The sunrise dawn sky over Smacks Bayou as seen from my back patio - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/60th handheld 

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 Every morning I am outside, briefly around 6:30am.  It is almost like clockwork, but it is not my clock that keeps this schedule, rather it is Kiki's.  She wants to go out to pee then quickly come back inside to eat breakfast, then we both go back to sleep until a more sane time to fully wake up.  At this time of year (April) this morning ritual coincides with late dawn just before the actual sunrise.  In the approximate 2-minutes we are outside I usually look at the horizon through not quite wet enough contacts and note what color can be found in the sky this particular morning.

Yesterday the water of Smacks Bayou was particularly calm producing a fairly clean reflection.  My senses were of course not fully functioning, but after feeding Kiki her breakfast I did go back out to make a few handheld photos of the above scene.  I should have been using a tripod of course, but I did not have the ambition or coordination at that moment to fumble with putting on the tripod plate, etc.  I think what I will do to remedy this is already have my camera mounted on my tripod before I go to bed, so should the dawn sky be particularly beautiful, all I have to do is step outside, compose and click the cable release letting the gear do most of the work for me.  

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The marina across from the Vinoy Hotel sailboat reflections - Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens @ f/11 ISO 200 3-bracket HDR handheld

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One day I will have to go out and make fine art photographs like this on purpose, as this one was made while teaching a DSLR Photography Lesson.  I noticed the sailboats' masts reflecting in the water and thought this makes this spot look much more interesting than the other 198 times I have seen and walked by it.  I normally do not center the horizon so much in the frame, but for certain reflection shots it works.  I left the top of the sky and did not crop right to the top of the masts to let the sky itself have more of a place in the photograph instead of only featuring the boats themselves.  

Taking three bracketed shots and using HDR processing allowed for a much more colorful and detailed image than the single exposure photo I took first.  I liked the scene, but I recognized that a single exposure may only leave me with a black & white choice for a final image, whereas also taking bracketed shots for HDR gave me an additional option to pick from once I returned home and looked at the photos on my 24" monitor.  

Commercial Wedding Photography on historic tile floor at Courtyard Marriott -- SETUP: f/5.6 1/80th ISO 400 STROBIST: SB-800 @ 1/2 power with shoot-through umbrella on light stand 9' high behind model & SB-600 @ 1/4 power with diffuser cap to frame right held by assistantThis was my most complex indoor shoot to date involving two models, two makeup artists, a dress designer, a florist, a caterer, a hotel sales manger and one photographer's assistant.  I am very happy to say it turned out to be perhaps my best indoor photography work to date.  It is very satisfying when a big team effort results in such final images.  

I had worked with the bride model, Nancy, before on a commercial fashion shoot in Safety Harbor.  The sales manager, Ryan, of the Courtyard Marriott, who hired me to makes these images, I had met in weeks past at a networking event then in subsequent meetings discussing various photography projects.  My photographer's assistant was Natasha, a former DSLR Photography Lesson student.  When you can have that many people you already know on a photo job, it makes it much more comfortable.

The above shot of Nancy sitting on the historic tile floor of the hotel was my idea, which I came up with on a survey of the hotel a few weeks before the shoot itself.  I am standing on a marble staircase (pictured below) offering the perfect logistics to make this kind of shot.  I wanted to go with a muted light setup producing a bit of a natural vignette to the image as I chose to most prominently light the model in the center.

 St. Petersburg Commercial Wedding Photography - Models Brad & Nancy framed by arching historic doorways - SETUP: f/4 ISO 200 1/60th STROBIST: SB-800 @ 1/4 power with reflective umbrella on light stand to frame left & SB-600 @ 1/4 power with diffuser cap to frame right held by assistantThis archway shot was another I had previsioned during a location scout of the hotel.  I really like repeating patterns and these archways caught my eye right away.  There were actually three arches, but the first one could not be worked into the shot.  This photograph turned out just as I had imagined.  

