Month: July 2025

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #358 – Live and Learn

Posted in Birds, Nature, PhotographyTagged , , 35 Comments

Tina’s challenge is Live and Learn. Tina reminds us of the importance of continuing to learn new things as we age. Here is her challenge: “Show me some of the things you’ve learned about photography or any subject you choose. Do you learn by doing as I do, or are you one who learns from classes, or online, or through working with others?”

I’ve never taken a photography class. I learn by doing and by experimenting and by making plenty of mistakes.

Some of the most important things I’ve learned in my photography journey is to always be prepared with batteries charged, space on the memory card, and a clean camera and lenses.

One of the most important editing techniques I have learned is how to crop. When we spotted this bear on the side of the road I didn’t have much time to frame the shot. I cropped the photo and edited the colors to achieve the final image shown here.

One of the reasons I keep participating in the weekly Lens-Artists challenges is because it helps me to learn new things about photography. These photos illustrate some of the photography tips and techniques I’ve learned.

The featured image uses a Bokeh technique. I learned from one of Sofia’s challenges that In photography, a Bokeh is the blurred or out of focus background in a photo. I frequently use this effect when photographing flowers.

When photographing wildlife, always focus on the eyes

I learned about Zooming from one of Anne’s challenges.

Fill the Frame

Leading Lines

Rule of Thirds

Last week Egidio took us Into the Woods for some Forest Bathing. I enjoyed all of the wonderful responses. Be sure to check back on Saturday, August 2 at noon Eastern Time when John will be hosting our next challenge.

Many thanks to Tina for this challenge Lens-Artists #358 – Live and Learn

For information on how to join the Len-Artists challenge please click here.

Every Day is a Gift.

Celebrating my Birthday on Daufuskie Island, SC

Posted in Celebration, Historic Sites, South CarolinaTagged , , , , , , , , 30 Comments

We celebrated my June birthday with a day trip to Daufuskie Island, South Carolina.

Daufuskie Island is one of the South Carolina sea islands located near Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. The island can only be reached by water. You can take your own boat or take a water taxi from either Hilton Head or Savannah. There are tours available on the island but we chose to rent a golf cart and see the island on our own.

Our day trip adventure began with a water taxi ride on the Bella from Bull River Marina in Savannah. We felt like we were on a private charter when we discovered we were the only two passengers on the boat. Henry and I both love boat rides through our beautiful coastal waterways. It was wonderful to watch for birds and dolphins as we traveled the 45 minutes to our destination.

The captain dropped us off at the public dock on Daufuskie where we hopped in our rental golf cart and began to explore the island. The roads are mostly dirt although there are a few paved roads. As we headed in the direction of Bloody Point Beach we saw a few houses but most of the ride was through undeveloped woods. We took a walk on the almost deserted beach. A logger head turtle nesting area was marked off for protection and we could see Tybee Island off in the distance.

As we rode along we stopped to explore some historic sites on the island. The following gallery includes the old Silver Dew Winery, the Bloody Point Lighthouse and former living quarters for the lighthouse keeper and his family (the building is now a museum and gift shop), and the former Mary Field School where the author Pat Conroy once taught. His novel The Water is Wide is based on his experience there.

It was time for lunch so our next stop was the Old Daufuskie Crab Company and Scrap Iron Bar at the Freeport Marina. This is a popular place for boaters and some of the water taxis stop here. I was a little disappointed when I discovered they didn’t have any of the famous deviled crab but my locally caught fried shrimp was delicious. The Scrap Iron Bar is known for it’s Scrap Iron cocktail.

Our last stop was back at the public dock where we waited for our water taxi at D’Fuskie’s Store. I saw a sign for Deviled Crab behind the cash register. I asked if they had any frozen to take home for my birthday dinner and bought the last three they had. They kept them in the freezer for me while we waited for our boat ride home. We enjoyed sitting on the porch talking to some of the locals who live on the island. When it was almost time for the boat to arrive we sat under an oak tree by the water and enjoyed talking to some other locals.

We had another beautiful boat ride back to Savannah. When we got home I heated up the deviled crab for a delicious birthday dinner.

Every Day is a Gift

Sunday Stills – Feathers

Posted in Birds, Nature, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , 25 Comments

Terri’s latest Sunday Stills challenge of Feathers inspired me to get out and take a few bird photos early yesterday morning. The featured image was taken in January on Jeklyll Island, Georgia. The rest were taken yesterday.

Great Egret in Coastal Georgia

Wood Stork in Coastal Georgia

Can anyone identify this little bird I spied on a high tree branch?

Many thanks to Terri for her Sunday Stills challenge Fine Feathered Friends

Every Day is a Gift

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #357 – Into the Woods

Posted in Georgia, Nature, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , 35 Comments

This week Egidio challenges us to go Into the Woods for some Forest Bathing. He tells us “Shinrin-yoku is a concept that was developed in Japan in the 1980s as a form of natural therapy and stress relief. In English, it is translated as “forest bathing” or immersing oneself in a forest atmosphere. It is a way to allow all your senses to experience nature mindfully.” His challenge is to show how we do forest bathing in our corner of the world.

I think I was “”forest bathing” before I knew what it was. I just know that I love the quiet of being in the woods. I feel peaceful and calm when I stand in the woods surrounded by trees.

I think that I shall never see, A poem lovely as a tree. – Joyce Kilmer

The trees in my home state of Georgia vary depending on where you are in the state. In coastal Georgia the common trees are pine trees, oaks, palmettos, and palm trees. The featured image is of a maritime forest on Jekyll Island. The following gallery was taken on a Georgia marsh hammock near my neighborhood. Wood Storks are one of the many wading birds that are seen on the trees here.

The Okefenokee Swamp in south Georgia is filled with Cypress trees. Seeing these ancient trees from a boat makes me feel like I have stepped back in time.

Cypress Trees in the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia

Sweet Gum, Winged Sumac, Maple, Sycamore, Pine, and Water Oaks are just a few of the trees that I see when walking in the woods of middle Georgia. The landscape changes with seasons. No matter what the season I feel a sense of serenity in these woods.

Early Spring in the Georgia woods

Wild Dogwoods bloom in the spring in the Georgia woods

Summertime in rural Georgia woods

Many thanks to last week’s guest host SH for his challenge of Quiet Hours. Your responses to the challenge took me to many beautiful quiet places. I hope you will join us next week as Tina leads us in our next Lens-Artists challenge on Saturday, July 26 at noon Eastern Time.

Many thanks to Egidio for this challenge Lens-Artists #357 – Into the Woods

For information on how to join the Len-Artists challenge please click here.

Every Day is a Gift.