palmtrees Archives - Page 3 of 3

August 9, 2017

Bayfront Park on Longboat Key

Here is a shot of my wife Crystal and our dog Wiggles at Bayfront Park on Longboat Key. The few times I’ve been here it’s usually empty. It’s a nice place to visit if you’re looking for that kind of thing. We stopped in on the way to dinner at St Armands, Circle; a little village just south of here. A few minutes later when we got to St Armands, the sun was setting so I quickly double-parked and ran out on to the beach to grab a few shots. That’s the problem with sunsets, they always occur around dinnertime. It helps to have a patient family.

Daily Image

Back here at the park we were watching a manatee just off one of the piers. He was just resting in the water, blowing bubbles and coming up for air every few minutes. Manatees and dolphin sightings are common in this area. They’re fun to watch but I’ve not had a lot of success in capturing them in images.

more images from Longboat Key

I took a lot of pictures in the few minutes we were here, including some from the drone. We were just heading back to the car when I noticed the long shadows. This is an example of just trying to be aware of scenes as they unfold and going with the flow. I had other shots in mind but this ended up being my favorite. It was completely unplanned yet somehow wins the day. That’s pretty much how every outing goes, I may get several shots I like, but usually there is just one that stands out, and this is that one for me.

July 27, 2017

Private Fireworks

This is another image I took on Independence Day. Normally the fireworks are launched from the other side of the river but not this year. Had we known we would have crossed and sat on the south side. Nevertheless we made due and in the end I rather like this photo from just before nightfall. These were someone’s private fireworks before the real show by the city. The clouds on the left were alive with lightning and we had man-made and Mother Nature’s fireworks exploding in unison.

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Most of my photos do not turn out the way I intended. That was the case this evening with the obstructed view. But it’s not always a bad thing. We think we know what we want, but chaos and randomness dictate otherwise. Go with the flow and work with what you have. Adaptability is the key to success in photography and life.

Before a shoot I have scenes in my head of what I want to end up with. The majority of the time I get something different. But knowing what I want those scenes to be is an advantage. The scenes will eventually appear and I’ll be ready because I will already have thought about it.

For instance, imagine a sailboat in front of a setting sun. If I have my mind set on that I might not get it on a particular outing. But at some point I will see it about to occur and I’ll be ready. The catalog of ideas in my head grows when I look at works of other photographers, or simply when I fail to get the scene I came for. The bigger the catalog in my head the more I’m ready for.

more cityscape images

On Independence Day I did not have this image in my mind at all, not even close. But I went with the flow and ended up with something I liked very much. But that other image is in the catalog waiting for it to come up again, and on that occasion I’ll be ready.

May 18, 2017May 18, 2017

Quite the Scene

I can be a real geek sometimes; like this time. I had it in my mind I was going to take some epic photos and so I brought a bag full of gear including a huge lens and a tripod. Things didn’t turn out as I expected so there I was with all this gear in the middle of a public pathway as the sun was setting. I made the best of it and quickly setup for the shot. A couple came up and said they wanted to be on TV. Obviously I looked like I was from the local station. I must have been quite the scene.

Daily Image

Quite the Scene before me and of me when I took this in Sarasota

This is the image I got and so I didn’t come home completely empty handed. But to be quite honest I could have done better with less. I love gear and so this happens a lot. I always bring more gear than I need. However I can count on one hand the times I used everything I brought. It’s not about the gear; it’s about being present in the moment and working with what you have.

Lately I’ve started experimenting with slimming down what I take. By that I mean two or three lenses. Again, even the times I bring two lenses, I end up using only one. Recently I’ve left the house with just one lens on my camera. No bag, no filters, no tripod. I start out with a feeling that I forgot something. However as I start to take pictures I’m less encumbered and more attuned to what’s around me.

It’s not the camera it’s what between the ears. Taking good pictures requires a state of mind more than a heavy piece of glass. Some of the most amazing photographers on the web use inexpensive cameras. That’s not to say all the equipment is unnecessary, it all has a proper time, place and use.

more sunset images

I like the gear because I’m a geek but maybe I need a little intervention. I think of myself as being on a twelve-step program to be free of lens clutter. I’m not there yet, but at least I know it’s an issue. That’s the first step to recovery.

Now I’m off to read about the just announced Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM and 12-24mm f/4.0. I might need one of those in my kit.

April 3, 2017April 3, 2017

Early Twilight Along the Sunshine Skyway

This is early Twilight along the Sunshine Skyway. Normally it’s crowded but at this hour there was just me and a couple of fishermen. Behind me is the Skyway and so I’m facing towards Tampa Bay. It’s about eight miles across to the other side. The lights are from the small town of Ruskin.

Daily Image

I stood here composing the shot thinking it was strange that the palm trees cast such long shadows. I couldn’t figure out how they were formed because there was no light behind them. Later I realized the shadows were coming from behind me. I can be slow at times, especially so early in the morning.

