Beaufort SC, a Lowcountry Gem

I had some work to do in Edisto this morning, and afterwards I drove south to Beaufort, one of my all time favorite places.I really think I could live in Beaufort. It's big enough for me, and close enough to other places if you need other places. Anyway, here are two images from that visit. (Postscript: the image of the shrimp boats (the color version) was later selected for the 2012 Tide Tables, published annually by SCDHEC)

Same Moon, but over the Lowcountry Creeks

This was the scene at Sol Legare this evening as a full moon rose over the lowcountry marsh and creeks.

Sunset and Moonrise from Craggy Pinnacle

Fotofest 2011 is a great event, and there is so much to learn from great photographers such as Bill Lea, Kevin Adams, and Tony Sweet. After the morning sessions though, I was itching to get out into the cool mountain air, so I took the rest of the day off and headed for Craggy Pinnacle on the Blue Ridge Parkway, about 18 miles north of Asheville. I watched the sunset and an (almost) full moon rise. It was perfect.

Twin Tunnels, Black Mountain, NC

I saw this scene in a CNPA magazine awhile back and just had to find out where these tunnels were. The photographer was nice enough to share that info, and so I added the location to my list of places to go. Apparently 20 trains per day still use this line.

Back to the Mountains of North Carolina

I left Charleston at 3pm today, giving myself time to drive the +/- 4 hours to Hendersonville, NC before sunset. I wanted to photograph the view from Jump Off Rock. It took me a little over 3 hours so I arrived in plenty of time, but although the clouds were dramatic, there was no direct sunlight. This was about the best I could do.Tomorrow I will travel the backroads to Montreat where the FotoFest conference is being held over the weekend. Presentations by nationally recognized photographers are scheduled throughout the day but I can't imagine spending all day in class when it's a gorgeous day on the Blue Ridge Parkway ...

Great Egret's Breakfast

This is a series of images taken this morning. I was disappointed in the number of birds I found, but this guy was happy - he had the buffet all to himself!I know you're out there somewhere ...
Ha! Gotcha!
Chomp, Chomp ...
Down the hatch - Burp!

Another view of Charleston

This photo was taken from a bridge during rush hour traffic, and as a result the detail was a little blurred because the bridge was shaking. As a work-around, I changed it into a faux painting, but the conundrum is that mid-late afternoon is when the light is perfect for the aspect, and very rarely is there no traffic at that time - on any day of the week. I may get off one or two shots, but a series of shots for a panorama will be tricky. I need two volunteers to stop traffic in both directions, just for 5 minutes ...