Panorama of Anna Maria

This is a panorama of Anna Maria Island taken with a drone the other day. To get this I took seventeen images and re-combined them in post-production. It’s not as difficult as it sounds but the results can be stunning. This is a perspective I’ve never seen; I come here all the time but like everyone else I see it from the ground.

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Panorama of Anna Maria
Panorama of Anna Maria Island from the air

I like to think that I’m not afraid of heights, but when I fly the drone and look at the live view on my iPhone I get a little queasy. It’s a form of virtual reality, almost as if I’m in two places at once, simultaneously on the ground and in the air. From the air I look straight down and think to myself, it’s a long way down.

Phobias aside, the island is very low-key as compared to other places in Florida, it reminds me of Hawaii. The beaches are almost always filled, yet there are no flashy or tall buildings, just relaxed places to hang out and chill. I recall that in certain parts of Hawaii the building codes don’t allow for anything taller than a palm tree, I think it’s the same idea here.

more from anna maria island

The only way you’ll ever see this view for yourself is if you take a parasailing ride up and down the beach; or, if you happen to have a drone and can virtually fly with your feet still on the ground. In either case, it’s a long way down.

This is Salerno

This is Salerno where I recently spent the day walking around in the rain. I was on a cruise of Italy and this was our fourth stop. Normally we booked tours of the port cities but this day I just walked around taking pictures. However it rained hard so there where periods where I was huddled in an entryway waiting for a break.

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This is Salerno
This is Salerno Italy

During the downpours, vendors would appear out of nowhere with an armful of umbrellas. Out of necessity I bought one for five euros, which was way too much, but I was in no position to complain. I saw the same ones later in a shop for less. To add insult to injury, I lost it on a bus later in the day and ended up having to buy another one for the same price.

Obviously I’m not a great shopper and normally I don’t shop at all on trips. But, I had it in my mind that I wanted to buy a pair of leather shoes. My first thought was to buy them in Spain but I didn’t find anything I liked. Mind you, I didn’t look very hard. While waiting out one of the downpours it happened I was standing in front of a shoe store. So I went in and found a pair I liked on sale for twenty euros. The shoes said they were made in Italy with Italian leather so I felt happy about it. At the end of the day I ended up with one pair of shoes and one umbrella for thirty euro. For a reluctant shopper like myself it seemed I did okay on average. It took two days for the shoes I brought from home to dry out, so it was good that I had an extra pair.

more cityscape images

As we pulled out of port the rain stopped and the clouds parted. I looked back at Salerno and took this image. Maybe the umbrella merchants moved on or switched to some other product. However I got what I wanted and, more importantly, got a bunch of photos. Most of them are just people walking through the rain while I waited under an entryway. I think this one looking back from the ship at the end of the day is a little more interesting. Anyway, that’s the story of my short visit to Salerno on a rainy day.

Life Close to Home

Here is section of the town where I live taken with a drone. This is Palmetto along the north bank of the Manatee River as it empties into the Gulf of Mexico. Having just spent a few weeks away I’m happy to be getting back to the routines of life close to home. One of those routines is getting out to take images of the sunset like this.

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Life Close to Home
Life Close to Home in Palmetto Florida

About a week ago Hurricane Irma passed by and this river nearly flooded. We were fortunate it did not and that is something everyone here is thankful for. The shared experience of having come so close has brought the community together. As the tide subsided and the river receded, there was a collective sigh of relief, almost festive; yet keenly aware that it could have gone either way. There is also the undercurrent of posttraumatic stress in the wake of the adrenaline-fueled week.

Life is returning to normal; power restored, schools reopened, shelves restocked. Most of us are left with simple assessments, cleanup and repairs. But that’s nothing compared to those further south. That we did not experience the same tragedy is pure chance, leaving us humbled and taking nothing for granted.

more from florida

I’m philosophical, if not a little superstitious about all this. The way I figure it; we have Mother Nature to thank for calm idyllic scenes like this. As much as we love what she has to offer, we try to remain mindful that moods change and sometimes tempers flare. And in those rare cases, we are at her mercy.

Another View of Burnaby

This is another view of Burnaby BC that I took from about ten miles away in downtown Vancouver. I think they refer to it as a bedroom community but that sounds strange; Burnaby is anything but sleepy. There is a lot of construction going on and it seems every time I come back the skyline has changed.

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Another View of Burnaby
Another View of Burnaby BC, just outside of Vancouver

Speaking of skylines, what looks like a hill to the right of the buildings is Central Park, something I posted about recently. It’s not really a hill, what you see is the contour of the tall cedars against the skyline.

This type of view is what I call my rule of tenths. In photography there is a “rule of thirds” which recommends segmenting the composition into thirds. I use that a lot but sometimes I feel that the sky deserves more than just a third, in cases like this I give it about nine-tenths.

more images from canada

The reason I do that is my own sense of perspective. I have a habit of drawing back from a subject, be it in photography or life, and trying to see things in relation to how it fits in. With something as big and complex as a city, it helps to get a little distance. At least that’s my theory; it works for me, …usually.

Cafeteria Built on a Rock

While in Spain we were told by several people that we should visit the Abbey of Montserrat about an hour north of Barcelona. It’s built in an impossible location on a steep mountainside and has stunning views of the region. It’s a great place to take photos and this is one I took of the cafeteria built on a rock.

