inspired photography with just enough perspective
Here is a picture from the other day at the pier in Venice, Florida. Isn’t it interesting how so many places are named after a city in Italy?
I suppose it’s no surprise; it just makes me wonder what we’ll name places on Mars should we ever begin to colonize there. If there are no bodies of water, Venice may not be high on the list. You never know.
These are the kinds of silly things I think about when I have nothing better to do.
I was somewhere off La Rambla watching other people shop. Not something I’m fond of, shopping that is.
There are a lot of things I’m not fond of, but having a camera turns the most hated activity into an artistic endeavor. Like taking pictures of shoppers, suddenly I can go shopping with my wife and have a good time.
more European shops from the gallery
But nowadays the only place it seems you can take photos of shoppers is in Europe. Here in the states, shopping is in a mall and the last time I took my camera, the mall cop and asked not to take photos. He said I could use a phone, but not a camera. If that doesn’t sound ridiculous, I don’t know what does.
This photo is the Central Park neighborhood aboard Oasis of the Seas. Personally speaking, it was my favorite place to hide.
For whatever reason, this area gets less traffic than the other neighborhoods, and if you want to find a quiet space during the day, this is it. At night we had tapas at the wine bar and listened to live music in the courtyard.
more night photography in the gallery
The setup of these mega ships are no different than cities; there is every facility of a small town and more. If we ever figure out how to make big spaceships, (and I’m sure we will), this is an early example of how to design one. Now fast forward two-hundred years into the future, and it would not be surprising to see Royal Caribbean cruises to Mars.
The big banks in Canada have done quite well. I know that because I see them everywhere in the United States.
This image is from downtown Vancouver, BC. It’s another one of the photos that I’ve reprocessed. Below is the first image from about six years ago. Boy, I miss that Nikon 14-24mm lens. I think the Sony version is next on my list.
more architecture images in the gallery
The distortion of the monochrome image is very close to how it appeared in-camera. In the color image, I corrected the tilt in Photoshop so that it is less warped. I’m not aiming for realism, rather the architecture and the visual elements like reflections. The sense of confusion is what I’m going for here if that makes any sense.
If you’ve ever had a drink of orange juice, chances are it crossed these tracks. The Tropicana train crosses this river.
I live within earshot, so I hear the horn in the morning and at night. It’s part of the soundscape of my hometown. The idea of a town having a soundscape is new to me, but if I were blind, I’d know it very well.
If you look closely at the patterns on the water, you can see the direction of flow. The eddies caused by the supports are on the downstream side. But as this river flows into the ocean, the direction changes with the tide. As the tide changes, the flow is non-existent. But that’s another shot for another day.
The other day I visited the pier at the beach in Venice, Florida. It’s an excellent place to hang out at the end of the day.
I took this picture from the patio of Sharky’s, one of the best beach restaurants in the region. When guests come to town, this is where we go. From the terrace, you walk onto the pier to fish or look for dolphins. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.
What caught my eye was the sunlight through the grass. At the time, I thought to focus on the less obvious subject. It’s the concept behind my website name. Sometimes, I focus on highlighting the underappreciated gems right in front of the more obvious choice. While I don’t always succeed, that’s the idea behind “Just Enough Focus” dot com.
The best things about the water are the feeling of weightlessness and, the motion of the waves. Makes me wonder what it’s like to be a dolphin.
Speaking of which we see them all the time along the beach. Generally, dolphins swim by in pods or family groups. Many have returned since the end of the last red tide.
more from Anna Maria Island in the gallery
I take a lot of these shots and just can’t seem to get enough of them. It reminds me of times I visited Hawaii and would float for long stretches in the water, rocking with the waves. Now that I live in Florida, it’s ironic that I can go whenever I want but seldom do.
When I see a bunch of shells on the beach, I want to hoard them like a pirate. At some point in history, these were money.
This photo is reprocessed from an earlier version here. The tools for post-processing are continually being updated, so lately I’ve been having a little fun going back to old photos to tease out a new look. I don’t recall what tools I used back in 2015, but this time, I used the latest version of Skylum’s Luminar.
more Gulf of Mexico from the gallery
Nevertheless, what got my attention in this scene is all of the shells in the foreground; they must have been deposited after a storm. You can go to a store and buy a bag of shells for ten bucks, or you could just go to the beach and pick them up yourself. Better yet, send me the money, and I’ll get them for you! (just kidding)
Something tells me that this AirBnB has no Wifi, no A/C nor Color TV. But it does have a stove and the South Dakota sky.
This picture was taken from what was once the movie set of Dances with Wolves and is now a museum and tourist spot along Highway 90. A structure like this makes me very appreciative of modern conveniences. Back then, it was way different.
more images of houses from the gallery
Feeling a sense of gratitude for what we have goes a long way to erasing the thoughts and feelings of what we don’t have. There are a lot of things I would like, but when I look at this house and imagine surviving through the long cold winter in the Dakotas, I’m pretty dang happy with what I’ve got: including Wifi, A/C, and a color iPad. (Nobody watches TV anymore).
There’s a reason they call it the Skyway Bridge. I like to think it has something to do with the sky. I’m just saying.
I remember taking this after an afternoon rain. I pointed the camera from a rest stop along the highway facing northwest. I’ve been using different lenses lately, but I think I’ll bring this old 24-240mm along with me more often. By the way, this is a fifteen-second exposure, so it must have been quite dark.
more long exposure images in the gallery
According to the EXIF information on the photo, I took this on July 16th at 8:00 pm. But I think it’s wrong because the sun sets around 8:30 at that time of year. I think the clock in my camera was off by an hour, and it was actually 9:00 pm. Inquiring minds need to know; I’m just saying.