The Best Raffle Prize Ever

Forsyth Park, Savannah

This was not entirely luck, despite appearances.

I’ve been wanting to see Charleston and Savannah for some time.  When a week’s stay on an island near Charleston showed up as a raffle prize in a fundraiser, I couldn’t control myself.  My husband and I had earmarked some money to donate to this nonprofit, so we decided to spend it all on the raffle.  We bought a lot of tickets.  What the heck, it was for a good cause.

Ultimately, we hosted four dear friends in this huge, lovely home.  Sometimes we ran around together, but I find that my non-photographer friends are rarely excited about waking up in the dark when on vacation. Sometimes we each went our own way.  We drove about 1500 miles.

Some highlights:

Virginia Live Oaks, Boone Hall Plantation, Charleston

Tree tunnels.  I’m just a middle-aged tree-hugger (hence the Subaru) and I love them.  The nineteenth century plantation owners often lined their grand driveways with Virginia Live Oaks.  The trees grow towards each other overhead and form a passage.  I confess that I talk to them, mostly in gratitude.

Grave marker, Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah

Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah has become something of a tourist attraction since the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I adored the statuary.  As I rule, I avoid photographing other people’s art.  This, though, was inspiring and I had a great time.  On the subject of statuary in Savannah, I was also captivated by the big fountain in Forsyth Park.

Sunrise on Seabrook Island South Carolina

Private beaches are an odd concept to me.  I grew up on the coast in Southern California and, other than security around Richard Nixon’s Western White House in the 1970s and Camp Pendleton (the Marine base) we could walk on the beach at will.  Beaches near this house are primarily private.  Fortunately, we were in a community which allowed us access.  Most mornings I was out enjoying the sunrise over the ocean, also odd for a California girl.

Iris in Magnolia Plantation Garden, Charleston

Spring is exuberant there.  Azaleas were at peak, and the dogwood, wisteria, and iris were blooming too.  A bonus; the weather was great and the summer crowds were absent.

We did stack the deck, but we were lucky, too.

More images from the trip are in the "More Places" Gallery on the Website.

Six Dollars a Pop

Sunrise Above Lake Pleasant AZ

I didn’t realize there was a pattern until yesterday, when I pulled the cash out of my pocket for a third time.  I discovered that I was touring the Maricopa County Parks in my quest for wildflowers.

For the record, the County parks do have an annual pass, but at $85, I’d have to make 15 trips to make the purchase worthwhile.  Perhaps their discount books are more appealing;

            3 coupons for $15 (a $3 saving)

5 coupons for $24 (a $6 saving)

10 coupons for $45 (a $15 saving)

When other responsibilities keep me from an actual road trip, day trips must do.  Actually, Spring is a great time to be in the desert, close to home.

I find that things change quickly in the spring and strive to be nimble in my planning. Here are some great resources with fresh information about which areas which are in bloom.  

Wild in Arizona Blog

Desert USA

County Park Wildflower Tracking Site (Pinterest)

Here’s a sampling of what I found;

Estrella Mountain Park 3/3/17

Poppies, Estrella Mountain Park AZ

 

Cactus and Phacelia, Estrella Mountain Park AZ

White Tanks Mountain Regional Park 3/6/17

Phacelia, White Tanks

Backlighted Poppy, White Tanks

Lake Pleasant Regional Park 3/15/17

Poppy and Lupine, Lake Pleasant

Poppy carpet, Lake Pleasant

There are more Spring images in the Spring in Arizona Gallery on the website.

Some Kind of Magic

Middle School Girls, Colegio Preuniversitario, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

Bumping down a dirt road on a COED trip, toward a primary school in Chimazat, Guatemala, one of the other Rotarians in the vehicle asked me how I got into photography.

I told her that I’d started with 35mm Black and White work as a teenager, got distracted in College, and picked it up again with the new wave of digital cameras in the late 1990s.

My first digital camera was made by Sony.  They called it the Mavica.  It was a 0.6 megapixel wonder which stored photos on a 3.5” floppy (1.44 MB).  It was some kind of magic.  No film, no restraint.

Of course, the resolution was rather low, but it was my gateway drug.

Student, Las Rosas School, Chitay, Guatemala

The kids in rural Guatemala are getting increasingly savvy to technology. Mostly, that’s because mobile phones are ubiquitous; I’ve heard that there are twice as many mobiles as people there.  Land lines just never got out to the tiny villages so they skipped that step.  

Sweet Goodbyes, El Yalu Primary School, Sumpango, Guatemala

Even so, one of the best ways to engage shy kids there is to take their picture (this works best with a small group of friends) and show it to them on the camera LCD.   Judging from their reactions, you’d think it was, in fact, magic.  The second shot is always better.

Volcan Fuego erupting with star trails

I also had a chance to photograph the active volcano called Fuego at night.  After two hours waiting, our guide urged patience.  He was right because we did eventually see one spectacular eruption.  Night photography requires long exposures, among other things, so I only got one chance at this 25 second shot.  Afterward it was all smoke.  Looking at the LCD afterward I felt the same magic as those first Mavica shots.

It’s my joy to invoke this magic whenever I can and my hope that it serves as an inspiration.

Everyone can't be happy, El Yalu Primary School, Sumpango, Guatemala

More images from Guatemala are on the website.