Rick, Author at Just Enough Focus

May 8, 2017

Portable Lifeguard Stands

This is at Siesta Key where we went to see a sand sculpture exhibition. However the most iconic thing about the beach is the portable lifeguard stands. They’re painted in primary colors and spaced every hundred meters. This time I hung around the yellow one because it’s where the sand sculptures were.

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The beach is situated so the sun set on one end. Normally in central Florida the beach faces west. I am heading up to the Florida panhandle in a few weeks and it will be a similar experience. From a compositional perspective each has its advantages. Forgive me; I’m always relating everything to photography.

This beach is consistently rated one of the best in the world. That’s on account of the white powdery sand. It’s also located next to a little village with all manner of outdoor establishments. My wife and I had dinner and wine before wandering down to the beach for sunset.

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I’m always looking for new compositions in familiar places. Because of the number of people here there will always be something new or different, even though the scenery is the same. There is everything from memorials to drum circles taking place depending on when you happen by. I just happen to come on a day they had sand castles.

May 5, 2017May 5, 2017

Miami in Silhouette

The cabin of our weekend voyage was at the back of the ship, or “aft” as it’s called in boat-lingo. After we left port we sat in the back and watched the trailing wake and rolling ocean. The best part of that was noticing this view of Miami in silhouette, which for me was unexpected. The clouds were heavy and the sun cut through casting rays upon the ocean. This is a scene I don’t see every day.

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Miami in Silhouette — Miami in silhouette from the back of a cruise ship

We were about five or ten miles out to sea when I noticed this so I used a telephoto lens. I took several shots but this is the least crooked of the set. The winds were high and you could really feel the rocking, especially in the aft section. It didn’t bother me but I had to time the shot so the horizon would be flat.

These condos are up and down the coast of Florida; some places more than others. I have a friend who lives in one near Clearwater and the view is spectacular. On the gulf side you have the view of sunsets every night. On the Miami side it’s sunrises.

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For someone like me that loves to shoot scenes of the water I have plenty of opportunities in Florida. But after taking this cruise I think I need to get out on a boat a little more often. Now I just need to find a friend who has one.

May 4, 2017

An Antidote for Gloominess

I’m originally from California but I lived in Canada for a while. During the long cold winter I imagined what it would be like to live in Florida. This image of Venice Florida is a close approximation of how I envisioned it. Condos on a long sandy beach seem like an antidote for gloominess. It’s no wonder people come down here for a change of scenery.

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An Antidote for Gloominess – the beach at Venice Florida

This is another panorama; I’ve been doing a lot of these lately. This one is composed of four images, two on the left and two on the right. Each side has one stacked on top of the other. I used a 50mm prime lens so the detail is very good.

Because this is a more complex image, I used a tool called Autopano Giga to stitch it together. In general seascape panoramas can be difficult on account of the movement of the waves, but it worked out well this time.

Getting back to the main subject, while living in Canada I read the John Updike Rabbit novels. In the final installment, Rabbit at Rest, the main character retires from Pennsylvania to a condo in Florida. It was a while ago and I don’t remember all the details, but this is the image of Florida I had in my mind.

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Of course that was a while ago and now, by a long and winding road, I ended up here myself, although not retired. Nevertheless I have the chance to see for myself all these condos on the water. And every time I see some retired gentleman I think of Rabbit at Rest.

I guess I’ll have to reread the book now.

May 3, 2017May 3, 2017

Seawall and Fishing Pier at Fort Desoto Park

This is the seawall and fishing pier at Fort Desoto Park in St Petersburg. We drove up here the other day to walk and watch the sunset. When we arrived we’d just missed a couple of large cruise ships passing out of Tampa Bay; all the ships pass this point.

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The cruise ships that leave out of Tampa are typically sailing to Mexico, the western Caribbean and now Cuba. Just a few weeks ago the first US based cruise ships departed for a port of call in Cuba. That was big news around here.

It takes about an hour of driving to get here from my home on the other side of the bay. I was talking to a neighbor who has a boat and he comes here in the afternoons to fish. I was surprised to find that out but I think it might actually be shorter to get here by boat.

