Peace and Tranquility

About a week ago, I posted a picture from a recent vacation in South Carolina, and I mentioned how I was drawn to the beauty of the architecture in Charleston.  However, it was more than just the buildings that made me fall in love with Charleston.  One day, while exploring the downtown area, we stumbled upon Waterfront Park which is a photographer’s dream.  Waterfront Park runs along the Charleston harbour entry. It’s 8 acres of lawns, fountains, gardens and paths.  The pier and pavilion have picnic tables and family-sized wooden swings, and you can enjoy views of the ships going in and out of the harbour.

Even though it was still only March, it was a beautiful warm day, the flowers were blooming, and there were children playing in the pineapple fountain.  While snapping photos of the children, the garden, and the pier, I turned around and looked in awe at the scene in today’s picture.  The photo doesn’t even completely do it justice because you miss out on the smells and sounds, but hopefully you can imagine what it was like.  I took in the canopy of trees bending over and enclosing the long walkway, and it almost felt like walking into a tunnel, and when I look at the photo now I have the urge to follow the path to catch up to the person in the distance.  I think this is another great example of vanishing point photography, and one of the things I love the most about this photo is the way the shadows play across the path.

As I look outside my house now at the leafless trees and the snowflakes falling, I wish I could be back there again right now strolling in the sunshine, enjoying the peaceful scenery.