sky Archives - Page 9 of 15 - Just Enough Focus

July 20, 2016July 20, 2016

Waves and Sunsets

This is a typical scene from the South Jetty in Venice Florida. People showing up to watch the sun go down is a Florida pastime. It’s a natural thing to do especially if you come visit from somewhere else. Most people in Florida are from somewhere else, even if they live here. Florida is one of those places where people are migrating to.

As for myself, I was born and raised in California. It used to be that everyone relocated to California from somewhere else. I was born there and relocated in the other direction. But California is a beautiful state to visit, I love going back and as a photographer I see so much more than I did growing up.

sunset photos

Other than the sound of the waves and the sunsets there is not much resemblance between California and Florida, they both have their own unique beauty. But waves and sunsets are a good thing to have in common.

July 17, 2016

State of Mind

From a photographic sense I love the summers here in Florida because we get storms during the day. That means in the evening the clouds break and we have sunsets with a lot of colors in the sky. For this shot I grabbed my camera and headed over to a nearby rest stop along the highway. I’ve taken many pictures from here but each one is different in some way. I love gradients in the sky like this. I guess you could say this is a remake of a previous photo, it’s new perspective on a familiar scene.

The other day I wrote something to the effect that photographs are not so much from a place as a state of mind. Each time I go to the same place to take a photo I see and experience it differently. Even if some of the same objects are in the frame, the image reflects a completely different experience. And of course, the time of day, weather and lighting all contribute to that. But the main thing is that if I’m aware of these things, each time they will combine in a different way.

Photo of or around this bridge

When I’m aware of what’s around me then each moment is different and so this is not so much a picture of the bridge but a snapshot of a moment when I experienced this scene. That’s why photography for me is a state of mind. It’s not so much the location but the things I notice and see when I’m present in the moment. Whether it’s something truly new, or something I just noticed for the first time, each time is a new experience and a new image, even if it has some of the same old things.

July 11, 2016July 11, 2016

Arc of the Sun

I took this in Venice Florida when I came down to take pictures at sunset. This is a fun place to visit and if you like photography you’ll appreciate it even more. I always leave with some great shots in my camera. Mind you, I take a lot of bad shots but that’s not the fault of the scenery.

In this case I used a telephoto lens fully extended at 240mm. When you extend a telephoto lens it has the effect of compressing distances. So in this case the sailboat and the sun are more or less equal actors in the scene.

Speaking of the sun, I just returned from Alaska and up there I noticed a big difference in how the sun looks. First, it has a low arc in the sky as opposed to Florida where the arc is high. Second, in Florida it’s dark about 45 minutes after sunset whereas Alaska seems to have perpetual dusk during summer, I never once saw it completely dark.

more sunset photos

Anyway, I always like it when I can include the sun in my photos. Something about it just amps up a scene.

June 26, 2016

Leffis Key Dune

There is nothing higher than a palm tree in central Florida. As a result there aren’t may places you can go to get a perspective of the landscape other than a bridge or lookout tower. Leffis Key however contains a dune covered with vegetation that provides just barely enough elevation to look out onto the inter-coastal waterway. In this image the sun is rising over the fishing village of Cortez. Whenever visitors ask me where to get fresh fish I always recommend Cortez.

This is a single image HDR. That just means I didn’t use multiple exposures to balance the highlights with the darker areas. The sensor in the Sony A7R2 camera captures an very wide range of light so that images like this are possible. That wasn’t the case just a couple years ago unless we combined multiple images using HDR.

anna maria island

There was a breeze blowing so that the grasses swayed from side to side. Using traditional HDR, I would have taken three shots and combined them, however that normally causes problems with ghosting of the grass as it moves between each frame. Those problems are eliminated with a single frame and so it makes possible compositions like this. The technology in cameras is getting better every year and it makes me wonder what we’ll be able to do in another year or two. It’s is an exciting time for photography and geeks like me.

May 23, 2016May 23, 2016

It Just Seems That Way

This is another image from Bean Point at the tip of Anna Maria Island. There is no parking and so the only people that show up here are those living or staying within walking distance. That’s why it’s one of my favorite places for photography at sunset.

A continuing theme for me is to use clouds in an image to represent proportion and scale. So typically people or manmade subjects become small in relation to the clouds and surrounding environment. The purpose is to draw attention to the scale of nature around us. For me the message is one of reintegration into our otherwise ignored surroundings.

More images of Anna Maria Island from the gallery

Only after I became a photographer did I even begin to notice things around me, such as the formation of clouds. Now I look at the world different from before, I see our existence in relation to our environment. That provides a sense of perspective, something to glimpse a grander scale of things. Without that we tend to focus on small things in front of our faces without ever looking up. It’s like zooming out on a map; we begin to seem insignificant. But of course we are not, it just seems that way.

