inspired photography with just enough perspective
The path around the pond at Neal Preserve in Bradenton Florida. One of my favorite places to watch the local birds and take in the lush landscape of central Florida. I’ve been traveling so much lately and am overdue for a visit in my own backyard to one of my favorite spots.
White Egrets are common where I live in central Florida. They can be about four feet tall and every inch of grace. Sure they prefer the water but they also forage on land. Yesterday morning as I was about to pull into the driveway I noticed a White Egret standing there looking for something in the bushes, probably a lizard. I didn’t want to scare him off so I waited in the street for about five minutes until he finished. As he sauntered onto the grass he looked back at me as I pulled into the driveway and got out of the car. He kept a little distance without flying off and I just kind of marveled and such a beautiful bird. I think this is not so uncommon in Florida, although I wasn’t raised here so for me it’s a treat. And that’s my Great White Egret story for the day.
A little while back I captured this at Coquina Beach near my home just as the sun was setting behind the lifeguard stand. Used to be lifeguard stands were an elevated chair, now it seems they’re little condos on the beach. Can’t say that I blame them, sitting up there all day, at the beach, I’m sure it’s hard. Okay, I’m being a little sarcastic, just a little.
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I shot this last month when we visited Epcot center and decided to take our time walking out of the park. That way I could capture a few shots of the architecture without the crowds like this in the Italian pavilion. I thought I was being pretty smart but have since learned that if you stay in one of the Disney resorts there is a package that entitles you to after hour access to the park. That sounds like a lot of fun, especially not worrying about being hurried out by a security guard. Might have to try that one day.
This is the lookout tower at Robinson Preserve in Bradenton. Actually, most natural preserves in my area have lookout towers because its so flat you need some way to see above the scrub and trees. Any place that has mountains, or even hills, would have no use for these because if you want a vista you just walk to the top of the nearest hill. As I write this I’m on the south island of New Zealand and I’ve not seen a single tower like this. What I have seen are plenty of hills and mountains. Two different worlds entirely.
Every now and then I pull out the wide angle fisheye lens to see what happens. I’ve had this photo in the closet for over six months, almost forgot about it. Venice is a lovely little town in Florida, and they have this lovely little pier that appears even smaller than it should because of the fisheye. But as I recall, it wasn’t the pier I was looking at, rather the sky and clouds. As you can see they were crazy and I felt compelled to take drastic measures. I think that sounds a little too dramatic, …I calmly looked up and thought in passing that perhaps I might consider a viable alternative. Who am I kidding? I was as a mad man as I fumbled for my fisheye racing against the clock nearly dropping my camera in the water in the process. Yup, that was pretty much it, beautiful sky, sheer panic.
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Near my home is an abandoned development that is fenced in on all sides with no trespassing signs. But my right brain has an ongoing argument with my left brain about this place and yesterday, righty won. Basically, lefty said you can’t go there, it’s against the rules but then righty says, ah man, gimme a break, I could get some nice photos. After not getting enough sleep lefty was caught off guard as I found myself hopping a fence to commit a misdemeanor. But the way I see it, this shot needed to be made before they restart construction and vista disappears. Wait, …was that a tacit approval from lefty?
Quick, purchase a print of this before lefty changes his mind.
This was me. Long time ago but this was me. I really don’t know what to say about this. Go ahead picture, you do the talking. I’ll just listen, …and remember.
A few weeks back I took this picture of Bradenton Beach from the dunes. Actually I’ve been doing a lot of that lately, …but anyway, I couldn’t help but be impressed by how wide the beach was, in an unsettling way. Kind of like when you see someone that changed their appearance slightly but you just can’t put your finger on it. After I took a bunch of shots I was walking back to my car and met some guy that asked me about my camera and tripod. Turns out he’s the photographer in charge of documenting the beach restoration. What that means is that they added about fifty feet of beach out into the ocean since the last time I was here. Sure enough, when I got home and checked my GPS geotags on Google Maps using satellite imagery, a bunch of my shots where taken from in the water. He said that if they didn’t do that every few years Anna Maria Island and this beach would disappear. Here is a link to a picture I shot of the same area with about fifty feet less beach. Kinda makes you think, doesn’t it?
Purchase this photo of the lovely restored beach before it disappears again.
Last night after Easter dinner I headed to the beach to grab a few shots. This is the vegetation on the dunes. It’s amazing what you can do at f9 and a tripod. 😉