More Images from Above

I don't have adequate words to describe how it feels to dance through the air on a cool early morning in the late summer and look down at this kind of beauty.  Here are a couple more images from my weekend trip with Charleston Helicopters (843-330-1325).  It's really not scary and so worth it - go on, try it.  

 Bird Key at the Stono Inlet between Kiawah and Folly Beach (a bird sanctuary)

 What's left of the Folly Beach County Park

 Shem Creek, Shem Creek Park, and Crab Bank

 The Charleston peninsula with the US Custom House and historic steeples

North Charleston as you follow the Cooper River north of the Ravenel Bridge

Morris Island Lighthouse .... again

There is something about this old lighthouse that is endearing to so many of us.  Maybe it's the fact that it has weathered so many storms and it still stands (with a little help from friends), weather-beaten and worn, and even listing a little to one side, but there.  This morning was glorious.  A little cool even at 8am when we took off to fly down to the southern tip of Folly, around Bird Key a couple of times, all the way up to Sullivan's Island, across Shem Creek, a couple of times over the downtown area, and back to the airport.  I took over 600 photographs in just under an hour and realized when we were almost back that my camera really is HEAVY!  Maybe I'm not as strong as I was :(  Anyway, here's one of the lighthouse, and you'll probably see more images from this trip over the next few days as I work through them all.

Cheating or Artistic License?

So if I head out to the beach to do some photography on a warm summer's evening, and (as often happens) the sky is a bland and boring blue, and the light everywhere is dead flat, do I turn around and go home, or shoot with some "upgrades" in mind?  Well, I've already burned the gas to get there, and I was looking forward to the exercise outside, and besides if every plan yielded winners, the thrill of the chase would soon fade.  Some photographers are purists and cannot enjoy an image unless it is presented in its unaltered state.  I say "phooey!  where is the creative fun and freedom in that?"  Unless you are deliberately misrepresenting your work, feel free to use all the tools at your disposal and take your image in any direction you choose.

 from nice, but boring to much more interesting ...

  from blah to "what the heck!"

Almost Folly time ..

It's almost my time of year for Folly.  It's too hot and crowded in the summer, but when the crowds have gone, and the breeze cools, it's time to exhale and just enjoy all that it offers in a more natural sense.  The sea oats are pretty at this time of year.

Giant Runaway Cow Recaptured on James Island

James Island - rural forever.  Fortunately after enjoying a romp down Harbor View Road, Buttercup came quietly and was reloaded onto her trailer without incident, aside from a few trampled lawns. The tub of ice cream proved irresistible bait.  Whew!

A Change of Pace

This is one of my favorites from Sarah's maternity shoot this afternoon.  A change of pace from Charleston's iconic landscapes, requiring a totally different mindset.

What remains of the Folly Beach County Park

I, like many others have fond memories of days spent out at the Folly Beach County Park.  A safe beach for the kids, showers to wash away the salt and all the other facilities that made beach-time more comfortable and convenient.  It's just another illustration of how, no matter how technically advanced we like to think we are, we are still no match for the elements.  I think that the CCPRC is a wonderful organization and they do a fabulous job of managing and protecting all the properties over which they have charge, so this is a sad loss. How about an appropriate park at the Northern end ... ?  Actually, scratch that idea. There are enough people down there as it is.

National Lighthouse Day

In honor of National Lighthouse Day, I thought I would post images of our two local lighthouses, Folly Beach and Sullivans Island.  According to the American Lighthouse Foundation, "It was on this day in 1789, that Congress approved an Act for the establishment and support of lighthouse, beacons, buoys and public piers. In Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the signing of the Act and the commissioning of the first Federal lighthouse, Congress passed a resolution which designated August 7, 1989 as National Lighthouse Day."