St. Petersburg Commercial Wedding Photography - Nancy reflected in the swimming pool - SETUP: f/5.6 ISO 200 1/100th STROBIST: SB-800 @ 1/2 power with shoot-through umbrella on light stand to frame left & SB-600 @ 1/2 power with diffuser cap to frame right held by assistantThe bride reflected in the pool was another pre-planned shot.  As you might be able to tell, being able to scout a location some time before the scheduled shoot is advantageous as one then can move from location to location and concentrate more on executing the shot at best as possible rather than where will the next shot even be.  Again, I am pleased with how the shot turned out because due to the width of the pool I could not get my speedlights that close to Nancy, but as it turned out there was no lack of light for the shot.

St. Petersburg Commercial Wedding Photography - Models Brad & Nancy on the historic marble staircase - SETUP: f/4 ISO 400 1/100th STROBIST: SB-800 @ 1/2 power with shoot-through umbrella on light stand 9' high behind me & SB-600 @ 1/4 power with diffuser cap to frame right held by assistantThe original marble staircase was something the hotel sales manager definitely wanted to showcase in one of the shots.  I previsioned perhaps the bride walking down the staircase or maybe the bride on the bottom of the staircase being helped down by the groom, but thanks to the models' creativity with their posing, I liked this shot the best of the staircase series.  I cannot say how much it helps a photographer to work with great models!  It makes my job so much easier.

St. Petersburg Commercial Wedding Photography - Models Brad & Nancy facing the original hotel elevator - SETUP: f/5.6 ISO 400 1/80th STROBIST: SB-800 @ 1/2 power with shoot-through umbrella on light stand 9' high behind models & SB-600 @ 1/4 power with diffuser cap to frame right held by assistant

To feature the hotel's original elevator I chose to once again use the nearby marble staircase as a vantage point.  Shooting straight on to the elevator produced a flat shot.  I felt shooting from above like this created a dynamic image showing the bride & groom's anticipation, while at the same time including the elevator in the shot, as well as the original tile floor.  I chose also to again keep the lighting soft & muted, to help create that classic look.

St. Petersburg Commercial Wedding Photography - carrying the bride over the threshold - SETUP: f/5.6 ISO 400 1/80th STROBIST: SB-800 @ 1/4 power with shoot-through umbrella on light stand to frame left & SB-600 @ 1/8th power with diffuser cap pointed at back hallway wall handheld by assistant

There was no trouble to light up the models from the front (within the room), but this meant the hallway looked very dark.  The solution was to place one speedlight on the left of the door frame pointing toward the opposite wall.  Not only did this fill the hallway with light, it provided a strong backlight to the shot.  

St. Petersburg Commercial Wedding Photography - models using their own creativity - SETUP: f/4 ISO 400 1/100th STROBIST: SB-800 @ 1/2 power with shoot-through umbrella on light stand @ 1/4 power in bedroom to the right & SB-600 @ 1/16th power with diffuser cap to frame left directly on the floor pointing straight up Both Nancy and I had the same idea for a through the doorway bedroom scene shot.  However, her and Brad came up with the pose and prop setup (shoe placement, jacket coming half off) on their own, which I would say made the shot nearly entirely if not for the tremendous challenge I had trying to light everything.  It was by far the hardest shot to light for me ever.  Getting rid of shadows behind Brad was the main challenge.  Putting the second speedlight on the floor behind him solved it, after lots of trial and error.  Ultimately I did have to clone out one shadow along the right side of the bed from umbrella edge spill.  This was also the last shot of the day (3.5 hours of straight shooting!) so it was great to end on one so challenging.

I appreciate the work of everyone at the hotel that day helping make the images in this photo story.

Models: 

• Nancy Beverly website
• Brad Slaughter website 

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Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/8 ISO 200 13sec tripod mounted (knee high) with cable releaseI first saw the winter solstice moon as I was driving home from the dog park with Kiki.  It looked very large in the sky rising over the tower of the Vinoy Golf & Country Club.  I knew as a photographer this was something I should photograph.  I quickly fed Kiki dinner (Taste of the Wild dry dog food) then got my Nikon D300 ready for long exposure shooting, i.e. attach the cable release and mount it on the tripod.

