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Strawberry Moon

Over the weekend we had a full moon and for some reason it’s called the strawberry moon. Apparently it’s the smallest full moon of the year, but I think that doesn’t means much in practical terms because we can’t see the difference with our eyes.

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Strawberry Moon
Strawberry Moon over Sarasota

This is the Sarasota skyline from across the bay. It was one of the few nights we didn’t have cloud cover and this scene is one I’ve been waiting to capture.

In fact this is a large panorama consisting of twelve individual images in a grid of 2 x 6. At full resolution this is two by eight feet. If you are thinking of purchasing a print, be sure to select the wide panorama crop (20 x 80 or similar) when checking out or just contact me so that I can ensure you get the correct fit for the frame size you want.

I’ve been creating a lot of panoramas lately. I’m intrigued by the perspective and level of detail that’s possible. However the bigger the panorama the harder it is to put together. There are a lot of nuances that need to be fit just so. The software helps a little but most of the work is slow detail effort, although it’s something I enjoy a lot. The long slow process in kind of like a meditation for me, I’m in a different world when editing images.

I spend more time working on photos than taking them. That’s just part of my artistic process. Often I’ll come back to a photo a dozen times before I feel it’s ready. Many times it never gets there and is relegated to the reject bin. Every now and then I review the rejects and see something in a different light and bring it back to life. 

more panoramas

In this case I had a strong idea of what I wanted so it was just a matter of taking the time to get it just right, in camera and in post processing. After all that work I still don’t know why it’s called a strawberry moon. I should just Google it but on the other hand I think I’ll just leave it as a mystery for now.

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West Coast Skylines

This is a long exposure that I took of San Francisco from Treasure Island. I took this at the beginning of the year but if I go back and take it again today it would look different on account of the construction. I never really thought about it but changing skylines seem to be a normal thing. Constant change is an oxymoron if there ever was one but it fits what I see each time I go back.

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West Coast Skylines
West coast skylines are in a constant state of change

I guarantee you there are a million pictures of this same scene. Now there is one million and one. What I like about this one in particular is the detail and colors. I was here a month before and the same shot came out fuzzy. At the time I was using a light travel tripod that couldn’t hold the camera steady in a moderate wind. This time I took my Really Right Stuff carbon fiber tripod and it kept the camera solid as a rock.

I am born and raised in California so I know the area. Now when I go back I notice changes. I also used to live in New York. I’ll be going back there shortly so I’m sure I’ll be seeing a ton of changes there as well. The more we are gone the more we see.

Even when I leave home for a week or two I notice changes around my small town. It could be as simple as a new sign or a re-paved road. If I’d stayed it might have gone unnoticed, just part of the daily scenery. It seems we don’t notice gradual change, rather only when we’ve been away do we see the contrast.

more cityscape images

I think it all boils down to our ability to adapt to change around us; we are wired that way. As long it’s gradual we seem to pay little heed. However the only thing that’s constant is change and, …that will never change. If that’s not a circular argument I don’t know what is.

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Cerbère, France

We took the coastal route down the southern end of France. It winded in and out of small fishing villages and switch backed over peaks until we entered Spain. I could easily take a week to explore this region but on this day we were driving to Barcelona. Nonetheless I stopped here just outside of Cerbère which is the last village before entering Spain. Just off camera on the left is a parking space and vista along the side of the road where RVs stop for the night. Not a bad place to stay for the night.
Cerbère is along the coastal route at the southern end of France just before Spain.                                                    Purchase print

We took the coastal route down the southern end of France. It winded in and out of small fishing villages and switch backed over peaks until we entered Spain. I could easily take a week to explore this region but on this day we were driving to Barcelona. Nonetheless I stopped here just outside of Cerbère which is the last village before entering Spain. Just off camera on the left is a parking space and vista along the side of the road where RVs stop for the night. Not a bad place to stay for the night.

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Downtown Hartford at Night

The streets of some cities are deserted in the evening as most people have left for the suburbs. That leaves plenty of opportunity for taking pictures of the architecture and lights which create a mood found only after the sun sets. This is a pedestrian bridge in Hartford Connecticut. I combined two images, one sharp one blurred, to enhance the seasonal lights of that chilly December evening. As I write this its summer and would gladly take a quick blast of cool are from the night I took this.
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The streets of some cities are deserted in the evening as most people have left for the suburbs. That leaves plenty of opportunity for taking pictures of the architecture and lights which create a mood found only after the sun sets. This is a pedestrian bridge in Hartford Connecticut. I combined two images, one sharp one blurred, to enhance the seasonal lights of that chilly December evening. As I write this its summer and would gladly take a quick blast of cool are from the night I took this.

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Buildings in Manhattan

I was walking with some friends towards a diner for breakfast and just randomly looked up. I thought this view was cool and I almost lost track of my group as I lingered for this shot. There are a lot of places like this in the city. I think it would be a fun project to shoot this perspective from different locations all over Manhattan. So maybe perhaps this is the first of a series, just maybe.
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I was walking with some friends towards a diner for breakfast and just randomly looked up. I thought this view was cool and I almost lost track of my group as I lingered for this shot. There are a lot of places like this in the city. I think it would be a fun project to shoot this perspective from different locations all over Manhattan. So maybe perhaps this is the first of a series, just maybe.