This photo I took at Magnolia Gardens the other day reminds me of a forest floor close-up that the great nature and bird photographer Eliot Porter so excelled at.   I have been greatly influenced by this great photography master for more than 40 years now.   His work never ceases to refresh my soul and inspire me in my own work.

I have only seen Lake Moultrie a couple of time.  It's a huge inland lake, and I have known about it for much of my life, but never explored it.  It's less than an hour's drive from Charleston.  The other week, I drove to Bonneau Beach and took this shot on a cloudy day in October.

I had long heard about this church way out in Sumter County, and not long ago, I was driving along a country road and saw it.  Not sure at first what church it was, I turned around and visited it.   What a surprise to see that it was.   A beautiful building and truly lovely setting.

One of my favorite spots to relax and take a break from the world.   

I wandered around the empty downtown of Mayesville, S.C. recently.   Only a couple of other people were around the place.   The stillness was palpable.  An early October sun shown bright with spotted clouds in an early Autumn sky.   The imposing Kineen Hotel, long derelict and forlorn, was a reminder of better times in this town.

More images from a walk at Magnolia Gardens in late September.

Clouds on a beautiful late September day at Magnolia Gardens.

The wondrous sight of butterflies at Magnolia Gardens, late September 2009.

Early Fall sights, sounds and that general autumn feeling in the air greeted me at Cypress Gardens.   What a photographer's paradise.

Nature's flower arrangements.

What a delight to photograph butterflies at Cypress Gardens.

Swamp maple and cypress trees at Cypress Gardens recently.