Tenth weekend of hiking.
After a long journey from New Zealand to the other side of Planet Earth, we spent Thanksgiving weekend in South Carolina, USA. Based on the beautiful barrier island, Kiawah, I had the opportunity to go for a hike along its pristine beaches and through its maritime forest and scrubland – my tenth weekend in a row out hiking. Admittedly, I traveled less than four miles and only on flat, paved pathways and boardwalks, but it was nonetheless a beautiful opportunity to spend time in nature.
A three-day driving tour of Australia’s southwest corner.
After two days in Perth and Rottnest Island, we hired a car and headed south for a quick, three-day triangular route along the western coast, through the forests of the southern coast, and back across the inland plains and their vast pastures and fields of grain. In this blog post, I’ll write an even quicker summary of our tour of this beautiful corner of Australia. Read on!
A quick daytrip to Brighton, to visit its Royal Pavilion and the famous Brighton Pier.
When I ask locals for tips about where we might explore, first, outside of London. Brighton beach is often on the list. Its historic pier is iconic, and the town itself includes several museums and historic sites. So we hopped on a train for a comfortable ride from downtown London directly to central Brighton, on a cloudy Saturday. Read on…
With a link to a complete gallery.
Ok, that’s the end of a series of posts about my week in Iceland, including visits to Diamond Beach and its two nearby glaciers, and eleven waterfalls:
Continue reading “Iceland wrap-up”Massive glaciers spill ice into a tidal lagoon – ice that washes ashore on a black-sand beach. Spectacular!
Part of a series of posts about my travel in Iceland, including visits to eleven waterfalls.
Although the trigger for this visit to Iceland was to board the National Geographic Endurance for an expedition cruise to southern Greenland, photography was the focus of my extended stay in Iceland. This post highlights photos from my first stop in Iceland: Jökulsárlón (aka Glacier Lagoon) and its adjacent Diamond Beach. While I’m at it, Fjallsárlón lagoon is just down the road and offers equally enthralling scene of an adjacent glacier calving bergs and berglets into a tidal lagoon. Read on to see photos!
Christmas on Kiawah Island – and wildlife photography.
We spend nearly every Christmas on Kiawah Island, South Carolina. One of the “sea islands” that form a chain of barrier islands near Charleston, Kiawah is heavily developed with vacation homes and golf courses… but is also carefully managed for green spaces and wildlife. As a result, it is a beautiful place to explore and to photograph wildlife. I enjoyed the perching birds (hawk, osprey, herons) and the shorebirds. But… read on!
Continue reading “Kiawah Island, SC”A beautiful two days in the remote northwestern region of Iceland.
After a few days amongst throngs of tourists at the “Golden Circle” of sights near Reyjavik (see my prior post) we headed for the remote northwestern corner of Iceland, the Westfjords. We rented a rural house at the blue dot on the map below, and explored westerly from there – reaching the westernmost tip of Iceland, which is also the westernmost point in Europe. It required driving some remote, dusty, narrow, twisty, and sketchy roads… but also led us to stunningly beautiful landscapes. Read on! and check out the galleries linked below.
Photographic opportunities.
We spent the holiday week on Kiawah Island, outside Charleston South Carolina. As in much of the U.S. it was an unusually cold week; here, where winter temperatures rarely dip below freezing, we had several days where the thermometer never rose above freezing. Nonetheless, it was clear and sunny and beautiful, and I managed to explore and capture some fun photographs – of a beautiful sunset and some of the island wildlife. Check out the gallery!
A stunning location.
Acadia is well-known for sunrise and sunset views. Indeed, many people vie for reservations to drive up Cadillac Mountain for sunrise, purportedly one of the earliest sunrise views in the U.S. because of its elevation and far-eastern position in the timezone. But for the same reason, sunrise here is remarkably early: every day this week it has been between 4:50am and 4:57am, and that is later than it was on the summer solstice a few weeks ago. I am not interested in sunrise from the peak – indeed, I find it far more interesting to photograph scenery illuminated by the golden rays of the sun than to photograph the sun itself. After some reading, I learned that Boulder Beach, on the eastern shore, is a great location. It’s also only 10 minutes drive from my hotel in Bar Harbor.
I’m an early riser. Still, when the alarm went off at 4:00am this morning, it was tough to drag myself out of bed and prepare for the day. Out in the parking lot I fired up my JetBoil camp stove to boil water for tea – no place is open this early! – and headed south in the growing twilight toward Otter Cliffs. I parked at a nearby picnic area and walked over to the beach, with 15 minutes to spare before sunrise, only to find three other tripod-rigged photographers already on scene. It was none other than John Putnam, of JK Photography, whom I’d met a couple of days ago in his gallery over in Southwest Harbor. He was out here with two clients, sharing his wisdom and tips for sunrise photography. I’d seen his photograph of sunrise at this spot, back in the gallery, and it is awe-inspiring.
I explored a few different shot locations and exposures. The sun rose through some clouds, so the cliffs illuminated a bit late, and the clouds behind them never quite lit up. But it was a fine morning and I’m pleased with the result. Wish I could try again and again. See the photo gallery for more.
After the sunrise had faded, I walked closer to the cliffs to find a seal swimming toward me, curious; it bobbed for a moment, then dove away to find its breakfast.
Ok, now it’s 6:00am. It’s starting to rain. What else will the day bring?
Time to head home.
After two weeks with family here in Kiawah Island in South Carolina, it’s time to head home. We’ve had beautiful weather, allowing time to explore the sands and lagoons of this beautiful island. I’ve added to the gallery more photos of birds and scenery. It was foggy on the beach at sunrise this morning, so I’ll share this photo from Christmas morning.
David Kotz 