Pretty Place BUT Keep Your Eyes Open 5"13

I  was walking along this Bull Island road just after sunrise  taking photos of the fresh water pond on the west of the road,  when I saw this  9 foot +  alligator submerging into the pond.  The driver of our transport vehicle was  wandering  along the edge of the pond farther  off of  the east side of the road. Alligators don't normally come out of the middle of a  pond to chase you, so I wasn't worried.

  On the ride back to the boat, the whole group spotted another monstrous  alligator crossing the road from east to west. It was moving too fast for any of us to get a photo, but when it's snout reached the west side of the road , it's tail was still hanging over the eastern bank.  It's a wonder both the driver and I didn't wind up being a breakfast snack.

Trip to Bull ISland, SC 5 '13

 Wednesday saw Bruce and I getting up at 2 am to join a photo shoot on Bull Island, SC sponsored by the Seacoast Artists Guild.    Fifteen members of the Guild  met at Pawleys Island to car caravan to  Garris Landing.

 

 From there we picked up a ferry which would take us both ways

to  and from  the leeward  landing on Bulls Island .

 From there we all piled in an open air truck which transported across the island

 

From there we all piled in an open air truck which transported across the island  to Boneyard Beach on the Atlantic coast in time to see the sunrise

to Boneyard Beach on the Atlantic coast in time to see the sunrise.

 Ostensibly photographing the sunrise was the main purpose of the trip. 

 

 Not too surprisingly most of the participants, including my husband Bruce,  were photographers; only a couple of us were painters by avocation. I'm sure many of the images caught by the camera folk will be much better quality photographs than mine

but I am happy with my results. What my pictures may lack for in photographic skills, they more than made up for as reference material for future paintings

 Part of the 62,000-acre Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge,the secluded beaches of Bulls Island, South Carolina

 

 has something for everyone including photographers, a painters  

 history buffs, 

 

 nature lovers 

or those who just want to get away for a day of exploring.  All too soon we had to return to the mainland.

  Goodby Bull Island.  We'll miss you.

Magnolia Gardens Photo Shoot 4'13

  The Charleston Artist Guild is collaborating with Magnolia Plantation on a  exhibition of paintings of Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.  Even though the exhibition won't happen until next Fall, I though it wise to visit the plantation  to start scouting out painting locations and to collect some additional reference photos .

 

Bruce volunteered to come along as chauffeur and part time equipment caddy.  ( He is incredibly patient about pulling off the highway for me to take a photo of something I've spotted along the road, and very helpful in holding my purse and camera so I have both hands free to do a quick sketch).

The fact is I enjoy his company and he is a good photographer in his own right..

 

 He introduces  interesting and different perspectives often pointing out  subjects I would have overlooked had he not been along.  e.g. it was his idea to visit the plantation's  slave village where I got this and several other  interesting photos

It is a good thing we went when we did.  Most of the camellias were already spent, and this years rains had knock off many of the azalea blossoms.  Still we did get  some very good classic shots of the grounds in bloom taken this one taken near the Administration Center Pond.

 I  have numerous reference photos of Magnolia Plantation from visits made in the Fall and early Spring but   the  none were in quite the same weather conditions.   Today was very gray and overcast, giving an entirely different look and feel to the grounds..

.. some spots were almost ethereal and others very stark compared to the exuberant photos I had taken of the same scenes  bursting with color in fall and early spring of previous years. ( see 11/20/10  "Magnolia Plantation and Gardens Photo Shoot 11 '10")

We both got some really beautiful photos.

Brian Koury at CAG 4 '13

Charleston Artist Guild's Featured Artist for April is Brian Francis Koury.

Despite rainy weather, an art exhibition by the master of photography, Brian Koury,
 is drawing in hundreds of art lovers to the 'CAG' Gallery at 160 E. Bay St, Charleston SC

Brian's Photography is eye-catching and revealing.  It challenges the viewer to pause and explore beyond the realm of color into shades of gray from the deepest blacks to the brightest whites.  His bold use of black and white  with  an occasional highlight of  a single vivid color encourages us  to look deeper at the form and rhythm of the world around us.

You can see more of Brian's Beautiful work at:

http://www.briankouryphotography.com/