Beaufort/Hunting Island, SC Field Trip

October 30 – November 3, 2014
The Club had a great time in the “sea Islands” coastal area of South Carolina.  Eighteen members and guests participated over the long weekend. And despite lousy weather on Saturday (40 degrees F, windy and raining) everyone managed to have some fun exploring and photographing the multitude of opportunities in the area.  Many enjoyed staying at the Hilton Garden Inn in Beaufort, while several groups camped at the Hunting Island State Park campground.  We also celebrated Halloween on Hunting Island hosted at Alan Simons’ camp site.

Bone Yard Stumps by Al McLeod

The Sea Islands of coastal Georgia and SC are a well recognized ecological region stretching from Amelia Island, FL in the South to the area of Georgetown, SC in the North.  Distinctive ecosystems comprising the Sea Islands include: the beaches and dunes, maritime forests – a mix of palms, live oaks, pines and an understory of palmetto on the Sea Islands themselves, plus the extensive salt marshes and tidal creeks.

Alan and Al

Resplendent nature there is accompanied by lots of interesting human history in the Beaufort area and on the other islands.  Some that we sampled included the Chapel of Ease, an 18thcentury tabby church ruin, Sheldon Chapel, an 1800’s brick church ruin, Fort Fremont, an early 20th Century coastal battery ruin (please do consult Don Stephens for a full history of coastal artillery), St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Beaufort, a beautiful and fully restored wooden structure, oodles of gorgeous old, historic houses in Beaufort, and…., I could go on and on.

House in the Sea by Paiboon S.

The meet-up of several photography clubs and our guide, David Price, Saturday on Hunting Island went well, except for the aforementioned simultaneous cold, rain and wind.  No one could endure the weather conditions past noon.  But before that we all clicked away on the bone-yard beach, in the narrow dunes area connecting the beach to the maritime forest, and briefly in the forest as well.  And I’m sure everyone captured some unique and creative view of the Hunting Island Lighthouse.
It was enjoyable time well spent, and I hope every participant came away with at least one ribbon winner.  A big thank you goes to Stan Greenberg who arranged the meet up with David Price and other clubs on Hunting Island.  And a special belated thank you goes to Bernd Greulich who organized and planned this wonderful outing before his untimely passing.  BG, we carried on, but we missed you.  

Jack Makes a Point

In the Rain at Hunting Island Lighthouse