I was in time as there was still some light left in the fading twilight sky.  Without this light my shot would not have turned out as colorful.  The water of Smacks Bayou was very uncharacteristically like glass, but even the slight water movement can be seen in the shape of the moon's oblong reflection.  

Did you photograph the winter solstice moon?  If so, please share your links in the comments below.

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2009 was the year I really got into HDR photography -- Colt Creek State Park in summer

5 - Colt Creek State Park - category: HDR

Not too long ago I did not like HDR photography at all.  Today, I love it and will have an HDR image in a collective retrospective exhibition of historical photographs of Saint Petersburg.  This HDR image of wetlands in Colt Creek State Park is one of my top five favorites of 2009 because I felt this park was an overlooked if not ignored state park.  It is a fairly new state park, only a couple years old.  I could almost feel the lack of photographs taken at this park, which is a shame as the wetlands were expansive and white ibis and other water birds flew in and out of them in flocks.  Someday I will return to this park and camp there in order to photograph it at sunrise.

I photographed my first wedding in 2009 and learned it is not all stuffy formal photos.

4 - The Ring Bearer Makes a Point - category: Wedding

2009 marked my debut as a wedding photographer.  Wedding photography could not be more different than I imagined.  Maybe I have just been lucky, but all the weddings I have photographed have been fun, tension free experiences.  This candid image made in between the formal shots made this list because of the moment it froze and the smiles on their faces.  This is the epitome of my candid style of photography and the types of things I am constantly searching for when photographing a wedding, event or any other gathering of people.

I still feel bad about running over this alligator in my kayak, sorry again dude!

3 - Eye to Eye with an Alligator  - category: Wildlife

This alligator photograph makes this list for a variety of reasons:  the long story behind the shot, my first time to really photograph an alligator, my first time to make any photograph from a kayak, and my first real foray into true wildlife photography.  The long story behind this shot can be read here.  After literally driving by the exit for Myakka River State Park on I-75 160 times, 2009 was the year I finally turned off the highway and got out of my car and into a kayak!  Floating added to the technical challenge of making this photograph, as was having to steady my hands on the camera knowing I was only a few feet away from this sizable alligator in his (her?) natural element, i.e. water.  However, being in the kayak allowed me to get to eye level with this alligator and having the sun to my back allowed me to get this exposure in the harsh Florida sun.  The experience of making this photograph was the only one that has ever made my heart race.  I cannot wait to shoot from a kayak again!

Six years living in Japan allowed me some unique photography opportunities.

2 - Four Come of Age in Vivid Kimonos  - category: Culture/Japan

A friend still living in Japan recently remarked how it is almost cliche to photograph young Japanese girls on Coming of Age Day in their kimonos.  This was not really in my mind last January when I was still living in Japan and fighting the crowds to enter Meiji Jingu Shrine.  However, upon seeing the dozens and dozens of photographers (at least guys with very expensive photo gear) shooting like it was the red carpet at the Oscars, I started to think I am really going to have to dig deep to produce a standout shot, and not just standout from what others are shooting, but to be a shot that standouts to me personally, as ultimately I really only shoot for pleasing myself in these situations.  By not including the girls' heads in the shot, I thought I could put the focus on their kimono, and make an image that years later will make me think, "who were these girls?"  

A true candid portrait, made at pretty much my favorite spot on Earth.

1 - On Treasure Island You Can Meet Your Other Self*  - category: Candid Portrait

I differentiate myself from other photographers in the Tampa Bay area by promoting my candid style.  I do not think I will ever be able to make a photograph that illustrates what a candid portrait means to me more than the one above.  This portrait of a boy placing his palms on the shore, closing his eyes, thinking/imagining, and unknowingly making a reflection of himself is a true candid.  He was off playing by himself while I was a distance away, when I noticed he was making a reflection in the wet sand.  I bent my knees to get near his eye level, steadying my 80-200mm lens in my hands, and that's when he went into this symmetrical stance.  I pushed the shutter and made my favorite photograph of 2009.

*This photograph was critiqued by Scott Bourne himself.