Me and Kiki huddling in the shade in the middle of the Jay B Starkey Wilderness Park desert - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th self-timer camera on groundSeeking a desert, Kiki and I returned to Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park which has long trails made up of sandy fire roads with little tree cover.  Why seek a desert?  Because yesterday I heard America's "Horse With No Name" and it became the theme for today's outdoors adventure.  There were other reasons for seeking a desert too, but those are more omnipresent and need not be singled out.  Our first visit to this park was back in November of 2009, and based on the lead image of that post and the one below, you can see how my HDR technique has improved in the past three years (no more ghosting!).  

Most of the 3-mile Loop Trail of Jay B Starkey Wilderness Park is desolate - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 3-exposure HDR handheldWandering for 5-miles (including the beginning 1.9 mile loop) in mostly desert trails with the strong Florida sun beating down on you may not sound that appealing, but it is exceptionally good for producing clarity of mind, if not clarity of photographs.  I cannot speak for Kiki, but the desolate trails provided exactly the environment I wished to be in.  We saw not a single human our entire time out there.  If you do not count the countless ants and flying insects, and the two birds' shadows I saw fly by (I did not use the energy to lift my head toward the sun to see them), then the only creature we encountered was a friendly gopher tortoise, who kindly yielded the right-of-way to us.  I am fascinated by the mechanical movement of tortoises and how they can withdraw from the world anywhere they want to.  I did not stop to photograph him, because in the desert you risk forgetting even your own name.  Indeed we took refuge for awhile at the max point out in the desert under a very well placed roofed picnic table (top image).  Kiki dug a hole to cool off in as I took a few photos.  Once she had sufficiently ceased panting, we continued on, though I know shade break or not, we were good for more miles.

I did not touch this tree - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 3-exposure HDR handheldOnce back in the corral area, I chomped on a few crackers and Kiki a dog biscuit, and we both took water.  Just as we arrived back I noticed off to the side a very peculiar tree.  I saw none in such condition anywhere else in the park, not even in the middle of the desert trail where one would think such a tree would be found.  This scary tree was right next to the campground (see blue tent).  I would not want to get the campsite within eyeshot of it.

It was a good visit to Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park and if you do go make sure it is as early as possible to avoid the hot Florida sun, bring lots of water as there is none on site for humans and prepare to cross a desert.

J.B. Starkey Wilderness Park:

• 10500 Wilderness Park Boulevard
  New Port Richey, FL 34655
  
• hours sunrise to sunset
• dogs ok!
• camping - car, primitive & backcountry

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Sailboat masts in downtown St. Petersburg Florida marina - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 9-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseMy goal when making this photograph was to just show the part of the sailboat that inspires dreams.  A sailboat docked in a marina is not going anywhere, so the collection of hulls is not the part I find inspiring.  My eyes focused on the masts and in particular the long row of masts, allowing one to pick out their own particular sailboat to build a dream on.

This composition also utilized repeating patterns and leading lines.  I chose HDR for the exposure so that detail could be seen in the masts as well as the background sky maximizing the color gradient as twilight approached.

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Super Moon or Perigree Moon May 5, 2012 over Smacks Bayou St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/8 ISO 200 5-exposure HDR mounted on Induro CT214 tripod with cable releaseWhat is sure to be one of the most photographed subjects of the year is the so-called Super Moon or Perigree Moon that rose in the twilight sky tonight on May 5, 2012.  Luckily for me I had a good vantage point of the Super Moon right from my back patio allowing me to make the HDR image above.  I chose to center the moon between two palm trees.  Uncharacteristically, I did not try any other compositions, so I hope I wake up tomorrow still liking how I framed this shot and not regretting trying a simpler framing!

Did you photograph the super moon tonight?  

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Sunset through the trees in Vinoy Park St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 9-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseVinoy Park is my favorite spot in all of downtown St. Petersburg.  It juts out offering panoramic views of the downtown skyline and also The Pier and Tampa Bay too.  It is the best public place to watch the sunset in the area also, well, maybe the top of The Pier is just as good.  I am always looking for different perspectives, trying not to just use my own eye level for composing shots.  For this one I closed the legs of my tripod so that I was shooting just from about a foot off the ground.  This also allowed me to get the sun right under the tree's lowest branch.

• Photography Tip:  Use your tripod at its lowest height, or lay on your stomach if no tripod required for a unique, low perspective.

Marina view from Vinoy Park St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 9-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseMoving in front of the tree in the lead photo reveals a marina, on the far right Vinoy Renaissance Hotel and in the center 400 Beach Drive tower.  There are benches to sit on to enjoy this view.  I cannot imagine there are many sunsets they go unused.

North Straub Park in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 9-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseAll along the downtown St. Petersburg area are parks like North Straub Park above that offer quiet places to sit and enjoy the green environment that city developers very wisely preserved.  It is these parks that in my opinioin make St. Petersburg the most beautiful area to live in all of Tampa Bay.  

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The two famous banyan trees on Beach Drive in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 9-exposure HDR on tripod with cable releaseThere are banyan trees throughout the downtown St. Petersburg area and nearby surrounding areas, but no banyans are as famous or more photographed than the two trees above located right on Beach Drive NE.  As large as they are, they always seem to appear all of a sudden to passersby who often audibly gasp upon seeing them.

I first photographed banyan trees in the St. Petersburg downtown area back in August 2011 when walking back to my car after a meeting I passed by this pair.  

Photographing the famous Beach Drive NE banyan trees is rather challenging.  Their large branches and wide trunks create deep shadows and on one side of them is always a row of parked cars not making for the greatest background.  The angle of composition I chose was the only one I could find that included almost no man-made objects in the shot.  I used my Induro CT214 tripod with all the legs collapsed, shooting from just about a foot of the ground.  I chose to make a 9-exposure HDR image in order to get detail from within the trunk shadows as well as in the bright sky above.

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