Entries in beach (37)
Wide Panorama of Pass-A-Grille Beach St. Petersburg Florida Fine Art Photography
Friday, March 23, 2012 at 2:48PM Jason Collin 
Click for 2000px version - 5 shot panorama of Pass-A-Grille Beach St. Petersburg Florida available for commercial license & fine art printOn the same stormy evening I photographed the kiteboarder out on Pass-A-Grille Beach I made this 5-shot panorama of the beach as empty as you will ever see it. This shot was made handheld which is surprisingly not hard to keep aligned if you have a grid view inside your DSLR's viewfinder. I put the lower third of the gridline in the viewfinder straight on the horizon allowing me to make the shot without the tripod. What I had to watch for was leaving enough overlap (about 1/3 of a frame) so that Photoshop could work its stitching magic with its Photomerge automation.
Pass-A-Grille Beach is one of my favorite spots in all of Tampa Bay as it represents the very tip of the main Gulf Blvd beaches in Pinellas County. It definitely has a "land's end" feel to it, especially at a time like this after a storm at twilight.
Treasure Island Sunset Beach St. Petersburg Florida - why we live here
Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 4:15PM Jason Collin 
Sunset Beach, Treasure Island, St. Petersburg, Florida - my favorite beach - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 2 sec tripod mounted with cable releaseIt seems to me Florida is a very specific place to live. It is warm and its extremely long coastline is all beach. These two things are why we live here. Being a specific place to live, it lacks certain things, most notably mountains and four seasons. Instead of mountain views there are amazing sunset and twilight sky views that fluctuate in color throughout the year. Intesad of four seasons there are essentially two, the humidity season (April through September) and the dry air season (October through March).
I value being able to go swimming at the beach in February. I like wearing shorts 362 out of 365 days per year. I pay a price in sweat for those things though. Therefore, in the remaining days of the dry air season, I savor each one, like today.
Why do you live in Florida?
Gulf of Mexico, Sunset Beach, Treasure Island, beach, sky, twilight in Photo Story Kiteboarding at Pass-A-Grille Beach Florida in Stormy Skies
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 3:13PM Jason Collin 
Kiteboarding at Pass-A-Grille Beach Florida - unusual settings needed - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/2.8 ISO 800 1/500thPass-A-Grille Beach exists at the very southern end of all the gulf beaches of Pinellas County on Gulf Blvd. It is a quiet place, especially in February. It is a very quiet place in February just after a storm passes by. The length of the sandy beach was empty. The only other human around was floating out above the water kiteboarding under stormy skies.
Kiteboarder floating over Pass-A-Grille Beach Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/2.8 ISO 800 1/500thAs is usual when walking around with my DSLR, I had only one lens with me. I knew before I left the house the types of photographs I wanted to make, so I brought the appropriate lens for that job, my Tamron XR Di II 17-50mm f/2.8 lens. However, this meant when I saw the kiteboarder I could only make wide sweeping shots in which the kiteboarder himself appeared but as a speck. I felt limited by that then, but now I realize I would not have wanted to make the shots any other way because the story of these shots was largely in the storm itself. Showing the kiteboarder in the context of the weather was more dramatic than if I had made tight actions shots of him in flat light.
Kiteboarder zooming against the wind at Pass-A-Grille Beach FloridaIf you are looking for a quiet place to just "be," then I highly recommend Pass-A-Grille Beach for its forgottenness, it's end of the land feeling and for its sweeping views of the Gulf. If you go there in winter, after a storm, you might see someone with a dog and a camera passing you by.
Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Pass-A-Grille, beach, kiteboarding, stormy skies in Photo Story, Sports Florida beach bikini model commercial photography
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 3:22PM Jason Collin 
Model: Monica Location: Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/2.8 ISO 200 1/3200th
If you are looking for a place to warm up this winter, Sunset Beach on Treasure Island, St. Petersburg, Florida is a great choice. In this collection of natural light photographs bikini model Monica makes a strong case for Florida tourism if not out right relocation!
Model: Monica Location: Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/2.8 ISO 200 1/2000thOne does not swim in the ocean on the west coast of Florida, but rather the Gulf of Mexico. This means much warmer water year round as well as calm conditions out on the water. Dolphins are a common sight. In the above photograph Monica emerges from the Gulf in dramatic fashion.
Model: Monica Location: Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/2.8 ISO 200 1/2000thThose warm and calm conditions also make Florida's gulfcoast beaches ideal places to put your beach towel down on the white sand and just enjoy the tranquility. The end to most days on the gulfcoast is punctuated with a fantastic sunset like the one Monica is watching above.
