Full Force Folly

Along with many others, we went down to the Washout at Folly Beach yesterday evening. The atmosphere alone was worth the trip.
People were excited, exhilarated, over-awed, just blown away by the display of nature's raw power in the surf.
Surfers were out there, a few, and even fewer attempted to ride a couple of waves, but most aborted the ride prematurely after a few seconds, and the ones that didn't had the decision made for them!
Wow - it was an experience. We had the fun part of Hurricane Irene - others right now are dealing with the frightening part.

Wheeeeeee.... Hello Irene!

These were taken this evening down at Folly Beach where a few brave (or foolish) young bucks were taking on the big ones. Tomorrow the swells are supposed to be 9ft+ but the weather will probably be nasty, so I figured I would take a look this evening. Again, that 400mm lens comes in handy.

Great Egret

This is another of my recent favorites. When people ask me what my favorite image is, the answer is invariably one from my latest shoot. I'm sure that is because it's new and fresh, not because it's necessarily a "better" image than my previous favorites. I'm watching the Folly Beach surf reports and they're predicting huge swells tomorrow, so look for some surfing action images over the weekend - maybe - if the plan comes together.

Birds

I never was very interested in shooting birds, but that was because the longest lens I had was 200mm and birds are usually too far away to look impressive using that focal length. That all changed with the addition of my Sigma 120-400mm lens. I have discovered a whole new thing! However, the lens is a little slow and only able to capture sharp shots of birds in flight when it has a LOT of light to work with. These guys were not moving very fast this morning, so perfect "sitting ducks". Yes I know they're not ducks, they're Wood Storks.

Emerging family clown ...

OK, so my life pretty much revolves around my family, friends and my photography - I guess "we hold these truths to be self-evident." I am also extremely grateful for these, as well as my great job - especially in this economy. So in light of the family segment, here are a couple of recent pics of my grandson, Gideon at just over 10 months old. He's a character already.

Early morning on Highway 17S

This morning I made myself get out of bed at 5.30am and take a trip down Highway 17 South, one of my favorite photo haunts. I met up with a photog buddy along the way, and we headed for Gardens Corner.When we were almost there, she realized that she had removed all the memory cards from her camera bag a week or so ago and so had no way of taking any pictures. Bummer. Her camera uses different cards to mine, so I couldn't help.Anyway, here are a couple of mine. She'll remember next time ...

Southern tip of Kiawah Island

I don't know what possessed me to finish off my weekend by walking down Beachwalker County Park in 100 degree heat, carrying my camera equipment, but I guess there's always the possibility of nailing that ultimate shot. Alas, that was not to be, but I lost a few pounds of water weight and got some much needed exercise. There weren't even many birds around - it was too hot even for them I guess.

Can't beat Folly Beach

If you're looking for somewhere to take family portraits, it's hard to beat Folly Beach, particularly the Morris Island end of Folly Beach. There is so much material to use for backdrops and such diversity in the settings. Here are a couple of images from last night's shoot of Paul and Nicole's family.