unitedstates Archives - Page 20 of 34

October 4, 2016October 4, 2016

Long Exposure Sunrise

This is a long exposure sunrise shot I took Sunday morning from Anna Maria Island. In reality there are waves and gulls and pelicans flying about. But using a couple of strong neutral density filters I can stretch-out the exposure about two or three minutes to create an entirely different effect. It’s a little like looking through an arc welders mask, very little light gets through.

Daily Image

I have had filters for a while but I recently purchased these Lee filters from B&H in New York. They’ve opened up a world of long exposure photography. And for whatever reason it seems to suit me. I suppose that’s because as I write my blog I like to wax philosophical about photos, and a long exposures seem to fit right in with that narrative. In a way they are ethereal, not quite real, a little removed from reality. That can be a great place to begin.

florida gallery

The funny thing is I don’t write my blog for anyone in particular. I do it only because I like to. I like taking pictures in a creative way and then writing about them. It’s just another way to be creative and for me its a fun thing to do. I would much rather take pictures and write about them than watch TV. Unfortunately I do watch the news almost every day, and that has me running back to my photography as quickly as I can.

October 3, 2016

Apollo Beach Power Plant

On the far end of Tampa Bay is the Apollo Beach power plant. The way its situated you can see it from just about anywhere. Don’t forget, Florida is flat so anything taller than a palm tree sticks out for miles. This is a three minute long exposure from about twelve miles away. The clouds were situated to naturally frame the silhouette of the plant.

Daily Image

When relatives come to visit us in the winter we typically take them to the power plant. I know that doesn’t sound like a fun place to go but in fact it is. Every year when the temperature of the water goes down, hundreds of Manatee migrate to this plant where the water is heated by the generators. In effect it creates a man-made hot spring for the Manatee to live out the winter in relative comfort. In fact there is a large viewing center and museum so its well worth the visit.

full gallery

Normally I’m not that interested in including industrial landmarks in landscapes. However in this case the plant is a permanent fixture of the region and plays an important role in the ecosystem of the local wildlife. And, of course, it’s what keeps my air conditioner working through the long hot months of summer.

September 28, 2016September 28, 2016

Sunrise on the Manatee

This is a one minute exposure of Sunrise on the Manatee River in Bradenton. People that show up here for a morning walk see a version of this every day. I’m not a regular so for me it’s an extra special treat. One thing for sure, the sunrise walkers are super friendly. I must have had half a dozen people come up and say good morning while I was taking pictures. It was like they had organized a welcome committee. It was awesome.

Daily Image

Most mornings the river is smooth like glass and the long exposure has a tendency to make it look even more so. The clouds were moving towards me and you can see a little of that action at the top. All in all I like how this turned out and there was very little I did to adjust the final image. I love editing photos but in some cases the original speaks for itself and needs very little help.

manatee county gallery

I came here looking for a totally different shot. I thought the clouds would be fuller and all lit up with the warm glow of the sun. For whatever reason that never happened. Being flexible is key to photography, especially if you shoot landscapes outside. You just never know for sure what you’ll get. In this case I got an unexpected scene and about a half dozen good mornings.

September 27, 2016September 27, 2016

Nature’s Fireworks

What do you call a place that starts the day with a sunrise and ends with nature’s fireworks? I call it Florida in summer. Normally the thunderstorms come in the afternoon but once in a while they’ll occur at night. The spectacle is both awesome and beautiful. The lightning flashes occur every few seconds appearing like something out of a science fiction movie. When I first moved here I was awestruck, now I’m more or less accustomed to it.

Daily Image

Most people stay indoors, it’s not a good idea to be outside when this happens. Getting struck by lightning is a real possibility in this region. That being said, I was a couple of miles away from these strikes and after just a few shots I retreated to my car. A picture may be worth a thousand words but it’s not worth getting hurt over.

night gallery

But, thunderstorms rarely last for very long. Within a few minutes the lightning stopped, the rain started and it all blew over within about forty-minutes. Even though its officially autumn, the tropical weather continues here in Florida for about another month. Then, sometime in mid-to-late October we’ll get a cool front and it all stops as quickly as it started. But for now, we still have a few weeks of nature’s fireworks remaining.

September 26, 2016September 26, 2016

Morning at the Pier on Anna Maria

On Sunday I spent part of the morning at the pier on Anna Maria Island. This image is a study of sorts. I recently purchased a couple Lee filters and have been experimenting with long exposure daytime photography. In this case the experiment was to see what would happen if I took a long exposure of the sunrise. I used a wide angle so that the pier would be somewhat proportional to the sun. This is exposed for nearly three minutes, 175 seconds to be exact. For an experiment, I kind of like how it turned out.

Daily Image

If you look close you’ll see ghost like images of the white egrets that populate the pier in the morning. I would normally try to keep them out of the frame but in this case they’re faded presence adds a narrative to the scene, an indication of what was going on at the time. In fact, what was going on is there were fishermen behind me net casting for bait fish. They would dump the catch on the pier and the egrets would snatch up any that didn’t make it into the bait bucket. Long story short, I was surrounded by white egrets.

more images from anna maria

I came here to watch the sunrise on a Sunday morning. As usual I wasn’t alone, there are always a handful of people doing the same thing. It’s a beautiful place and time of day to be here and it’s almost like being in church, there is a sense of reverence. In a way I suppose I was at the weekly Anna Maria sunrise service, only the parishioners were my fellow egrets and fishermen.

