longexposure Archives - Page 5 of 10

December 30, 2016January 5, 2017

Manatee Memorial Hospital

This is the Manatee Memorial Hospital which is across the river from my home. I don’t normally take pictures of hospitals but this perspective across the water was hard to pass up. Reflections make anything look good, it could be a Walmart and if it was reflected in the water I’d probably take a picture of it.

Daily Photo

I am fortunate to live so close to a hospital, you never know when it will come in handy. Its come in handy a few times for family and neighbors since I moved here. My wife stayed here once and every now and then we would hear a lullaby over the speakers. Its what they do whenever a baby is born. As I write this it’s just before New Years and they’ll play it again for the first baby of 2017. I imagine it will draw applause.

Did you know the police tend to spend a lot of time at hospitals? There are many reasons but one is that sometimes people get injured as they try to flee. It seems every time I drive by there are patrol cars parked near the emergency entrance.

long exposure images from the gallery

It’s no wonder that police will often marry nurses. They meet in the line of work and it goes from there. They both work in public service so they have that in common as well.

I think its fair to say that hospitals, and the people that work in them have seen just about everything. I hope I don’t ever need to come here, but if I do I know I’ll be in good hands, and not far from home.

December 28, 2016December 30, 2016

A’DAM Lookout

This is a three minute exposure of the EYE Filmmuseum and A’DAM Lookout. Below the lookout is a giant sign that says “I amsterdam”. The lookout is one of the few places in the city you can get high enough to see everything. It has a lounge below the observation deck so can view and remain cozy inside. I took this just after arriving from Florida wasn’t used to the cool air. I tend to block out the weather when I’m taking pictures. I stayed out for two or three hours before going back to the hotel. I needed of a hot bath to warmup. After that I was fine.

Daily Image

This is on a river and there is a constant stream of boats passing this spot. You can see traces of their lights as trails across the frame.

At the time I took this I didn’t know how to get across to the other side. I asked someone and turns out it was easy. Just hop on the ferry. There is no cost and it takes only a few minutes.

more night images

The tower is a tourist attraction. At the top is “Europe’s Highest Swing”. For a fee you can swing out over the edge of the building. Attractions are good if you’re new to an area. They help establish bearings. As I continued to explore the city, I could usually orient myself if I saw the A’DAM Lookout. And then before you know it I was walking around like I knew where I was, and relative to tourist attraction, I kinda did.

December 21, 2016December 22, 2016

Midnight Along the Canals

I took this while walking after midnight along the canals of Amsterdam. There aren’t many places in the world I feel safe walking late at night, but this city is one. Maybe I am naive, but it’s a good sign when you see all manner of people out walking at the same late hour, as though it was a perfectly normal thing to do. As I write this I am returning from a major American city where I spent a few days. To be honest I would not walk alone at night in that city. But Amsterdam is different in many ways.

Daily Image

Midnight on the Canals — Midnight Along the Canals of Amsterdam

I was discussing this with a friend recently and we were trying to put our finger on the essence of European cities like this. His take was, and this is a generalization, that Europeans tend to be more mature about things. I’m not sure about that but I’m willing to consider it.

Generalization break down as soon as you look at individuals, but at a macro level you notice differences. Maybe it also has to do with countries that are smaller and have a greater sense of altruism on a national level.

urban exploration

Smarter people than me will have a better explanation, but it’s something I think about. And more than that it’s something I’m grateful for as I visit and am able to walk around at night and take pictures.

December 12, 2016

Dawn on the North Pier

I took at dawn on the north pier which is where all the local fishermen hang out. The pier is the remnants of the old bridge that was replaced by the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. To get out here you need to pay a fee to the parks department. Everyone that pays that fee comes here to fish, I’m the only one that comes here to take pictures. When I show up before dawn without a fishing poll I get a few sideways glances.

Daily Image

I’ve taken pictures of this bridge from a lot of angles but this is my first time from this one. In reality it was darker but this is a thirty-second exposure and it appears lighter. The eastern horizon began to shift in color in advance of the sun which created a silhouette of the bridge. At it’s highest point between the two towers the bridge is four hundred feet above the water. Even that is not high enough for the biggest cruise ships.

If you sit here all day you’ll see a constant stream of ships passing under the bridge. You might see military aircraft as they make their approach to McDill AFB. You will surely see any number of animals, from sea birds to ocean mammals. People fish off this pier all day and all night and in that time there is quite the array of things flying, swimming and floating by.

full gallery

In my case I’m only here for an hour before heading off to somewhere else. Perhaps if I were to stay a little longer I might see more things to take pictures of. However, to do that I would probably need to bring a fishing poll. At least then I wouldn’t get those sideways glances.

December 7, 2016

Sarasota Skyline One Afternoon

This is a two-minute long exposure of the Sarasota Skyline one afternoon last month. Looking at the file info for this image I see it was taken at 5:43pm. This was obviously before we set the clocks back because now the sun goes down at 5:30. Funny thing about photography is it causes me to notice little details like that.

Daily Image

On one level photography is a mechanical process, take a picture and preserve a moment. On another level the practice of photography is a way of becoming present in the moment and aware of my surroundings. One way to reconnect to the environment is through art, and for me that means the art of photography.

It’s nice if I can make a photo that other people like. But more important to me is to make a photo that I like. It’s an exploration through experimentation that leads to discoveries. To start with, discovering what aesthetics I like. Also discovering how to convey a vision through an image. A vision is in our minds and an image is a thing we look at. Connecting the two is an art.

see more images in the gallery

I could go on about what the pursuit of photography is, at least for me. But perhaps I’ll cut it short today and let the picture do the talking. That should be worth at least another thousand words.

