Mist on Wick Beach

Mist on Wick Beach
The mist on Wickaninnish Beach, aka  Wick Beach in BC Canada                                  Purchase a gallery print

Wickaninnish Beach, BC

This is a shot of the mist on Wick beach in British Columbia. Actually the name of this place is Wickaninnish, but folks around here just call it Wick. In any case, this is at the southern end of a very long beach that stretches for miles up the coast. There is a WWII memorial here as well as a lodge with a restaurant that has a few local dishes on the menu. It was a chilly day so we asked for comfort food and we got a local favorite. I can’t begin to remember the name of it but it seemed to have fish and rice all mixed in and it really hit the spot. This area is known for surfing, fishing whale watching. Or, if you’re like me, just long walks on a long beach followed by comfort food.

Bradenton Beach Elements

Bradenton Beach
The natural elements of Bradenton Beach                         Purchase gallery print

A few of days ago I arrived at Bradenton Beach just as the sun receded beyond a layer of clouds. I like photos that show people alongside the elements of nature. Something about the outdoors resonates with me and so I try to create images showing people immersed in nature. Living near the coast of Florida I have ample opportunity to explore this. Its safe to say that most of us love to hang out at the beach, not only because its fun, but because it satisfies a need to be outdoors with the elements. The sand, the ocean, the sky and clouds, these are all things we can easily feel affinity for. Maybe we don’t always think about it, we just long for the relaxation and fun, but I think that on another level relaxation and fun come from being exposed to things that are not artificial. This is just a long winded way of saying it’s nice to get outdoors, and what better way to do that then time on a beach. So anyway, here I am, standing on the beach and I noticed these two enjoying the last rays of the sun. I’ll hazard a guess that they had some fun and went home a little more relaxed then when they arrived, I rest my case your honor.

Rainbow on the Coast

Rainbow on the Coast
Rainbow on the Coast where the Manatee River meets the Gulf of Mexico    Purchase a gallery print

I got up early one summer morning and caught this rainbow along the gulf coast as I walked the trails at DeSoto National Memorial in Bradenton. In summer we have thunder clouds that change from one minute to the next. They combine the energy of the warm air and gulf waters to become powerful and, if I might say, rambunctious. By that I mean loud, dramatic and fun to watch, especially from a photography perspective. On this morning I also caught a rainbow as the clouds were breaking apart. This is an area were thunderstorms and rainbows are common as the waters of the Manatee River meet the Gulf of Mexico. The storms like to follow the path of the river and I’ve taken a lot of photos rainbows around here. In real life they are beautiful to look at yet don’t always translate into a good picture. One morning I watched as a double rainbow formed over the river in the soft light of morning. Many people were stopping to look at comment, it was amazing to witness. I took a bunch of photos yet when I got home and looked at them they didn’t look all that special. I think that in most cases, rainbows are meant to be enjoyed in the moment and trying to capture their beauty can be as elusive as the pot of gold at the end.

We are never alone, even when we think we are

We Are Never Alone
We are never alone, even when we think we are.                                                       Obtain gallery print

At times we need to be alone with the elements. Something about that reminds us that,  in fact, we are never truly alone.

I recently read a book called The Light Between Us by Laura Lynne Jackson. It’s basically an autobiography of a person who grew up with a special gift to communicate with the “Other Side”. In it she details the struggles she overcame learning how to deal with that without having someone to help her. Nonetheless, she is one of a handful of scientifically certified psychics in the US and has helped many people bridge the gap between this world and the next as it pertains to bereavement. So, the moral of the story is we’re never really alone. The world we live in is just a subset of the real world and we are surrounded by many who love us all the time, whether we are aware of it or not.

Fishing on Anna Maria Island

Fishing on Anna Maia Island
Fishing on Anna Maria Island                                       Obtain fine art print

On Anna Maria Island I have some favorite spots to hang out that are a little bit hidden and frequented more by the locals. This is opposite Coquina Beach and it’s a little dock where fishermen come to launch their boats around dawn. I was here walking around and noticed this guy casting his net and so stood a ways back trying to capture him in mid-throw. I think he noticed me and stopped throwing the net, maybe he was self conscious. I wandered off to leave the poor soul in peace. Hopefully he caught something because there were a couple of egrets waiting for anything he might pull up.

