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Venice Pier

This is the Venice Pier which is attached to Sharky’s on the Pier in Venice Florida. A couple of wooden versions of this washed away in hurricanes and so they built this newer stronger concrete version. It’s such an iconic setting that we always bring guests here. When my sister-in-law was down she lamented she hadn’t seen any dolphins, however the day we came here we spotted a small pod frolicking at the end. Florida’s west coast is dotted with establishments like this, but this is one of our favorite. Everything just seems to add up.

This is the Venice Pier which is attached to Sharky's on the Pier in Venice Florida. A couple of wooden versions of this washed away in hurricanes and so this newer stronger concrete version is here to stay. This is such an iconic setting that we always bring our guests here. My sister-in-law was down and was lamenting she hadn't seen any dolphins until the day we came here where we spotted a small pod frolicking at the end of the pier. Florida's west coast is dotted with establishments like this, but this is one of our favorite. Everything just seems to add up here.

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Pond at Dusk

This was taken at a pond at Emerson Point state park near my home. This and a couple of other nearby ponds are hangouts for migratory birds. I’m not a birder and I don’t know a lot about each species, but they’re still fun to watch in their natural habitat. There’s all kinds of wildlife in and around this pond, I’ve seen Raccoons, Armadillos, Turtles, Osprey and Eagles. So there you go, I’m no birder, but apparently I’m Daniel Boone.

This was taken at a pond at Emerson Point state park near my home in Manatee County Florida. This and a couple of other nearby ponds are hangouts for migratory birds. Now I'm not a birder and I don't know a lot about each species, but they're still fun to watch in their natural habitat. There's all kinds of wildlife in and around this pond, I've seen Raccoons, Armadillos, Turtles, Osprey and Eagles. So there you go, I'm no birder, but apparently I'm Daniel Boone.

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Old Piers

Apparently, piers are not permanent here in Florida, seems they erode away from Hurricanes and waves all the time. I’m fairly new to Florida, we moved here about nine years ago and in that time I’ve seen a couple of piers crumble away. I was at an art show with my photos the other day and a shot I did of the pier at Venice Florida was recognized by folks as “the new pier”. That was news to me since it’s the only one I knew of. But long time residents have seen two others washed away and the latest built about ten years ago. So now I know. In any case, I like even the crumbled down old remnants of a pier, it seems to attract birds like egrets, herons and pelicans as they use the old pilings to wait for prey or scraps from the fishermen. So now you know, probably more than you ever wanted, about Florida piers. Your welcome. 😉

Apparently, piers are not permanent here in Florida, seems they erode away from Hurricanes and waves all the time. I'm fairly new to Florida, we moved here about nine years ago and in that time I've seen a couple of piers crumble away. I was at an art show with my photos the other day and a shot I did of the pier at Venice Florida was recognized by folks as

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Gulf of Mexico

So this might not look familiar but it’s under the Sunshine Skyway bridge between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Sometimes I find myself in the craziest places in search of a shot, especially when not traveling. When I do travel I cross this bridge in a car on my way to the airport at a pretty good rate of speed. The bridge is so level and smooth I forget I’m traveling over a vast body of water with dolphins, sharks and swift currents below. Before this was built the old one collapsed and a bus and cars just drove right off the bridge into the water. Yeah I know, scary. But today I doubt anything like that will happen again, this bridge is constantly under maintenance, no chances are being taken. And thanks to all that maintenance its a very smooth ride and I forget I’m driving over the Gulf of Mexico. Thankfully though, the state of Florida does not.

So this might not look familiar but it's under the Sunshine Skyway bridge between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Sometimes I find myself in the craziest places in search of a shot, especially when not traveling. When I do travel I cross this bridge in a car on my way to the airport at a pretty good rate of speed. The bridge is so level and smooth I forget I'm traveling over a vast body of water with dolphins, sharks and swift currents below. Before this was built the old one collapsed and a bus and cars just drove right off the bridge into the water. Yeah I know, scary. But today I doubt anything like that will happen again, this bridge is constantly under maintenance, no chances are being taken. And thanks to all that maintenance its a very smooth ride and I forget I'm driving over the Gulf of Mexico. Thankfully though, the state of Florida does not.

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Cortez Sunset

Cortez is a little gem of a fishing village in central Florida. Because it’s on the way to the beach thousands of people drive by it every day and never stop. There are several fish markets tucked away which we like stopping into every now and then to pick up fresh catch. There are tree lined streets with quaint houses as well as a little trailer park where winter residents (aka snowbirds) love to come and escape the harsh winters up north. On the evening I took this several of the snowbirds where lined up in lawn chairs with their cocktails along the water to watch the sunset. It lasted for about 30 minutes and as soon as the colors faded they stood up and headed back to their homes. However I noticed they left their chairs behind so it seems to me they must repeat that ritual each evening. If I ever retire, I might just get a trailer down the road from my house and live the life of a snowbird in the little fishing village of Cortez Florida.

Cortez is a little gem of a fishing village in central Florida. Because it's on the way to the beach thousands of people drive by it every day and never stop. There are several fish markets tucked away which we like stopping into every now and then to pick up fresh catch. There are tree lined streets with quaint houses as well as a little trailer park where winter residents (aka snowbirds) love to come and escape the harsh winters up north. On the evening I took this several of the snowbirds where lined up in lawn chairs with their cocktails along the water to watch the sunset. It lasted for about 30 minutes and as soon as the colors faded they stood up and headed back to their homes. However I noticed they left their chairs behind so it seems to me they must repeat that ritual each evening. If I ever retire, I might just get a trailer down the road from my house and live the life of a snowbird in the little fishing village of Cortez Florida.

