A Jekyll Island Triptych: Sunrise with the Driftwood

 

“If you are out there shooting, things will happen for you. If you're not out there, you'll only hear about it." - Jay Maisel


    For 123123 Day, I present a coordinated trio of images from my long-anticipated trip to witness sunrise at Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island off the coast of southern Georgia. Happy and Healthy New Year! As I wrote in my posts from July 22, July 31, and August 2, 2023...


“Dragon Tree” by Douglas Florian

The dragons all heap scorn on me
Because I’m born an earthly tree.
While dragons roam and dragons race,
I’m stuck at home, tied to one place.
For though my sap is dragon's blood,
My roots are trapped in dirt and mud. 
Great claws I grow,
But I can't gore.
And I don’t know
To even roar. 
In dragon dreams I scheme to fly
And scream in fire across the sky
To leave this lowly life terrestrial,
And soar, what’s more, in skies celestial.

    I had the most marvelous morning sitting amongst the trees and photographing this incredible place. Did you spy with your little eye the dragon trying to soar in my photograph? This image will be the first panel of my Jekyll Island triptych, so keep an eye out the next couple weeks for the other photographs. Have a great weekend, my friends! Peace be with you. 

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‘Dragon,’ a backlit view of an amazing tree just after dawn’s first light at magical Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island in coastal Georgia.


    Here is my Jekyll Island triptych photograph panel number two as promised, my friends. What a glorious morning on the beach! May peace be with you all. 

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‘Crouching Low,’ on my knees in the sand with a very low tripod mount at low tide on the ethereal shore of Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island in coastal Georgia.


    After waking up at 2:30am from my base camp on Hilton Head, I pointed my trusty car southward and passed through South Carolina on my way towards Georgia. Just after the city of Brunswick, I exited Interstate-95 and headed east on route 17 where I turned onto the Jekyll Island Causeway, paid my day pass fee, and crossed the ME Thompson Memorial Bridge onto Jekyll Island. 

    My goal in rising so early was to be at the famous Driftwood Beach before dawn’s first light. And indeed I was, parking in a convenient pull-off on Beach View Drive. Using my flashlight, I scouted the beach a bit in the darkness. The incredible dead trees still standing in the surf illuminated by moonlight to my back as I looked out to sea were simply awe-inspiring. 

    I hiked back to my car, made myself a small coffee, and prepared my camera. Finding some compositions worthy of the effort proved more difficult than expected as I try very hard minimize the visual chaos inherent in places like this.

    I managed to capture three images I’m quite proud of that morning. They work together to form a delightful triptych and this is the third and final panel. The incoming tide, the rising sun, and the glow on the far Atlantic horizon all combined to make me a happy photographer. I hope you enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed making them. Peace. 

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‘Silhouette,’ my favorite image of three taken at the amazing Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island in coastal Georgia on a beautiful early morning.





Location: Jekyll Island, Georgia 31527, USA

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