Nokomis Beach Bridge

Nokomis Beach Bridge
Bridge to Nokomis Beach Florida                                                Purchase print

In the West coast of Florida most of the beaches are on keys which are long barrier islands up and down the coast. The main reason they don’t get washed away in storms is that usually there are dunes with vegetation to prevent erosion. So we have these bridges over the dunes that create a pretty nice entrance to the sea. As leading lines go, these are one of my favorite because they lead to where we all want to be, on the beach and in the sun. Speaking of which, the weekend is about to begin.

Seaside Parking Lot

Seaside Parking Lot
Lands End parking lot in San Francisco                                       buy print

I stayed at Lands End way past sunset taking pictures in the dark. This is a long exposure of someone sitting at the edge of the lot looking over the pacific ocean. You can see the lights of the buoys used to guide the ships into the San Francisco Bay. The person was probably deep in though because he stayed still for the full thirty seconds I had the shutter open. Even though the sun was down, there is still that line of illumination along the horizon. This is why I like low light photography so much, you just never know what you’ll end up with.

Mile Rock Beach

Another shot from a little hidden beach in San Francisco. The only way to get here is to hike down a steep trail. The beach is surrounded by cliffs which gives you a sense of remoteness uncharacteristic of a large city. But then San Francisco is no ordinary city. Because of its geography it could be the most beautiful city in the USA. The only other that I can compare it to is Vancouver about a thousand miles to the North. But it seems the beauty of a city is related to the surrounding geography. If you frame buildings, streets and bridges with great landscapes it becomes more appealing than if you just have a city on a flat plane. Nothing against the Midwest mind you. I better stop before I can't get my metaphorical foot our of my mouth.
Mile Rock beach hidden inside San Francisco                                               Buy print

Another shot from a little hidden beach in San Francisco. The only way to get here is to hike down a steep trail. The beach is surrounded by cliffs which gives you a sense of remoteness uncharacteristic of a large city. But then San Francisco is no ordinary city. Because of its geography it could be the most beautiful city in the USA. The only other that I can compare it to is Vancouver about a thousand miles to the North. But it seems the beauty of a city is related to the surrounding geography. If you frame buildings, streets and bridges with great landscapes it becomes more appealing than if you just have a city on a flat plane. Nothing against the Midwest mind you. I better stop before I can’t get my metaphorical foot our of my mouth.

Getting Up Early

I am always surprised at how many people get up before dawn to see the sunrise. For me I think its understandable because I'm taking photos, but a whole bunch of other folks show up at this ungodly hour, park their cars, and walk out on to the pier, takes some of photos and then just turn around and leave. I'm not sure why I find that so interesting, maybe it's just the realization that there are others doing the exact same thing as me. That's hard to believe. I'm not really sure what to make of that, I suppose its a good thing.
Sun worshipers on the public pier in Anna Maria Island Florida                               Buy print

I am always surprised at how many people get up before dawn to see the sunrise. For me I think its understandable because I’m taking photos, but a whole bunch of other folks show up at this ungodly hour, park their cars, and walk out on to the pier, takes some of photos and then just turn around and leave. I’m not sure why I find that so interesting, maybe it’s just the realization that there are others doing the exact same thing as me. That’s hard to believe. I’m not really sure what to make of that, I suppose its a good thing.

Sunday at the Beach

This was taken at the Lands End beach in San Francisco. When a big wave came in it landed in a flat section behind the rock. Then as the water receded it created this pattern of ripples in the sunlight. A simple thing but I thought it was pretty awesome. This image is a composite of three images all taken from the same location. The first image was a long exposure of the water receding and forming this pattern. To do that I had to use a small aperture and a neutral density filter. Then, I added the waves on the left from another image that was a short exposure since a long exposure makes the sea appear calm. Finally a third image was taken of a gentleman walking along the beach. To create this image I stitched all three back together to convey a sense of what I saw on that lovely Sunday afternoon at the beach.Obtain a print
This was taken at the Lands End beach in San Francisco. When a big wave came in it landed in a flat section behind the rock. Then as the water receded it created this pattern of ripples in the sunlight. A simple thing but I thought it was pretty awesome.

This image is a composite of three images all taken from the same location. The first image was a long exposure of the water receding and forming this pattern. To do that I had to use a small aperture and a neutral density filter. Then, I added the waves on the left from another image that was a short exposure since a long exposure makes the sea appear calm. Finally a third image was taken of a gentleman walking along the beach.

To create this image I stitched all three back together to convey a sense of what I saw on that lovely Sunday afternoon at the beach.