The drive to Asheville, NC

Since I had most of the day to get to Asheville for the CNPA photo weekend, I decided to take the 176 through Holly Hill, etc. and pick up the I-26 again just before Columbia. There are some sections that are pretty, but for the most part it is a depressing stretch of road. So many abandoned stores, abandoned farm buildings, silos, etc. I guess the interstates have had this effect on many parts of America - previously thriving towns now sidelined and forgotten. I also made a detour near Tryon, NC to capture Pearson Falls, pictured here. Early start tomorrow. We leave for Cataloochee Valley at the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway at 4am. Time to hit the sack.

A new learning curve

For awhile I've been working on creating a home studio. I have probably spent more time than necessary re-inventing this wheel, and have often been frustated in between moving steadily forward. So this weekend I've been working with different lighting set-ups and using a vase of flowers because the endless takes require more patience than I would ask of my family and friends. I'm putting you on notice though - I will be calling you soon ...

Fun Day at Work

Our CEO turned 60 over the weekend, so to celebrate another BIG birthday, we ordered cake for everyone and had a surprise mid-morning ambush with candle blowing, happy birthday singing and silly string shooting activities.

Pam's 50th Birthday Fiesta

So we all know that Bubba's parties are the stuff legends are made of, so when Pam turned 50 we knew it would be a good one. We were not disappointed and the event was commemorated in grand style with genuine Mexican food, a great Mexican band, really good margaritas and lots of friends. I'll be posting more pics on my regular website as I sort through them, but here are a couple in the meantime. Happy Birthday Pam!

Wedding at White Point Gardens

Yesterday evening I was privileged to share in and document Ed and Kristal's wedding ceremony. They live in Charlotte, and wanted to get married, but didn't want a grand affair. So they came down to Charleston for the weekend (their favorite city) and got married in White Point Gardens with a bunch of students and random passers-by to witness the romantic event. Needless to say, everyone cheered when they were pronounced man and wife and it was very special.

The recently renovated Dock Street Theatre

This historic theatre has just been renovated in time for the 2010 Spoleto festival. Sealoflex had done some work on it and wanted pics for marketing purposes, so that was my early morning gig. I needed to photograph it when there were no cars parked outside and very few people about, so I was down there at about 6.45am. The light was close to perfect and I used my wide angle lens to capture some neat perspectives. This is one that I played with in Photoshop later. OK, it's a beautiful day and time to get back outside ...

Edisto's "Back to Nature" Weekend

The annual Edisto Island Open Land Trust's Fundraiser "Back to Nature Day" was held on Saturday at different locations all over Edisto Island. For the past three years I have volunteered my services to document the day's activities and so I scurry around between all the groups, documenting the event. From the bird-watching group, to the naturalists, to the shrimp boat adventure group to the fishing group, to the gardening group to the butterfly group ... Quite hectic and prone to misadventure and missed connections, but I enjoy it and it is for a very good cause. The image above is of Trinity Episcopal Church. I took it at about 8am before the nature events got underway, and the lower image is of Richard Porcher's naturalist group walking along Edingsville Beach.