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You Got My Attention

I’m driving home early one morning and look over to see this scene in the East. Sights like this are like unexpected bonus points. I look over and say to no one in particular, “Okay, you got my attention”. Of course I want to take a photo. I was a few minutes away so I kept my calm, made it home and ran in to grab my camera.

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You Got My Attention
I’m driving along, look over and say “You Got My Attention”

Lately I’ve been taking photos around my town. I’m finding spots I never knew existed. Or sometimes I just stick with places I know. This is obviously of the latter variety.

To get an image like this I took five bracketed photos and combined them. I blended them manually because different areas of the frame look good depending on the exposure. Without that technique the sky would be over exposed and the foreground under exposed. Our eyes see a wider range of light than a typical camera sensor, especially in extreme cases like this.
The sun rays are what caught my attention. I see these regularly around here because of the low clouds in the morning and afternoon. The trick is having a camera ready because it doesn’t last long.

sunrise images

Occasionally we all see nice scenes when out driving. If we happen to notice we’ve usually forgotten in the next minute. However as a landscape photographer I try to notice. It drives me crazy if I don’t have my camera, but when I do I’m very happy. I’m not sure if that’s completely mature of me but I suppose there are worse things to get emotional about.

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An Ageless Confrontation

It seems there is an ageless confrontation between the water and the land. The water attempts to reclaim the land. The land fortifies itself with mangroves. I think the water eventually wins. Sooner or later the land is consumed by the water. Then during another ice age, the water will recede and the land will again take prominence.

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An Ageless Confrontation
An ageless confrontation between the land and the sea

 

For this I used a wide angle lens. When I do that I am trying to capture as much of the sky as possible. This is an ultra-wide angle so everything seems to converge on the horizon. This was taken in an area of mangroves in a near by state park. The mangroves cover a narrow peninsula that extends into the Gulf of Mexico. If it wasn’t for the mangroves the peninsula would have eroded away by storms long ago. That’s a testament to how important mangroves are to the land.

Florida is so flat that it will be one of the first to succumb to the sea. In geological time frames, it wasn’t too long ago that this area was submerged, it will surely happen again.

landscape images

I think if it was possible you could re-visit the earth every million years and it would appear quite different. Nothing in the physical universe is permanent, nor should it be. We are all part of a slow motion cycle of destruction and construction. In fact, that’s one thing that never changes.

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Little Beach with a View

This is an image of the mangroves in Palmetto near my home. It’s a little hidden beach not far from the road. I never knew it was there until I noticed a trail leading into the bush. Much to my surprise there’s a little beach with a view of the sunset.

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Little Beach with a View
Little beach with a view near my home in Palmetto

It’s been said that photographers should first learn to shoot images around their home before venturing out. Years after hearing that I have to agree. In my case the more I explore the more I discover. It’s amazing how many things we overlook when we’re not looking.

I think sometimes children see more than adults. That’s because they have natural curiosity and are more likely to explore. That was true of me as a kid. Through photography I’m getting some of that curiosity back. I suppose it was always there, just dormant for a while.

beach images

Another nice thing about taking pictures around home is that it requires little effort. There is not a lot of travel and within fifteen minutes of walking out the door you can be taking photos. That’s a big plus when you have other responsibilities besides running around like some kid exploring the neighborhood.

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Fortunate Enough

This is a long exposure of the marina in Palmetto. Once the sun goes down the glow on the horizon fades for about an hour. The last few minutes of the glow are almost imperceptible yet appears more pronounced with a long exposure. This is image is eight-seconds and of course was taken with a tripod. Because the glow is more pronounced it contrasts with the night sky directly overhead. It’s a unique lighting situation that I was fortunate enough to capture. The scene is enhanced even more by the color of the thin clouds above the boats.

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I Was Fortunate Enough
I was fortunate enough to capture the light of dusk

I didn’t know ahead of time these conditions were occurring. But I had my camera and was looking for something to capture. Taking the time to notice what is happening is a skill. This scene was not apparent with a casual glance. To see a scene like this I need to slow down and put myself in a different mindset. In that mindset I’ll see scenes I’m not necessarily looking for.

boats in the gallery

My theory is that interesting things appear around us all the time. The challenge is to get past that little voice that insists there is nothing to look at. I get that a lot when I go out to do photography. To push past that takes will power. It produces rewards by simply continuing when I think I should give up. I surprise myself sometimes at the shots I get. It’s not that I’m super talented, it’s more that I give myself opportunities. The more I do that the better my chances. That sounds like a sports metaphor but it’s equally applicable to photography, or, any other worthwhile endeavor; at least thats my theory.

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Night Scenes Across the River

I shot this in December when the conditions were favorable for fog. It’s an opportunity to capture familiar scenes in a different light. Advection fog occurs when warm air passes over cool water causing evaporation. I live near the river so I notice it just by looking out the window. I headed out one evening to shoot night scenes across the river in Bradenton.

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Night Scenes Across the River
Night Scenes Across the River

If you notice, fog changes our perceptions. Sounds are slightly muffled and distances are cut short. It can be intimate or confining. It creates a sense of seclusion in a place that might normally seem open and exposed.

Like the transition from day into night, fog creates another type of transition from sharp to soft. With weather transitions, there is usually a bit of magic just after it occurs. It’s something new and is a transformation from clarity into a soft glow.

monochrome-ish shots

By using a high ISO I am able to capture these scenes at night without a tripod. Fog creates a visual playground for me as a photographer. It casts everything in a different light and invites fresh interpretations. The same can be said for inclement weather, however fog is the least troublesome to work in.

