Charleston Charm

Charleston, South Carolina. The Paris of the South. This charming city and its nearby plantations have some of the most photogenic places in the country. It has charm at every turn. Its historic homes, beautiful churches, and ancient immense oak trees with spanish moss hanging on every branch are just some of the exciting things to photograph there.

This lovely 17th century home has ornate detail in the door, its curved frame, and oval windows. For this type of shot, my preference is to find as symmetrical a composition as possible. That allows the texture, shapes, and colors to stand out. The fact that the long window shutter on the right was slightly ajar added visual interest.

It was a very gray overcast day, so some tweaking was necessary to punch up the colors and contrast. Lightroom did the job nicely.

In a city like Charleston, a little exploring can net you some spectacular photo opportunities. If you have never been to Charleston, or even if you have, the upcoming Charleston Charm Photo Tour, May 17 - 21, is the best way to photograph this area. This tour has been designed to give you the maximum variety of photo opportunities in the easiest way possible.

We'll start with a leisurely private horse-drawn carriage ride around the city to provide an overview of all Charleston has to offer. Then we will have a private chauffeured vehicle to take us all around the historic city, making long photo stops at many unique and charming homes and churches. Photograph at your leisure, and when you're done, come back to the vehicle and be driven to the next lovely venue. Since this is our private vehicle, you can leave excess photo gear onboard and take only what you need at each stop.

In addition, we will tour at least one famous plantation, and take a short boat ride to Ft. Sumter to photograph this iconic place. Evenings will be free for you to explore some of the area's gourmet restaurants if you wish. There will also be image critiques, and lots of education and personalized attention.

Join me in May for the best Charleston tour around. Details here   http://awakethelight.com/Charleston/

TECHNICAL DATA
Shutter Speed 1/80 sec.  Aperture f/6.3.   ISO 800.  Lens: Canon 17-40mm f/4 L, set at 17mm.  Camera: Canon 5D Mark III.  Handheld.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Charleston has a landscape that encourages intimacy.... You can be moved profoundly by other oceans, by soaring mountain ranges, but you can never be seduced [as you can be in Charleston]. You can never completely escape the sensuous, semi-tropical pull."