South Jetty

This is taken In Venice Florida at a jetty leading into the intercostal waterway. This is the South Jetty, the other side is the North Jetty. I’ve always gone to the North Jetty to take pictures, it’s a little hard to find but I know the way and it’s one of my favorite locations. I’ve always looked across to the South Jetty and wondered how to get here. I’ve tried a few times and always ended up in dead ends. So a couple of weeks ago I finally figured it out and I couldn’t be more embarrassed. It’s way easier to get to than the North Jetty, just drive through Venice, take a right, and you’re here.

South Jetty
This is the South Jetty in Venice Florida, along the gulf coast.

How did we get ever along without a GPS. Does anyone read maps anymore? They still sell them but I think map reading is becoming a lost skill. Pretty soon we’ll just talk to our self driving cars and Siri will drive us. I could have said, “Hey Siri, drive me to the South Jetty” and I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t have ended up in a dead end.

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That day when Siri does the driving is coming soon. I think all the technology is in place and it’s now just a matter of the laws and regulations catching up. Our cell phones are extensions of ourselves, why not our cars? Hey Siri, drive me to the map store. I wonder if she knows what that is?

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Sunny Day

Island Park in Sarasota waterfront is a spot to chill for a bit, even if it is a hot day. I prefer to take images at dawn and dusk, but this was smack dab in the middle of the day. Even though its spring, the brightness of the image is reminds me of the long hot season ahead. Right now it’s March break and we have great weather and visitors from all over, but in a month we’ll begin the long hot days of summer when everyone goes home and the pace of life slows down a bit.

Sunny Day
A sunny day at Sarasota’s Island Park                      Discover prints

This is another example of how I like to fill up the frame with abstract content like clouds. In this I’m closer to the rule-of-thirds, a simple rule where the subject is divided in thirds. Rules can be broken, but I think it works fine here. This is also another example of how I mix street and landscape photography. I’m basically out shooting landscapes but noticed this frame and someone in it. Bonus.

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Maybe I need to start a new category called “streetscape” photography. Hmmm, I’ll work on it. For now it is what it is, a combo of the two. I think the thing that did it for me here is the little dog along the water. He (or she) is the x-factor that added a little quirkiness to the photo. Sometime I don’t notice these things until I get back home, but in this case I noticed as it was happening.

Sarasota Gallery

By the Numbers

By The Numbers
By the numbers is a way to describe a numerical rule of my own imagining, the rule of tenths.                              Fine art prints available

My eye is always in the sky whenever I’m outside. I suppose that’s a side effect of being a landscape photographer. It’s my opinion that clouds are fifty percent of what makes an image interesting. That’s a generalization and there are exceptions to every rule, but ninety percent of the time, clouds are fifty percent of the picture; photography by the numbers.

More cloudscapes from the gallery

Of course I’m being a little facetious, art cannot be divided and multiplied. At least I don’t think so. But I think art gives inspiration to ideas like mathematical theories. It’s a side effect of how we work. We look at something abstract and try to make sense of it. We look at clouds and each see something different. I think abstractions give our subconscious an opportunity to communicate with our conscious selfs, only we don’t realize it so we call it “sub-conscious”, one of life’s little ironies.

Back to the math. In photography we have something called the rule of thirds. Dividing the subjects on boundaries of one-third makes and image more interesting, so they say. Some of my images, like this, are a little more extreme. I’ll call it my rule of tenths. One-tenth of stuff on the bottom and nine-tenths of abstract at the top. That way, my sub-conscious has more room. It’s just a theory mind you, but you never know, I could be on to something.

Lido Light

Lido Light
Lido Light at sunset in Sarasota                               Purchase a fine art print for home or office

Lido Beach is at the southern end of Lido Key in Sarasota. This is more of a dreamscape that I made from a normal photograph, all the elements are real, the beach, light in the sky, sand and the couple. I just blurred everything a little to give it an ethereal quality which most approximates the feeling I get when I’m actually here at sunset. This is a typical Friday night at the beach, with nothing more to do than soak it in.

Other seascape images from the gallery

As I write this its spring break in Florida and most people equate that with rowdy crowds on the beach. There is another type of crowd found here in the more secluded beaches of Sarasota. Secluded is a relative term in the sense that if you compare this area to Clearwater or Ft Lauderdale it is downright quiet.

