Sunset Archives - Page 19 of 46

August 31, 2016

Calm After the Storm

Today and tomorrow we are getting a tropical storm that’s dumping a bunch of rain in the Tampa area. That’s normal for this time of year. I look forward to getting outside to take pictures of the calm after the storm. This is an image I took a few weeks back after an afternoon thunderstorm. In the evening the clouds dissipate causing them to scatter like brushstrokes in the sky.

Sometimes we can tell that a storm is coming by the behavior of the birds. Where I live the houses form a circle around a stand of trees. The houses shield the trees from the winds and so birds will congregate as much a twenty-four hours before a storm. How they know is beyond me, I’m pretty sure they’re not watching the weather channel. Maybe the weather channel is watching them, you never know.

bridges from the gallery

This is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The surface of the road is four-hundred feet high and spans about eight miles over the entrance to the bay. When storms come through the wind can get high enough that they close it down. I’ve driven over the bridge in a tropical storm and it was an experience I won’t forget. However the next day the winds die down, the birds return to the shore and we all go about our business like it never even happened; summertime in Florida.

August 24, 2016August 24, 2016

When I Was Young

When I was young I remember playing late into the evening during the summer. The days were long and it gave my friends and I an opportunity to stay out late, it was a good feeling. It’s strange because I never really thought about it until recently. I suppose this image reminds me of that just a little. I took this at dusk and the children were squeezing every last minute of fun out of the day, like I did when I was their age.

We lose that when we grow up, but at times we can glimpse portions of it. I get that magical sense sometimes when I go on vacation. I have no responsibilities and the evenings are for having fun. Maybe we all need to play a little more. Maybe play connects us with something important we’ve lost.

abstract images from the gallery

In the meantime I keep taking pictures of people and scenes at dusk and sometimes it reminds me of long lost memories. And then I think the only way to get those back is to go on vacation. And then I never get anything done. But pretty sure I’m happy in that world.

August 23, 2016

Sky on Fire

I have this place I go to take pictures but I go there so often that in the back of my head I think I’m repeating myself. But with the sky on fire like this, how could I possibly repeat anything? I could come here every day of the year and the images would be different; which is not so much my doing as that of mother nature herself. The display of clouds changes completely from one day to the next.

As a photographer who is interested in art I think about these things a lot. I think about scenes and what they mean. I try to extract a little perspective. It’s an exercise in self discovery because to interpret something as abstract as an image of clouds requires imagination, vocabulary and some self awareness. And therein lies the heart of the matter.

images featuring the sky from the gallery

Self awareness is about as ephemeral an idea as they come. But I find just a little bit goes a long way. That’s because the ideas and thoughts about self awareness are best described in metaphors. Bingo, images make good metaphors. So if you think about it, we’re not interpreting the image, rather ourselves through the image. So, in the case the this sky, it’s really just a metaphor for something within.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

August 17, 2016August 17, 2016

Patiently Waiting

It seems almost anywhere I go along the water there are herons close by. They are attracted to fishermen as they wait for any scraps or bait. With this heron patiently waiting I setup and shot the image using a low angle. Even though I was holding a camera between him and the fishermen he stood his ground watching me with one eye and the fishermen with the other.

Herons are patient, single minded and determined. I sat here for about thirty minutes and he was still there when I left. They are territorial so I suspect this was his pier and he wasn’t about to give it up to some guy with a camera or the fishermen.

He was watching the waters right below the pier. It’s the perfect vantage to spot fish and then swoop down for the catch.

other images with herons

Herons add atmosphere to an image, I think it’s something to do with how they carry themselves, its hard to put my finger on it. In any case, they never seem to mind having their picture taken, so for the time being I will continue to include them whenever I can.

August 16, 2016

Beyond the Shoreline

The other night I showed up at the beach at dusk. Sometimes when I’m taking photos things just happen and its good to be ready. In this case a woman was posing for photos on an adjacent pier about a hundred meters away. Her friend was taking pictures of her with his phone. It was getting dark so I set my ISO way up and took this shot.

The waters edge is a like a boundary into another world. For me, looking out over the water is like looking into the unknown. Standing at the edge of what we know and gazing beyond is an idea I sometimes think about.

If I’m honest I can find the unknown in my everyday life. Often I’m presented with challenges to overcome. When that happens its like looking into a gulf of uncertainty. I may know how to navigate but I’ve never been THERE before; there are risks. So the unknown is part of life, if not why be born in the first place. When we choose to go beyond what we know we are crossing out beyond the shoreline.

Images with Waves

So for me this image is a metaphor for gazing into the unknown of my own life. I suppose that’s why I get a little apprehensive when I look at it.

August 14, 2016August 14, 2016

Waters Edge

I went to this point at the waters edge not sure what I’d shoot. I took a few shots of this or that but nothing really clicked (no pun intended). I was walking back to my car when I looked back to see this group of people talking at the waters edge. This ended up being the shot that I liked the most.

