My wife and I have been to the Myrtle Beach (South Carolina) area many times over the past 20 years but it wasn’t until 2015 that we finally visited Brookgreen Gardens. To say that we were shocked with what we discovered there would be an understatement. We simply had no idea how extensive the grounds are and how much there is to see. From a photography standpoint Brookgreen Gardens is a treasure chest of creative possibilities. From the Lowcountry Trail, the zoo and plantation sites, the pontoon boat cruise, and many natural areas, the facility is brimming with image opportunities. Rather than try to explain the photography potential of visiting Brookgreen Gardens I thought I would share some images that I captured during a single morning that we spent at the facility. My wife and I have already decided that the next time we visit the Myrtle Beach area we’ll be spending at least 2 or 3 full days at Brookgreen Gardens.
This short photo essay is divided into six sections in terms of the types of images that can be captured at Brookgreen Gardens: plants and foliage, landscape, birds, textures and details, and finally the onsite zoo. And, I’m sure that I’m only scratching the surface of the potential at Brookgreen Gardens. All of the images were taken hand-held using a Nikon 1 V2 along with various Nikon 1 lenses.
Table of Contents
Plants and Foliage
Unfortunately our March visit was not ideal timing from a plants and foliage perspective, as most of the plants were just starting to come out of their winter dormancy. I imagine that from the late spring through to the early fall the grounds would provide a plethora of opportunities for flower photography.
Here is a small selection of some of the images I captured during my visit. The first two were captured using a Nikon 1 30-110 f/3.8-5.6 lens with a pair of Vello extension tubes.
The following four images were all captured using a Nikon 1 70-300 f/4.5-5.6 VR lens.
Landscapes
Since we didn’t tour the entire grounds I know that I only captured a very minute part of the potential for landscape photography at Brookgreen Gardens. Here are a few images…
Birds
While there are some captive birds resident in the onsite zoo, the grounds at Brookgreen Gardens have a wide selection of bird life. I only had time to capture a few images out of the many bird sightings that occurred during my brief visit.
Textures and Details
When I’m out with a camera I usually find myself being naturally drawn to the textures and details that I find around me. Things like tree bark, mechanical items, the shapes of leaves etc. all seem to catch my eye.
I often play a little game with myself by looking for interesting objects in the most poorly lit area I can find. I use these items to challenge my hand-holding technique by trying to capture a usable image at as slow a shutter speed as possible. Here are two images taken hand-held at 1/6th of a second.
Lowcountry Zoo
The onsite Lowcountry Zoo houses a range of animals that are native to the area. These include alligators, otters, red and gray foxes, bald eagles and owls to name a few. One of the highlights is an outdoor aviary that has a wide selection of heron and egrets flying freely within the structure. There is a boardwalk that runs over a marsh wetland that is incorporated in the aviary. This allows for some images that appear like they were taken in ‘wild’ conditions.
There are also some farm animals in this section of Brookgreen Gardens.
One of the personal highlights of my visit to Brookgreen Gardens was to see a gray fox up in a tree. Apparently this is the only species of fox that is known to climb trees, which they typically do to escape predators like coyotes. The individual in the following two images was resting in the crook of a branch, more than 20 feet from the ground.
The red fox in the following image was just opening its eyes after enjoying a nap.
This final image of a bald eagle was captured by shooting up against the wire mesh of the enclosure.
I hope this short photo essay has given readers a reasonable representation of the many image opportunities available at Brookgreen Gardens. If you ever visit the Myrtle Beach area I’d recommend spending some time there with your camera!
Article and all images are Copyright Thomas Stirr. No use, duplication or adaptation is allowed without written permission.
Beautiful pictures. I also have the Nikkor 70-300mm lens and use it on my new Nikon D610. I am very pleased with the images that I get. You show how well it captures the scene. Very high quality and the price is within reason. It is also lighter than the 70-200mm and can reach 100mm more. Glad to see you are using that lens well.
HI John,
The 70-300 that I used for these images was not the FX model, but rather the Nikon 1 CX 70-300 which is specifically designed for the Nikon 1 bodies. Glad you liked the images!
Tom
Thanks for sharing this information Tom. I’ve been to Myrtle Beach many times over the past few years mostly for golfing. On my next visit I will make sure that I reserve not only my starting tee times but also a couple of days to visit this Garden.
