Love Never Fails

I have nothing to add to all that has already been said about the recent massacre of nine innocent Christians inside the Mother Emmanuel AME Church last Wednesday evening. God sees and God cares.  Psalm 56:8 says "You keep track of all my sorrows.  You have collected all my tears in your bottle.  You have recorded each one in your book." God also says in Revelation 21:4 that there will be a day when "He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."  We believe that.  We believe that this time on earth is very temporary, but what we have to look forward to is eternal and sure.  

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.

Redcliffe Plantation, Beech Island, SC

Beech Island is an unlikely name for a town in upstate South Carolina far removed from the coast.  It is close to Aiken, and I had occasion to visit over the weekend in order to photograph Redcliffe Plantation.  I am helping the Slave Dwelling Project (http://slavedwellingproject.org/) (SDP) with their goal to document all existing slave dwellings in South Carolina and eventually beyond.  Redcliffe, a state park, has two intact slave cabins which will be structurally examined and photographed. The SDP has a grant from the SC state to facilitate this project, but much (like the photography) is being done on a pro bono basis.  It is a beautiful place in the middle of nowhere, and last weekend it was extremely HOT.  Here are a few images that give an idea of the scope of the property.

Kelly & Eric

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of photographing Kelly and Eric as they are getting ready to welcome a baby.  Kelly was a trooper since it was about 100 degrees at the time.  So was Eric, but he wasn't 8 months pregnant :)  After a quick look through, these are a couple of my favorites so far.

Babysitting equals Photo Opp

The other day I watched my 2 year old granddaughter for awhile while her mom did some shopping.  Knowing that she was on the way, and knowing that she has about a 2 minute attention span, I set up my studio ahead of time and checked the lights and positioning of the chair etc.  I also knew I needed "bait" - something to keep her occupied for those 2 minutes so I found some jellybeans in the pantry - just the ticket!  We had a fun morning exploring all kinds of things and playing with water outside, but this was the result of literally 1-1/2 minutes in the studio :)  She is just too cute.

Backman Enterprise Almost Ready

The shrimp trawler Backman Enterprise hasn't seen much action in the last couple of years but Mr. Thomas has been very busy getting her ready to get back to work.  I stopped by there this afternoon to see how they were doing and took these shots.  

Busy time for Purple Martins

A few years ago I developed an interested in America's largest swallow, the Purple Martin.  They arrive in North America from South America in the Spring, stake out their nesting areas (usually natural or fabricated gourds provided by people for the purpose) where they raise their young. Traditionally they have then gathered mostly on Bomb Island in Lake Murray before all flying South again for the winter, but for some unknown reason they changed their rendezvous area and went to Lake Monticello last year instead. Disappointed Lake Murray tour operators who profit from the birds' presence were at a loss to explain this departure from past behavior and hopefully they hadn't already spent their season's anticipated income.  We will have to wait and see where they go this year.  In the meantime, the young birds have not yet fledged.  Here are some images of feeding time - the most popular item on the menu seems to have been dragonfly :)

Activity in Charleston Harbor

I was in Charleston harbor this afternoon to photograph some of the birds that are nesting at Castle Pinckney and on Crab Bank just off Shem Creek.  It was a small window of sunshine and calm within a pattern of unsettled weather. The water is warm and full of food for birds, dolphin and fish.  What an abundance of wildlife there is out there.  It is our responsibility to protect it.

Oyster Catcher

Egret

Terns

Pelicans

Shrimp trawler, gulls, and dolphin

Sail boats off the Battery

Castle Pinckney