It’s been a very busy time, and one marked by illness as well, so the blog has been neglected. Sorely. Here are images from a working trip to Florida, with a stop at one of my favorite gardens in South Carolina: Middleton Place. Prior to leaving West Virginia (it was a road trip) I checked the weather and the forecast promised fog!  Driving in to Walterboro near midnight I encountered HEAVY fog.  I was so excited I could barely sleep. But I was up at five the next morning for the drive on in to Middleton Place and a few happy hours of shooting ensued.  If you are interested in history, in gardening history, or simply enjoy tranquility and a gentle, restful landscape (though with a hint of Southern moss-draped mystery), I urge you to visit this jewel in the Carolina low country. http://www.middletonplace.org/ All but the last of the photographs below made with the kind permission of Middleton Place.

Of course the fog and atmosphere had me thinking about layers and textures. Some of the images I prefer ‘straight’, while others I enjoyed layering with my favorite Fly Paper Textures. What stays with me though is the experience of having been there and walked in the vague, vaporous layers of history, place, and moment.

The last photograph is a challenge.  Which of my readers can identify the scene in the last image?  Thousands of people have seen it in photographic form, hundreds certainly have studied it.  I just happened upon it on a Sunday morning when some strange otherworldly force twisted my head hard to the left and BAM! So here’s the hint: I jumped out of the car to make the image but had no time to wait.