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Baths at Point Lobos

I took this from the baths at Point Lobos in San Francisco. There were so many things to take pictures of that day, it was a lot of fun. As I write this I’m on a flight to the west coast again. I’m doing the West coast thing. I’m leaving the West coast of Florida to the West coast of Canada. Then I’ll travel to the West coast of the United States. I think whomever said go west young man, must have had me in mind.

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Baths at Point Lobos
Baths at Point Lobos in San Francisco

Growing up in California I was steeped in west coast sensibilities. New age, new thought, new ways of doing things. Of course I didn’t know any of this until I moved away and got a little perspective, I just took it all for granted. That sensibility is in my blood. I’m not particularly concerned with which west coast, just as long as it a coast and the sun sets that way. If the earth spun in the other direction then maybe I’d be an east coast guy. I’m fortunate because in Florida I can watch the sunrise over the Atlantic on the East Coast and then drive to the West coast and watch it set over the gulf.

ocean images from the gallery

It’s not just me; most people are like this. We are attracted to the arc of the sun. That’s a geeky way of saying we are attracted to light and it’s our natural tendency to follow it. If you look at a picture or painting our eyes go to the brightest areas. It’s something primal, or spiritual, or both. If nothing else, its something to think about, perhaps we can figure out the whys and wherefores another day.

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The View West

The view west from Redington Shores is, well, the best. Recently I posted shots facing north, then south, and so finally this is towards the setting sun. It was a good day and the clouds were perfect. I used a wide angle 12mm lens which makes the sun appear as a small dot on the horizon.

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The View West
The View West in Redington Shores

Wide angle lenses have a tendency to make things appear to converge on the horizon. For reasons of physics, mathematics and optics, all of which are beyond me, most wide angle lenses will cause the horizon line to bow. The wide angle lens I used is unique because it doesn’t distort the horizon. It’s the Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D, the first of its kind and the company Venus Lens is making waves. They did a Kickstarter and I’m glad I supported it. I wasn’t sure how much I would like it but the lens is turning out to be a real winner.

beach gallery

As this is the West coast of Florida you’ll notice that the waves are small. That’s the nature of this coast, calm clear water. And there are no rocky shores like those in California. Certainly the waves get dramatic during a storm, but other than that, the waves and horizon line are pretty boring and flat. However in this case, that’s a good thing.

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Dreamscape from Redington Shores

I recently created this dreamscape from Redington Shores. The last shot I posted was facing north, however this faces in the direction of my home which is about twenty miles south as the gull flies. Not that gulls fly straight, but I digress.

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Dreamscape from Redington Shores
Dreamscape from Redington Shores

Right now the weather is perfect, not too hot or too cold. But in winter the waters of the gulf have cooled. It’s a good thing because warm water in the gulf creates severe storms. Seven months of that in summer is enough. Winter is a break from all the thunder and lightning.

You can always tell the visitors, they’re the ones in the water. I prefer the water in summer when its warm like a bath. But then we always have to be on the lookout for the rapid formation of thunderstorms. I’ve grown soft living here. When I used to live up north I’d consider the cooler water in winter perfectly fine.

There is always something to see when walking along the beach. One thing I do a lot of is take pictures of piers. There is something about a leading line ending in the sea. Another metaphor perhaps, one that I find intriguing. This is a different perspective. The pier provides a sense of distance and perspective.

dreamscapes in the gallery

This image is a common theme I repeat from time to time. It’s about solitude in an idyllic setting, something just beyond this world. Of course it can mean anything you like it to be. But for me it’s about something just out of reach. This is what I call a dreamscape.

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Look Into The Future

What do you see when you look into the future? I think looking into the future is a bit of a fools errand. You think you know what will happen but it doesn’t. And it takes attention away from the present moment, the here and the now. Not that I don’t dream, set goals have a New Years resolution or two. Living in the present while not losing track of the direction of our lives is a balancing act.

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Look Into The Future
Look into the future yet remain present

This image makes me think of those kinds of things. It’s a metaphor for the uncertainty in the sea of possibilities. We sit on the precipice and look out at the year ahead. We each see something different.

This is an image I took in California as I headed home. The original image looks different, a little more concrete and realistic. But for me photography will often evoke metaphors and I am easily attracted to them. Art is metaphor, a representation of something in our psyches, collective and individual. Artists become immersed in the exploration of metaphors, representing deeper meanings on the canvas.

favorites from the gallery

When I look into the new year I see a clean canvas. I’m curious to know what the new year will bring, yet perhaps the only way to get there is to be present in the current moment.

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Redington Shores

This is from a few days ago in Redington Shores, a beach community south of Clearwater. People were out strolling along the beach at sunset. The water was cold to the touch but still some were swimming or smashing about nonetheless.

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Redington Shores
Redington Shores along the beach

I was visiting a friend who lives in a condo overlooking the gulf. The view of the beach at sunset is indescribable.

The last time I visited it was at the end of summer and an afternoon storm blew in. However not it’s winter and the water is calm, almost without waves. During that storm the waves were much higher and sand was deposited in to the pools of the condominiums.

Summer is like winter in Florida, and winter is like summer with the mild weather.

beach gallery

Now that the holidays are almost over, the snowbirds start to reappear. Southbound traffic on the interstate is full of cars, trailers and motorhomes as they make the yearly migration. This is good for the local economy. It’s also a time for people watching. You can’t help notice the relief of leaving the cold behind.

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Where the Land Ends

If you drive west in San Francisco you eventually end up where the land ends. Appropriately name Lands End is a required stop when I’m here. On Monday I had a red-eye back flight home and so that afforded me the perfect opportunity to spend a couple of hours here before heading to the airport. I am so glad I did.