May 22, 2016

Plan B

This morning I came to this tower to take a picture of the full moon as it set to the West. Only it didn’t turn out all that good and as I stood here wondering what to do I turned around and noticed the sunrise from behind these clouds. This observation tower is at Neil Preserve in Bradenton. I came here at the crack of dawn and got eaten alive by the bugs as I walked the path from the parking lot. But on top here was a nice breeze and a welcome respite from the mosquitos below.

This is my Plan B shot, the one I didn’t come here for. With photography, and life in general, it’s always good to have a backup plan if the first one falls through. I have a little voice in my head that tells me to turn around. Well, maybe more of a habit than a voice. Nevertheless sometimes I listen and turn around and look for opportunities in the other direction. My own philosophy is that I should have everything I need, I just need to keep an open mind and look for whatever comes my way.

More sky images from Manatee County

That makes every outing a challenge. Life is the same way, each day a challenge, each challenge and opportunity to find a creative solution. There I go again. It seems relating photography to life is also a habit of mine. At least it’s not a voice in my head.

May 15, 2016May 16, 2016

East View

I’m standing on the pier at Fort DeSoto Park in St Petersburg looking east at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge on a Sunday afternoon. That’s the bait shop on the right where you can get a few items while you fish on the pier or wait for the ferry. This is a nice place to check out if you come here to visit.

They also have a campground not too far from this spot as well. I’m born and raised in California so I’m not sure what its like to camp near the beach in Florida. When I think camping I think of mountains, lakes and streams. Wouldn’t it would be too warm for a sleeping bag? I think my three season bag would be uncomfortably hot. Maybe just a light blanket is all I’d need. The more I think about it the more I think I should try. Who knows, I might like it.

I just noticed that you can see the whole length of the main span of the Skyway from here. In total it’s about ten miles across the bay, here we see about five miles of it.

In Plain View

This is a state park I never knew we had that’s five minutes from home. I had it in my mind to follow this old road and there it was, a park I never knew existed; Terra Ceia Preserve State Park. In fact I’ve driven by here hundreds of times. This entrance is adjacent to a main highway that I take all the time. I just assumed it was private land.

I stopped at a kayak launch and talked to this gentleman who, it turns out, leads tours through the park. Silly me; I forgot to get his name. But I’ll be back regardless, maybe I’ll run into him again, it would be fun to do a tour.

The area is mostly mangroves and bayou and is habitat for all manner of birds including eagles and osprey. But of course for me it’s a new place to explore with my camera. Add to that, the county is opening up another preserve in the opposite direction about five miles away. I am excited to explore that as well.

More images from near home in Manatee County

I suppose most people, me included, don’t notice these parks all that much. But I sure am glad they’re there, in plain view the whole time.

May 2, 2016May 2, 2016

High Floor

This is from a couple of years ago in Vancouver. Normally when I stay in a big city the hotel looks out at the back of other buildings, but this time I lucked out. The room was thirty floors up and facing west so I could watch the sunset in the evening.

Getting access to a high vantage point in a big city is a big plus. Its a perspective I always find fascinating because of all the little details. Its a little like having a window seat on an airplane and watching the ground as you gain altitude, it’s all looks so different.

More images of Vancouver from the Gallery

Nowadays drones provide these kinds of perspectives, at least they used to. Most cities restrict drone flights for number of reasons so short of that, getting access to a high floor is still the way to go. One of my favorite things to do is go the observation decks of well known buildings; Hancock in Chicago, Empire State in New York and the CN Tower in Toronto. But on this occasion all I had to do was open the curtains to my room.

May 1, 2016May 1, 2016

Early Riser

The other morning I came here to the public pier. This is one of the best places on Anna Maria Island to start the day. There are three types of people that show up for sunrise; fishermen, photographers and early risers. Well, I guess the first two could be called early risers too, but that last group not are not here for any other reason than to watch the sunrise. What do we call them, sun worshippers?

Regardless, it’s not all that crowded. Later in the day it gets a lot more visitors because this is one of the main attractions in the area, a laid back place to pass the time.

This is a long exposure of fifteen-seconds using a tripod. In fact I used a neutral density filter as well. That’s a filter that blocks the light so the exposure takes more time. The result is the appearance of no waves in the water. I like this technique along the water and I find it works best when the light is low already. At night or before dawn the filter isn’t necessary, but as soon as the sun comes up it’s hard to get an exposure for more than a second or two, thats why I use the filter. Its a little like sunblock for the camera.

More Anna Maria Island photos from the gallery

Anyway, coming here as a photographer is always fun. However I think coming here a sun worshipper might be the most fun of all.