A Creative Morning in Cowpens

“Art feeds my soul. Great books battleproof my hope. Rich conversations magnify my creativity. Wonderful music uplifts my heart. Beautiful sights fortify my spirit.”
― Robin Sharma

Last Saturday morning, I met great friends and fellow photographers, Les and Janet Saucier, in Cowpens, South Carolina.

In 1781, Cowpens was the sight of an important victory for America in the fight for independence from the British.

It was not Cowpen’s history that led my friends, Les, Janet, and me to Cowpens, but rather

the opportunity to spend time together and to create.

We met in the downtown area shortly after sunrise.  The light on the buildings was amazing and we spent time photographing whatever captured our attention.

I was immediately drawn to one area due to the light and interesting textures.  Once I started photographing, the discovery of the fallen soldier was an added bonus.

The beautiful light also cast wonderful reflections on the downtown area.

After leaving downtown, we drove through the historic battleground.  There were many people enjoying the pleasant day there.

Our last stop of the morning was the historic depot, built in 1896.

As we walked around the depot, I began photographing through the windows of the depot.  I found such interesting scenes as I photographed through the window of one side of the building into the windows on the opposite side.  It all came together for me when Les peered in from the other side.

I loved how I was able to capture all of this detail in one single image.

I kept looking at some flowers that were growing around the depot.  They were the same colors as the train car.  I looked to see if one of the flowers dropped to the ground in order for me to use it as a prop.  No blossoms were on the ground, so I abandoned that idea, yet it was still in the back of my mind.

After a few minutes, it occurred to me that I could put the flower on the train car without harming any of the flowers.  I used double exposure on my camera.  I took one shot of the train car and one of the flower.  The camera merged the two together.  Of course, I had to do  this many times to get the two images to line up in just the right way.

It was an incredible morning spent thinking creatively while visiting with dear friends.

After we all got to our own homes and processed our favorites, it was just as much fun seeing what each of us captured in the same place and time.

I am so thankful for creativity, great light, and amazing friends!