beach Archives - Page 13 of 22

April 7, 2017April 7, 2017

Idyllic Childhood Memories

For me this brings back idyllic childhood memories at the beach. I’m grown up but I still relate to what these children are doing. I think we all do.

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I am fortunate to live near a beach like this. I can just hop in the car and be here in a few minutes. When I see that the conditions are good in the evening I’ll drive over. By conditions of course I’m referring to photographic conditions. For me that means nice clouds.

I took this at the height of spring break so there were tens of thousands at the beach. Even after living here for over a dozen years it still surprises me. At sunset everyone was lined up by the waters edge taking photos. Maybe a million pictures were taken within a five mile radius of me. It was kind of funny because I suddenly became aware that everyone was doing the exact same thing. And I thought I was the only one.

Lately I’ve been working with prime lenses. This was shot with a Sony 55mm prime at F1.8. That just means I have a narrow depth of field with which to create a sense of distance. The blurring is on purpose, the out of focus areas give the image a dreamy quality, not as much realism.

beach gallery

There were so many people that I chose to focus away from the crowds. You would never know hundreds of people were all around me as I took this. By simplifying a scene I’m better able tell a story. The story in this case is that the children are playing and in a world all their own, oblivious to everything around them. And for them this will surely become an idyllic childhood memory.

April 5, 2017April 4, 2017

Atop a Cliff Overlooking the Pacific

As the name implies, the Cliff House restaurant is atop a cliff overlooking the pacific. This is a long exposure I did a few months ago. I came back about a month later and each time I was lucky enough to see a good sunset. As a result I have a tonne of pictures from every angle and many of them like this taken long after the sun went down.

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I used to shoot film and photos like this were impossible. You might get close but it was trial and error and required precise measurements, settings and calculations of exposure length. Now in the age of digital I can have images like this in a matter of minutes and know exactly how it turns out. So it’s no wonder people like me love shooting in low light. It’s a relatively new phenomenon in the age of photography.

Speaking of cameras and the age of photography, that giant camera at the edge is a Camera obscura. The idea was first used in the 1600’s as a painting aid. It’s an ancient device that employs the same principal as a pinhole camera by projecting a reflected image on a wall or table. Here is a reference to it on wikipedia.

I wonder if cameras will become obsolete in some future timeline of ours. They have come so far in a few hundred years and things are not slowing down. Maybe our eyes will get replaced with hi-definition sensors and view screens and then we can choose to save images or share with others in a virtual reality universe.

california images

Would the people that invented the Camera obscure recognize the cameras of today? In that same vein then I will not recognize cameras a hundred years from now. Given where we are headed with sensor tech and VR, perhaps my idea is not so far fetched.

April 4, 2017April 4, 2017

Dolphins Pass by Emerson Point

Here is a group of people watching as a pod of dolphins pass by Emerson Point. I was too busy composing my shot and only when I got home did I realize they were watching dolphins. If you click on the photo and zoom in you can see them just offshore. These highly intelligent animals are common in Florida so sightings are not unusual.

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Whenever we have visitors come to Florida we hope they get to see dolphins. It seems that if you’re looking for them they don’t show, but they’re always around when you’re not.

I barley made it here in time to take the photo. I couldn’t make up my mind whether I should go out. I procrastinated and then decided to go at the last possible moment. To make matters worse I was rushing to get to the shore and then got stuck behind a couple of slow cars. When I got here I only had about five minutes to get a few shots. As I looked for compositions I saw this group and stood behind them as they gazed westward. In the end I captured a few images that I was pleased with.

All of the apparent nonsense, from slow drivers to my own indecision were for nothing. Often when I’m rushing, things don’t work out the way I think they should. The trick with landscape photography is to go with the flow. It’s easier said than done but things work out anyway. That’s what I’ve noticed over the years and it reinforces my idea that photography is reflective of a state of mind.

More from Emerson Point

Only later did I think about how it all transpired. The whole experience was for me a lesson; one that I’ll try to remember the next time things get a little more rushed than they probably should.

