The first stop for our Swamps and Marshes photo workshop is Jekyll Island, Georgia. I love going there – unlike many of the coastal islands, it’s remarkably quiet. The island is largely owned by the State of Georgia. The small island has a wide range of photographic subjects – historic buildings, wildlife, coastal marsh, and quiet beaches. That makes it perfect for photography and the reason for making it part of this week’s workshop.
We’ve just got two days of photography but this is a place I could easily spend a week or more. The images will depend a lot on weather conditions. I’m was hoping for some light clouds, but the weather upon arrival was a bit overcast with a chance of rain.
Any time you get to a new location, the first thing to do is to do a quick assessment of conditions. I’ve spent more than 30 days at Jekyll Island, so I know the area. But I don’t know what has happened in the four months since my last visit. At a coastal location – especially with marsh – the tides are important. I scheduled this workshop based on the tides, but I still want to see for myself what might have changed at our sunrise and sunset locations. My prime sunrise location is a beach covered with driftwood. The nature of the location is that huge driftwood trees move with the tides and shifting sands. So I’ve got to take a good look and consider the position of the sun. For the sunset locations, we’ve got three good choices but only two sunsets, so I’m going to make sure there are no site issues and we are at the optimal locations.
As we prepared for sunset, the island was completely covered with clouds, but we saw some clearing on the mainland. We decided to go to an alternate location closer to the mainland. As the light changed, the setting sun was blocked by clouds, but our view to the east provided this image.
The lesson – scout your locations and be prepared with a Plan B.
Eric Bowles Images 