A Last Look at Myrtle Beach

All good things must come to an end, and so too for our visit to Myrtle Beach.  As we took one last walk around, I thought I’d share some more lovely views of all there was to see at this great state park.

Delicate White Bloom

Altho I don’t know what this flower is, I know we’ve seen it several times throughout our trip so far, and I figured this might be the last time, since we are heading north from here.  It looks all the whiter from being set against the green leaves of the plant it springs from!

Shrinking Violets

I wonder why people refer to violets as shrinking?  Yes, they are small and grow close to the ground, but the lovely purple violet color is anything but shrinking!  Here are a small bunch of them happily blooming away in the warmth of South Carolina!

Myrtle Beach Pier

One last view of one of the piers at Myrtle Beach. This is the same pier that I posted a photo of in the Walk in the Woods blog post – just from a different angle!

Castle in the Sand

Some little person built a sand castle on the beach!  I just had to photograph it, of course, and then I converted this to a painting effect because it just seemed to ask to be a painting instead of a photograph!  The beach seems empty now, but someone left their signature on it, and in a nice way!

Tall Trees

And, one last look up at the trees that grew so close to the beach.  It gave us the best of both worlds – beach warmth and the cool shade of the trees.

Enjoy!



Myrtle Beach – Atamasco Blooms

One day, as we walked back from the beach, I saw these lovely white flowers growing in a small patch in the grassy area just before we got to the beach.  I stopped and asked one of the volunteers at the state park if she knew what they were, and she told me they were atamasco flowers.  I had never heard of them, or seen them before.  So, of course, I had to go back and photograph them.

Windy

I know, you’ll never be able to identify them from this image!  It was actually pretty breezy when I was photographing them, and I decided to go with the breeze for this image!  I then converted it to a watercolor painting.  You can tell there’s some sort of white flower there, but what you’re really left with is the impression of the wind…….

White Jewels

For much of the remainder of the photos you’ll see here, I was laying on the grass, shooting them from ground level. And, now you can see how pretty this bloom is!  They truly are like little white jewels dotting the green grass!

Leaning Right

No, I’m not making a political statement here!  They truly are leaning right with the breeze that’s happening!  I was lucky enough to capture them when the wind was steady enough, they could actually be in focus as they were blowing!

Translucent Blooms

When I was laying in just the right position, the sunlight would shine thru the petals of the flowers, making them translucent.  I think it really showed off the delicate nature of these lovely blooms.

White Bouquet

I was able to get this image of a closer grouping of them.  When I was processing the image, I thought they looked like a bouquet, arranged by Nature.

Atamasco Blooms on the Beach

When I said the grassy area was right by the beach, I wasn’t kidding.  I really like this shot of a sunny day, beautiful flowers, green grass with trees overhead and the ocean.  Life is good.

Enjoy!

 



Myrtle Beach – Walk in the Woods

The campground where we stayed at Myrtle Beach also had some nice woodland walking trails, which we took advantage of one day…..

Walking a Bridge

Woods in Myrtle Beach had quite a bit more low-growth than I’m typically used to.  There were also a number of small little foot bridges that took us over the swampy areas where sometimes we saw a small creek.

Water Reflection

At other times, we crossed over what seemed to be a sort of swampy pond.  In this pond, there was a rather busy reflection, not quite as easy to see as others.  Still, I liked the complexity of this image.  Hint – the shoreline is in the upper third of the image.  One thing I liked about these swamps – no gators!

Pier Thru the Grasses

At about the halfway point, we came out onto what was termed a boardwalk area, altho there was no boardwalk, just a parking lot and pathways to the beach.  I did like the view of one of the piers thru the beach grass, however!

Fern Spotlight

On our return loop, I was lucky enough to get this great shot of a low-growing fern.  I just love how the sunlight coming thru the trees above seemed to put a natural spotlight on it.

Holly Berries

Another low-growing plant in part of the woods was a holly plant…..and we were lucky enough to be there when the berries were in bloom.  A bit of Christmas color in early April!

Spring Green

Throughout the path thru the woods, there would be benches so that one could sit and catch one’s breath…..and also just appreciate what was all around.  In this instance, I looked up and saw that lovely spring green color in the color of the tree leaves overhead.

Woodpecker in Tree

Another thing I saw overhead on our return walk was this little guy.  I believe he’s a woodpecker of sorts.  There were photos posted on boards in the park of the wildlife there, and I think I saw a photo of one of these guys identified as a type of woodpecker.  I was really lucky that I was able to position myself to get this good clear shot of him in the tree he was in!

Enjoy!



Morning Treasures – Look Down!

I took a creative photography class once, and one of the exercises we did was to spend 45 minutes in one spot.  We couldn’t move more that 2-3 feet from our original assigned point.  That exercise taught me to be open to looking for the shot in many different ways.  I put that approach to work on the return walk on the beach that morning.

Leaf Writing

Since I spent the entire walk out to the pier looking up at the sky, on the way back, I decided to focus down.  I was rewarded by this lovely art piece by Mother Nature!  I believe the leaf came in on the waves, and then the stem created what I’m calling leaf writing as it started back to the sea, but stopped.

Washed up Jellyfish

There were a number of jellyfish that washed up on the shore.  They definitely aren’t as pretty as they are in the water, but the color was kind of pretty and was set off nicely by the sand!

Feathers in the Sand

I thought of this as sort of a natural semi-abstract.  The feathers are from seagulls, I’m sure, and the bits of shell were deposited by the incoming tide. Very pretty and natural!

Stay Within the Lines

This “art by nature” focuses on the shells!  Various shapes and sizes add variety.  And, I love the lines added by the water as it ebbed and flowed.  They add a certain dimension that truly finishes it off!

Shell or Bone

I wasn’t sure if this was a broken shell or part of a bone of a fish or something.  The shadows and groves worn into the sand was something that was a collaboration between the water, sand, and shell…..or bone?

Enjoy!

 

 

 



Morning Treasures – Look Up!

One morning when we were camping at Myrtle Beach State Park, we decided to get up early to see the sunrise.  The beach was facing the east (sort of), so I wanted to take advantage of shooting the sunrise.

Sunrise on Myrtle Beach

We started our beach stroll as the sun was starting to rise.  There were piers off the beach, so I thought I’d start there!  There was a ship, seagull, and buoy in the background.  I like the contrasting colors presented by Mother Nature.

Morning Reflection

Sometimes the shot to be had is behind you!  When I turned around, I found a view of another pier that had a much gentler feel to it.  Instead of orange and blue, this image is full of pink and purple…..and lovely light reflection on the sand.

Peeking Sun

When the sun started to peek over the horizon, the waves gently rolling into the shore made the scene a subtle way to welcome the day.

Welcoming the Day

Miki was with us, of course, on our morning stroll, and since it was so early, it was fine to let her run free!  For a brief moment, she decided to just sit and enjoy the sunrise.

Golden Sand

As the sun rose, the sand became golden!  For this image, I decided to let the sand be the star!!

Pier at Sunrise

At our turnaround point, the pier was close enough to become the focus of shot.  It was a huge pier, and folks would fish off it all day long.  You can see one early-bird out there already!

Enjoy!