I suppose standing at the waters edge is a metaphor for a border between this world and the next. When we stand there we look out and contemplate. At least that’s how I interpret this scene. For all I know they could be talking about where to go for dinner. Anyway, in my photograph they are looking out in contemplation, that’s my story and i’m sticking to it.

Emerson Pont photos

This place is ten minutes from home and one of my favorite spots to go. Sometimes I come in the morning but mostly at dusk. There is an automated gate that closes just after sunset. I tend to linger and several times I’ve been asked to leave by the ranger. I will get permission one day to stay later so that I can get some clear shots of the night sky. But for the time being the shot will be of people in contemplation at the waters edge.

August 11, 2016August 11, 2016

Restored at Lido Beach

This is one of my favorite places to come and walk the beach. It’s on the southern tip of Lido Beach in Sarasota. The reason I like it so much is that’s it’s secluded and at the very tip of the key. Right behind where I’m standing is the end of the key and fishermen typically stand there to catch fish coming in or out with the tide.

Restored at Ledo Beach — Walking along the waves is a good way to get restored at Lido Beach

There are hotels up further to the right, but this spot is a park so if you come here during the sunset hour you can get lost in the scenery, breeze and warm water at your feet without the crowds you get in front of the hotels.

beach gallery

I work in an office all day and when I come here and walk in the water its restorative. It’s a natural consequence of being outside in a place like this. I have a dog that sleeps at my desk during the day. When I take him out for a mid-day walk he likes to lay down on the pavement and soak up the sun. He will not move until he feels better. I suppose that simple act restores something missing from being inside. The same is true for me when I come here to Lido, I am restored.

August 8, 2016August 8, 2016

Keku Strait in Alaska

When I was on the ship I was constantly taking photos of the landscape. Much of it was open waters bordered by mountains and peeks. That’s different from what I’m used to looking at back home so I soaked in as much as I could. This was taken as the setting sun casts a warm glow on everything. The way the ship moves around these straits I could never really tell which direction was west unless the sun was low enough in the horizon. Even then I would think it was in the wrong place, it’s a good thing I wasn’t steering the ship.

In the summers it never really gets completely dark. That was a new experience for me. It would be fun to travel further north and experience the constant daylight of the summer months (It’s on my bucket list). I would wake up in the morning to see the dawn light and then look at the clock to find it was three-thirty or four. Most mornings I was up around five, it was hard to sleep knowing it was light outside.

landscapes from the gallery

I walked to the bow of the ship where there is an observation deck and a helicopter pad. People would gather here at sunset or when there was some interesting spectacle. I came to catch the sunset, but on account of how slow the sun sets I stayed for an hour just watching the scenery. This is just a snippet of that.

August 7, 2016August 7, 2016

Sunset Over the Twin Dolphins Marina in Bradenton Florida

This is sunset over the Twin Dolphins Marina in Bradenton Florida. I took this the other night from a bridge that crosses the Manatee River into Bradenton. The river meets the Gulf of Mexico just a few miles beyond and in it’s waters are dolphins, manatees and all manner of fish. At this point it’s not a river in the traditional sense, more an estuary where the water flows in and out with the tide.

The bridge overlooks the Twin Dolphins Marina where folks have pleasure boats. However a number of people live here on their boats full time. There is a restaurant straight ahead called Pier 22 that we frequent on account of the outdoor patio and food which is very good.

Manatee County Gallery

This is one of those places that I pass when running errands in Bradenton. When I’m driving the bridge I don’t get a chance to enjoy the view so much. But today I parked my car and walked across the bridge at sunset. Not surprising, there were a lot of other people walking across for exercise the scenery. Sometimes it pays to just take it slow and enjoy the sights in my own backyard.

August 3, 2016

Quality of Light

The rains we had recently created some very nice sunsets. I came here on a whim to see if I could get some shots and lucked out on account of the clouds and light. Just as much as the sunset I like to capture the quality of light. When that blazing ball recess below the horizon everything we see is from reflected light. And the lower it sinks the more atmosphere it travels through casting a soft and warm glow. If the conditions are right, that glow is unlike anything else and is the closest thing to a feeling magic I’ve ever experienced.

I have recollections as a child playing outside in the long summer evenings. I remember the glow of light and the special feeling I got from it. But I would have forgotten were it not for my pursuit of photography. As a landscape photographer I recognize and appreciate the quality of light. At times like this it can be other worldly.

Anyway, I get carried away and take dozens and dozens of photos. Sometimes many of them are great, but then the problem is I have a million great photos of the exact same thing. Its like money in the bank I suppose, store them away for a rainy day.

sunsets in the gallery

But then around here, rainy days mean more good sunsets to follow.