Pawley's Island Sunset Series - Part 1

We all have places in the world that resound deeply in our souls regardless of where we happen to be in the world either geographically or emotionally. 

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The South Carolina Grand Strand area surrounding Pawley's Island is such a place for me. Initially it was a fond memory of my childhood when my family would make the trek from New York City to South Carolina to spend time with family at the beach.  Memories of those times will always hold a special place in my heart as they were shared with loved ones who have since passed away. 

As an adult living in Texas, I had little chance to make my way back to Pawley's until a spring break trip in 2008 with my wife and children to visit my brother who had rented a house there. Needless to say, old memories were rekindled and a whole series of new memories and relationships began to blossom. As a result, Pawley's has become a regular summer vacation spot for my family over the past few years. It's well worth the 20 hour drive from Dallas at the end of my school year to bask in the beauty of the South Carolina coast between Charleston and Myrtle Beach. I have also developed a great appreciation for the history of the area that ties me back through relatives on both sides of my family to tumultuous events in history ranging from the Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina in the 1960's  to the 1860's and the America Civil War. (Here's an earlier post relating the Civil War history)

This past summer, I paid particular attention to the beauty of the late afternoon light as the sun began its long summer sunset over the marshes to the west of Pawley's Island proper as well as the extended color casts in the clouds over the beach and the Atlantic Ocean. The beautiful color ranged from the familiar warm glows of sunset to some striking deep blues as the sun would sink below the horizon and my patience was rewarded with the cool tones of fleeting  twilight. 

While the late day light of the Pawley's area is incredibly special to me for a range of reasons, every spot on Earth has the chance to be bathed in such light each day. The secret for us is to be alert to such possibility and seek it out -- for it is in seeking that we shall all find the beauty that lurks on the margins of our days and our lives. 

Come back next week for a second look at more sunset images from the area! 

Oxbow Sunset

This week's SKYWATCH FRIDAY / SCENIC SUNDAY post takes me back to Grand Teton National Park and the oft visited Oxbow Bend observation point. This view looks toward the massive Mt. Moran across the Snake River. On this night late in June, I was luck enough to capture the brilliance of sunset on the fleeting clouds. The richness of the color was due in part to the presence of smoke in the atmosphere from California wildfires that had been burning the few days prior.

Oxbow Sunset

Click in the image to see it in the original gallery

Wyoming Skies

One of my favorite spots on earth is the northwest corner of Wyoming where you'll find two gems of the US National Park System. Both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks offer the visitor a tremendous wealth of stunning sights from the waters of their lakes and rivers to the brilliant colors to be found in the skies from dawn through dusk. This week's SKYWATCH FRIDAY & SCENIC SUNDAY post is a view of the godlight at sunset from my perch up on Mount Washington looking toward the west in Yellowstone National Park.

Wyoming Godlight ~ Yellowstone National Park

This week's second image is taken from the banks of the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park looking up at the early morning light kissing the peak of Grand Teton Peak.

Teton Dawn ~ Grand Teton National Park

Click in either image to view in their original gallery

Zambezi Sunset

Zambezi Sunset

This week's Skywatch Friday & Scenic Sunday post comes from my 2006 visit to Southern Africa. I was lucky enough to be able to present at a conference in Johannesburg, South Africa that June. To make good use of the long trip and to live out a lifelong dream, I booked two safaris. The first was at Ngala Private Game reserve adjacent to Kruger National Park. The second was in Botswana at the Chobe National Park. The trip from Ngala to Chobe entailed a two-day stay in the town of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. As the name suggests, this is where the mighty Zambezi River falls more than 360 feet (more than double the height of Niagara Falls) into the Zambezi River Gorge. The falls is also more than a mile wide at this point. The evening before I kayaked the rapids of the lower portion of the Gorge, I was able to enjoy a sunset cruise on a flat-bottomed barge on the Zambezi just above Victoria Falls. Lucky, it was the dry season and we were treated to a stunning, cloud free sunset in addition to sightings of crocodiles and hippos.

Enjoy your view of one of Africa wildest rivers!

Click in the image for to see it in the original gallery

PS - several of you have already emailed and asked about any images I have of the Victoria Falls. Due to the mist that the the Falls kick up (the locals call Victoria Falls - "The Smoke that Thunders") it is tough to get a good view if the Falls from the land based viewing spots. As such I took one of the local helicopter rides to see the Falls  from above. The images are not great as I felt like I was holding on for dear life  as we sharply banked over the Falls.

Click in either image for a higher resolution version

LAST LIGHT

Last Light  on Aoraki/ Mt. Cook

Southern Alps, New Zealand

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A post to WORDLESS WEDNESDAY, SKYWATCH FRIDAY, and SCENIC SUNDAY

Teton Twilight - An Ode to Maxfield Parrish

Even as a kid I really enjoyed the look of  Maxfield Parrish's work. He seemed to always find the perfect hue of blue to supplement the mood of whatever piece he was creating. I am especially keen on his tones of cobalt blue.... this twilight silhouette makes me feel that I captured some of his spirit as I clicked the shutter here.

Click in the image to see it in the original gallery.

See some other SKYWATCH FRIDAY Images.

Enjoy a peek at this week's SCENIC SUNDAY Collection.
This is also part of  the WEEKEND REFLECTION series.

Zambezi Sunset

Zambezi Sunset

This week's Skywatch Friday post comes from my 2006 visit to Southern Africa. I was lucky enough to be able to present at a conference in Johannesburg, South Africa that June. To make good use of the long trip and to live out a lifelong dream, I booked two safaris. The first was at Ngala Private Game reserve adjacent to Kruger National Park. The second was in Botswana at the Chobe National Park. The trip from Ngala to Chobe entailed a two-day stay in the town of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. As the name suggests, this is where the mighty Zambezi River falls more than 360 feet (more than double the height of Niagara Falls) into the Zambezi River Gorge. The falls is also more than a mile wide at this point. The evening before I kayaked the rapids of the lower portion of the Gorge, I was able to enjoy a sunset cruise on a flat-bottomed barge on the Zambezi just above Victoria Falls. Lucky, it was the dry season and we were treated to a stunning, cloud free sunset in addition to sightings of crocodiles and hippos.

Enjoy your view of one of Africa wildest rivers!

Cheers!

John

Click in the image for a higher resolution version



PS - several of you have already emailed and asked about any images I have of the Victoria Falls. Due to the mist that the the Falls kick up (the locals call Victoria Falls - "The Smoke that Thunders") it is tough to get a good view if the Falls from the land based viewing spots. As such I took one of the local helicopter rides to see the Falls  from above. The images are not great as I felt like I was holding on for dear life  as we sharply banked over the Falls.

Click in either image for a higher resolution version

Photo of the Week - August 22-28

The most viewed image at BlueLionPhotos.com for this past week was an image I took while on safari in Botswana.  We had a wonderful sunset which coincided with our stoping for a "sundowner" (a sunset drink & chance to stretch legs out of the safari jeep) so I could set up my tripod and capturea great scene. As I set up the tripod, the giraffe decided to walk by and add it's distinctive silhouette to the scene. Some days you just get luckier than you deserve!

This image is available for purchase as a print or as a card set from my store at Etsy.com. The link is http://www.etsy.com/shop/bluelionphotos.

ENJOY!

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