inspired photography with just enough perspective
There’s something odd about this picture; I can’t quite put my finger on it. It could be any number of things…
Now and then, a photo strikes me after the fact. There may or may not be any redeeming qualities about the image itself; this is perhaps one of those images.
Now that I think of it, the image reminds me of an odd joke, that not even funny. Indeed it’s entirely irrational.
Last week I posted a picture of a bench in British Columbia. This one is a good deal closer to home. It’s the bench at Emerson Point in Palmetto Florida. It sits at the very end of a peninsula facing west across the Gulf of Mexico. It’s perhaps one of the best places to watch the sunset.
Typically when I arrive at this time, the bench is already taken. But it rained earlier, and so there were only a handful of people. I’ve never sat in it myself; I’m usually too busy taking pictures.
more photos from Emmerson Point
Benches make excellent subjects for photos. They draw our eyes in, then to the direction they point. At least that’s my theory. Nevertheless, this one is in an excellent location, and if you are in the area, it’s not too shabby of a spot to watch the day end.
In my mind, seagrapes are photogenic because of their shape, contrasting colors and the way the leaf surface reflects light. They make a fascinating subject for photography.
If I get excited about little things to look at, you’ll forgive me; it’s what I do. When I find a new image like this of something simple, I’m pretty happy. All things considered, it’s a reasonably simple pleasure.
I’m fortunate to have a passion that, at its core, is based on noticing the scenery. For brief moments, it takes me away from all those other things that seem more important. The way I figure it, if you can enjoy the pure pleasure of the sight of seagrapes at sunset, it’s not such a bad thing.
Robinson Park is a preserve in the middle of a suburban setting, and it’s a place I come to get away from that same setting. Most people come during the day, but my favorite times are dawn and dusk. Of course, I’m looking for a rare kind of light.
The image is five shots blended into one. I use HDR techniques when shooting these types of scenes because there is a combination of bright and dark light. It’s closer to what I could see with my eyes but must resort to tricks to get the camera seeing the same thing.
more images from Robinson Preserve
Not only is the light changing minute by minute, but the nocturnal animals also begin to stir. It’s as if the whole place comes alive when the sun goes down. I’m usually rushing to get my last pics before being politely asked to leave by the ranger. Finally, as night falls I return to suburbia from whence, I came. At that moment I genuinely do feel that I’ve been away from it all.
May might be the best time of year here along the gulf coast. I get the feeling I’ve said that before, perhaps I need to change up my story a little. In any case, it’s low season and just before summer kicks in. It’s warm, not too hot, the clouds are high, the evenings are late, and the sunsets are golden.
Today I’ve focused on the foreground element along the beach. It’s a blanket of needles from an overhanging branch. The texture and loopy pattern look to me like a carpet, as though the needles are organized that way. If nothing else, the image is a study in natural textures.
more Anna Maria Island in the gallery
Everyone else was watching the sun go down, and I’m back here concentrating on the ground. That sounds a little loopy I know. But I have a million shots of the sun, and my real motive is to see how many times I can use the word loop in a blog post. Looping back to the main point, I try to look for things that are visually interesting to put in the foreground. Then, I wait for the sun to set and they seem even more pleasing to the eye. Anyway, this is another compositional idea that I use from time to time.
In this picture, I’m looking south over the Manatee River towards Bradenton. These are the mangroves that line it from its source to the sea. Mangroves form an essential part of the ecosystem by protecting the shore from erosion.
Believe it or not, this is across the street from the Bradenton Area Convention center, so while it looks like a nature shot, it’s in the middle of a suburban setting. Mangroves are protected in Florida, so there’s little chance they’ll be affected by development. Despite the activity all around, they continue to protect rivers and coastlines.
more from my hometown of Palmetto
The reason I took this was for the reflections. Its a repeat of a shot I’ve done in the past and the results are similar. However, the clouds are never the same. And because it’s only a 2-minute drive from home, this is something I see often. No matter how many times I see this, I never get tired of nature inside an urban landscape.
A while back I met a friend for dinner here at Citywalk in Orlando. It was on a Monday and one of the slowest days of the year. The ordinarily crowded scene was utterly empty. It’s not often you get that here.
I didn’t go to take pictures, but I brought my camera anyway. I captured this as I was heading back to the car. It was a one picture trip.
more night photos from the gallery
I’m attracted to the neon signs because it reminds of the work of Thomas Hawk, he has an extensive collection of neon signs on Flickr. However, this being Universal Studios it is a little more contrived. Tom’s work is authentic Americana along the highways and thoroughfares of the country. In any case, if it wasn’t for his work, I might not have thought to take this. The influence I get from photographers like Thomas Hawk is essential to me.
I cannot help that I love to take pictures at the beach. Living where I do it’s unavoidable. As problems go, it’s not a bad one to have. In this image, I’ve lingered after the sunset when the clouds were just right. This specific time is my favorite because the light is somewhat rare. The color creates a glow that beckons to something beyond.
On this evening, after the sun had set, a group of a dozen people sitting together gave a round of applause. That’s not as uncommon as you may think. It seems odd, but after you’ve seen it enough times, it’s not.
other beach images from the gallery
People begin walking home, and I like to capture them walking along the shoreline. While the colors and scenery are beautiful, I believe that adding people helps us project ourselves into the scene. I can easily imagine walking along the shore at dusk or just sitting there looking out to sea. And if you see me clapping, maybe you’ll understand why.
Monday night after the rain stopped, I drove over to a little park that I recently heard about through a hot tip. It’s one of those parks that are known only to the residents. We seem to have a lot of those hidden gems in the area. Nevertheless, it quite often affords the kind of view ordinarily reserved for waterfront properties.
Here I’m posing with the help of a ten-second timer, which was barely enough time to get into position. My first attempt caught me in mid-stride. I thought that adding a human element to the drama of the scene worked well. I got the inspiration from New Zealand photographer Mike Langford whom I met on a trip there a few years back. Here is a link to his photo on Pinterest and here is his website.
To tell you the truth, I get inspiration from a lot of different photographers, too numerous to mention. I spend a lot of time looking at their work and then when the situation arises; I’ll incorporate an idea into my photo. Sometimes, I even come up with ideas of my own. And then, ten years from now someone will say the same about me. It’s all just good energy going around.
In the last couple of weeks, we’ve had some fantastic sunsets down here in Florida. I’ve been busy but managed to get to the beach on Saturday for a few shots. Not that that’s the only reason I go to the beach.
The real reason is for the air, the sound of the waves and sights. They quickly take my head out of whatever state of mind I’m in and clear the cobwebs. Telling myself I’m going for photography gets the wheels moving, being there gives me a whole lot more.
One takeaway here is that this image uses focus stacking. That’s a technique where I take one photo focused on the foreground, and another focused on items further away and then blend them. This way everything appears in focus. The results are pleasing for landscape photography where you want to see as much detail as possible. It’s also great for printing because everything is in focus.
Anyway, while I’m doing all those fancy techniques, I’m at the beach, walking along the shore and having fun. In retrospect, that’s the real takeaway.