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Beer Can Island

Why on God's green Earth they call this Beer Can Island I'll never know. It's not even an island, just the northern tip of Longboat Key. Nonetheless here I am sneaking a break in my day to capture a few shots of the beach at midday. I'm more of a sunset guy but I thought I'd expand my horizons a little and see what I could do during the day. Easier said than done, you need a polarizer, exposure compensation and blah-de-blah-blah-blah. I was just happy to get out of the office for a few minutes over lunch.

Why on God’s green Earth they call this Beer Can Island I’ll never know. It’s not even an island, just the northern tip of Longboat Key. Nonetheless here I am sneaking a break in my day to capture a few shots of the beach. I’m more of a sunset guy but I thought I’d expand my horizons a little and see what I could do during the day. Easier said than done, you need a polarizer, exposure compensation and blah-de-blah-blah-blah. I was just happy to get out of the office for a few minutes over lunch.

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Five Trees

This is another shot from Bendemeer which is between Queenstown and Arrowtown in New Zealand. I only had a couple of hours here but the landscape was such that there were compositions at every turn, I'm still finding shots that I took on this day. Lord knows I must've taken hundreds in that short time. It felt like an Easter Egg hunt, running from place to place trying to capture as many prizes as possible. Is it any wonder there are so many artists (photographic or otherwise) from New Zealand? You can't help but be inspired by the natural beauty all around.

This is another shot from Bendemeer which is between Queenstown and Arrowtown in New Zealand. I only had a couple of hours here but the landscape was such that there were compositions at every turn, I’m still finding shots that I took on this day. Lord knows I must’ve taken hundreds in that short time. It felt like an Easter Egg hunt, running from place to place trying to capture as many prizes as possible. Is it any wonder there are so many artists (photographic or otherwise) from New Zealand? You can’t help but be inspired by the natural beauty all around.

Click on photo to obtain a print

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Peaceful Afternoon

This is a few feet from the kayak launch in a wildlife area known as Robinson Preserve. I'm enamored with the place, I love the open expanse right in the middle of a city where the waters are calm, the wildlife takes refuge, and the stillness is enough to restore sanity. It's been a few weeks so I'm overdue for a trip back, maybe even with a kayak. Things are crazy all over and it's easy to lose track of what's important(I'm the poster child for that). But if I come to places like this, I have a better chance of finding peace than just about any other way.

This is a few feet from the kayak launch in a wildlife area known as Robinson Preserve. I’m enamored with the place, I love the open expanse right in the middle of a city where the waters are calm, the wildlife takes refuge and the stillness is enough to restore sanity. It’s been a few weeks so I’m overdue for a trip back, maybe even with a kayak. Things are crazy all over and it’s easy to lose track of what’s important (I’m the poster child for that). But if I come to places like this I have a better chance than just about any other way of finding that place of peace.

Click on photo to obtain a print.

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Bridge to Somewhere

I captured this at dusk near the Skyway bridge to St. Petersburg the other day. There's a little highway rest stop and as I pulled up a couple of truckers were sitting in their cabs just watching this scene unfold in front of them. As rest stops go this is fairly scenic and each time I come here get inspired in some new way. If this seems to you like a relaxing scene you'd be right. Which is why I need to file this away before I start my week, otherwise I might not get anything done.

I captured this at dusk near the Skyway bridge to St. Petersburg the other day. There’s a little highway rest stop and as I pulled up a couple of truckers were sitting in their cabs just watching this scene unfold in front of them. As rest stops go this is fairly scenic and each time I come here get inspired in some new way. If this seems to you like a relaxing scene you’d be right. Which is why I need to file this away before I start my week, otherwise I might not get anything done.

Click on photo to obtain print

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After the Golden Hour

This is the Fiorelli Winery just after dusk. I came here to capture a few shots for a brochure but the landscape photographer in me wouldn't let me leave without something a little more, well, ..landscape-y. It seems I'm always looking for something epic like the grand canyon even when I'm stuck in the middle of Florida. I suppose that's good and bad, but enough about me. It's been a long day and as soon as I type this I'm going to pass out on my keyboard. But before I do, I wish you all have a wonderful weekend.

This is the Fiorelli Winery just after dusk. I came here to capture a few shots for a brochure but the landscape photographer in me wouldn’t let me leave without something a little more, well, ..landscape-y. It seems I’m always looking for something epic like the grand canyon even when I’m stuck in the middle of Florida. I suppose that’s good and bad, but enough about me. It’s been a long day and as soon as I type this I’m going to pass out on my keyboard. But before I do, I wish you all have a wonderful weekend.

Click on photo to obtain print.

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Lake Hayes

One afternoon a group of us photographers stopped by Lake Hayes which is between Arrowtown and Queenstown in New Zealand. Little did we realize we were a little late to the party as a couple of other photographers were there shooting engagement photos, in fact there were makeup artist, lighting assistants, ...it was a big deal. So we all just kind of scattered in different directions so that this section of Lake Hayes was well photographed that afternoon. It might have had something to do with the calm water, I think it's usually not so still. So this is my take on it, but I'm sure that if you could look it up somehow, you'd see a lot more like this on that same day. We were all very busy.