Model: Monica Location: Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/2.8 ISO 200 1/1250thIf you live in a cold place and have to suffer through a harsh winter, well then I hope these images have helped to warm you up a little and that you visit Florida to thaw out on your winter vacation. Be sure and contact me for great Florida beach portraits while you are here.
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Candid Family Beach Portraits Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida
Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 4:14PM Jason Collin 
Juliana & family on Sunset Beach Treasure Island St. Petersburg - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 to frame rightRESERVE CANDID FAMILY BEACH PHOTOGRAPHY IN VIVID COLOR FOR YOUR FAMILY TODAY!
It was very nice to see Juliana and her family again after having first met them last year when I photographed her 7th Birthday Party. At that time she was missing most of her front teeth, but this year her smile was brighter than ever. Mother Nature provided yet another stunning Florida sunset of the Gulf of Mexico to be our background for our candid family beach portrait session.
Juliana & a sand dollar - Sunset Beach Florida - Nikon D300 with Nikkor 50mm @ f/2.8 ISO 200 1/1600th natural lightWhen we first arrived at my preferred spot on Sunset Beach, Treasure Island Juliana found half of a sand dollar on the beach. Soon after she found the other half. That seemed like good luck to me so I thought the sand dollar halves should be in one of our photos. When you shoot in good natural light, as you can see, there is not even need for fill flash.
"Avant Garde" Father Daughter Beach Portrait - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 to frame rightJuliana and her father had kind of just wandered into these positions between shots. It caught my eye and I scrambled to get my lights in position to light both Juliana (far in the background) and her father (large in the foreground) before they could move. In the end I asked Juliana to look at the lens to produce the final image above.
Father & Daughter Candid Family Beach Portrait - Nikon D80 with Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/320th natural lightI hope these photographs serve to illustrate that not every family beach portrait session attire needs to be white shirts and blue jeans. I suggested that Juliana and her family wear what clothes they feel they look their best in, although I think Juliana's mom had final word on her wearing that dress since she told me that was not how she dressed every day.
Each with their own style - candid family beach portrait - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 to frame rightI always like there to be some clouds in the sky at sunset time as they add interest to the background by reflecting the rays of the setting sun. I once heard, "a cloudless sky is the enemy of the landscape photographer." I would not say that for beach portraits, but for sure I prefer clouds over no clouds.
Candid little girl beach portrait - Sunset Beach Florida - Nikon D300 with Nikkor 50mm @ f/2.8 ISO 200 1/1600th natural lightI like to let kids do what they like during a candid portrait session as they are the types of photographs I like to make best myself. The feeling when shooting is totally different too. There is a certain tension in a photographer's mind that arises when having to position people for a shot, rather than the photographer moving about the subject freely shooting when instinct says so.
Letting the setting sun dominate this family beach portrait - Nikon D80 with Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/2 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/2 to frame rightFor the above type of shot one of course needs to use manual mode to make the exposure do what you want as aperture priority or shutter priority modes would not allow one to get the results as seen. Radio triggers for one's strobes are necessary too as I was shooting with a long lens not nearly close enough for Nikon's built in Commander Mode triggering method.
Juliana is a natural model - Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 to frame rightJuliana is a natural model. The above pose was just one of like five she went in and out of in succession. It was hard to keep up! Of course when the subject feels comfortable in front of the lens and knows how to best position themselves, then it just makes the photographer's job all that easier allowing for more concentration on the creative part of photography. Also, you can see that I pretty much settled on f/8 ISO 200 1/100th for my strobist shots during this session. Once I get the settings I like dialed in, that also frees me to focus on just composition, etc.
Juliana as ballet dancer at twilight - Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/160th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 to frame rightThis was the final shot of the night that required a couple of takes, but Juliana did her part very well! I forgot to ask if she takes ballet lessons or not.
The first time I tried this staggered family positioning - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 to frame rightDuring this family beach portrait session I tried several new things, which is key to me, as I have done many of these types of shoots and I am always trying to avoid repeating myself looking to add if not entirely new shots at least variations. This time there were several totally new images, like the above staggered positioning from shore to water. It helps to have had a three person family. For sure at least having an odd number makes the composition work better.
The better you know the people you are photographing the easier it is to produce satisfying images. Therefore, it is not surprising that my second time photographing Juliana and her family was one of my all-time favorite family beach portrait sessions.
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