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Canal to the Intercostal Waterway

To took this picture as I stood over a canal to the intercostal waterway. I was in the village of Cortez where there are many little outdoor restaurants by the water. Its one of my favorite places to come for an authentic Florida experience.

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Canal to the Intercostal Waterway
Canal to the Intercostal Waterway in Cortez Florida

This bridge is one of two that cross over to Anna Maria Island. Both are draw bridges and each time I cross I secretly hope to get stuck. The draw bridge takes five or ten minutes to operate and during that time you turn off the engine and watch the sailboats, dolphins and fishermen.

As I write this we are in peak tourist season. Its spring break and people are here to enjoy the weather and beaches. Because I’m a resident I don’t always keep track of these things. But as soon as I walk into a restaurant or try to drive somewhere it becomes apparent.

more night scenes

As well it is also spring training season for baseball. We have a perfect storm of sun seekers and sports fans. It’s fun to see and good for the local economy. Merchants look forward to this all year. I’m pretty relaxed about it all and as I said, even look forward to getting stuck on one of the many bridges.

Not that I should need an excuse, but traffic over a bridge is one way to slow down, enjoy the sights and imagine what its like to be a visitor on spring break.

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The Final Glow

So often when I walk my dog I wish I had brought my camera. This time I decided to bring it so I could stop at this marina and capture the final glow. It was worth having to carry the camera along with a leash and poop bags for the full length of the walk.

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The Final Glow
The Final Glow

Normally I would just use a cell phone but this time I wanted to see if a real camera made a difference. The iPhone is good but the Sony can get so much more detail and dynamic range.

I like taking my dog with me when I’m shooting landscapes. He loves to come for the ride and I enjoy the company. It’s a mutual partnership. Sometimes I’ll be holding him on the leash with one hand and taking pictures with the other. If he sees another dog and pulls the leash it can get tricky. That happened on this shot as I was composing the shot. It’s all good and in the end we both got what we wanted.

I try not to get too serious when I’m taking photos. Once in a while having a dog along helps me keep it light. It’s important to have fun because that gets reflected in the final images. Ironically, if I get too serious I’m not as relaxed and I’ll miss things.

manatee county gallery

While I would like to take credit for this image, some part it goes to Mr. Wiggles, my trusty sidekick and assistant. I’m not sure if you can tell but we both had fun.

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Mountains in the Sky

We don’t have mountains in Florida so as photographers we look to clouds for inspiration. We get all kinds depending on the time of year. These here are typical for winter, in the summer they are even more dramatic. You could say these are our mountains in the sky.

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Mountains in the Sky
Mountains in the Sky – Florida Clouds

I took this last week after the rain passed. It was the kind of rain that washes everything and then breaks up in the afternoon, just in time for a sunset. That happens regularly because of the Florida climate. The heat during the day creates disturbances and then the sun recedes and the energy dissipates. As a result we get these displays which keep cloud watchers like me busy.

Often there are evenly spaced rows of puffy “cotton-candy” clouds. For some reason they only appear over the land, never the shore. Broken clouds like these at sunset are my favorite. I used a wide angle lens so they appear to converge on the horizon.

cloudscapes

Because of the geography and heat, clouds are part of the landscape here. They are stand-ins for mountains and you can’t help but notice them. If I was a mariner I’d know how to read them and know what they foretell. Nevertheless I think a little bit of that ability rubs off on anyone who takes the time to look up and wonder.

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Things We Overlook

Lately I’ve been taking photos close to home. No matter where we live there are things we overlook. Yesterday I posted a photo along a busy highway. By simply turning around the scene looks remote and secluded. A theme for me in photography, and I suppose life, is perspective. It informs much of what I do. I look for a perspective that resonates amongst the distractions of an urban setting.

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Things We Overlook
Things we overlook in our own backyard

The other night I walked along a trail by the river to take photos of the sunset. As I was returning to my car I noticed this mangrove along the shore. Normally they are clustered together but this stood out with its extended roots. The roots are what protect the shores of Florida from erosion by tides and storms. They are vital to the ecosystem.

Sometimes I see unexpected things by simply turning the camera in a particular direction. From that comes vignettes of nature like this. Most of us live in urban landscapes. As much as I crave nature in national parks, I spend most of my time amongst roads, buildings and power lines.

palmetto photos

Maybe it’s a form of preference. I look for things I need to see. I see them because I’m looking. And at times like this day I see things I wasn’t even looking for. “If you try sometime, you get what you need.”

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Slightly Different Light

This is a park bench next to the river. If I could order coffee from this spot it wold be perfect. I could however get a cup at Dunkin Donuts and sit here at sunrise. This is an urban beach with a busy highway just behind me. This is also an example of taking some common scene from an urban setting and portraying it in a slightly different light.

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Slightly Different Light
Showing a common scene in a slightly different light

An HDR image, this is made up of three exposures. I manually blended the exposures to get the mood I wanted. The main focus is the light of the sun reflected on the water and table. I took this as the sun was just emerging between two layers of clouds.

I had taken several other shots of just the water and the clouds, but thought they lacked a foreground subject. So I used the picnic table to provide a sense of depth.

Tens of thousands of people drive by this spot every day, but here I’m using my imagination to make something out of nothing. Its a way to practice the craft and make soup out of stone. It’s not a fantastic image, but it was fun to shoot and process.

other images of this river

Actually, on a Sunday when there isn’t the usual commuter traffic on the roads this is a very nice spot to have a picnic. Anyway, enough said, time to go get a coffee.