Back in late March of 2007, I drove my wife and two collies from Indianapolis to the Collie National Dog Show (yes there is such a thing, and it’s held annually), which took place that year not far from Charlotte, North Carolina. The deal was that if I made the drive I’d be able to do a bit of photography in the area. Never having been before, I readily agreed. I had parts of four days on the ground in the region and I tried to make the most of it…though I probably didn’t.
Regardless, one of those days was spent at Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve, part of a large nature preserve across the state line in South Carolina, not far from the town of Kershaw. The preserve hosts a remarkably diverse series of ecosystems, including (but not limited to) pine and hardwood forests and the eponymous granite flat rock, which is close to 14 acres in size than 40.
After arriving early in the morning I was walking on the wooded trail from the preserve’s upper parking lot to the rock itself when I noticed that I was wandering through an area that included blooming Carolina jasmine and wisteria. It was much warmer than usual for that time of year and, to my advantage, the spring bloom was bursting out early.
Something caused me to look down while I was striding through the area and I noticed a fallen jasmine blossom nestled in the ridges of a pine cone. I stopped and took a good look at the ground where I stood. If it’s possible for a forest floor intimate to be a magnificent sight, this was it. Right at my feet was a gorgeous combination of colors and textures and I hastened to capture it. The resulting photograph became my favorite image of the trip.
Lightscapes Nature Photography Blog 
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