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Where the Land Ends
Where the Land Ends – Lands End San Francisco

Staying in the heart of the city its easy to get disconnected from nature and the beauty that surrounds this part of California. I was feeling a little bit of that when I arrived. But as soon as I parked the hum of the city fell away and I was in a different world. Standing along the shore whales could be seen at the mouth of the bay, a common occurrence.

I almost didn’t recognize the scene because last time I was here you could walk out to the rock on the left. The tide had transformed the shore. Also I don’t remember the green covering on all the rocks, perhaps that’s seasonal. In any case, it goes to show that new things appear each time you revisit a location like this, especially when mother nature is involved.

seascape images

I took a tonne of photos and when I was done the sun had set and the sky turned dark. The city was completely washed away from my mind. Next stop the airport and the flight home.

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Heartbeat of a City

This is the heartbeat of a city at dusk. I left San Francisco a few days ago. And supposing I did leave my heart in San Francisco then this would be a recording of its beat.

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Heartbeat of a City
Heartbeat of a City, San Francisco skyline reimagined

I showed up at Treasure Island just after sunset to capture images of the city. To be sure there are dozens of people here everyday snapping photos with their phones, camera and drones. I’ve been here before which is how I knew about it. The location is perhaps the best spot to watch the city at dusk. I remained here for a couple of hours taking photos, each slightly different in some way.

The next day I got up and walked to the SF MOMA to view the photography exhibits. That got me feeling a little creative and so I imagined this perspective of a familiar sight. A sound wave, a heartbeat, the skyline reimagined.

California Images

San Francisco is changing pretty quickly. It’s been over a year since I was here and in that time the skyline has changed. The next time I’m back it will change again. 
 
Those cranes on the left are unbelievably high up. Earlier this day I was stopped at a red light next to the tallest building. I looked up at the cranes in awe at how high up they were. Apparently I lost track of time because the light turned green and the cars behind me started honking. I abruptly came out of my reverie and just made the light. That left the honkers behind me stopped for another round of reds. I think they may have been seeing quite a bit of red at that point. But for a guy from small-town Florida where there is not much higher than a palm tree, it was well worth it, even if I did make a little bad micro-karma.

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Hometown Marina

This is the marina in Palmetto Florida. Actually there are a lot of marinas in Palmetto but this is the main one. Well, one of the main ones. Let me start over. This is one of several marinas in my hometown.

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Hometown Marina
Hometown Marina in Palmetto Florida

I’m not really into boats so they tend to look the same to me. There are huge differences of course; these are sailboats. At a marina closer to my home there are mostly powerboats. I never really thought about it until now but the two marinas are quite different. This marina is past all the bridges so the boats can sail straight into open waters. The marina close to home is on the other side of three bridges, one which is a draw bridge.

So now it makes sense, why would someone dock a sailboat behind an obstacle course of bridges when they could dock here? As for the powerboats near me, the bridges are not obstacles. They don’t have the same concerns with mast height, bridge structures and a drawbridge, they simple steer right through.

minimalism from the gallery

Now that I have all that figured out, back to the photo. The setting sun over the water caught my attention. That by itself would have been a nice, but in this case I had the added bonus of a marina filled with sailboats with access to open water.

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Dawn on the North Pier

I took at dawn on the north pier which is where all the local fishermen hang out. The pier is the remnants of the old bridge that was replaced by the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. To get out here you need to pay a fee to the parks department. Everyone that pays that fee comes here to fish, I’m the only one that comes here to take pictures. When I show up before dawn without a fishing poll I get a few sideways glances.

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Dawn on the North Pier
Dawn on the North Pier of the Sunshine Skyway

I’ve taken pictures of this bridge from a lot of angles but this is my first time from this one. In reality it was darker but this is a thirty-second exposure and it appears lighter. The eastern horizon began to shift in color in advance of the sun which created a silhouette of the bridge. At it’s highest point between the two towers the bridge is four hundred feet above the water. Even that is not high enough for the biggest cruise ships.

If you sit here all day you’ll see a constant stream of ships passing under the bridge. You might see military aircraft as they make their approach to McDill AFB. You will surely see any number of animals, from sea birds to ocean mammals. People fish off this pier all day and all night and in that time there is quite the array of things flying, swimming and floating by.

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In my case I’m only here for an hour before heading off to somewhere else. Perhaps if I were to stay a little longer I might see more things to take pictures of. However, to do that I would probably need to bring a fishing poll. At least then I wouldn’t get those sideways glances.

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Meditation Sunset

This is a meditation sunset from Emerson Point in my hometown of Palmetto. It’s the kind of image you might see on the cover of a meditation book, at least that’s what comes to my mind.

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Meditation Sunset
Meditation sunset taken with a wide angle lens in Palmetto Florida

Speaking of which, I’ve been trying meditation lately. Not that I know what I’m doing, just taking a few minutes to clear my mind when I can. Long story short, it’s easier said than done. And to be honest I’m not sure if this picture would help. As soon as I look at a photo I start thinking thoughts and you’re not supposed to do that. But I’m no expert so take what I say with a grain of salt. Maybe I should give it a try, it might help for all I know.

Moving along, I took this with my new Laowa 12mm wide angle lens. The fun thing about getting a new lens is I get to try it out on familiar locations and see what happens. A wide angle lens has the tendency to create a tunnel effect, meaning that everything appears to converge in a point on the horizon. It’s just a nifty effect of the lens, we don’t actually see things that way.

images featuring clouds in the gallery

Anyway, let’s all take a deep breath, look at this picture and clear our minds. It might just do us a world of good. When I finally figure out how to meditate I’ll write a book and put this photo on the cover. Maybe.