Entries Tagged 'photography' ↓

I can feel myself slowly returning to normal. I have the desire and the energy to lug out my camera. The in-laws are visiting and we took a quick trip up to Beidler Forest. I made Tim pull over twice on the way home so I could snap a few pictures.

I’m also including a gratuitous Ellie shot.

This cypress knee reminds me of a woman, more specifically of a crudely rendered Madonna and Child sculpture.

Fall creeps slowly here, as a child I was baffled by books that illustrated September as a time for long sleeves and falling leaves.
As an adult in the Lowcountry, I recognize the change as a shift in light.   Late in August the light shifts to a golden glow.  Though we still bake in the summer’s residual heat, the tide has turned and it is a long, slow slide toward winter.
The thermometer still says summer, but my heart has turned to fall and all that goes with it.

I’m sorry this has taken me so long.  I’ve been more sick this past week than I have been in years.  I’ve had kidney infections less painful than this sinus infection.  As of today I’m down to regular motrin instead of prescription painkillers.  I’m sure this  continuation will shed some light on how I wound up in my condition. . .

I hung out with the group for a while, but I get a little self conscious when I have to hike up maternity pants constantly after crouching to get a shot. I meandered toward the boneyard which was somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 and two miles east of where we first reached the beach. I was happy as a clam, it was so nice to see an unspoiled beach with very few human remnants to ruin a shot.

I ran into Nature Bob again who suggested heading up to the northeast corner of the island to see some wildlife.  Jason planned on heading out that way as well, so when I finished taking pictures in the boneyard, I headed in that direction***.  I had plenty of time to kill before the noon ferry.

I walked. And I walked. And I walked some more.  My legs were beginning to hurt, after all I’m 4.5 months pregnant.  I saw one stinking alligator and he was too far away to get a decent picture.  Finally I consulted my map**** and my watch.  According to the map I had three miles to go before I’d make it back to the dock.  According to my watch, I had 1.5 hours to cover said three miles.  According to my legs, “NO.”

The thought of missing the ferry and having to face Tim four hours later (he was going to meet me with the spare key after all) was enough to propel me forward.  Thus began my own personal Tekken Death March. I don’t know what it means, it’s just something we say.  It seems to fit.  There were times I considered sitting down and crying.  There were others I debated just missing both ferries and taking a nap, right there on the trail.  Yes, I utilized the bushes primitive bathroom facilities  on one occasion.  Ahem, pregnant. I had dressed in layers and was carrying two of the shirts I had worn.  At some point I dropped one.  Maybe the eagle building her nest is now enjoying it.  I couldn’t make myself turn around and look for it, I had no idea how far back it was.

I felt blisters appearing, but I walked and jogged on.  I arrived at the dock at 11:55am.  Nature Bob came whistling up at 11:58am, “Did you have a nice walk?”

I didn’t beat him with my camera and for that I think someone should give me a cookie.

I bit the inside of my cheek and smiled and said I had a wonderful walk.

The captain arrived at 12:05pm, not that I was counting,  to take us back to the landing.  I tried not to limp as I waddled to the boat.  The ride back was uneventful and thankfully Tim was there with the key and the boys.  I asked him to drive the mustang home because I couldn’t face a standard in my pathetic condition.

Never in my life have I hurt the day of exertion.  It has always hit me the next morning, as I groan and hate myself for playing volleyball or starting a fitness regime, whatever the case may be.   Thankfully Saturday was the worst of the soreness and the full sickness didn’t hit me until Sunday evening.

Pictures?

Yes, I have pictures.   I’ll upload them tomorrow.  Promise.

***stupid move 3

****stupid move 4, I should have done that an hour ago

I had the opportunity to join the South Carolina Photography Guild on a sunrise trip to Bull’s Island.  Overall, the trip was amazing.  I will be uploading lots of pictures over the next few days.  Currently I’m too sore to sit at the desktop.

I was not sure I’d even be able to go on the trip due to the plague that seems to have fallen on my home.  I’m about ready to board up the windows and spraypaint “Quarantined” on the garage in hopes that someday we can all be healthy at the same time.  Friday I felt as though I were on the upswing and decided to go ahead with the trip.  I knew I’d have to get an early start, but like a kid the night before school begins, I tossed and turned popping up every twenty minutes to look at the clock. At 3am I gave up the farce packed my stuff and headed to Huddle House, thinking a <s>good</s>breakfast would set me straight.  Now, I’m not stranger to late night diners.  My first job was at Waffle House and before I was seventeen I worked the graveyard shift.

Still, Huddle House scared me that morning.  There was a cook, a server, and a guy whose job I couldn’t exactly place.  He wasn’t washing dishes and he was nice enough, but reminded me of Boomhauer.   I did a lot of smiling and nodding, hopping he’d leave me to my book.  Also in attendance were barflies, the scary men who are attracted to barflies, and old men who were just settling in to their assigned booths for coffee and smoking.

I drove my husband’s mustang and something I don’t understand is how he can find the time to upgrade the car to 612 horsepower, but he can’t be bothered to make the speedometer work.  There’s a little trick to using the tach, but I generally find it a pain and if I hadn’t left the lights on in the jeep* I wouldn’t have driven it.

I made it to the landing right on time, gathered my belongs, donned my layers (it was quite chilly).  I climbed out of the car and shut the door just as I realized the keys were still in the ignition**.  It was too early to call home, so I decided to trust the tinted glass and lack of general traffic.

It was a chilly ride out to the island, provided by Coastal Expeditions. There was a brief look of panic on our captain’s face as he became disoriented by the unusually high tide and darkness, but he quickly got his bearings.   It was a 1.5 mile walk to the beach, but we arrived just as the cleared the horizon and were able to set up for a few shots.

To be continued. . .

*First example of stupid.

**Second example of stupid.