This is a good place to fish and last year I saw a guy over by the pier catch a six-foot Tarpon. But you have to be careful because once hooked, the sharks like to come by to steal the catch. I’ve heard that Dolphins can do that as well. All’s fair in love and war, and I suppose for serious fishermen it’s a real war out there.

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I don’t have to worry about any of that because I get my fish from a menu. I am not in any way shape or form a fisherman. Sure, I’m probably missing out on a lot of fun, but I’ll stick to taking photos for the time being.

May 2, 2017May 2, 2017

On the way to St Armand’s

On the weekend we decided to head to Sarasota for dinner and I had a vague thought to grab the camera. On the way to St Armand’s Circle we saw this scene as we approached the bridge. Since I had my camera I pulled over to capture the sun nearing the horizon. Although it looks white here, the sun was glowing red from behind what appeared to be atmospheric dust. Every so often dust from the Sahara blows across the Atlantic and creates a filter-like effect that’s good for photography.

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This is another panoramic image. I was using a 35mm lens and took three vertical images and then stitched them together in Lightroom. Unlike the panorama of Miami that I posted yesterday, this does not have as much detail. Nevertheless I am fond of this technique for capturing landscapes because it produces very little distortion. It’s similar to turning your head from side to side.

I get a little wistful when I see a sunset and don’t have a camera. So I’ve gotten in the habit of carrying one even if I don’t plan on talking pictures. You never can tell when something might come up. If I use a small prime lens then the camera is not so bulky. Then, if I feel I need to go wider than the lens allows, I can simply create a panorama with as little as two side-by-side images.

Sarasota Gallery

Anyway, this is my favorite location to take photos in Sarasota and I had it in the back of my mind that I might see something as we dove by. I’m glad I listened to that little voice in my head. Hopefully I’ll keep listening.

April 30, 2017

Miami Sunrise Panorama

I was a little lucky to capture this Miami sunrise panorama. We had just docked at the port of Miami after a weekend in the Bahamas. Because we docked at the last terminal it afforded this unique perspective of the city to the west and South Beach to the east. South Beach faces the Atlantic and so the sun is rising over the ocean.

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Regarding that, I was looking at this picture and wondering to myself why the sun was rising over the ocean? In all my photos from the west coast of Florida the sun sets on the ocean. I realized of course that this is the east coast and, I live on the west coast facing the other direction. Sometimes I get disoriented when traveling.

I grew up in the California Valley and I could always orient myself with the Sierra Nevada Mountains; they lie to the east. Out of habit, when traveling I try to orient to some elevated landmark. But Florida is flat so I rely on the sun for bearings. Naturally it seemed to me the sun was rising in the wrong place. At least that’s my excuse for now.

more panoramas

Because this is made up of multiple shots stitched together the resolution is very high. This prints out at about six feet by two feet at full resolution. That allows for details not possible with a single frame. It’s little like standing in the deck of the ship with binoculars and looking out, only in this case I used a high-resolution camera and a lucky perspective.

April 28, 2017

Weekend State of Mind

I post a lot of sunset images because it’s one of the main attractions of the area I live in. If the conditions are right on a Friday or Saturday its even better because it seems everyone is in the same kind of weekend state of mind. Any evening can be good but Fridays and Saturdays have their own special quality.

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Weekend State of Mind on Longboat key, Florida

Last weekend I took a little hike to this secluded beach. Other than that you need a boat to get here. These people were taking pictures of the sunset and had a boat. I, on the other hand, was taking pictures of people taking pictures of the sunset and a boat. Funny how that worked out, eh?

Most of the visitors have left Florida but it’s actually the best time of year to be here. There are very few crowds, the weather is mild and because it’s changing we get these types of clouds most evenings. Soon we’ll have high humidity and heat but now that seems a million years away. In reality we have only the current moment and if we are concerned about the future we miss an entire lifetime of experiences happening now.

