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Down by the River

After a rainy day last week the wind died down in the evening. When that happens, the water in the river becomes smooth like glass, which is the perfect time to take pictures. I made this near my home in Palmetto, just off the road next to the bridge.

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Down by the River
A section of the Manatee River from the Palmetto side of the bridge

This scene is an HDR image made of four frames with different exposures. By combining frames, the greenery and sun appear without either appearing blown-out. I use Aurora HDR from Skylum to process my HDR compositions. After mixing the frames, I usually make three or four additional adjustments to get it just the way I want it. I may also process it in Luminar which is another tool from Skylum.

more from Palmetto in the gallery

This area is a little section by the river that few people notice. It’s next to a major road that thousands drive by each day. As for me, I believe a photographer should work close to home as a way to practice seeing the familiar with new eyes. Seeing something new in the usual, or looking at it from a different perspective is a useful skill at home and abroad. So if you happen to be driving to work and see me standing by the river, now you’ll know why.

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Uncovering Gems

This image is another from the series I took while visiting Neal Preserve in Bradenton. The dry season is over, and thundershowers are now a regular occurrence until the end of summer. Water fills the ponds which in turn creates photo opportunities like this. Only a few weeks back this might have been bone dry.

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Uncovering Gems
A pond at Neal Preserve in Bradenton after the afternoon rain

The image is an HDR; it’s a combination of five shots of different exposures. Because I was shooting directly at the sun, I took exposures from -4 to 0. The software that I use, Aurora HDR, is smart enough to pick out the best from each frame to combine into one. Then I use the sliders and masking techniques to adjust the saturation, shadows, and highlights. After a while, it started to have a look and feel I was trying to uncover.

more landscape photography

Processing a photo is like polishing a stone, you work at it until it shines. That’s a simple analogy but aptly reflects the process. So often I’ll look at the raw photo that I have sitting in my library and think to myself it has little or no potential. But then, perhaps out of curiosity, I begin working on it and sometimes, I get a real gem. Not always, but enough times to keep me coming back for more.

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Mystery Barge

The other day I stopped my car to capture the sun sinking across the intercoastal. The tides were low and the clouds high.

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Mystery Barge
A barge at sunset along the intercoastal in Bradenton Florida

As I set up with my tripod, a gentleman approached asking if I knew anything about the barge; he thought that since I was taking pictures of it, I must know. But it was the first time I’d seen it. For me, it was nothing more than a foreground element that added interest to the scene.

more sunsets from the gallery

According to him, the barge is a bit of a mystery, and he had just attended a homeowners meeting where it was a topic of discussion. Presumably, it’s violating some bi-law or perhaps cluttering the view. It seems the barge is a bit of a mystery and I was not helping at all. I expect the next time I drive by it will be gone. Nevertheless, I have at least produced photographic evidence to be used at the next meeting.

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Bench at Emerson Point

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.

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Bench at Emerson Point
This is 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.

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Loopy Carpet on the Beach

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.

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Loopy Carpet on the Beach
A study of natural texture on Anna Maria Island

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.

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Bench View

I took this about four years ago when I was in Ucluelet on Vancouver Island. It’s a part of the Wild Pacific Trail that traces the coastline. It’s a well-maintained trail with benches like this every half mile or so.

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Bench View
A bench with a view along the Wild Pacific Trail

I was here in late August (or “Fogust” as the locals say) when a thick fog would roll in most afternoons. You could see it sitting just offshore, and then at the right time it would approach and before you could say Foghorn Leghorn, you were in it. In this image, you can see it about a mile offshore.

Canada gallery

Benches or empty chairs in an image allow us to imagine sitting there in the scene. Our eyes follow the direction it points, similar to a leading line, only with a different device. When a photo makes us look in a particular direction, it has captured our imagination as we weave our own story in the scene. However, if it has thick fog, that would be something different entirely.

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Memories Fade

This photo may be my favorite of the bunch from that day at the beach. And it sums up the chill mood of the people that were present at the time. As for myself, I was pretty happy also.

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Memories Fade
An image stokes the memory that would otherwise fade

Without photos, memories fade. Life goes on and, we do not think about the details of that day. But when we look at pictures, the feelings, sights, and smells come back. That’s the thing about images; they’re drug-free memory boosters.

check out the gallery

Our recollections are a quantum leap beyond what computers do. But that’s changing; AI is closing that gap. But one thing they’ll probably never do is appreciate a sunset. That’s is something only we can do, assuming we don’t forget to go to the beach.

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All Worth While

This idyllic scene is from the beach on Anna Maria Island. Florida has a lot of islands and this, to my mind, is one of the best. Regarding beaches the sand is pretty amazing, it’s a white powdery substance more like sugar than sand. But I digress, this is about the photo, not the sand.

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All Worth While
Days like this make all the other seem worth while

Anyway, now and then I get lucky, this is one of those days. I couldn’t take a bad picture if I tried. That makes up for all the other times when I show up and clouds obscure the sun. The success rate of a sunset photographer (such that I am) is disappointingly low. But this was a good day, so all is forgiven.

check out the new sunset gallery

A “sunset photographer” sounds like a great job, doesn’t it? Imagine getting paid to take pictures of the sunset. You show up to work about an hour before sunset, take photos for about an hour, and then you’re done. In reality, I do things other things than this, but I must say, sunsets, especially good ones, make all the other stuff worthwhile.

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Coquina Beach Sunset

The same day another sunset. I’ll be posting several photos from this day because I ended up with five or six good ones; for me, that’s a lot. Truth be told I have a low batting average when it comes to photos, but on this day, I hit a couple of home runs. I only post the photos I truly like; the others get relegated to the archives or reject bin.

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Coquina Beach Sunset
Coquina Beach is my favorite spot for sunset photos

I’m not berating myself, it’s just that the hit to click ratio is low. I get carried away when taking sunset photos. But in my defense, it’s also how I get in the zone and it helps me become aware of scenes around me. Taking a lot of photos is a way to get creativity flowing; it’s similar to stretching at the start of the workout.

check out the new sunset gallery

One thing I like about this photo is how the sun highlights the tall grasses in the foreground. The lifeguard stand is mid-way through the image and the ocean is beyond that. Those three elements create a sense of depth that pulls our eyes into the scene. I also like it because it’s a sunset, but I take a million of those, as you know.

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Lifeguard Stand #2

This was taken at Coquina Beach one evening last week. I took a similar picture a few years ago that I wanted to try and repeat. Over time my preferences and technique evolve and it’s fun to retry shots to see how they come out.

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Lifeguard Stand #2
A lifeguard stand on Coquina Beach in Florida

As in an earlier post this week I mention that the software is getting better. Both images are HDR but notice how much better the ghosting is in the newer version. In the older version, you can see double impressions of tall grasses, not so in the new one. I used Photomatix in the old version and AuroraHDR 2018 in the new image. Maybe I should go back and reprocess the old version in AuroraHDR just to see how it turns out.

more lifeguard stands

I know some of the rescuers that work at this beach and these stands are where they spend much of their time. There’s some kind of aesthetic of lifeguard stations on a beach that begs to be photographed. I’m not sure what it is but I have a collection of them. Of course, it doesn’t hurt if there happens to be a nice sunset as well.