Everybody loves wild horses, and I always wanted to photograph them. It took me years to do it, but finally we went to the Virginia barrier islands and found them.
These photographs were almost exactly a year ago. Moving hard drives these (and others) came up. As you can guess I have a small billion, after culling, never published. I pushed the button a lot when we found them. 🤣
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Early on we did visit a Pelican rookery, that’s always incredible. There aren’t many around and they are all off shore. It’s an adventure.
The bigger White Pelicans were always where I wasn’t. I think once we came across a small group in the Bear Island ponds. Those ponds are like mini oceans so they can keep away from people easily.
Below, one of the few unpublished shots I came across the other day.
Bulls island is an uninhabited barrier island off the coast of South Carolina. It’s part of the Cape Romain National Wildlife preserve. We were lucky enough to spend a few nights there several years ago. The area is among the cleanest waters in North America and has a huge diverse wildlife population. Not many people get a chance at this type of adventure, and earlier today I stumbled on a few photographs.
This shot was taken at sunset out in the bay. Chris from Coastal Expeditions has a boat made specifically for these types of waters. He was determined to get a shot of a Dolphin as the sun went down. We circled for a good while but they were too quick. Just as we decided to head back to the island I was able to catch this, and only this.
Along the coast of South Carolina are a string of barrier islands. Some are fairly large, others almost sand bars, and a few nestled so close it’s hard to tell they are actually islands.
Each spring and summer on the deserted ones shore birds nest. Below we drifted in the surf with the high tide to watch the Pelicans. There’s no better way to photograph these amazing birds, you get right down low at their level.
Shore Birds – Brown Pelicans
Specs; OM-1 mk2, OM100-400. Finished in ON1, DxO Filmpack.
I usually think of Tricolored Herons associated with the large open fresh water marshes, like the ACE Basin.
The bird below was found walking the tidal marsh near the Charleston Harbor. It’s interesting how the salt marsh coloring fits well with the Tricolor. They seem to be able to blend in almost anywhere.
A few random shots that were taken at a Charleston shrimp boat pier. These were all taken around the time I was first moving to OM Systems gear.
I have gone into files looking for unpublished images that I can use as a test / practice while learning the ON1 Photo RAW editor. I still think Lightroom is the gold standard, but the speed and stability of ON1 can’t be ignored.
First here is a typical scene. One of the locals, an Egret, boarding  shrimp boat looking to steal a snack.
Around The Shrimp Pier
Brown Pelicans follow the boats back to the piers. As the shrimp catch is sorted out plenty of scraps are pushed overboard. I specifically wanted a shot like this to see how the masking worked when selecting the ‘back ground’ function. Glare on the water is always  problem. The result was OK.
Around The Shrimp Pier
Last was a white bird against the sky. A ‘subject’ mask. Actually that was better than expected. This was a mediocre shot that should have been deleted. ON1 easily found the bird, the normal sliders worked just fine.
Around The Shrimp Pier
None of the images above had anything difficult done to them. That was the point. These are shots I would take on any given day. ON1 did what was needed, quickly, and easily once you knew your way around the program a little. Editing software is never simple 😆.
The ACE Basin is usually shown here with the large marshes and swamps that has made the area home to an enormous amount of wildlife. However the rivers and marshes that make up the basin feed into the Atlantic Ocean through thousands of inlets.
Botany Bay started out as three different plantations, they eventually became one, and finally a state owned preserve as part of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
Low tide in the bay opens the paths to one of the states most beautiful ‘bone yards’. A shore of old trees only accessible for a few hours each day.
These photographs were taken at sunrise in the ‘bone yard’. It requires a quick hike but this is what you find at the end of a snady trail.
Botany Bay, South Carolina
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Botany Bay, South Carolina
Botany Bay, South Carolina
Botany Bay, South Carolina
Botany Bay, South Carolina
Botany Bay, South Carolina
Specs; OM-1 (1), OM 12-40 f2.8. Finished in ON1 Photo RAW, DxO Color Efex, Topaz DeNoise.