Yet I find myself thinking about the days of the week. On Monday, Friday seems like a long way off. In reality I could go out taking pictures any day, even Monday. This idea of the weekend is an artificial construct of ours. The best days to go out and take pictures are the days you go out and take pictures. Having said all that, I still look forward to the weekend.

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The weekend is the gas station of the soul; it’s when we get filled up to do stuff during the week. Weekends are for hikes or boat rides, for sunrises and sunsets, for more thinking and less doing. In reality weekends are a state of mind, they could be any days we choose. Nevertheless, until someone does away with the workweek I’ll recharge the batteries starting Friday night.

April 27, 2017April 27, 2017

Not Enough Focus

More than once on the blog I’ve mentioned that I prefer pictorialism to realism. I also prefer impressionism although I struggle for ways to express that in photography. One simple way however is through blurred images. This is an impressionistic street scene with not enough focus.

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I shot this on my first outing with a new lens, the Sony 85mm 1.8. I didn’t purposely take this out of focus, it was a mistake, but I immediately liked it. It makes me think I should do more. I prefer images that leave something for the imagination; they are more engaging.

I use a variety of techniques to abstract images but rarely lack of focus. It’s a valid form of simplification and now I wonder why I haven’t used it more. I think maybe it’s because I’m normally preoccupied with ensuring focus is tack sharp. It’s hard to break that habit, but if done intentionally and for a specific purpose, lack of focus is a way to impart a feeling or impression.

It’s ironic that the most expensive lenses for photography are the ones that provide the most pleasing out of focus. The out of focus area produced by a lens is called “bokeh”. Reviewers will rave about the area of an image that is out of focus and how pleasing it is. The ability to focus a lens is a given, but to have out of focus areas at the same time, that’s another matter entirely.

Street Images

In fact that’s why I bought this lens, because of its ability to create pleasing bokeh while maintaining sharp focus on something else. Only in this case nothing is sharp. I could say I did this on purpose but you know I didn’t. I like the effect but in this case it was not enough focus dot com.

December 28, 2016December 30, 2016

A’DAM Lookout

This is a three minute exposure of the EYE Filmmuseum and A’DAM Lookout. Below the lookout is a giant sign that says “I amsterdam”. The lookout is one of the few places in the city you can get high enough to see everything. It has a lounge below the observation deck so can view and remain cozy inside. I took this just after arriving from Florida wasn’t used to the cool air. I tend to block out the weather when I’m taking pictures. I stayed out for two or three hours before going back to the hotel. I needed of a hot bath to warmup. After that I was fine.

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This is on a river and there is a constant stream of boats passing this spot. You can see traces of their lights as trails across the frame.

At the time I took this I didn’t know how to get across to the other side. I asked someone and turns out it was easy. Just hop on the ferry. There is no cost and it takes only a few minutes.

more night images

The tower is a tourist attraction. At the top is “Europe’s Highest Swing”. For a fee you can swing out over the edge of the building. Attractions are good if you’re new to an area. They help establish bearings. As I continued to explore the city, I could usually orient myself if I saw the A’DAM Lookout. And then before you know it I was walking around like I knew where I was, and relative to tourist attraction, I kinda did.

December 27, 2016

Fountain at Butchart Gardens

This is a dancing fountain at Butchart Gardens in Victoria BC. The gardens are carved out of an old quarry and have become a big attraction for the region. I’m not a gardener but this place was way better than I expected. I will go back without hesitation next time I’m there.

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It’s hard to imagine the amount of work that goes into maintaining such an expansive display. There are favorites like roses as well as exotic species I’d never seen. There are streams, brooks and ponds throughout. As well there is an outdoor venue for concerts.

It’s the kind of place you want to take a couple of days to explore, or maybe more if you’re interested in plants or gardening. If I lived here I could see visiting on a regular basis for no other reason than to soak up the energy. If plants have feelings then those here are very happy and being around happy plants might not be a bad idea.

more landscape images

There’s too much to take in all at once, though I tried. I took hundreds of pictures of flowers as well as the landscape. This fountain was towards the back. I recall thinking there couldn’t possibly be more to see and then came upon this.