inspired photography with just enough perspective
When I lived up north in the cold and then visited a warm place, I would savor the last remaining moments of my vacation. I think that’s what was happening when I took this shot. A couple enjoying a last swim in the Gulf of Mexico one evening under a beautiful sunset in Bradenton Beach Florida. All good things come to and end, and fortunate for me I was here when it happened.
Last autumn I was here on a ship leaving out of St John’s Antigua at the end of a typical day. As it’s now February that seems lifetimes ago. We arrived early in the morning and saw everyone headed in to work including the president in his limo. That’s the thing about foreign lands, even the most mundane things like going to work seems kind of interesting. I wonder why that is? Maybe if someone from Antigua saw me in Florida headed to work and wrote about it, …never-mind, it’ll never happen.
I don’t know about you but I’m glad, REALLY GLAD, it’s Friday. …There I go again, …making stuff up. I’m writing this on a Wednesday but I’m pretending it’s Friday so on Friday (today) it seems current. So in reality it’s Wednesday, but on Friday I’m planning on being really happy so I thought I’d post a picture of a wild sunset. The only thing that could go wrong is we get invaded by aliens on Friday and everyone is freaked out and gloomy while I’m posting pictures of happy sunsets. I’ll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it. Until then, speaking from Wednesday, happy Friday everyone. Hopefully the aliens haven’t invaded, …yet.
This is the tackle shop at Hart’s Landing in Sarasota Florida. As long as I live I’ll never get tired of taking photos from this area. It’s one of those rare urban places where you can get a good photo no matter which way you turn. Something about us humans, we love to fish. Something about places where people fish, they seem to make for good photography. I have no idea why this is, or even what I’m talking about, but it seems to me we must have a strong connection to the water. Why else would we like to look at it so much? Before I start going off into space, I just want to wish you all a great day and hope that you get a chance to go by the water sometime soon. If not, this’ll have to do for now. 😉
This is indeed the end of the Manatee River where it opens into the Gulf of Mexico in Manatee County Florida. My father was an eye doctor who warned me not to look at the sun, so naturally I hear this in my head whenever I take a sunset. Basically my process is to line up my camera, push the shutter button and hope for the best. I suppose we all do that, right? Anyway, when the sun is at this position there’s no time left as it quickly sinks into the horizon, it’s click time or go home. In effect, this is a picture of the sun while I was squinting, clicking away like paparazzi and hoping for the best. I suppose this is another thinly veiled metaphor for life; point in the general direction, squint, execute and then hope for the best.
Is it any wonder that sometimes I run out of words? At the end of Emerson Point in Manatee County Florida is where a few of us locals go to watch the sunset. Sure, the beaches are good, but there are a few secret places like this that, well, leave me at a loss for words. So perhaps I’ll just leave it at that. Have a great weekend everyone.
Whenever I need a break I head down to the beach for a walk. I just made that up, I don’t really, but it sounds like a good idea. When I head down to the beach it’s usually to take pictures. I see a lot of other people taking a break and it looks so serene and peaceful I have to take a picture of it. I know there’s a lesson or commentary in there somewhere, but hey, it is what it is. This is one of the old piers in Bradenton Beach in Manatee County Florida and while I was taking it’s picture the other people here were sitting in beach chairs and enjoying the scenery.
I’m not complaining but, …it got a little chilly here the last couple of days, about 50F/10C. I got so stoked I dressed up for the occasion with a sweatshirt, socks and shoes. My sandals took a well deserved day off. They were calling for snow in the Florida panhandle so I was hoping against the odds we might get a whiff, no such luck. Had to recycle the makeshift cardboard sled, maybe next year. This is another broken down pier busy protecting white sand on the beach from washing away. You know, white sand. No, not that stuff you sled on. But I digress, …what was I talking about?
They call it the golden hour, but sometimes it’s pink. A couple of weeks ago and looked over to see this scene right as the sun was setting. Not very golden is it. In fact it only looks like this once in a blue moon. Pink clouds, golden hour, blue moon; got all that? This is the public boat dock at Holmes Beach in Manatee County Florida.
For whatever reason the clouds like to sit just off shore just to tease me. They know I’m here for a sunset shot yet I don’t always get what I want. But like the song says, if you try some time, you get what you need. So I guess I needed the sunset to look crazy on fire like this with a layer of grey clouds on top. This is the remnants of a broken down pier at Coquina Beach in Manatee County Florida. And that bird? That’s his pier.
