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.
Neal Preserve
I left home this evening knowing I wanted to take pictures but with no clear destination in mind. I was headed to the beach to capture a sunset when I noticed this preserve. Two days ago Neal Preserve in Bradenton Florida opened to the public after about a year of construction. I’ve been anticipating this for ages and this evening I lucked out. I’m not sure construction adequately describes the work that goes into the creation of a preserve, it’s part ecology, part terraforming and a good dose of trail construction. Many of the pathways are elevated above the mangroves, and the scrub is perfect for nesting and burrowing. Just after sundown I saw owls and raccoons coming out for their nocturnal routines. In any case, I took a more photos which I’ll post in the coming weeks. I’m so happy and excited that I’ve found a new place to take photos of nature near my home.
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.
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.
Terra Ceia Bay Fishing
If you want to get a few birds in your shot go find some fishermen. Actually, I’m not sure if he birds where here because of the fishermen or the other way around. In any case, the waters were full of fish and this seemed to be the place to be, bird or human. This is just by the bridge in Terra Ceia Florida.
Sitting on the Dock of the Bay….
If the title of this post reminds you of that great Otis Redding song you might be, …um, experienced. Okay, I was trying not to say old. I’m experienced, enough said. When I saw this guy paying his guitar at the end of the dock that song started playing in my head. In any case, I took this last week with my Sony camera. I normally shoot with a Nikon but it’s being repaired so I picked up a Sony and went to the river to practice. As that song continued to play in my head I started to get the hang of it and got a few I liked, this being the first.
Tip of the day: Whether you’re old or young, go listen to a little Otis Redding, you’ll be glad you did.
Taking Pictures of the Beach
Even though I live near the beach I haven’t posted many shots from there lately. That’s the danger of living where I do, I might begin to take it for granted. I like shooting all kinds of landscapes, but something about standing by the water with the gentle waves, its very relaxing. So it’s time to post another Bradenton Beach photo and then head out to go get some more. Yeah, I know, life’s a beach. Happy Friday Everyone.
Cortez Marina
This is one of the marinas in Cortez Florida. Cortez is one also one of the last remaining commercial fishing villages, in fact there was a PBS documentary done here recently. Somehow Cortez seems exempt from the pace of the world as things grow modern around it. I suppose the ways of the sea don’t change much and so the sensibilities of this village reflect a longer view than most of us are accustomed to. This was shot a few months ago but I came back here last night to shoot the commercial docs and see what I could see. Of course, not much had changed.
Times Square
Off the highway near Banff is a lookout above Peyto Lake and any of you who have been here in summer know why I titled this shot “Times Square”. I did a bad thing. I climbed over the lookout and went to a rock on a ledge to compose this shot. If I could widen the angle on this shot just two degrees, you’d see another twenty people that did the same thing. Doesn’t make it right. After I captured this I climbed back onto the platform and pushed my way past the four hundred other people standing on the platform or waiting for a chance to stand on the platform. But I digress, because the real point of this shot is beauty we have on this Earth. Let’s try and preserve it, eh?
Glow of the Grass
I took this a a few months back at Robinson Preserve. Fast forward to now and I’m thinking that maybe as soon as this rain clears I’ll come back here to see what I can see. The preserve should have all kinds of puddles, and as the rain moves out we should have some good clouds. But that’s just me thinking out loud, or in type, …whatever. Florida is flat and landscape pictures are all about the ground and / or the sky, no mountains or hills to chime in. So now that I have my idea, I’ll be outta here…, happy Friday everyone.