inspired photography with just enough perspective
If I knew the slightest thing about fishing it would be twice what I know now. That being said, I think this is a good fishing spot. I only know that on account of the numbers of fishermen that show up here after the sun goes down. And by fishermen I mean humans, pelicans, herons, …you name it, they all show up for the party. This is the Longboat Key Bridge as taken from the dock in Bradenton Beach Florida at night. And if I was into fishing, this is were you’d find me tonight.
This is the draw bridge to Longboat Key on a foggy morning in Manatee County Florida. As I understand it, we get fog when the air temperature rises or falls relative to the water. So it seems we get that in Florida a few times in winter. I look forward to it not only for photography, but because I get to wear warm clothes. During these time I think visitors look at me kind of funny, bundled up in a jacket when it’s only fifty or sixty degrees. But I digress.
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. 😉
I just happened to be in Holmes Beach when the light was soft and the water was still and everything lined up, …except I didn’t win the lottery. Two outta three ain’t bad. It would be an eight mile swim to that bridge from this point, but I’m in no hurry, I’m on Florida time. Who am I kidding, I’m always in a hurry, except when I’m not. This day I was in a hurry to get to the beach to get a sunset shot, but this ended up being my favorite of the day, too many clouds for a sunset. So much for hurry. The sign says it all. The bridge in the background is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, an icon of the Tampa Bay region in Florida.
I took this of the DuSable Bridge a few weeks ago in Chicago. The subterranean street levels are only a few feet down but worlds away in their appearance and feel. Undoubtably these have inspired writers, artist and uh, …photographers. For whatever reason there were few cars going in this direction which allowed me to stand in the middle of the street to compose the shot. I kept glancing over my shoulder as I have a tendency to get engrossed when shooting which can be a little hazardous when standing in the middle of a dark street. Probably not very smart either.
Time passes differently for different people. In a slow world our time seems to stream past, like this picture. That’s why they made Florida, it’a a place where time goes a little slower. I think they made Maui that way also, but I digress. When you see one of those cute little signs that say’s “slow down, you’re on Florida time”, don’t laugh, the fabric of space time is indeed a little different and you need to slow down. If you don’t understand any of this you’re long overdue for a vacation. And if you do understand it, then perhaps you’ve been in Florida too long. In case you’re wondering, this is a picture of the Cortez bridge in Manatee County Florida taken from the perspective of a time warp. 😉
I, and millions of others, love this section of Chicago. It’s an animated conversation between the past and present. This is the DuSable Bridge which leads to the Magnificent Mile in one direction and the “loop” section in the other. It’s framed by buildings built in a bygone era like the Wrigley and Tribune buildings. Call me crazy but this stone bridge pillar speaks to me about the character of this area, so much history and ambition. On this cold day, a few minutes after I took this picture, I was in a throng crossing a busy street along North Michigan Avenue. I overheard a conversation behind me as one person asked the other, “why is it so busy?”. The answer was simple and utterly complete, “this is Chicago”.
This is another picture of one of my favorite spots in Bradenton Florida, Robinson Preserve. The last sunset I shot from here I nearly got lost walking out at night, now I take my bike, like a man on a mission. Today is Saturday and the only mission I have is recover from the busy week. Have a wonderful weekend everybody.
I cannot even imagine the amount of effort that goes into construction these elevated walkways through the mangroves here in Florida, and they’re all over the place. But then I suppose it’s no different than the construction of hiking trails through the rockies. The more I think about it the more I get bogged down in the details of the engineering. I suppose it’s a guy thing, that’s why I watch Discovery Channel shows on how things are built, I just have to know. In real life I spend more time in front of a monitor than I do on a sidewalk, but I just might need to know how to construct the Bridge over the River Kwai, …you never know.
This is the Palmetto Fishing Pier. It’s actually an old bridge that crosses the Manatee River but now only goes halfway. Not only is it a good place to fish, it’s a fun place to visit as it goes out about a half mile or more from the north shore. In the evening you have the lights of two towns on either side as it’s filled with joggers and walkers. This is another one of my favorite places to walk my two little four leggeds as they sniff every little thing the whole length of the pier.
Follow link to obtain a limited edition print of this photo.