One afternoon a group of us photographers stopped by Lake Hayes which is between Arrowtown and Queenstown in New Zealand. Little did we realize we were a little late to the party as a couple of other photographers were there shooting engagement photos, in fact there were makeup artist, lighting assistants, …it was a big deal. So we all just kind of scattered in different directions so that this section of Lake Hayes was well photographed that afternoon. It might have had something to do with the calm water, I think it’s usually not so still. So this is my take on it, but I’m sure that if you could look it up somehow, you’d see a lot more like this on that same day. We were all very busy.

Click on photo to obtain print.

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Tale of Two Times

While in New York we stopped in here at Columbus Circle for a little snack after a day of walking and sightseeing. While I was working on a cookie I noticed this perspective from inside the ultra modern Time Warner Center out onto the older architecture of Central Park South. If I went back in time fifty or sixty years I could imagine a very similar scene as these buildings (at least from the outside) have changed very little. But alas I awoke from my time travel reverie to check my e-mail and send a text. It seems to me that I stood here somewhere in time between eras with a little bit of both mixed together. And all of this from a building that begins with the word

While in New York we stopped in here at Columbus Circle for a little snack after a day of walking and sightseeing. While I was working on a cookie I noticed this perspective from inside the ultra modern Time Warner Center out onto the older architecture of Central Park South. If I went back in time fifty or sixty years I could imagine a very similar scene as these buildings (at least from the outside) have changed very little. But alas I awoke from my time travel reverie to check my e-mail and send a text. It seems to me that I stood here somewhere in time between eras with a little bit of both mixed together. And all of this from a building that begins with the word “Time”.

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Afternoon at the Beach

This is Siesta Key Beach which is a short drive from my home in Florida. A couple of years ago this was rated the number one beach in the United States. Let's just stop and think about that for a moment. Somebody actually has a job to go around and pick the best beach. Really? I very much want that job. But I digress. There's always something fun going on here, I noticed they were setup for a duathlon the next morning and they also have drum circles that gather here every so often. I just thought it was cool how a bunch of friends decided to come here and play volleyball on this afternoon. In any case, I'll leave you with this scene while I go fill out an application for that beach rating job.

This is Siesta Key Beach which is a short drive from my home in Florida. A couple of years ago this was rated the number one beach in the United States. Let’s just stop and think about that for a moment. Somebody actually has a job to go around and pick the best beach. Really? I very much want that job. But I digress. There’s always something fun going on here, I noticed they were set up for a duathlon the next morning and they also have drum circles that gather here every so often. I just thought it was cool how a bunch of friends decided to come here and play volleyball on this afternoon. In any case, I’ll leave you with this scene while I go fill out an application for that beach rating job.

Click on photo to obtain a print.

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Road to Glenorchy

Early one morning on the way to Glenorchy in New Zealand we stopped at a vista to watch the sunrise. As you can see the road has a lot of curves and I managed to capture this commuter on his or her way to work in Queenstown. As a rule I don't like to commute to work, but I think if I lived here I wouldn't mind so much. Kind of like when I get stuck on a drawbridge in Florida, just sit there and watch the dolphins swim by. No dolphins in New Zealand, just beautiful landscape and the occasional black swan. That'll do just fine.

Early one morning on the way to Glenorchy in New Zealand we stopped at a vista to watch the sunrise. As you can see the road has a lot of curves and I managed to capture this commuter on his or her way to work in Queenstown. As a rule I don’t like to commute to work, but I think if I lived here I wouldn’t mind so much. Kind of like when I get stuck on a drawbridge in Florida, just sit there and watch the dolphins swim by. No dolphins in New Zealand, just beautiful landscape and the occasional black swan. That’ll do just fine.

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Summer Thunder Cloud

This is what a typical afternoon looks like near my home in Florida. These cells contain a lot of energy which lifts the moisture vertically resembling a mushroom cloud. Non-stop lightning is generated such that it will take your breath away if you've never seen it before. The first time I saw it I thought the aliens had invaded as I looked around at the locals who took no notice. As soon as it gets dark the skies light up in every direction as spectacular as fireworks. I just got back from walking my dogs around the block and directly above are stars, yet all around me were these clouds flashing in all directions. Now, I'm a local and I hardly notice.

This is what a typical afternoon looks like near my home in Florida. These cells contain a lot of energy which lifts the moisture vertically resembling a mushroom cloud. Non-stop lightning is generated such that it will take your breath away if you’ve never seen it before. The first time I saw it I thought the aliens had invaded as I looked around at the locals who took no notice. As soon as it gets dark the skies light up in every direction as spectacular as fireworks. I just got back from walking my dogs around the block and directly above are stars, yet all around me were these clouds flashing in all directions. Now, I’m a local and I hardly notice.

Click on photo to obtain print.