You’d think that I would be able to go to a beach or some other place on the coast to get pictures of sunsets and sunrises. I did it in Detroit — before work, even — so I should be able to do it here, too. Unfortunately, for the first two months of my current rotation I arrived at work before the sun rose and left long after the sun had set, and even now — when sunset is well after 7 PM — I’ve been leaving at least twice a week after it’s dark out. Only on one solitary Saturday did I get anything close to a sunset, but with the colors fading to black within a matter of minutes I once again came to the conclusion that there really isn’t such a thing as a sunset in Charleston.

On the remaining weekends, I tend to hibernate during the morning and be social later on. I had the honor of photographing a friend’s proposal to his fiancée, which as a landscape shooter was quite a bit out of my comfort zone. I’d like to think the results were okay, but at least on my end I’m glad I’m not shooting any weddings soon. ;-)

Recently, after a particularly wearisome hibernation, I headed out to Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island. I had forgotten it is National Park week (April 21-29, 2012), so I was pleasantly surprised the inexpensive admission became free.

I absolutely miss Europe — the incredible roads, the people and their culture, the public transportation, the mountains — but the last flag I knowingly composed in my pictures was the Swiss flag at Riffelberg. It’s good to have one with the Stars and Stripes again. :-)