New Bern & Bath

We recently took a trip up Hwy 17 to New Bern and Bath, both of which were former capitols of North Carolina. New Bern is home to Tryon Palace which is where the first two shots below were taken. Tryon Palace was used to entertain George Washington while he was on his “southern tour.” Tryon Palace: “Where governors ruled, legislators debated, patriots gathered and George Washington danced.”

Bath, which was incorporated in 1705, is North Carolina’s oldest town and was home to North Carolina’s first public library as well as North Carolina’s oldest church, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, which is still in use today. Bath was also a home away from home for Edward Teach, better known as “Blackbeard.”

Check out the New Bern & Bath slideshow.

Airlie Gardens and the Arboretum

I recently took some photos in Airlie Gardens and at the New Hanover County Arboretum. Both are fantastic locations for photos. The Arboretum is free and open seven days a week. Most of the photos I took there were macro. There are tons of flowers, a nice pond and a life-sized doll house for kids. I spent about four hours in Airlie over the span of two days and walked a lot of the 67 acres. It really is a beautiful place. The landscapers there do a great job…the placed looked wonderful. It was a scorcher though…typical southeastern NC heat and humidity. Check out the Airlie/Arboretum slideshow and the Airlie/Arboretum Macro slideshow.

Reef/Sweetwater Pro-Am Surf Fest

The Reef/Sweetwater Pro-Am Surf Fest was held this past weekend at Wrightsville Beach. Up until this event, I had not taken so many pictures in so little amount of time. I set the camera to AI Servo and felt the lens pulsate in my hands as the surfers went down the line. Absolutely riveting! Hours passed by like minutes out there. Those folks went all out too…staging, music, web cam, etc. I’ll be keeping an eye on the tide charts from now on. I may have to create a gallery dedicated to surfing photos only. I definitely foresee trips to the Outer Banks and Costa Rica in the future. Any surfers out there in need of a photographer? Check out the slide show (about 3.8 MB).

Macro Gallery

I updated the gallery section of the website with a Macro gallery. Some of the insects were a bit skittish...I guess I'll have to put the Canon 180mm Macro lens on my wish list. I think my favorite image is the shot of the lizard. I can’t believe it stayed still for so long. All of these shots were taken at Airlie Gardens and the Arboretum. Putting this gallery together was a hoot.