Adventures with Mum

Right now my Mum is struggling in a hospital thousands of miles away.  It's hard to accept that age catches up with you with all its misery.  The body doesn't want to cooperate anymore in many ways yet the spirit doesn't age.  Such a profound conundrum and one that requires such wisdom and compassion.  I wish I was able to be there, but failing that, I'm so glad that I was with her just a couple of short weeks ago.  As an example of that irrespressible spirit, here are some images of her at age 87 joining me on a helicopter flight over the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa.  She was feeling pretty poorly at the time, but that didn't stop her.  Mum, you are amazing!

McLeod Plantation Oaks in the Fog

This morning when I woke and saw the fog thick outside my window, I took the opportunity to scoot down to McLeod Plantation to take a few moody shots.  I have photographed McLeod over the years, indeed it is one of my very special personal places, and I knew this morning would be perfect.  Not many folks would come crowding early in this weather and I supposed (correctly) that I would probably have the place to myself.  I am still going to edit some of these further to give them a different, arty look, but here are a couple pretty much straight out of the camera.

Merry Christmas from Charleston, SC

Wishing all a very Merry Christmas. May the spirit of Christmas remain with us throughout the year. "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests".  Luke 2:14  This was Christmas Eve on Folly Beach this morning.  Gotta love Charleston!

Durban's Beautiful Coastline

I'm back Stateside (at least my body is - my head is still in some time zone between here and there) and before I left I took an hour or so to walk along some of the most beautiful coastline on the planet.  Durban has some wonderful promenades that stretch for miles along the beach. They are paved and smooth and perfect for wheelchairs, strollers, joggers, bikes, skateboards, etc.  I was out early in the morning and there were all kinds of folks out there enjoying just being there. Afterwards I passed by the Umgeni River mouth on my way back and spotted these white pelicans hanging out on a sand bar at low tide. Goodbye South Africa until next time ....

Wildlife and Landscapes of Tala Game Reserve

We spent some time in the Tala Private Game Reserve in the midlands region of Kwazulu Natal.  No time on this trip to venture deep into the remote African bush, but this had to satisfy for the moment.  A beautiful pocket of over 3,000 hectares stocked with a diverse spread of bird and animal species, surrounded by farms and not too far from civilization.  Here are some images from that visit.

Back in Africa ...

I've been off the grid for a few days, necessitated by lack of wireless communication and my travel schedule.  I am visiting my hometown of Durban in South Africa and spending time with my mom.  We recently took a road trip (one of my favorite things to do) in the Kwazulu Natal Midlands.  We stayed at a guesthouse on the Enaleni Farm, self-described as a mixed agro-ecological farm, celebrating diversity. Diversity is an understatement.  It is an animal heaven where sheep, cattle, turkeys, poultry, rabbits, donkeys, peacocks, geese, pigs, and others happily range free just the way it used to be on a farm. Here are a couple of examples ...

It's Portrait Season

There's something about the impending close of a year and the looking ahead to the next that gets many families wanting to capture a moment in time.  Portraits are a great way to do that, especially because kids change so fast, not only physically but their personalities are developing and evolving too.  This is one of my favorite families and it was my privilege to capture these images for them recently. There's also something about a black and white rendition that removes distractions and helps to draw the eye to the main subject matter.

New Aerial Images of Charleston

Back from my travels and back into my hometown routine.  After the cool front moved through Charleston on Thursday last week, it dropped the humidity and made for perfectly clear conditions for great aerial photography.  We buzzed all the way up the coast as far as Bulls Bay and back again.  Here are a few of the 800+ images I took on Friday evening.  It will take me weeks to thoroughly sort through them, but there's no rush ...

Day 6 Fall in Tennessee

These images were taken in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, one of my all time favorite places. Tomorrow I will make my way home to Charleston and my real life, but it's been a wonderful week away.

Day 5 Fall in Tennessee

Day 4 Fall in Tennessee

This is not going to be a long schpiel because I am very tired after an early start and a late finish.  Furthermore tomorrow is a 6am start so I will let the images speak for me.  All taken in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park today.

Day 3 Fall in Tennessee

This morning I left my very comfortable Hampton Inn in Murphy, NC and headed Northwest to Townsend, a little town that serves as a non-commercialized gateway to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. This as opposed to the towns of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and others that are to be avoided at all costs during the peak fall season.  It was raining and stormy as I drove the Foothills Parkway and still pretty foggy and wet in Cades Cove, but it cleared up nicely during the afternoon and it was nice to have some weather variations for my photography.