Photo Stories and Journeys

Every year the hummingbirds show up - if you have plenty of flowers, or plenty of feeders. These are a few of my favorites, all taken at our home in the Charlotte, NC area. Their schedule is amazingly consistent - the first arrivals spotted between April 2 and 12 and the last departures spotted between October 6 and 15 over the last 12 years.

A full Moon is amazingly bright in the night sky. So bright that it is virtually impossible to see that the surface is delicately painted by minerals in the soil and rocks..

It was December 26, 2023. I had a plan and a location for the rise of the full Moon behind the distinctive diamond patterned lighthouse.  

The Cape Lookout Lighthouse | Southernmost Light of the Outer Banks of North Carolina

October 28, 2023, would be the perfect date for the full Moon to rise behind the lonely Morris Island Lighthouse. To reach the ideal location would mean a long beach walk out - and a rising tide coming back.  Scouting would be required, so we planned a mini-vacation to Folly Beach.

The Morris Island Lighthouse | South of Charleston Harbor, South Carolina

While planning a trip to visit family in Birmingham, I noted that the Moon would be full.  Another opportunity for a classic full-Moon landscape shot, but what would the subject be? The Vulcan Statue, of course.    

The Vulcan Park & Museum | Birmingham, Alabama

A relaxing October, 2022, vacation in Hatteras Village, a full Moon, and an iconic light station.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore North Carolina | The Cape Hatteras Light - Buxton, NC