inspired photography with just enough perspective
The Rod and Reel is a favorite spot of the locals on Anna Maria Island in central Florida. I took this before they renovated due to fire. No worries, it’s just as laid back as it ever, the atmosphere hasn’t changed a bit which is a very good thing. This is where you come when you just want to get away from it all and pretend you’re on a tropical island somewhere.
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A farm pasture in San Mateo County along the Pacific Coast Highway. I was on a stop over from New Zealand to Florida and had a day to drive around. I probably need to spend a little more time driving around here because there seems to be something scenic at every turn of the road, and there are a lot of turns.
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If ever there was a place to rent a canoe and be inspired by all that surrounds you it is Maligne Lake in Canada’s Jasper National Park. It’s about an hour drive off the highway to get here and you are rewarded with one of the most scenic settings on the continent. In fact the drive is just as awesome. We were here in the peak of summer and I sat on the deck of the lodge looking out at the lake as I took this photo.
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On Saturday we walked around downtown Tampa which took us across the University of Tampa campus. We were walking our dogs and three students came up to say hello and pet the dogs. They were all pretty happy to be here at this school especially since it was about 70 degrees warmer out than back home in Chicago or Boston. The architecture of these buildings was too much for me to resist, nor was I the only one. There were several weddings taking place with all the photographers using these as backdrop.
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This is one of the many bridges in Manatee County here in central Florida. The river is about a half mile wide at this point so the bridge is good size. But growth in our area has this and a nearby bridge filled to capacity during rush hour. So now they are looking at building yet another, or possibly making this one bigger. I took this as early one morning when the only rush was of the water under the bridge.
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Every year in Cortez we have a fish festival and so we went to get some fresh fish and hear good music. Cortez is one of the last remaining fishing villages in on the east coast. It’s full of character and, um, pelicans. Pelicans hang around for the scraps left by the hauls as they come in. This one is so used to people that he wouldn’t move even when this boy sat down next to him. I think since the boy didn’t offer him scraps he was just doing his best to ignore him.
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One of the last mornings in New Zealand we drove up into the hills above Queenstown to watch the sunrise and then went for a walk down Skippers Canyon. We sat on the side of this mountain taking pictures and waited for the sun to rise which takes a little longer due to the surrounding mountains.
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This iconic setting is at Robinson Preserve in Bradenton Florida. It’s by far my favorite preserve near home and I come here as often as I can. Pelicans, Eagles and everything in between thrive here and you’ll see them just about every time you come. Once in a while I’ll rent a kayak and paddle through the miles of mangroves, inlets and saltwater marshes that create a natural habitat. This spot is a favorite as you can walk across and observe the mangroves, sea life and all manner of wildlife from just a few feet away.
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This is from a series of night photos I shot hand held in downtown Hartford CT. The camera I used is the Sony A7s, which I believe has the highest ISO rating in the world. Basically that means that it’s extremely sensitive so that it can see things in the dark. Certainly I could have taken these with another camera, but I would have needed to use a tripod. That’s not such a bad thing, but I love the idea of walking around with just a camera at night and doing street photography. I guess you could say it opens up a whole new world in terms of shooting scenes at night. In any case, I’m going to a lot more of this in the months to come.
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This is part of a half-mile long boardwalk through the mangroves of central Florida at the Crowley Natural and Cultural History Preserve. I don’t know how they passed through mangroves on foot back in the day, but without this boardwalk it seems to be impassable. The walk is pleasant and shaded with few distractions and at the end a wooden tower overlooking a river and floodplain. Along the way you see native plants, animals and birds and get a small glimpse of what the land was like in years past, back when they had no boardwalk.
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