November 2015 - Page 2 of 3 - Just Enough Focus

November 18, 2015

Coqueta

This is one of the bars we passed along the Embarcadero on a Saturday night. I was on a photowalk in San Francisco with Trey Ratcliff and about three hundred other friends. Little did I know that some in our party were not making it past the bars along the route. And here I was busy taking pictures, silly me, I need to get my priorities straight. Well, I did see a bunch of cool spot and made a mental note that I would surely stop in these watering holes next time I come here, they really look fun.

November 17, 2015

By the Fountain

One of the best places to stand if you want to watch the world go by is by a central fountain in a european city. I stood in front of La fontaine des Trois Grâces in the center of Montpellier and no matter which way I looked there was something to watch. Sometimes quick, sometimes slow, but a lot of activity on all sides. Next time I should just stand there all day, stopping only for the occasional cappuccino and croissant.

November 17, 2015

Palavas Harbor

The harbors along the French Mediterranean are full of sailboats. This is in Palavas but in another town further south we watched children learning to sail on rough seas which I though was pretty amazing. But that probably explains why so many people along the coast love to sail. This is just a small section of the harbor, there were many hundreds of boats moored here, many more than I’m used to seeing in our small Florida harbors. This was the scene as the sun set last week and I walked along the docks taking it all in.

November 16, 2015

Bean Point End

I took this from Bean Point on Anna Maria Island about a year ago. I was driving by and noticed a water spout which is not all that unusual for late summer. By the time I parked it was disappearing but there were still a few people enjoying the last rays of the day including these three boys. It was one of those moments when everything seems just right and fortunately I was able to get a few images as everything came together to form the perfect end to the day.

November 13, 2015

Casa Batllo Stairway

This is another image from inside Casa Batlló in Barcelona, a home designed by Antoni Gaudi and designated a world heritage site by UNESCO. As I wound my way though the house I was presented with unique design at every turn, nothing is repeated. Even the very last stairwell to the roof is an exquisite expression of art. It’s as though the house was constructed by an artist, which of course, it was. Antoni Gaudi was a rare soul who elevated architecture and design into an immersive expression of artistic mastery and this house is just one of many examples.

November 12, 2015

Small Streets of Barcelona

Coming from America I just love the small streets of European cities. Of course they were built in the age of horses but they are now busy pedestrian thoroughfares with shops and cafes at every turn. This is in Barcelona near the main cathedral. People are walking around at all hours of the night, it feels quite safe. I could walk around all day and all night here and get delightfully lost. It was not problem at all. If I ever got worried I just looked at the map app on my Apple iPhone and it guided me back to my hotel. I wonder if horse riders ever got lost in these streets? They probably fed the apple to the horse and let it found the way out. Kind of ironic.

November 11, 2015

Walk on a Warm Beach

We are having a rather warm fall season here in Florida. I work in an air-conditioned room and so even I look forward to getting outside just to warm up. There are some beaches where you can just walk along at sunset with a drink in your had and the warm water at your feet. This one is at Lido beach which is just now gearing up for the winter season. As soon as American Thanksgiving is over waves of northerners will migrate south and end up doing something like this each evening. Now if I could just get out of my office, I might just join them.

November 10, 2015

Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert

This is a small village in southern France that has maintained its medieval state through the centuries. In one section I notice construction on a home, the builder was building walls of stone as perhaps no differently than ages ago. It’s nestled in a gorge along a river which was nothing more than a stream when I took this. It was incredible walking through the narrow streets and it was easy to imagine I had been transported back in time.

November 9, 2015

Sagrada Familia Ceiling

The Sagrada Familia has been under construction for a hundred years and it is perhaps the most compelling example of design and architecture on the planet. This ceiling rises maybe two hundred feet from where I stood yet it’s impossible to convey the enormity of the interior. The detail in the craftsmanship and artistry overwhelms your sense to the point that you just have to stand in one spot, look in one direction and try to take it in. So this is one little corner as I stood staring straight up doing my best to take it in.

November 8, 2015

Cloudy Beach at Dawn

Its safe to say the beach was quite deserted this morning at dawn when I showed up to get a few pictures. This is in Carnon along the Mediterranean in the south of France. But, just like back home in Florida, there are still people showing up to walk or run the shoreline. As well there were a few fishermen plying their trade. Some things, regardless of the location, seem to be universal. Beaches are places were people come to play or work along the shore.