• Feature

    Rare Air Episode 46

    December 30, 2021 - By 

    It is wonderful to report that today is an excellent day for us. We’re together in Cherry Grove, a run of built-out South Carolina coastline where we have gathered for the past several years – minus 2020, when we had to stay home. For our youngsters and the rest of us, it’s been great to ease back onto memory lane at the beach, especially with warmer temperatures enticing us outdoors. This year’s locale has us further north, and in our beach walks, the nature sanctuary of Cherry Grove Point beckons.

  • Feature

    Rare Air Episode 45

    October 1, 2021 - By 

    Read on rkdarnell.com. What would I attempt to do if I knew I could not fail? This is a challenge my mother presented to me at different times in life. Happily, I’m coming up with some answers. First, I would write more, and aim to see that work through publication. And beyond that, I would spend more time traveling, capturing scenic beauty, and producing more nature documentaries.

  • Feature

    Rare Air Episode 44

    May 1, 2021 - By 

    I’ve been reliving words written in early July, 2017, during the time of this trip. For Beth and me, the main theme of our second St. John excursion was Togetherness: We were celebrating 25 years (plus six weeks) of matrimony. Perhaps it’s also true that we were seriously starting to fantasize about our hopes for the future – which continue coming into focus as the years pass.

  • Feature

    Rare Air Episode 42

    January 2, 2021 - By 

    You may recall me expressing interest in packaging “Rare Air” differently, in a longer form. I’m excited to dig into this as 2021 progresses. With luck, something worth seeing will show up here before too long. Meanwhile, I hope you’ll enjoy the unedited scene debuting here today, which is something of a magical moment on its own.

  • Feature

    Rare Air Episode 40

    August 31, 2020 - By 

    Here are some notes from my journal on 10 July, 2017, the day this footage was recorded. “So long as nothing threatening presents itself, one can easily experience sheer bravado, even while visiting a world where we are so foreign. A half mile off the coast of St. John with mostly just ocean to the east and south, and Tortola a couple of miles away to the north, we were very exposed to all the natural life of the deep, dark sea. But as we swam from just around the tip of the south side to the north along the…

  • Feature

    Rare Air Episode 39

    June 30, 2020 - By 

    If I had ever experienced a close encounter with a squid before July 9, 2017, I don’t remember it. And on the other hand, the visitation recorded in the video featured here is something I will probably never forget. On this trip, I had a new underwater housing for my Sony DSC-RX100 camera, and I didn’t yet have much experience attempting to frame subjects with it. That’s one factor; another is the ocean’s current. I suppose I probably was also at least a little taken aback by the steady gaze of 20 creatures who seemed quite interested in watching me.

  • Feature

    Rare Air Episode 37

    March 1, 2020 - By 

    This episode of Rare Air is a time capsule from Caneel Bay in July, 2017… two months before Hurricane Irma hit, leading to the resort’s immediate closure. Today, it’s still closed, and its future uncertain. Who would have guessed?