Happy New Year!

So how did 2015 work out for you?  I hope it was a good one, and that you accomplished most of the goals you set for yourself.  The best way to put it all in perspective for me is to count my blessings.  I have a home, unlike many global refugees; I haven't lost a loved one to tragedy, unlike the many families who have been affected by terrorism, and I have not gone hungry - far from it.  I do not live with pain and am not lonely. When I add all those up, I realize that I have no cause for complaint.  My top three resolutions for 2016 are to lose that 10 pounds (I think that was a goal for 2015 ...), spend more time helping others, and spend more time practicing hearing from God.

I have been working with adding textures to images. Here are a couple that I like.  The originals were taken at Botany Bay and Hunting Island State Park.

This Christmas in Charleston

The weather across the world has been highly unusual of late.  Floods in North England, droughts in Africa, blizzards and terrible tornadoes in the US Midwest, and beach weather in Charleston - not just for a day, or a weekend, but for weeks! Here are a couple of pics from Folly Beach yesterday evening.

Merry Christmas 2015

"The Reason for the Season" has  become such a cliche, but it's still funny how people just seem to be a little more tolerant around Christmas time, a little more friendly, a little less impatient (except in the traffic around the malls perhaps).  There a probably a plethora of reasons for that, diverse as the people they represent, but I think for many (at least for me), it is the reminder that we have been given so much and it is an outflow of gratitude.  God gave the very best He had for us, so let's pay it forward. Merry Christmas!

Ruins Plantation, Sumter SC

As part of my involvement with the Slave Dwelling Project (slavedwellingproject.org) I visited Ruins Plantation in Sumter recently to document what is believed was once a slave cabin.  The owners were very gracious and were happy for me to photograph the main house and grounds.  It was beautifully decorated for Christmas.  Here are a couple of the images.

Car Camping in Hunting Island State Park

This was an experiment.  I chose Hunting Island not only because it is a beautiful part of South Carolina, but also because if car camping became intolerable at any point, I was only an hour and half drive away from home.  As it was, I had a site reserved for two nights (the minimum required) and was very happy to drive home to my own bed for the second night.  It was fun in a limited way, but there is just not enough space in the back of a SUV for food, clothing, camping equipment, photography equipment, and me.  Cons were the mosquitos and bugs that chased me into my car prematurely at dusk, and pros were finally finding a use for my moonroof and being able to walk straight on to the beach at dawn.  I stopped in at the St. Helena Parish Chapel of Ease ruins, and the old store in Seabrook on my way home.  All in all, another interesting adventure to add to my collection.