November 21, 2016

Night Along the Canals

Well, I’ve not been to Venice yet, but I can’t help but think that the canals of Amsterdam are the next best thing. They form a network through the city and are home to thousands of folks that live in house boats along the sides. And where there are canals there are bridges, everywhere and at every turn. I took this from a corner between two bridges in the central city one night. This is an area not too far from the train station, maybe a ten-minute walk.

Daily Image

Late at night the lights of the houses reflect on the still waters, it’s a favorite time for me to take photos. On this evening I had my tripod, on another evening I left the hotel without it and stabilized my camera on the bikes parked along the canals.

I’m sure you know that brothels are legal and regulated here. From a photographic perspective, the red lights cast a nice reflection on the glassy waters of the canals. This is about as close as I got to that. This was my first night in Amsterdam and I wasn’t really sure why the lights were red on this house. It didn’t take too long to figure it out and this wasn’t even the red light district.

night photography

If Amsterdam is nothing else it’s a haven of tolerance for all things. It is unique in that way and perhaps a magnet for free spirits and people with open minds. I found that very refreshing.

November 18, 2016November 18, 2016

Just Before Dawn

This is the city of Toronto just before dawn on a Sunday morning. There’s something about the electricity of a city that is attractive, I think it’s something in our nature. I used to live here for a dozen years, it was at a time I stopped doing photography, now when I go back I bring my camera.

Daily Image

This spot is just east of the city, I’m sure it’s popular with photographers but there were none here at this hour. I guess I was a little lucky with the timing because just as I was finishing up it started raining. Not that I mind a little rain, but being in a deserted industrial site in the rain at this hour is, well, less fun than sitting in a Starbucks with a spiced pumpkin latte.

Another good thing about showing up late or early to locations like this, the water is smooth as there are no boats moving about. That creates the smooth reflections which are further enhanced by the long exposure. So despite the cold, the rain and the ungodly hour, this is the perfect time and setting for photography.

more panoramas

In fact this is a three image panorama. I took three, eight-second exposures side by side with a tripod and then stitched them together. The end result is a high resolution image that I can enjoy from the comfort of a warm room while sipping a latte and thinking to myself “that’s wasn’t so bad, was it?”

November 15, 2016

The Heron Dreams

As the waves lap upon the shore and the stars circle the night sky, the Heron dreams. In dreams we inhabit the same landscape, perhaps.

Daily Image

We miss so much when we don’t acknowledge nature. I have recently come to believe that the elemental spirits of nature, those we call animals, are so much more connected with the truth of life than we will ever know.

I am astonished at how much these beings revere us. We take it for granted, we always have. But if we stop and think, better yet, if we connect with them, we may learn something about them. We may even learn something about ourselves.

I am coming to realize that animals have so much to teach us. I think that in our current society we gloss over this to our own detriment. Perhaps it is just a temporary condition and in years to come we will correct this.

night photography

Perhaps one way to correct this is to make an attempt to respect and acknowledge the animals around us. They are all around, shouldn’t we take notice? When you look into the eyes of an animal you will see a window to a soul or spirit that is just as viable a life as our own. More often than not see love looking back.

I think that by connecting with our animal friends we will unlock something in ourselves. All we have to do is notice. This is my simple tribute to the elemental life all around us.

November 14, 2016November 14, 2016

Amsterdam Centraal

The main train station is known as Amsterdam Centraal, and it was one of the first places I walked to when I arrived from Florida. I was here for the opening of the BTP exhibition and this is where I caught the train to Harderwijk the next day. But as I was still on North American time, I was up late into the night walking around the central district with my camera and tripod.

Daily Image

I wasn’t sure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised by how many people were out that night walking around the city, to my foreign eyes it was magical, everything I hoped it would be and more.

Here I stood on a bridge and captured the train station over the still water of the canal. This is a long exposure three image panorama. As I was taking this I had several people come by and comment on the picture showing on the display at the back of my camera.

night gallery

Actually there were great sights all around me and I was a little like a kid in a candy shop. I’d walk around the canal shooting images in every direction. Finally around two in the morning the long flight started to catchup to me so I headed back. However, even as I walked away rest of Amsterdam showed no signs of slowing down.

November 5, 2016

Mid Summer Night

I took this a couple of months ago on a mid summer night. I was hanging out by the water watching the clouds roll in. Yeah right, like I have time to do that. Lets just I was standing here and good grief Miss Molly, all hell started to break loose. The clouds got low and thick, menace was in the air, and then suddenly, crack, boom, flash.

Daily Image

Maybe my dramatic writing skills are a little to be desired. I’ll keep my day job, but if you know any comic book publishers that need a ghost writer let me know. I’m pretty sure I could do that. I’m there for you baby.

Where was I? Oh yeah, down by the river watching the clouds roll in. So, if I was of sound mind and judgement I wouldn’t even be here. It’s not safe. You know that saying, it’s about as likely as being struck by lightning. It doesn’t apply to Florida. Chances are, if you’re STUPID, or just an ambitious photographer, you’ll get it. So, at times like this it’s best not to be stupid, or a photographer. Unless you don’t care.

manatee county images

I don’t really care about all that, I live for the perfect shot, the moment. Ha ha ha. Okay, I hear the nurses, they’re coming to give me my meds. I have to go.