Wednesday, January 27, 2016

A year in review...about a month late.

I know this has been the theme of the last few blog posts, but one of my New Year's resolutions this year is to be more consistent in my blog posts.  When I was in college, and even for the first year after, I posted my photos to this blog constantly.  When I moved to South Carolina to start my job at The Island Packet...I guess you could say life got in the way.  I keep telling myself that I'm going to be better, but then other things would pop up.

Last year was a pretty crazy year, mostly because I got married in May, and it seemed that there was always something more important to do.  This year I am making serious efforts to better myself.  I turn 30 in October and two of my best friends and I have decided that we are going to try and put our best face forward when we leave our twenties.  We are training to do a half marathon in New Orleans in January 2016, we have all decided to watch what we eat a little more (personally...I am doing Weight Watchers)...so I figure it is just as important to make sure that I continue to put that much effort into my career, and part of that is keeping up with my blog.  I will also be updating my website, which is very overdue for fresh photos...more about that later.

To get the ball rolling, here are some of my favorite photographs from the past year-ish.  Enjoy!

Whale Branch’s Malik Brown, left, and Chris Wilson celebrate after Brown tackled Johnsonville High’s quarterback in the second quarter of their game in the first round of the 2-A playoffs on Nov. 13, 2015 at Whale Branch Early College High School in Burton.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks to a group of people at Blackstone's Cafe on Aug. 28, 2015 in Beaufort.

Terra Brewer, center, releases a paper lantern to honor her husband, Antonio Brewer, as family and friends watch during a vigil held for him on July 29, 2015 at Port Royal Apartments in Port Royal.  Brewer was shot and killed while in the car with his two-year-old daughter from another relationship and the girl's mother, who were both wounded, early in the morning on March 20 at the apartment complex.

Hilton Head Christian Academy's Andy Anderson, left, and Macee Tamminen share a emotional moment after their 68-60 win over Palmetto Christian in the SCISAA 2-A state championship on Feb. 28, 2015 at the Sumter County Civic Center in Sumter.

Bluffton students cheer while wearing Americana clothing in honor of the 9/11 attacks during Bluffton's game against Sol C. Johnson High School on Sept. 11, 2015 at Bluffton High School.

Photographs from the candlelight vigil for Jon Kinlaw on Jan. 10, 2016 in the parking lot of the Habitat For Humanity ReStore on May River Road in Bluffton.  Kinlaw was shot and killed in parking lot of the Dollar General on May River Road on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016 in Bluffton.

Ellis Phillips, right, of Richmond Hill, Ga., talks to Marcus and Patricia Dukes, of Claxton, Ga., while wearing a Donald Trump mask on Dec. 30, 2015 outside of the Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa after seeing Donald Trump speak at the hotel.

Bo Guined, of Macon, Ga., exits the trailer that he sleeps in near the lot where he sells Christmas trees on Dec. 15, 2015 on Hilton Head Island.  “It’s my home away from home,” Guined said.  He lives there from the beginning of October, when he sells pumpkins, until the Christmas tree season is over.

W. Brantley Harvey Jr. sits for a portrait in his home called Marshlands on Dec. 16, 2015 in Beaufort.

The 8th & I Silent Drill Platoon perform on Oct. 16, 2015 at the Peatross Parade Deck in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Parris Island at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.

Brooke Bowman, 11, left, and her sister Jenni, 6, both of St. Helena, hold on to their pumpkins as they climb down from the hayride after riding back from the pumpkin patch at Dempsey Farms U Pick on Oct. 12, 2015 in St. Helena.

Left: Shrimp and Grits dish made with locally caught shrimp at Saltus River Grill.
Right: Saltus River Grill executive chef Brian Waters stands for a portrait in the dining room at the restaurant in Downtown Beaufort on Thursday, Sept. 24 before opening for dinner service.  Waters only serves locally caught shrimp and seafood that he purchases from Sea Eagle Market in Beaufort.  "It has better flavor, it is fresher and we support a local business," Waters said.

Ashley Shoemaker, left, of Burton, and Jared Lewis, of Port Royal, stand for a portrait near the Port Royal Skate Park at the Naval Heritage Park on Dec. 2, 2015 in Port Royal.  The childhood friends are organizing a group to clean up the skate park in an effort to reopen the facility.

A drill instructor moves through the lines of recruits during a marching drill on Oct. 7, 2015 at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.

Marine recruits going through the Day Movement Course portion during the Crucible on Sept. 25, 2015 at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.

Sgt. John Eversley, a drill instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, stands for a portrait on Friday, Oct. 9, 2015 on the base.

Marine recruits going through the Day Movement Course portion during the Crucible on Sept. 25, 2015 at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.

More than 400 people showed up to hear Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush speak during his Town Hall meeting on Jan. 9, 2016 at the Hilton Head Marriott Resort & Spa on Hilton Head Island.

The wild marsh ponies on Little Horse Island off of St. Helena Island emerge from the fog over the marsh when they heard Venaye and Dave McGlashan call to them to let them know that they had put fresh hay out on Dec. 1, 2015.

A pair of juvenile Great Egrets wait out an afternoon storm on July 12, 2015 at the Cypress Wetlands in Port Royal.

Treena and Jermaine Jenkins stand with Bella, their 1-year-old Yorkshire Terrier, in what remains of the living room at their home on Nov. 21, 2014 on Bruce K. Smalls Drive in Burton.  Their home caught fire around 8 a.m. and when firefighters arrived on the scene they rescued Bella from inside.

Jeff Meyer, a Bluffton firefighter, center, goes through the decontamination stations during a hazardous material drill on Sept. 8, 2015 at an abandoned gas station off of Buckwalter Parkway in Bluffton.


All photos ©2015-2016 The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette and are not to be used without permission from those publications.