Travel writing and photography are the best ways to learn more about the places we visit.
Three things happened simultaneously over the last three years that led to an exhibit of my photos in the South Carolina State Library. First, I started working with professional photography guides by looking them up and scheduling photo shoots. Along the way, I began to appreciate the beauty of South Carolina as I had never before. This realization confirmed that travel writing and photography were the best ways to learn more about the places I would visit, the whole reason I started them in the first place.
The second and third factors that led to the exhibit occurred spontaneously during the same period. Eddie and I journeyed on a vertical path through South Carolina with the SC7 Expedition along the Palmetto Trail. During the same period, we began zigzagging across South Carolina to photograph retriever dogs. (Thanks to Eddie for driving most of the time for this.) I photographed retriever dogs at dog trials, dog kennels, private homes, and even at my home when people brought them tobe photographed.
Journeys through South Carolina culminated in an exhibit at the South Carolina State Library.
Professional Photography Guides
Chris & Cami, Photography: In a class at the Center for Birds of Prey in Awendaw, South Carolina, Chris Smith teaches photographers to photograph birds. This was my first attempt at trying to capture tack-sharp pictures of birds in flight. See these fantastic birds at Tack Sharp Photos of Birds in Flight.
Don & Ruth Lambert at Beaufort Photography Tours introduced me to Beaufort’s beautiful sunrise and sunset, astrophotography, and wildlife. Read about my experiences with Beaufort Photography Tours.
Tours by Kate Silva Photography and Kenny McKeithan Photography helped me capture beautiful scenes in Charleston. Read about it at Why People Love to Visit Charleston in the Spring.
Phillip Jones is a South Carolina Wildlife Magazine Photographer Emeritus and a retired South Carolina National Guard Photographer. Phillip and I photographed three litters of retriever puppies, 19 in total, six weeks old. Phillip’s many years of experience showed off. See the story, Intelligent Little Gundog Puppies and a Popular Boykin Poster.
SC 7 Expedition
Three years ago, Eddie and I joined Maj. Gen. Tom Mullikin, retired S.C. State Guard, on the Lake Moultrie Passage of the Palmetto Trail. I photographed the students trailing Tom as they discussed environmental issues. It’s one of my favorites! Many gallery images are inspired by the scenes we passed along the way during the S.C. 7 Expedition in the couple of years that followed.
SC Wildlife Magazine
Cindy Thompson, managing editor at South Carolina Wildlife Magazine, assigned me a story about retriever dogs. The work sent me on another journey, criss-crossing through South Carolina. It took more than nine months to photograph retriever dogs and write three stories. These Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers were the trickiest photography subjects. They move quickly and playfully along the shore and attract ducks!
Family Photo
Getting photos into an exhibit requires significant work, editing, and printing. Around the same time Hannah Majewski and I discussed pictures for the South Carolina State Library Exhibit, I met professional photographer Bill Barley. He helped me with lighting for a family portrait. The Dwight and Jennifer Bundrick family modeled what became the most beautiful family portrait. Bill Barley helped edit and print the family portrait and the photos for the S.C. State Library exhibit. Preparing the images for a professional exhibit would have been much more challenging without his editing and printing expertise.
Journey Through South Carolina – scroll through each region.
Lowcountry
Pee Dee
Midlands
Upstate and Mountains
Marie Goff
