Autumn on Cedar Creek
Photos and words by Sean Rayford
Cedar Creek in Congaree National Park during the fall is magical. The black water tributary creeps and winds 12 miles through the largest tract of old growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the United States - and it’s a 30 minute drive from my home in West Columbia. Affectionately and incorrectly referred to by locals as ‘the Swamp’ the 26,276-acre park is home to one of the largest collections of champion trees in the world, with 15 examples of tallest known species. It features one of the highest forest canopies on earth that experiences the color cycles of autumn.
Congaree reflects how forests in the American South once were, before loggers razed the landscape — much of it replaced with agriculture. Named after the native population that once inhabited the midlands, the land was predominately owned by a logging company until the late 70’s. The forest would have suffered the same fate as the others, had it not been for a grassroots movement that culminated with a rally at the South Carolina Statehouse on September 20, 1975, reportedly attended by 700 folks, and the subsequent passage of an act by Congress establishing Congaree Swamp National Monument - one year and one day later. In 2003 it was designated as a national park.
If you want to know what the American South looked like before the invasion, Congaree is your opportunity.
Connect with Congaree National Park on social media: Twitter and Facebook and Instagram - or visit the official website.
Photos copyright Sean Rayford - November 26-29, 2019
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About the author:
Sean has been photographing South Carolina since 1997 when he joined the Gamecock Newspaper at the University of SC. He came to school to study computer science — but those classes sucked. After receiving a degree in Media Arts, Sean worked as an assistant manager at a record store, and began freelancing with the local daily newspaper. After a few years and multiple gun-point hold-ups, Sean found himself tending bar at a small live music venue, balancing the service industry with freelance photography for over a decade. He lost his job after telling his boss off at the bar one night, and took on photography full time in 2015. Since then, Sean has become a regular contributor to Getty Images, The Associated Press, The New York Times and many others. You can see more of his work at www.seanrayford.com.