September 23, 2016September 23, 2016

Central Foyer

This is the central foyer of the Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas. I took this early one morning which is the only time that no people are present. The central column is about eight stories high and is serviced by elevators and stairwells. In the evening this is augmented with a colorful lighting display. I found this perspective through a glass portal at the very top.

At the very bottom is a bar, the next up is a Starbucks, then a champagne bar and so on up the levels. There are game rooms, libraries, areas for lounging, each level is unique. Often we would lean against the banister and watch the band playing music below or perhaps watch a demonstration on cake making. Certainly there are things to do outside, but on an Alaskan cruise there is plenty to do indoors as well.

This is a small ship by todays standards but it’s a sister of the first ship I ever saw, the Jewel of the Seas. I was and still am amazed that this type of space and architecture can exist on an ocean-going vessel. Yet to the truly big ships this is unremarkable. I’m a simple man, and to me, this is really really big. Getting on a bigger ship seems like maybe going to the mall with a hotel that floats. The sea is almost incidental.

more abstract photos

Anyway, my impression of these ships is one of awe, how they build them is way beyond my ability to comprehend.

September 19, 2016September 19, 2016

Lightning Storms

I live in an area of Florida where lightning storms are common. Growing up in California I remember the one lightning storm I ever saw. Now living here it’s so common I hardly notice. However I did notice this one as I drove home from the beach last weekend.

Daily Photo

Normally there’s thunder as well but sometimes the lightning is silent. I’m not really sure why that is. Quite often the lightning will stay in the clouds rather than strike the ground. In cases like that the lightning can be so frequent that its like watching fireworks, a flash every couple of seconds. The evening I took this it was about every ten-seconds.

new zealand gallery

To capture lightning you need a tripod. Once mounted I use manual mode on my Sony. I set the shutter speed to Bulb and using the remote I open the shutter until a flash of lighting occurs and then close it. In this case the shutter was open for six-seconds.

It really is a lot of fun. It’s a little like a meditation just sitting there in front of a nice scene capturing pictures of lightning.

September 19, 2016September 19, 2016

Hunting for Images

When I show up at a beach to take pictures I approach from the road as though I’m hunting for images. Well, maybe that’s a little over dramatic. Let’s just say I’m looking for a shot as soon as I get out of the car. So as I walk on to the beach I might see something like this and quickly snap a photo.

Daily Photo

Placing anonymous people in the image adds a point of interest for consideration. It’s a simple trick that causes our brains to project ourselves into the scene. Of course scenes don’t always need people but in general should at least one thing of interest like a bird, or tree or boat, anything really. The point is certain objects have a way of telling story in a picture, and it seems that people tell some of the best stories, just by being present in a picture.

When I place people in landscape images I do so anonymously. I do it with stealth so as not to disturb people in their own world. If someone sees me with the camera I’ll walk away so as not to ruin the moment that they may be having.

favorites gallery

So to be as unobtrusive as possible I try to make sure my camera settings are ready. If not I could be fumbling around for a couple of minutes. In this case I saw the scene, snapped a picture and moved on. And in this case I managed to captured the moment without harming my prey in any way. 🙂

September 16, 2016September 16, 2016

Sarasota Under the Clouds

This is a long exposure of Sarasota under the clouds. It was midday and I used filters that allowed me to keep the shutter open for over a minute. As a result you begin to see their movement as they rise up with the intense energy of the Florida sun. I love to observe clouds and this technique allows me to capture their movement.

Daily Image

Below is a flat perspective of the Sarasota skyline. The main downtown area is on the right. It’s not a big city per se, but big enough to have a lot of restaurants, an arts scene and a mini building boom. And of course we can’t forget the beaches, some of the best in the world. But I digress, I like putting things in perspective and to do that I take a step back, metaphorically and physically.

sky images from the gallery

This image is part of a reoccurring theme, let’s call it the open spaces theme. Often we don’t think of cities as having much in the way of open spaces. But if you look above the buildings you’ll notice there is all kinds of space. We are so oriented to the two dimensions of a flat earth, but really there is so much more above our heads, And when we take that into account there is a larger perspective that we easily miss. For a visual medium such as photography, using the open spaces above brings a different perspective we don’t always consider.

September 15, 2016September 15, 2016

Star Princess

As we were sailing out of Skagway the Star Princess remained parallel to ours for about thirty minutes. The straight is not that wide and the sight of two massive ships in the light of dusk silently passing through must have been quite the thing. Only these areas are uninhabited save for the wildlife, so we were unnoticed save for the eagles sitting on treetops.

Daily Image

There were four or five cruise ships in Skagway that day, I believe this is the same one I posted a picture of earlier. It’s hard to tell because in that picture I was standing next to it on the dock and it’s hard to get the full perspective up close.

The low light capabilities of the Sony A7RII allowed me to capture this at ISO4000. These kind of shots still amaze me when I think that just a few years when this type of shot was impossible. My preference is to shoot in low light, I prefer the moodiness of it.

Alaska images

My ship was Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas. I wonder if there was someone on the Princess ship watching our ship and taking a similar shot. If you’re out there somewhere let’s swap photos so we can see our own boat, eh?