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Calm Waters

One evening not too long ago I was while riding a mountain bike through Emerson Point which a state park near my home. I stopped for a rest and noticed these colors and the calmness of the waters and felt I had to capture the moment with my iPhone. Perhaps one day I’ll try Google Glass as it seems I’m always looking for a shot even when I’m doing other things and Glass might just make it more convenient. Maybe we’ll all just end up with Glass implants in our retinas, I can see it going in that direction. In any case, when the water is this calm in Terra Ceia Bay you often see and hear fish jumping which momentarily creates rings in the water. I will leave you to contemplate the zen of that quite calm moment while I head to the mall for Black Friday Christmas shopping.

One evening not too long ago I was while riding a mountain bike through Emerson Point which a state park near my home. I stopped for a rest and noticed these colors and the calmness of the waters and felt I had to capture the moment with my iPhone. Perhaps one day I'll try Google Glass as it seems I'm always looking for a shot even when I'm doing other things and Glass might just make it more convenient. Maybe we'll all just end up with Glass implants in our retinas, I can see it going in that direction. In any case, when the water is this calm in Terra Ceia Bay you often see and hear fish jumping which momentarily creates rings in the water. I will leave you to contemplate the zen of that quite calm moment while I head to the mall for Black Friday Christmas shopping.

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Through The Palms

As I write this there are storms across much of the Unites States and winter has made an early entrance. But in some places such as Florida’s west coast you can still find people on the beach or enjoying a sunset. It’s no wonder the population of Florida explodes this time of year. If I lived up north and had the means I’d come down here also. Fortunate for me I live here and this weekend I was outside at the Sarasota Fine Arts Festival. This shot is from just south of Sarasota in Nokomis which is a community with an awesome beach among other things. Anyway, at the festival I got to show some of my photos (similar to this) of the area and meet some of you in person. Even though it was warm, that was pretty cool.

As I write this there are storms across much in the Unites States and winter has made an early entrance. But in some places such as Florida's west coast you can still find people on the beach or enjoying a sunset. It's no wonder the population of Florida explodes this time of year. If I lived up north and had the means I'd come down here also. Fortunate for me I live here and this weekend I was outside at the Sarasota Fine Arts Festival. This shot is from just south of Sarasota in Nokomis which is a community with an awesome beach among other things. Anyway, at the festival I got to show some of my photos (similar to this) of the area and meet some of you in person. Even though it was warm, that was pretty cool.

Follow link to obtain a print of this photo.

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Beach Dunes

In Bradenton Beach Florida we have nice sunsets, and even when we don’t there’s always something to take a picture of. I thought a shot from about four feet inside these dunes would be nice and so started to set up my camera. Bad idea. Turns out the plants in these dunes produce a prickly burr that’s as sharp as any I’ve ever seen. So I figured as long as I didn’t move around I’d be okay. Wrong again. It seemed like the burrs started attacking me and attached themselves to my sandals, t-shirt, legs and shorts. So I finished the shot quickly and walked to my car in darkness where I began detaching the burrs one by one which took about 20 minutes. They were even attached to the bottom of my sandals. As far as natural defenses go, those dunes mean business. A couple of days later near the lifeguard stand I found a sign that indicated this is a “Blue Beach” which means a high degree if environmental awareness and protection is practiced here and, …the dunes are off-limits. I think I learned my lesson. Dunes 1, Me 0.

In Bradenton Beach Florida we have nice sunsets, and even when we don't there's always something to take a picture of. I thought a shot from about four feet inside these dunes would be nice and so started to set up my camera. Bad idea. Turns out the plants in these dunes produce a prickly burr that's as sharp as any I've ever seen. So I figured as long as I didn't move around I'd be okay. Wrong again. It seemed like the burrs started attacking me and attached themselves to my sandals, t-shirt, legs and shorts. So I finished the shot quickly and walked to my car in darkness where I began detaching the burrs one by one which took about 20 minutes. They were even attached to the bottom of my sandals. As far as natural defenses go, those dunes mean business. A couple of days later near the lifeguard stand I found a sign that indicated this is a

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Siesta Key Afternoon

I headed down the road to Siesta Key from my home in Palmetto hoping to catch a good sunset. The clouds are so dynamic that you never know what to expect and as it turned out there was no sunset, however the colors and clouds still put on a good show. It rains so often in summer that most people just ignore it. It rarely last more than fifteen minutes and then you just continue going about your business. Of course I’m making liberal use of the word “business” because that’s about the furthest thing from anyones mind. However the folks on this broken down pier were engaged in the business of fishing, the folks behind me were engaged in the business of sunset watching, and I was engaged in the business of taking it all in and snapping some photos. Have your people contact my people and we’ll do business.

I headed down the road to Siesta Key from my home in Palmetto hoping to catch a good sunset. The clouds are so dynamic that you never know what to expect and as it turned out there was no sunset, however the colors and clouds still put on a good show. It rains so often in summer that most people just ignore it. It rarely last more than fifteen minutes and then you just continue going about your business. Of course I'm making liberal use of the word

Follow link to obtain a limited edition print of this photo.