March 30, 2017March 30, 2017

Study in Reductionism

More than anything this image is a study in reductionism. The challenge is include increasingly large objects in an image while maintaining a balance. My idea was to include objects that vary in size from very small to very large. The foreground sand is small but appears large. The low waves are larger yet appear smaller than the foreground. The ocean is much larger and of course the sun is unimaginably large, yet they recede even more. Each element plays a complementary role.

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This is a simple image that I almost didn’t post. I was at the beach as the sun went down and I placed the camera just above the sand. I am laughing at myself because I think this is no different than if I had been playing in the water as a child. Only now I’m grown up and my toy is a camera.

My initial idea was to capture the foam of the wash along with the setting sun. But as the idea took hold I took about two hundred of these as I experimented with different angles. Trying to pick my favorite was a chore but I managed to narrow it down.

beach gallery

Producing this image was indeed fun. Part of the fun was getting low with the camera while the waves lapped at my feet. The other was going through the process of sorting the images, studying the differences and choosing one.

In the end I learned something, and at the very least I hope you enjoyed my description of it.

March 20, 2017March 20, 2017

Sutro Baths

This is an example of looking in the other direction during a sunset. The warm light and color in the clouds can be just as valid an image as the sunset itself. These are the Sutro Baths which are at the north end of Ocean Beach in San Francisco. I took this from the Cliff House Bistro where you can eat with a view of the Pacific. I stepped outside to take a few pics of the sunset and then turned my camera north to capture this.

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Earlier in the day I was on those mountains across the bay at Point Bonita Lighthouse. It’s a thirty minute drive over the mountains with spectacular views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.

I did not see whales on this visit but have at other times seen Humpback and Orca. I managed to get a few images last time but they didn’t turn out that great since I was too far away.

The Sutro Baths used to be covered by a big structure. There were seven pools that were heated to different temperatures. The baths could be filled at high tide in about an hour. These remnants are all that’s left of what was a popular attraction in late 1800’s. However they are still filled at high tide. At low tide there is a small beach just below the rocks.

San Francisco images

Anyway, this is a place to walk and hike around the cliffs and trails and look out to the sea. I recommend it if your in the area. And who knows you might even see a whale or two.

March 15, 2017March 15, 2017

Little Beach with a View

This is an image of the mangroves in Palmetto near my home. It’s a little hidden beach not far from the road. I never knew it was there until I noticed a trail leading into the bush. Much to my surprise there’s a little beach with a view of the sunset.

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Little Beach with a View — Little beach with a view near my home in Palmetto

It’s been said that photographers should first learn to shoot images around their home before venturing out. Years after hearing that I have to agree. In my case the more I explore the more I discover. It’s amazing how many things we overlook when we’re not looking.

I think sometimes children see more than adults. That’s because they have natural curiosity and are more likely to explore. That was true of me as a kid. Through photography I’m getting some of that curiosity back. I suppose it was always there, just dormant for a while.

beach images

Another nice thing about taking pictures around home is that it requires little effort. There is not a lot of travel and within fifteen minutes of walking out the door you can be taking photos. That’s a big plus when you have other responsibilities besides running around like some kid exploring the neighborhood.

March 2, 2017March 2, 2017

At the Waters Edge

I took this in front of a beach restaurant last Sunday. We like coming here because we can eat at the waters edge and stare out to sea. We arrived for a late lunch that turned into an early dinner and then decided we might as well stay for sunset. Sometimes its best to go with the flow, especially on a weekend.

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Staring out to sea is like staring at a fire. It’s something that speaks to our subconscious. Once you start it’s hard to stop, like a long hot shower.

This is my interpretation of the scene that evening. By that I mean I imagined the girl on the beach was soaking in the sun and that it was rejuvenating her. I removed people because in my mind this is not about a busy beach. In this story she is alone with her thoughts.

A lot of people come here from all over to escape the cold and soak up the sun. Our heroine is surely one of these people.