As usual your pictures are always outstanding.
Hi John,
I’m glad you enjoyed the images – thanks for your positive comment! If you’re like me you will really enjoy spending some time at Brookgreen Gardens. There is so much to take in and experience, as well as photograph.
Tom
Mr Stirr, not only we travel to the “same” place and but we shoot the “same” bird, too :-)))
www.flickr.com/photo…4632668111
www.flickr.com/photo…4632668111
www.flickr.com/photo…4632668111
A lot of colorful birds over there.
You got the wonderful shots with your mirrorless body
Regards
Thanks for sharing hoan.
Tom
it might make more sense if I said substitute a DSLR with a small camera…
Hi Ron,
Only you’ll know whether that makes sense for you or not. I own three Nikon 1 V2’s and a D800. At some point if I ever stop doing client work its likely that all my FX gear will be sold off.
Tom
Thomas, very nice photography, this being the first time to have seen your images. I was amazed to learn that these were taken hand-held as the photos are very detailed. Is this the result of image stabilization in the Nikon V2 lenses? Anyway, great stuff, and I need to review your work further for inspiration!
Hi Patrick,
It is always great to hear from readers and thanks for the positive comment!
The vibration reduction in the Nikon 1 lenses does work quite well and can allow for quite slow shutter speeds with proper technique. As far as the ISO’s used in these images, compared to other articles I’ve done they were actually fairly low. I’ve shot my Nikon 1 gear at much higher ISOs like 1600 and 3200 and can get acceptable results as long as I process my RAW files through DxO OpticsPro 10 and use the PRIME noise reduction function.
Tom
Mr. Stirr,
Only one word comes to mind when viewing your work….WONDERFUL!
Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome Bob – I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Tom
Glad you got to visit my neck of the woods. Brookgreen Gardens is beautiful no matter what time of year you visit. Come back soon. You won’t be sorry.
Hi Patricia, we certainly got that impression from our first visit!
Tom
During your next visit to the Gardens take the tour of the slave cemeteries. Fascinating and solemn. You’ll come away humbled, I suspect.
Thanks very much for the suggestion Michael. It is something we’ll plan on doing during our next visit.
Tom
Wow, I’m not even sure Tom nor I knew that existed. Thanks for the recommendation.
Thanks Thomas, every shot was enjoyable, your photos gave me a moment of peace and enjoyment in an otherwise busy morning. Another thought…I used to wonder why anyone would substitute a DSLR for a small camera with a small sensor. I have a couple of Nikon DSLRs and I love the picture quality they produce but these days I find myself heading out the door with with an Olympus PEN camera. Maybe its just because I’m getting older and don’t want to carry a bulky camera around. Again, thank you for taking the time to post these very enjoyable images.
I appreciate the positive words Ron, thank you very much!
I find about the only time I reach for my D800 is when I’m doing client work, or when I’m planning on taking nature images in challenging conditions. Otherwise it pretty much just stays in Tenba rolling case. I enjoy shooting with my Nikon 1 gear much more than with my D800. I love the simplicity of it as well as the small size. In many ways cameras like your Olympus PEN bring back the fun and joy of photography.
Tom
Tom, great captures. Been so busy I haven’t processed a single file yet.
Thanks Mike, it was really great to spend a couple of days shooting with you! It was your ‘eagle eye’ that spotted the gray fox up in the tree too! I was so focused on the foxes on the ground I would have never even noticed it.
Tom
Tom, I can’t thank you, your wonderful wife and brother in law for allowing me to get in the way of your vacation. However, I’m still recuperating from all the walking around the gardens. Oh, and by the way, I won’t allow any sea food in the house until May. LOL
:-) Mike, we all enjoyed your company immensely and we really appreciated your wicked sense of humour during the time we hung out together! The garden walk was quite long and I can appreciate you comment in that regard. We restricted ourselves to one seafood buffet during our Myrtle Beach visit.
Tom
Tom, I’m very glad you all allowed me to decide upon the tram ride back to the parking lot. Going overboard, I did three seafood buffet’s. Just too much snow crab for one lifetime.
One can never have too much snow crab!!