The azalea blooms have gone by but the Long White Bridge is still a big attraction at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. On a recent afternoon this Great Blue Heron and I had the view to ourselves.
The heron slowly waded around the perimeter, creating a small ripple in the water. There was just enough breeze to move the entire surface of the water so no mirror-like reflections this time.
Photographing this iconic spot at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens with Azaleas in bloom is all about timing. The flower blooms, the light, the stillness of the water, the absence of people on the bridge– all things we have no control over. It’s a lovely spot and I tend to take a few captures whenever I pass by, even if the flowers aren’t in bloom.
Taken 3/22/2019
This is the same garden pond taken the same day as yesterday’s Sepia Pond post. Taken from different angles towards the water and a quarter way round the pond, the reflections were much different.
Crossing over the white bridge leads to a path that runs along the side of the rice field canal and eventually all the way around the impoundment.
This is one of the many ponds I pass by at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. The water behind the statue is a larger pond that was once part of the plantation’s rice fields.
The sepia treatment of the photo helps hide the unattractive floating bits of dead leaves that fall is leaving behind.
This little pond doesn’t get much attention at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, probably because it isn’t lined with flowers like some of the others. I always liked to stop by looking for turtles and wading birds that found it attractive.
Staff cleared years’ worth of fallen trees and limbs from the water and tidied the edges last fall. This made for a great reflection , but I haven’t seen much in the way of wildlife there since.
April 12, 2018.
A scene that includes the “Long White Bridge” at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens is hard to pass up no matter how many times I’ve taken it.
Neither of these shots, taken about eight weeks apart, have much for colorful flowers and there isn’t a bird in sight but the reflections of the old trees in the still water intrigue me.
Click on the images for a larger view.
The Azaleas are fading but other flowers, including these Calla Lilies, are blooming.
Live Oaks with arched limbs line the entry way to many southern plantations and this spring the Azaleas under those arches have been spectacular.
One of the most photographed spots at Charleston’s Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, the Long White Bridge is a hot spot of activity this week with the Azaleas in full bloom.
This has been a banner year for Azaleas in the tri-county area. After last year’s disappointment with a late March freeze that severely limited the blooms, the colors are especially welcome this spring.
The chicks have started to hatch and what a sight! These photographs are highly cropped and not the best quality due to the distance and small size of the chicks. Based on activity I have seen and other photographers’ observations these two might be three or four days old. Photos as they grow should be better!
A nest closer to the walk way also has two chicks that I could see. That pair was younger and much smaller so the photos I took may not amount to anything; I started with the best first.
The adult seemed content to bask in the late day sun as the little ones bounced around the nest. I am looking forward to documenting their growth.
Magnolia Plantation, Charleston, SC.
