Labor Day Weekend. The traditional "end of summer". School is back in session, and the crowds along the coast have left gone. As we move into September, here's a few favorites from this summer in the Ocean State.

But I'm not quite ready for fall yet. We've still got a few more weeks of locals summer to enjoy!

Summer in the Ocean State isn't complete without at least one trip to Block Island. This year, that first trip for me was on the second Sunday of August. With the weather forecast for 90+ degrees and humid in the city, it was perfect timing for a beach day out on the island. Here are a few of my favorite snapshots from that day trip to the best beach in New England.

Today is National Lighthouse Day. Celebrated every year on August 7th, the date commemorates the Ninth Act of the First Congress of the United States, passed on August 7, 1789, which first established how the new United States would govern maritime navigation and lighthouses. Here's a few of my favorite lighthouse photos from the Ocean State over the last couple of years.

Last Saturday night I took a drive down to Charlestown to walk around the Breachway and Charlestown Beach Road for some photos at sunset. Situated on the south side of Ninigret Pond, the Breachway and its beach and campground are an iconic spot in Southern Rhode Island. The views are spectacular. To the east, you can see all the way to Point Judith. To the west across the Breachway channel is East Beach, one of the most pristine stretches of beach in Southern New England. The Breachway is always a popular spot in the summer to watch the sunset, and on this night we were treated to a good one.

An evening walk down Matunuck Beach Road on the first Sunday of July. Matunuck is a special place for me. My grandmother used to have a beach trailer at the meadow in Matunuck when I was young. We had many beach days, after dinner walks to Vanilla Bean for ice cream, and nights watching the last ferry sail home from the rocks by the Ocean Mist. Most of my earliest memories of summers in the Ocean State are from when we spent time there. It's always nostalgic whenever I get to go back and visit. On this evening, it was a bit cloudy, but the golden hour light made for some great photos along my walk.

Late June along the coast of Rhode Island usually brings a couple of things: hydrangeas in peak bloom and coastal fog. On the last Sunday in June, I took a drive down to Watch Hill to walk around and photograph the hydrangeas in bloom along the waterfront. When I left the city, it was close to 90 degrees, but down in Watch Hill, a sea breeze and mid-60s water temperatures led to a bit of coastal fog. That shifting fog combined with the golden hour light and made for some pretty cool photographs.