image yet to be captured. It is of marsh and creeks with shrimp boats in the foreground and absolutely still water reflecting a setting full moon. There is already color in the sky, clouds tinged pink from a rising sun.... Well, if you don't show up, you will definitely never get it, so this morning I showed up even though the forecast was not encouraging. That's the fun of it - you just never know. This is not up to my vision, but I enjoyed being there. This photography thing is not an obsession. Is it?

Winter Weekend in North Carolina

I decided on Friday to go chase some snow over the weekend, so I made a reservation for one night at some nondescript (pet-friendly)Comfort Inn in Mars Hill, NC, packed some sandwiches, microwaveable dinner, food for the dog and headed north up the interstate early Saturday morning. The overall experience was mixed. I came away with a couple of images that I really like, but more detailed planning would definitely increase the odds of success (surprise!) Also Logan contracted some kind of bug, the details of which don't need to be shared in this forum, but suffice it to say that I didn't get much sleep last night. It also necessitated several additional inconvenient stops along the way. I did enjoy watching his confusion over the white stuff. He thought he could walk on top of it, and kept falling through - sometimes up to his ears!

Product Shoot for O2SI

Analytical and Environmental Standards company O2SI needed some updated product images for a new tradeshow booth, their website, etc., so this afternoon we photographed all shapes and sizes of bottles, metals, ampules, and other laboratory equipment.You really need to kick your creative juices up a few notches to make some of these widgets look pretty, but we had fun trying