These big trees heavy with Spanish Moss are one of the first sights that greet us as we enter the open marsh areas we like to photograph. With luck we have company like this, a sign there’s at least a little activity there.
ACE Basin, Donnelley, South Carolina.
I waited for this juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron to lift his head. Even though I was braced on a tree the angle was awkward, I’m out of practice holding a lens up for any amount of time. Finally he won, I grabbed a shot and moved on. It was a pretty long distance so I didn’t think it would be much anyway.
Turns out he was looking across the water the whole time.
Best viewed large.
Late morning scene of a large marsh, ACE Basin, South Carolina.
Best viewed large.
The only thing missing is an Alligator 😆.
In the style of Felix Bonfils, (1831–1885).
I photographed this simple headstone, surrounded by hand made brick, the other day. There was not much information except for the date 1860. There was little to the image but I liked the scene for that reason. An unknown person buried here in 1860 just makes for an interesting image and story (to me).
I wanted to finish the photo in an old style. The date 1860 is how I described a film filter I have saved in DxO Filmpack a while back. That was the connection for this photograph…and long story 😂😂.
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One of the early photographers, Felix Bonfils, began commercial photography in 1860 at the Levant in Lebanon for the French Army. Later opening Maison Bonfils photography studio in Ottoman Syria, now Lebanon.
Bonfils became the name and style in photo history known for the thousands of detailed albumen prints, stereoscopic views, and architecture and landscape photographs across Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Greece, and Turkey. Below is one of the styles described as a Bonfils photo. I use this film simulation often when I want old looking photographs.
Specs; OM-1 (1), OM 100-400 II, Lightroom, DxO Filmpack.
The combination of the OM-1 (1) and OM 100-400 II is not something I would usually use for this image however I ran a Firmware Update on both and wanted to test the results. All worked fine, in spite of me (another long story)
The local dragons remain active, and we still spot tiny hatchlings once in a while.
We let any fallen leaves pile up where the wind blows them. Old plants are piled in a corner of the back fence. Little things like that give the Anole places to live and dig down to survive the cooler winter weather.
Oh, we never bring in the big pots from outside. Anole are sneaky critters, find one in the house and it becomes a great adventure.
Even as they fade away I find the nightly Moon Flowers beautiful. Each one is a little different.
I think of all the flowers we have had these are by far the most photogenic.
Specs; OM-1 (1), OM 12-100, Godox Ti32 flash, Lightroom, DxO Color Efex, DxO Silver Efex.
Like many good street photographers Keith Goldstein, click here ’For Earth Below’, has a theme/project that he follows during his street shoots. Being in NYC he picked the ever present orange traffic cone. An invisible item in plain sight it’s amazing how many places and uses the cones can be found.
Yesterday we wandered around the old cemeteries and I stopped by baby Rosalie. The grave site is one of the last 1800’s plaster face casts surviving. Making a plaster cast of a deceased relative was a practice for a while. Below is her actual face in the head stone designed like an old baby carriage.
For years the tradition of leaving a small gift for a deceased child has been going strong on this rural grave site. It’s probably out of hand now, tourists come to cemeteries around here on ‘Ghost Walks’. I suspect they are leaving gifts.
One of the recent gifts were a few small figurines and… the ever present (miniature) orange traffic cone.
Seeing the cone I immediately thought of the web site ‘For Earth Below and Keith.
The grave of baby Rosalie Raymond, Charleston, South Carolina.
Mid morning is the start of their day in the fall. You can look along the edge of the reeds and cane and see nothing, look back a short while later and the locals are lined up getting sun.
Below on the left, that’s ‘Snaggle Tooth’. Look close and you will see why.
After a while you actually can recognize some of them.
When winter comes they will dig a hole back in grass and hunker down until a sunny day draws them. Then it looks like this again.
Specs; OM-1 mk2, OM 100-400, Lightroom.