I came here to shoot the sunrise and ended up exploring several locations within a half mile. This is a nesting and feeding area for sea birds. There’s always something interesting to see if you just sit and observe. What caught my eye here were the trees standing alone. Normally there would be a bunch of parked cars so this is the only time to capture the trees alone like this. I’m always on the lookout for lone trees as a subject for photography.

favorites gallery

Anyway, I sat here for about twenty minutes just enjoying the view. I wanted to sit here until the sun rose, however I thought if I did that I might miss other sights so I moved on. I’ve got to hand it to those fishermen, they see a lot of nice scenery. They stay in one place and watch the world come to them.

I am probably a little to much of a busy body to be a good fisherman. That’s why I stick to photography.

March 29, 2016March 29, 2016

The Number Three

I’ve heard it said that three is a magic number. Well, it’s certainly the name of a tune sung by Blind Melon, but I’m not sure how magic that is. If you’re a little lost don’t feel bad, I had to look that last part up on Wikipedia. Even without looking something up I can reasonably say that three represents a lot of things. The periods in a hockey game, dimensions of space, and of course, the number of legs on a stool. Deeper words have rarely been written.

More images from Fort Desoto State Park

This is the kind of scenery you can find at Fort Desoto State Park in St Petersburg Florida. Its also an example of how I’ve developed a tendency to see scenes in letterbox vignettes, one at a time, all around me. In fact there were things to the right and left, but I imagined this one little vignette in my mind and so framed the shot. Sometimes I might need more and use a wide angle, but for this 50mm was enough to capture the image I wanted. Having a zoom lens really helps in this department.

This is also another view of the seawall that I posted a few days ago. It’s a thirty minute drive north of me and one reason I like to come here is that I can bring my dog. Much of the shoreline in central Florida is off limits to dogs but this being a state park its pet friendly. There is a dog beach and places like this where you can walk with your best friend. So here I am; me, my bud and my camera, just the three of us. Magic.

February 14, 2016

Dawn Across the Pond

A view at dawn across the pond at a development known as Riviera Dunes.
This morning I was driving around at dawn and noticed this scene, I’d seen it before but this time I had my camera. The pond is home to fish, egrets, herons and of course ducks. I’ve also seen water moccasins along the edges and, there may even be an alligator, if not in this pond another one near by.

Alligators are common here in Florida, the ponds are not for swimming. They’re known as retention ponds because their purpose is to retain the water from the rains. They allow the silt and particles from the roads to settle down at the bottom before the water washes into the mangroves and river beyond. Retention ponds are everywhere in Florida. Thats one of the reasons alligators find it so easy to live in populated areas. They find a nice retention pond to settle down to raise a family, or eat one (just kidding). They lay around eating fish or ducks or poodles on a rope. You need to be alert when walking small dogs next to the water here, just a fact of life. Alligators will migrate from one pond to the next depending on their needs and availability of food.

I didn’t see any alligators this morning and truth be told I rarely do. Even though they’re around they are wary of humans and stay out of sight as much as possible. If you really want to see an alligator in a pond I recommend playing a round of golf. Golf courses always have a lot of ponds and you will usually see them sunning on the edges. Many have pet names and their pictures posted on the club house walls. Bottom line is that most locals respect our alligators and we all do out best to coexist, each keeping our distance.

January 4, 2016January 4, 2016

Entering The Port

This weekend I was in Fort Lauderdale where I captured this ship entering the Port of the Everglades. This was just one of a half dozen or so I watched from the beach in the predawn hours. My hotel faced the Atlantic so that I could see the ships all lined up single file as they waited to enter the port. The preceding evening it was the reverse with the ships streaming out in the opposite direction.

I walked down to the very end of the beach along the jetty at the entry to the port. Standing there the ships pass so close I could probably hit them with a beach ball. It’s a strange feeling standing there as a tremendous amount of mass passes only meters away. It overloads my simple mind. I’ll bet the people in those apartment buildings have quite the show each day.

The orange light coming over the apartment buildings is the light from the port bouncing off of the clouds we had Sunday morning. The whole scene was surreal and totally unexpected. I love little surprises like that, especially when I’m out with my camera. It’s been said that photography is fifty percent just getting out and putting yourself in a place where something might happen. Sometimes it works out and of course I get really excited when it does, kind of like hitting a great golf shot. This image for me is a three hundred yard tee-shot straight down the middle of the fairway. I better stop now before I start mixing my metaphors.

July 14, 2015

Palms in the Park

get a lovely print

Palms grow near the wildlife viewing boardwalk in Myakka River State Park. I grew up near the mountains in California where most parks have pines trees or redwoods. Not so here in Florida as pines would not withstand hurricanes. In any case, this boardwalk extends into a wetland were you can see all manner of birds like Herons, Egrets, Osprey, Hawks and Eagles. And just off on the left is Myakka Lake which is home to about five hundred Alligators. Definitely not California.

April 28, 2015April 28, 2015

Morning Light in Tom Bennett Park

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I’m posting this to remind myself to get outside after it stops raining. That’s when we get great light and as everyone knows, photographers love unusual shades and hues of light. Right after a storm is one of those times. In any case, this was taken in the morning after an evening of rain and with any luck I’ll get out again today or tomorrow morning for some similar shots. In the meantime, have a great day everyone.