For whatever reason there was a bit of a chill in the air this day, not enough to wear a jacket, but enough to wrap in a towel while watching the sun go down. That was a week ago and now the temps are back up and the only thing with a chill is the ice in my glass; that’s an attempt at some worn-out Florida humor. But there’s a bit of truth to it especially as winter recedes and ice is a hot commodity. That’s doesn’t sound right either.

Midday in Sarasota

Midday In Sarasota
A daydream of midday In Sarasota Florida                                          Order a print

I took this at midday in Sarasota while driving around last weekend. For me this is more of a daydream than a real picture. I daydream when I drive sometimes. Some things are so automatic that they get relegated to the autopilot side of the brain while the other side goes in a different direction. I’m headed that way right now.

When I look at a scene I look for an impression. We’re each so different no two impressions are the same. For some reason this takes me back to when I was about five years old and our family went on a road trip to San Jose. I remember the hotel and that it had a pool. I have no idea why this reminds me of that, it’s not logical. The blur in this image represents my faded memories of my five-year-old self; looking through a glass darkly.

Isn’t it a paradox that some people revert to their childhood memories as they grow older. I think something gets inverted. Maybe memory is like a fabric we can fold in or out and expose different surfaces. Not that I have a clue, but I think it’s a little different then I might think. Anyway, this has been a little trip down memory lane. Time to stop the daydream and drive.

Another Sarasota Sunrise

Sarasota Sunrise
Another Sarasota Sunrise                                                       Obtain a fine art print

This is a spot in Sarasota Florida that has a view of the city at sunrise. Sometimes I end up here for whatever reason. It’s also a spot that joggers come by all hours of day and night, so no matter how early I get here I’m never quite alone. I think having joggers at all hours is a good thing. I’ve seen that in other cities in North America as well as Europe. But I think the main reason they’re out early is due to the Florida heat, it’s almost a necessity to run very early or very late.

Walk on a Warm Beach

Walk on a Warm Beach
Lido Beach, Sarasota Florida                                                  Purchase fine art print

We are having a rather warm fall season here in Florida. I work in an air-conditioned room and so even I look forward to getting outside just to warm up. There are some beaches where you can just walk along at sunset with a drink in your had and the warm water at your feet. This one is at Lido beach which is just now gearing up for the winter season. As soon as American Thanksgiving is over waves of northerners will migrate south and end up doing something like this each evening. Now if I could just get out of my office, I might just join them.

Nokomis Beach Bridge

Nokomis Beach Bridge
Bridge to Nokomis Beach Florida                                                Purchase print

In the West coast of Florida most of the beaches are on keys which are long barrier islands up and down the coast. The main reason they don’t get washed away in storms is that usually there are dunes with vegetation to prevent erosion. So we have these bridges over the dunes that create a pretty nice entrance to the sea. As leading lines go, these are one of my favorite because they lead to where we all want to be, on the beach and in the sun. Speaking of which, the weekend is about to begin.

Night Under the Pier

This is a long exposure of about two minutes under Florida's Venice Pier at night. The water appears still and the night appears brighter than it is. In fact I had people walking in front of me yet the length of the exposure ensures they are invisible. I shot this same perspective at sunset a few years ago and now it was time to come back. The evening perspective is one I quite like, it just seems less rushed and a bit more dreamy. Dreamy is a good word for a night shot, don't you think?
Florida’s Venice Pier                                                                              Buy print

This is a long exposure of about two minutes under Florida’s Venice Pier at night. The water appears still and the night appears brighter than it is. In fact I had people walking in front of me yet the length of the exposure ensures they are invisible. I shot this same perspective at sunset a few years ago and now it was time to come back. The evening perspective is one I quite like, it just seems less rushed and a bit more dreamy. Dreamy is a good word for a night shot, don’t you think?

Myakka Boardwalk

This is one of many boardwalks at Myakka River State Park. Along it you can view mostly birds but maybe the odd alligator as well. Just like everywhere else Florida is experiencing growth and urban sprawl and so places like this state park are protected sanctuaries for local and migratory wildlife. I posted something similar to this recently from the same location. I like how the palms frame the path as it leads out into the swamp. A simple composition of the Florida landscape without the beach.
Myakka River State Park
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This is one of many boardwalks at Myakka River State Park. Along it you can view mostly birds but maybe the odd alligator as well. Just like everywhere else Florida is experiencing growth and urban sprawl and so places like this state park are protected sanctuaries for local and migratory wildlife. I posted something similar to this recently from the same location. I like how the palms frame the path as it leads out into the swamp. A simple composition of the Florida landscape without the beach.