Category Archives: Black and White

Camp Revival Meet, Monochrome Sepia

These photographs are from the Cypress Methodist Campgrounds in South Carolina. Yearly revival meetings have been held here since 1794, I don’t think a year has ever been missed. That means earthquakes, pandemics, and even civil war has not been enough to cancel the meetings.

Circuit Riders (ministers / preachers) made the rounds in the beginning however tents ultimately were replaced by cabins and a local Methodist Church administered to the parish.

Camp Revival Meet, Monochrome Sepia
Camp Revival Meet, Monochrome Sepia
Camp Revival Meet, Monochrome Sepia
Camp Revival Meet, Monochrome Sepia

There are 5 – 6 different campgrounds around South Carolina though we have only been able to reach 3 so far.

Outside parts of rural America few people know of their existence. I’ve talk to many and they had never heard of them. Searching on line I have sites mentioned in other areas, even New York State.

Camp Revival Meet, Monochrome Sepia
Camp Revival Meet, Monochrome Sepia

The cabins, still called tents, are family owned and passed down through generations. This is private property however we have been fortunate enough to have visited inside tents, it’s a snap shot of a time long gone.

From the photo above you can see there’s no water, there are privies for each tent. Electricity has been run to tents.

Camp Revival Meet, Monochrome Sepia
Camp Revival Meet, Monochrome Sepia

To view additional Campgrounds select ‘Camp’ from the list of tags on the web site, or just search on ‘Camp’. If I were ever to create a documentary photobook this would be the subject.

Cypress Methodist Campground, South Carolina.

It’s In The Details, Cemetery Walk

I’ve come to discover cemetery ironwork and stone carving in the 1800’s is an incredible art form. Unfortunately early on I missed this shooting in cemeteries. At first I visited early New England grave yards and created mostly wide landscapes.

Now I try to pay more attention to the close details. Black and  White always was my choice but now a zoom lens with more options is typically mounted on my camera. My Tamron 18-400 covers anything I can think of for these scenes. A ‘Jack of all trades’ approach is a good option for me here.

Below are a few random photographs that have been waiting to be published. (Or as my mother would have said ‘save it for good’.)

It’s In The Details, Cemetery Walk
It’s In The Details, Cemetery Walk

This statue of an angel leaning on a tree was hidden away in an old family plot covered in Palms and shrubs. I thought the statue was great and the first shots had plenty of light. I shot way too many images, and it turns out the best was after the light went away.

It’s In The Details, Cemetery Walk
It’s In The Details, Cemetery Walk

Iron work, wrought iron blacksmithing, from the Lowcountry is displayed all through cemeteries and streets of Charleston and Savannah, as well as the Smithsonian Museums. The Charleston International Airport even has an old Gazebo once created by Phillip Simmons in the entrance. There are walking tours around town dedicated to his iron fences still standing around the historic homes.

It’s In The Details, Cemetery Walk
It’s In The Details, Cemetery Walk

‘4 Years, 8 Months, 4 Days’. The small grave stones outline the child’s burial plot above. Photographs like this is why I use a zoom. Many times you just can’t get an angle telling the story any other way.

It’s In The Details, Cemetery Walk
It’s In The Details, Cemetery Walk

Last here is about the stones on the stone. It’s common to find stones, coins, and other small items are grave sites. Here small rocks were placed on top as a sign of respect. Another less well known reason for the stones goes back to an old Jewish custom of placing rocks to protect the soul of the deceased.

This is a little longer than my usual Found On A Walk articles but it’s a nice morning on the back porch. The pink Crepe Myrtle are hanging low damp with dew, locals up eating the backyard, and it’s still under 90 with less than 95% humidity.

St. Helena Chapel, Fripp Family Vault, Fripps Island Plantation

In the past I have photographed most of the South Carolina small Chapels of Ease. However when new images come to the top I can’t resist the history and stories of the Lowcountry, especially when in the ACE Basin.

The chapel below was finally ruined in a large forest fire that swept this barrier island in 1886. Wars and time had already taken a toll though. It has managed to survive in this because it was built from ‘tabby’. This is an old Native American, and Spanish colonist method. When lime, sand and crushed sea shells are combined with water a substance as hard as todays concrete can be made.

St. Helena Chapel, Fripp Family Vault, Fripps Island Plantation
St. Helena Chapel, Fripp Family Vault, Fripps Island Plantation

The chapel was built in 1740 for the local plantation owners under the supervision of the St. Helena Anglican Church in Beaufort for parishioners that were far from the main church. There were many chapels across South Carolina. Two barrier islands, Fripp’s and St Helena were served here.

St. Helena Chapel, Fripp Family Vault, Fripps Island Plantation
St. Helena Chapel, Fripp Family Vault, Fripps Island Plantation

Above is the Fripp family mausoleum, damaged by Federal troops during the US Civil War. The Fripp family owned plantation across the region. Dating back to the mid 1700’s. John Fripp the first settler was a privateer attacking French and Spanish ships along the barrier islands.

The chapel and plantations were abandoned when the news was brought to a Sunday service here of the approaching Union Army.

The plantations enslaved West Africans were left behind. This was one of the first Gullah communities of African Americans.

St. Helena Chapel, Fripp Family Vault, Fripps Island Plantation
St. Helena Chapel, Fripp Family Vault, Fripps Island Plantation
St. Helena Chapel, Fripp Family Vault, Fripps Island Plantation
St. Helena Chapel, Fripp Family Vault, Fripps Island Plantation

Today Fripp’s Island and St Helena Island have taken very different directions.

Fripp’s is known for resorts, golf courses, beaches, and vacation homes.

St. Helena, across the salt marshes, is still rural and protected by a ‘Cultural Protection Overlay’, supported by local and federal governments. The Gullah Geechee community and lands remain intact.

Click here for additional information on the Gullah community.