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Cafeteria Built on a Rock
Cafeteria Built on a Rock at the Abbey of Montserrat

To drive here you take a series of steep switchbacks up the mountain. But if you don’t like hairpin turns over cliffs, you can also take a train or gondola from the valley floor. In that respect it reminds me of locations in Switzerland or Germany. However the red earth and unusual rock formations also remind me of the southwestern United States. Perhaps it’s a combination of both, yet entirely unique.

This is a popular place because there were a lot of people here when we arrived. And there is a lot more to see than just a cafeteria, but this grabbed my attention when I first arrived. It’s no ordinary cafeteria, at least not the kind that comes to mind when I think of my old high school. If you did nothing but drive up here and buy lunch, it would be well worth the trip as you gaze out at the valley and Barcelona in the distance.

more European photos

My only regret is that I didn’t know about this place sooner. I will come back and explore it more thoroughly on my next visit, especially at night. And there is way more to see than just the cafeteria, so plan a day of it the next time you’re in the area; I know I will.

Sunrise at the Port in Livorno

This is just before sunrise at the port in Livorno Italy along the western coast of Tuscany. I took this from the deck of the ship as we pulled into port. On a cruise you wake up in a new place each morning so sometimes I like to get up and have a look around while the ship docks. On this morning there were colors on display as the ship entered port.

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Sunrise at the Port in Livorno
Sunrise at the Port in Livorno, taken from the deck of RCCL’s Brilliance of the Seas

Come to think of it, if it wasn’t for the sunrise and sunset I’d loose all sense of direction while travelling. A geographic sense is one thing, but being able to point east or west is entirely another. I had the same problem in Florida because the ground is so flat; there is no point of reference.

Where would we be without a GPS? I’ve become attached to using it. I used to read maps and a compass but it’s no longer necessary. Maybe one day we’ll have GPS chips implanted in our brains and we’ll never lose our way. Even then we’d be inferior to starlings that use the magnetic lines of the earth. It seems we need a lot of technology to catch up to what is already in nature.

other cruise ship images

Anyway, back in Livorno the ship docked and I took a trip along the coast of Tuscany. Because it was the coast I had sense of which way was west. But as soon as we returned to sea, all bets were off.

Cloud Cover

Here’s drone shot from a familiar pier that I like to hang out at. I thought we’d get a nice sunset but the sun peaked for only a few minutes and the rest of the evening was gray and cloudy. But it was not a big surprise; cloud cover is a common, especially when we have afternoon storms.

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Cloud Cover
Cloud cover over Bradenton Beach

I had the drone sitting stationary in this location for about five minutes. As soon as I saw the sun pop out I snapped a still. Then, while leaving the drone hovering in place, I reached for the camera in by bag but I was too late. By the time I pulled it out the sun was already gone. They say the best camera for the job is the one you have with you. In this case the best camera was the one hovering fifty-feet up.

favorites from the gallery

I just returned from a couple of trips and I’m happy to be back here where I can walk along the beach and take photos. Sometimes I get to the point where I’m a little complacent about living near the beach. But when I go on a trip I realize just how fortunate I am. Then I return with a newfound appreciation for the scenery where I live. But I think that’s normal; you walkaway for a spell and then realize what you have in your own backyard, even if we do get a cloudy day every now and then.

Central Park South

My last night in Manhattan I spent exploring Central Park and taking a lot of photos. The park is well lit with street lamps along the paths and people milling about just as they do during the day. This is in a section known as Central Park South, which is bordered by the towers of midtown to form a surreal backdrop.

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Central Park South
Central Park South at night

This is thirty-second exposure and it appears a little brighter than it actually was. As a result I didn’t notice the people to the right until about halfway through the exposure. I think they had the perfect setting for an evening picnic.

I rented a bike so I could cover more ground and even at midnight on a Sunday there were people riding bikes alongside me. Maybe I’m naïve but the park seemed safe. Historically the park has had a bad reputation after dark, but it seems to have shed some of that that over the years. There are lights everywhere and paths filled with people enjoying the setting, not to mention an abundance of security.

more New York City photos

If the park didn’t close at one in the morning I could have stayed all night. There are endless compositions for photography. But alas I had a plane to catch in the morning so it was just as well. But now I know that the next time I come back I can plan on getting very little sleep, at least at night.

Palmetto and Bradenton Panorama

Now that I’m getting a little better at flying the drone I’m starting to make panoramas. It’s basically the same process that I use on the ground, which is to shoot vertical images and stitch them together. One of the options on the drone is to shoot in portrait mode. So once I’m in position I switch the drone camera into portrait mode and take several shots side-by-side.

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Palmetto and Bradenton Panorama
Palmetto and Bradenton panorama taken with a DJI Mavic Pro

This is one such panorama over the neighboring towns of Palmetto and Bradenton. I live in Palmetto on the right and Bradenton is just across the river on the left. In this you can see a couple of bridges that cross the Manatee River, which is almost a mile wide at this point.

This image has more resolution than a single shot from the Mavic because it’s several shots combined. The camera on the DJI Mavic is fairly small compared to that of my main Sony camera. It’s roughly equivalent in resolution to some of the better smartphones. That’s not bad but I still prefer a higher resolution for landscape images. So for now my best option is to make panoramas. However in the future I expect manufacturers like DJI will give us better sensors for the drone cameras.

more panoramas

That’s okay because I’m still in a learning phase and I really like how I can use this in photography. I’m a little late to the game because these things have been out for a number of years. But having waited I now have the advantage of all the safeguards that are built in. Someone like me is less likely to lose my investment due to pilot error. And as Martha Stewart would say, “that’s a good thing”.

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.

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Bayfront Park on Longboat Key
Bayfront Park on Longboat Key

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.