inspired photography with just enough perspective
All day it rained with thunder and lightning, but around dusk the storm lost its vigor and I was able to get out for a walk with the dogs. With two leashes and only an iPhone at hand I captured this down by the marina. Figured I’d share it with you and wish you a great weekend.
Click on photo to obtain prints.
This is sunrise on a thundercloud near my home one morning. I know I talk about the clouds probably way too much, but I’m not sure I’ll ever fully get used to them. If you can stand the summer heat here in Florida and get out now and again you’ll be rewarded with dramatic scenes in the sky like this. To me these are independence day clouds, as in the movie of the same name. If I were an alien I could park a huge ship in one of these, load up on all kinds of energy from the lightning and then be on my way to the next planet on the map. But I’m not an alien, a little odd maybe, but not an alien.
Cling on image to obtain print
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.
Click on photo to obtain print.
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.
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
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.
I took this at a park named after Hernando De Soto. He was an explorer who passed through this way in the 1500s. I love coming to this park but it always makes me think about what it must have been like all those years ago. We have paths in the park and air conditioners in our cars, but back then it must have been difficult to walk through this vegetation in the oppressive heat of summer. I can wear shorts, sandals and a t-shirt, but what if I had to wear leather and wool and hack my way through the growth. Just kind of boggles the mind. I need a lemonade.
Click picture to view gallery.
These are the gentle wave of Florida’s Gulf Coast. The water is warm, the wave are gentle, what more could you want? This is the stump of an old tree blown down in a hurricane years ago. I suppose then the waves were big but then it’s soon forgotten as the pace of life returns to it’s normal pace, which is about two speeds below slow. 😉
Click on picture to view gallery or obtain print.
This Heron walked in front of my camera as I was composing this shot, hello! It’s funny because years ago when I lived in Ontario Canada we use to go up to what’s known as “cottage country” in the summer. And once in a long while you’d see a Heron like this, but usually from across the lake. It was a big deal, you didn’t forget. Now that I live way south of the 47th parallel, I see them all the time, up close and personal. And heaven forbid you have fish or something they want. I wonder if they have two personalities, a shy one for when they’re up north and a bold one for when they’re in Florida.
This is the lookout at Robinson Preserve and a favorite place to go and recharge the batteries. At this time of day the mullet are jumping in the bayou below and the only sound is the constant splashing as they try in vain to reduce the mosquito population. Thank goodness for the sanctuaries of silence and nature that can be found in this part of Florida.