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Photographic Angle

A photographic angle of a modern building caught my eye while walking through a big city. It’s at the foot of Telus Gardens which is a new building with innovative architecture and is supposedly one of the most energy efficient in the world. The image is a little confusing. The translucency and reflections of the elevator on the left create a little perplexity.

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Photographic Angle
Photographic Angle of Telus Gardens in Vancouver

I took several identical frames hand held using a high ISO setting. Normally I would use a tripod but this time I was trying a different technique. I used Photoshop to combine the identical images and eliminate the noise. I learned the technique from this tutorial by Serge Ramelli.

Because I live in a small town walking around a big city is an experience for me. Sometimes I think I’d like to live in a large city. I love the energy, especially the creative inspiration I get for photography. I get a lot of that when I’m in a place like Vancouver.

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Later when I get home I’m happy for the quiet and relative calm of a small town. It’s not a contradiction, just a matter of being happy where I am. No matter where I end up, I’ll always be looking for a photographic angle.

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More Alike than Unalike

This reminds me of the saying that we are more alike than unalike. While in Amsterdam I took a ride on a boat through the city canals. It’s a perspective that had me looking up at the houses, streets and people above the water level. It was a covered boat but sat outside the whole time taking photos. Being a foreigner I find it particularly interesting to watch people. I think that’s a natural reaction to a new place, maybe because we relate to people more than surroundings.

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More Alike than Unalike
People are More Alike than Unalike

I think people in most places around the world have a lot in common. Where we live is part of the equation, but not the most important part, at least that’s my theory.

People here seem to be happy. There is a sensibility that’s rarely found in North America, we have it but in isolated cases. What is it? It’s hard to put my finger on it. Folks are content to ride bikes instead of cars. People spend quality time together rather than work all the time. It’s a sense of identity of a small country that is sometimes lost in a large country. And then of course there are the laws, they are very different.

All that aside, at our core we are more alike than unalike. We think about many of the same things, we feel the same, we react to the same things. By experiencing and learning from each other we become wiser. When we look closely at people we realize we are not so different.

monochrome from the gallery

Photography is sometimes an opportunity to meditate on these ideas, to cut through the exterior and make a connection. That may sound counter-intuitive, but I think there’s something to it, at least for me. But then, if we’re not all that different maybe it is for you too.

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Out Over San Francisco

Looking out over San Francisco from the top of Coit Tower there is a lot to take in. It’s a good good I was here in the morning because this is popular and at other times there are be lines to get up. But on this morning there were only a few people on top and the view in all directions was unobstructed.

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Out Over San Francisco
The View Out Over San Francisco

San Francisco is hilly enough, but when standing up here on a tower everything is accentuated. I used a wide angle lens to pack in as much as possible, but of course this is only looking in one direction; it was like this all around.

I think living up on this hill and then taking a walk everyday would ensure you are in pretty good shape. And that’s exactly what you see, people walking up and down the hills. I get a little winded on just one hill but if I did it everyday maybe it would be different.

Cityscape Images

I was born and raised in California but I have never been up here. I’ve seen the Coit Tower countless times, I’ve been to the base of it, I recognize it as part of the skyline, but I’ve never been to the top of it until now. In my opinion its well worth the visit if you’ve not done that yet.

San Francisco is full of architectural landmarks but this ranks in the top two or three.

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Saturday Night Fireworks

These are the Saturday night fireworks we had here in my hometown for the annual regatta. It’s the third year and each year it gets bigger and bigger. They shut down one of the main bridge so people can stand on it to watch the Formula One races. Those boats are pushing the limits of the laws of physics, it really is crazy to watch. The day is filled with food, acrobatic displays and concerts and ends with a firework display.

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Saturday Night Fireworks
Saturday Night Fireworks at the Bradenton Area Regatta.

I took this from across the river near my home in Palmetto. Palmetto is a small town compared to Bradenton, but they share the river and during the regatta each city joins together to put on the show.

When I arrived at the little beachhead along the river to watch the fireworks there was a couple already sitting in their lawn chairs waiting for the fireworks. I asked how it was going and the guy replied it was a little cold. We laughed but basically called him on it. He was from upstate New York and his son just sent him a picture of the snow up there. Here we all were in shorts and sandals watching fireworks. Maybe he was just being facetious so I told him to send back a picture and see if he gets any sympathy from the folks up north.

Bradenton Images

I’m fortunate to live here in Florida especially at this time of year. I just returned from a couple of weeks in Canada and I can say with certainty that it is not cold here. The only cold thing is the ice in the fridge that we use to keep our drinks cold.

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Spectacle of the Commercial Port

It seems each time I visit Vancouver I’m drawn to the spectacle of the commercial port. Probably because it’s right on the eastern edge of town and it’s hard to miss. Maybe also the child in me likes all the multicolored containers, boats and cranes. Nevertheless I look for new ways to frame it and in this case the sunrise provided a backdrop. This morning was the first break in the clouds after a week of steady rain.

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Spectacle of the Commercial Port
Spectacle of the Commercial Port in Vancouver BC

I took this from Canada Place which is empty of people first thing in the morning save for the occasional jogger or photographer. The perspective from here is deceiving, the port appears smaller than it is. The last time I was in Vancouver I took a seaplane and flew over the port. To my surprise it was many times larger than I thought. I had only ever seen it from this perspective.

I have always wondered about the number of ships sitting at sea just outside port, it’s a part of the Vancouver seascape. You grow accustomed to it but the first time I saw them I thought it unusual. After a while they blend into the fabric of the city and you hardly notice. At the appointed time each will pass under the Lionsgate Bridge and dock here.