I am glad to see the reaction of others because it reminds me of how fortunate I am. I spend a lot of time on photography and that takes me to the waters edge. I try not to take it for granted.

More Beaches

I just read that the Gulf of Mexico will be warmer than usual this summer, that the water temperature has remained high this winter. That’s good for the visitors here now; however in summer we’ll have more storms and the scene will look very different. Regardless, I’ll probably come back to capture someone else staring at the sea. The weather may change but our need to sit at the waters edge will not.

March 1, 2017March 1, 2017

Things We Overlook

Lately I’ve been taking photos close to home. No matter where we live there are things we overlook. Yesterday I posted a photo along a busy highway. By simply turning around the scene looks remote and secluded. A theme for me in photography, and I suppose life, is perspective. It informs much of what I do. I look for a perspective that resonates amongst the distractions of an urban setting.

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The other night I walked along a trail by the river to take photos of the sunset. As I was returning to my car I noticed this mangrove along the shore. Normally they are clustered together but this stood out with its extended roots. The roots are what protect the shores of Florida from erosion by tides and storms. They are vital to the ecosystem.

Sometimes I see unexpected things by simply turning the camera in a particular direction. From that comes vignettes of nature like this. Most of us live in urban landscapes. As much as I crave nature in national parks, I spend most of my time amongst roads, buildings and power lines.

palmetto photos

Maybe it’s a form of preference. I look for things I need to see. I see them because I’m looking. And at times like this day I see things I wasn’t even looking for. “If you try sometime, you get what you need.”

February 28, 2017February 28, 2017

Slightly Different Light

This is a park bench next to the river. If I could order coffee from this spot it wold be perfect. I could however get a cup at Dunkin Donuts and sit here at sunrise. This is an urban beach with a busy highway just behind me. This is also an example of taking some common scene from an urban setting and portraying it in a slightly different light.

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Slightly Different Light — Showing a common scene in a slightly different light

An HDR image, this is made up of three exposures. I manually blended the exposures to get the mood I wanted. The main focus is the light of the sun reflected on the water and table. I took this as the sun was just emerging between two layers of clouds.

I had taken several other shots of just the water and the clouds, but thought they lacked a foreground subject. So I used the picnic table to provide a sense of depth.

Tens of thousands of people drive by this spot every day, but here I’m using my imagination to make something out of nothing. Its a way to practice the craft and make soup out of stone. It’s not a fantastic image, but it was fun to shoot and process.

other images of this river

Actually, on a Sunday when there isn’t the usual commuter traffic on the roads this is a very nice spot to have a picnic. Anyway, enough said, time to go get a coffee.

February 23, 2017February 23, 2017

Miami to Dallas

I took this one night on a pier facing the Gulf of Mexico. I only noticed the streak of light after I returned home. If I had to guess I’d say it’s a commuter flight from Miami to Dallas. Sometimes when I travel out west, I go to Miami first and then fly back over my town in central Florida. I have no way of knowing for sure.

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The commuter flight from Miami to Dallas

I sat on this pier, the only person at the beach in the late hour, aiming at the heavens with my camera and tripod. At fifteen-seconds, this is a relatively short exposure for night photography. But I planned it that way because anything longer than about 20 seconds creates star trails with the rotation of the earth. To get this I set the ISO to 1600 and my lens aperture to f2.8. That lets enough light in for the stars and causes the water to appear flat.

I like taking photos at night, especially of I can capture stars. But I’ve never gotten a great image of the Milky way. I have plenty of opportunities, it’s just a matter of knowing when to drag myself out at night and point the camera in the right direction. There are plenty of clear nights where I live so I’m beginning to think I should work on that.

night photography

The other day I wrote something about the number of stars in the Galaxy and the universe. Suffice to say it’s a number too large to comprehend. That being said, I can think of no better way to try than to sit out on this pier at night and see how many I can jam into my camera. And who knows, I might even catch a commuter flight while I’m at it.