This is a mangrove that’s taken over a sandbar just down the street from my home along the Manatee River in Palmetto. In the southern states along the Gulf Coast these mangroves are a natural defense against the erosion caused by hurricanes. As a result they are protected by the state and local governments. Basically you don’t mess with them, just leave them alone and let them do their job. Anyway, I thought the calm water created by the sandbar made for a nice reflection. Have a lovely day everyone.
Long Weekend
It seems like it’s been a long week and so I’m looking forward to the weekend. Maybe a little time at the beach. Okay, I won’t actually go to the beach, but I’ll drive by it and maybe take photos, like I did with this shot about a week or so ago. Thank you so much for enjoying my photos, I read and enjoy every comment on all the social media outlets. Have a great weekend everyone!
Sundown Cortez
One evening a couple of weeks back I walked through the commercial fishing docks at Cortez. Early evening the place is deserted, so it was a little strange walking in and amongst empty docs. The engines on this boat were idling and I suspect the occupants still sleeping before heading out for the evening run. When I drive over the draw bridges to Anna Maria Island in the morning I’ll often see these same boats returning to port to unload the catch. Work all night, sleep all day.
Sarasota Ringling Bridge
Happy hump day everyone, I thought I’d show a bridge to get us through Wednesday. A lot of images come to mind when I think of Sarasota, but the most iconic is this bridge of which I’ve take dozens of shots and I’ll probably take dozens more. To me the atmosphere here is unique and unlike any place else. This is the Ringling Bridge, Harts Landing bait shop and of course the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. There’s a lot more to Sarasota that I’ll be getting to little by little, one day at a time. Hang in there people, we’re halfway there, Friday is just around the corner.
Cure the midweek blues with an amazing framed print of this bridge
Moroccan Bar
If ever there was an easy/fun assignment for a photographer, it’s Epcot Center in Orlando Florida. You can simply walk around the pavilions and bring home shots from around the world. Here I was standing at the entrance to the Moroccan restaurant after dinner as I captured the activity behind the bar. The employees of Epcot are called cast members, they dress in wardrobe and take on roles of the culture they represent, which isn’t too much of a stretch since they are required to be from each country. So why hire models and dress them up in wardrobe when you can simply pay the price of admission and have more models than you could ever photograph in a day? That was a rhetorical question, no need to answer.
Perfect Ending
The perfect end to the day. I took this at Emerson Point last night right after the sun went down. As it seems this lady is enjoying the last few minutes of the day, I’ll keep quite and not fill up this page with words.
Walk Along the Beach
A walk along the shore in the evening. When I see an image like this I imagine myself in the picture. It’s Sunday so go ahead, even if you can’t be by a body of water, do a little day dreaming. You’re allowed.
Soaking Up Rays
For me Friday usually brings with it a feeling of relief, like wow, I made it through another one. Maybe it’s time to kick back on a bench and soak up some rays. Actually this lady was checking e-mail on a phone, but never-mind that, she got most of it right. Of course I was standing right behind her clicking away, but never-mind that also. Let’s all just take a minute and turn down the e-mail dinger on our smartphones and go to that quite place if just for a few minutes. Who am I kidding, I wouldn’t last 10 minutes. But hey, it’s Friday and I’m feeling better already. Happy Friday everyone.
Quick Trip to Italy
I managed to get to Italy on the weekend, …and Morocco and France and Japan. Okay, so I went to Epcot center which is a couple of hours from home. In the evening we watched the fireworks show from the far end of Epcot and when everyone left we took our sweet time to walk out and capture shots of a few pavilions without the normal crowds. This is one of the Italian pavilion. I didn’t have a tripod so I had to hold the camera steady against a post for quite a few seconds in order to complete the long exposure. Makes me want to visit the real thing soon, …with a tripod.
Quiet Morning
This is another one of my favorite little spots at Emerson Point. Actually there are quite a few of these walkways through the mangroves and each one is my favorite. Sometimes I’ll be here on a quiet afternoon where the only sound is the splashing fish jumping for food in the otherwise undisturbed waters. On this morning it was pretty quite as well, kind of a nice way to start the day. Now that I look at this I realize I’m overdue for another walk through the trails. Maybe tomorrow. Have a great day everyone.