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I think it all goes unnoticed by the majority of people, but for some unknown reason I find all of this fascinating, spending more time than I should thinking about the ships, the docks and the whole bloody operation.

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Sailing Nowhere

As far as I can tell this boat has been here for years and is sailing nowhere. One morning I headed over by the water to take pictures of the sunrise. There is a mooring field between two bridges and it’s a place to watch the sunrise or sunset depending on which way you’re facing. My theory is that this is an abandoned boat because it’s been here for years and never seems to move. Before I moved to Florida it never occurred to me but apparently there are abandoned boats out there. From a purely aesthetic point of view, they make for good picture taking.

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Sailing Nowhere
Sailing Nowhere in Manatee County

I doubt that removing the vessels is high on any municipal agenda. Eventually a hurricane come along and sink the craft and then mother nature begins her slow process of reclaiming it.

I showed up early to take this and to my surprise, someone else was there at the same time taking pictures as well. To be honest I was a little surprised. I live in a small town and rarely is anyone other than myself taking photos in the morning. In a big city or a national landmark yes, of course, I would expect all manner of photographers. But Palmetto? Well, anyway we both took some photos of that lovely morning and then went our separate ways.

Florida Gallery

As for this boat, it just stayed in this one spot and I’m pretty sure it hasn’t moved since.

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Preferred Parking

On Saturday night I was walking back to my hotel in Vancouver and had to stop and do a double take when I passed what appeared to be preferred parking. It’s adjacent to a nightclub and what caught my eye was the modes of transport, i.e. German engineering. I have no idea which club this is but just after I took the shot I saw another couple arriving in a Porsche from Washington State. I guess the club is worth the two-hour drive up. If I had one of these cars I’d park here as well. Surely the valet attendant is well tipped.

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Preferred Parking
Preferred Parking in Vancouver BC

At the time I was walking around looking for street scenes to photograph. My Sony camera is so good at night photography that its something I look forward to doing whenever I’m in a big city.

It’s been about six months since I was in Vancouver and the one difference I noticed was the amount of people smoking weed in the open. I’d say it was more than in Amsterdam, and if you’ve ever been to Amsterdam that’s saying something. Maybe because it was a Saturday night, but I’m not sure.

monochrome gallery

Anyway, there is always something to see / do / smell when walking around here. Everyone is out having a good time and some people know how to arrive in style.

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Contemporary Jewish Museum

This is part of the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. Naturally the design caught my eye and is another example of art in architecture. As unusual a shape as it is, the wide angle lens accentuates the effect. The surrounding buildings seem to bend into its gravitational pull.

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Contemporary Jewish Museum
Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco

Public art can evoke imagination transporting the thoughts of any who take the time to notice. I believe it subconsciously stimulates our inner worlds one individual at a time.

We all need art in our lives. Many of us live, move and age in a world without acknowledgment of art. We ignore it. I am no exception, racing at the feet of another god, unmindful of my surroundings. But eventually we tire of being disconnected from deeper meaning. Art is a portal to the place it was created. That’s an opaque way of saying it leads back to creative energy, because it’s the product of a creative.

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I have never considered myself a creative. But I’ve come to appreciate creatives and their art. And through the practice of the craft of photography I begin to recognize creative similarities in my own and different mediums. If I, of all people, can become aware of the value of art, then there’s hope indeed.

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Architectural Appreciation

I took this on Architectural Appreciation day. That’s a joke, there’s no such thing, at least that I’m aware of.

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Architectural Appreciation
Architectural Appreciation

This building is in central Amsterdam. It struck me as a statement of architecture. It was cold and I had competing thoughts that there wasn’t anything worth taking a picture of. That’s how my mind works, it’s always looking for an out when the weather is not good. I looked straight up and decided I better setup despite the protestations of my body and complaining mind.

I think that if I lived in Europe I’d shoot a lot of architecture. Even so there are opportunities closer to home. I know its cliche but it really is a matter of perspective. 

The idea with architecture photography is to reduce some design to a simple box. Sometimes when we look at things we see too much to appreciate the details. Architecture photography is about appreciating details. Focussing the lens on a single aspect of a building is, believe it or not, an act of appreciation. Think about it, the person who designed this building has surely considered this perspective in his or her mind many times. However most of use walk right by, never looking up to notice. Now imagine you are that architect and you see and read this post. You might smile and think someone actually noticed and appreciated it.

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It’s about being present and open to little things all around us. It could be a little animal, a tree or piece of architectural design by someone with a vision of symmetry and lines.

Anyway, after I took the shot I went back inside. It was damn cold.

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Sarasota Skyline from Afar

The Sarasota skyline from afar is something I never get tired of. This is about a mile away. I took this while standing near a boat launch on City Island.

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Sarasota Skyline from Afar
Sarasota Skyline from Afar

This happened to be one of the few times of the year it was cold and windy. That’s great for this type of photography because the air is crisp and the clouds blur against the sky when the exposure is long. The only difficulty is getting the camera to remain steady against the winds. I have a good tripod but sometimes that’s not enough. In this case I shielded the camera on one side of my SUV so that the car acted as a windbreak.

I take a lot of pictures of Sarasota. Its close and has views across the water, something I favor. A long time ago I made up a rule, let’s call it the rule of fourths. The idea is to get as many of the four elements in the picture as possible. Using fire, air, water and earth, I compose an image, the more the merrier. The rule doesn’t always work, its more of an idea than a rule. However I’ll find myself working with it in an image almost subconsciously.

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Each time I come here to take a photo the conditions are different. The last time I came it was in the morning, it’s a good sunrise spot because it faces east. Once I captured a big thunder cloud over the city on a summer afternoon. Each time I show up at the same location there will be something different, the trick is to notice; that’s the idea, not a rule.