US Grains Council Conference in Sacramento – Day 2

The US Grains Council’s 62nd Annual Board of Delegates Meeting at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento is in the books! It was another fantastic event. I am humbled and honored to be the official photographer for this amazing group.  Their destination conferences are always so informative and inspirational!!! Here are a few shots from Day 2…

US Grains Council Conference in Sacramento – Day 1

The US Grains Council’s 62nd Annual Board of Delegates Meeting at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento is in the books! It was another fantastic event. I am humbled and honored to be the official photographer for this amazing group.  Their destination conferences are always so informative and inspirational!!! Here are a few shots from Day 1…

WARNING: Not for Sensetive Viewers

After capturing a beautiful proposal at White Point Gardens, I had a few extra minutes. So I decided to stay and photograph the famous Black-crowned Night Herons. I wish I hadn’t!!!
 
During each hot and humid Charleston summer, the live oaks in White Point Gardens (also known as Battery Park) become the nesting grounds for Black-crowned Night Herons. Seemingly unafraid of the public, they start acting like they own the place, making them easy to approach and photograph. Even though the park is said to be haunted, the night herons don’t seem to mind. In fact they nest in the very trees that the pirate Stede Bonnet and his men were hanged from!
 
In all my years photographing wildlife, I’ve only ever witnessed one other occasion so brutal and violent. While I was wandering around, a major disturbance began unfolding overhead. A mother decided to reject one of her chicks. Ejecting it out of the nest, pecking it to near death in the branches, and then pushing it out of the tree…the poor chick plunging to certain death below. The mother then returned to tend to it’s other chicks as if nothing had happened.
 
Why do birds reject babies? The main reason is to enhance the survival probability of her other chicks. It’s believed that the mother senses something is wrong in the development of that chick. Or they realize they don’t have the resources to raise all of their young successfully. Eliminating one mouth to feed is their only solution.
 
Knowing this doesn’t make it any easier to witness such a seemingly violent act. But such are the laws of nature! Fortunately, I was able to ease the conflict in my soul by photographing a few other herons peacefully preening as the sun began to fade.
 
(Nikon Z9 + FTZII + 500mm PF)

Boone Hall Plantation

I had the privilege of being at Boone Hall Plantation after hours this weekend. It was neat to basically have the place to myself…so peaceful and beauituful without all the tourists running around. 🙂

(Nikon Z9 + Nikkor 24-120 f4 S)

Charleston Charm in Infrared

After shooting a small wedding at White Point Garden yesterday, I decided it was too nice an afternoon not to go for a walk around charming downtown Charleston.
We put away the “heavy stuff” and I grabbed my lightweight Coolpix A that I had converted to see infrared light by Kolari Vision. I did a video about this camera and what I had done to it if anyone is interested in converting an old camera to infrared: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FsuIRK90wY&t=21s.

Being the last day of the South Eastern Wildlife Expo, there were a lot of tourists along The Battery. So I threaded my way through Stolls Alley, up to Tradd Street, and down the less-traveled parts of the old historic district.

Magnolia Plantation in Infrared

Work is good. Busy is good. But occasionally when I shoot too many assignments in a row and don’t have enough room to “breathe”, I feel my creativity getting stifled. It’s during those times that taking an afternoon off for a hike around Magnolia Plantation with nothing but my infrared camera can feel like a brilliant breath of fresh air!!!

The Sunburn Circuit

Photography. Motorcycles Travel. These are my three biggest passions in life!

Most of you know that I started riding motorcycles at a young age in Africa, where I grew up. A motorcycle was my main means of transportation in college and in my early years in the work force. But then “life” happened and I took a hiatus from riding. Several years ago, I fell back in love with riding motorcycles and haven’t look back!

I started a YouTube channel with my good friends, great riders, and fellow photographers, Jason, and Steve: https://www.youtube.com/motophotoadventures. We even built a website around the whole Moto Photo Adventures theme at: https://motophotoadventures.com/. We’ve been picked up by a number of sponsors, and appeared on a couple podcasts. It’s been a TON of fun!!!

Last week we took off on another crazy adventure. The idea was to get out of the cold weather and head south to Key West…somewhere warm. We called it the Sunburn Circuit. Little did we know that a massive cold front was heading towards the southeast and we’d be shivering in our tents as we camped along The Keys and through the Everglades! 🙂

Unfortunately Steve couldn’t make it at the last minute. So our friend and fellow YouTuber, David Mays jumped on his bike and met up with us. You should check out his channel at: https://www.youtube.com/c/aMAYSingLife. We missed having Steve. But we still had a fantastic time, exploring some amazing sights, and capturing some fantastic memories as we circled around “Gator Country.”

Many thanks to all our friends and family who have supported our little side-hustle. If you haven’t already, Subscribe to the YouTube channel and get ready for episodes of the Sunburn Circuit to hit the internet!!!