Fine Art

Seashells in Black & White Macro fine art images

in , ,

Nature's spiral black & white seashell macro image - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/32 ISO 200 2.5s tripod mounted with cable release Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power in 42" brolly to frame left using Yongnuo radio triggersPhotography is mostly about observing.  To be a good observer, I believe one needs to practice silence in mind and body.  The seashells featured in this photo story would not found along a quiet beach where I was taking a contemplative stroll.  They were, in fact, found in the middle of the chaos of my neighborhood dog park, but since my mind was silent, I was able to observe them.

This seashell reminds me of an anklyosaurus - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/22 ISO 200 1.6 sec tripod mounted with cable release Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power in 42" brolly to frame left using Yongnuo radio triggersBy the newly installed water station there is a ring of seashells, not crushed, but small and mostly whole.  As I pushed the nozzle to let Kiki drink, I observed this unusual fact.  Mostly one finds crushed seashells used in landscaping purposes so to see a bed of intact seashells surprised me.  You have to bend over quite a bit to trigger the water flow allowing me to notice the details in the shells.  I thought to myself, "I will take a few home to make macro photographs of."

Into a cavern of a seashell opening - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/22 ISO 200 1.6 sec tripod mounted with cable release Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power in 42" brolly to frame left using Yongnuo radio triggersIt fascinates me to think that such objects once resided untold miles away at untold depths in the sea.  Where were they from?  How old are they?  Of all places they end up in a dog park, albeit one very close to the sea.  In fact, you can see a part of Tampa Bay from the park.  Now these seashells have journeyed a few more miles to inside my apartment.  They have felt air conditioning.  However, I shall return them shortly to the dog park and their water fountain resting place.  

How did you get cracked seashell? Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/32 ISO 200 2.5 sec tripod mounted with cable release Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power in 42" brolly to frame left using Yongnuo radio triggersPHOTOGRAPHY TIP:  always be observing, and you will always be improving your photography

Wide Panorama of Pass-A-Grille Beach St. Petersburg Florida Fine Art Photography

in

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.

St. Petersburg Downtown Waterfront Skyline at Twilight

in ,

St. Petersburg Florida waterfront at Twilight, this image available for fine art print & commercial license - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 10 sec tripod mounted with cable releaseThe waterfront of St. Petersburg, Florida is home to the third largest continuous waterfront park in North America (behind Vancouver and Chicago).  This is why at the very edge where the city meets Tampa Bay as viewed from the water the first thing you will see are trees.  This long park system is my favorite part of the entire city.  

I made this photograph from a secret-ish spot on The Pier allowing for a low near water-level viewpoint of the St. Petersburg skyline.  The ten second exposure allowed for some motion blur on the surface of the water and for pulling out the last remaining light in the twilight sky. 

Two heads are better than one - Florida Pelican Fine Art Photography

in ,

quizzical brown pelican - Florida Fine Art Photography - Nikon D300 Nikkor AF-S 105mm VR micro f/2.8G lens @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/160thThe many brown pelicans that make St. Petersburg home are a frequent photography subject of mine.  These birds are often very approachable, allowing one to look deep into the bird's eye, a rare human-non-human-animal close-up encounter.  I am always curious what animals are thinking.  Since they supposedly have a much different perception of time, how does this affect how they think?  If pelicans cannot think of the far future and who knows how far back their memories of past events go, what occupies their minds?  Perhaps nothing enabling them to live in a blissful present?  I often get the impression pelicans look upon humans with contempt, "go on with your life and quite gawking at me," I imagine them saying.  Are humans the only animals that feel wonder toward other animals?  Does a pelican look upon a great blue heron and think it is beautiful or merely a competitor for food?

unimpressed brown pelican - St. Petersburg Fine Art Photography - Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens @ f/4 ISO 200 1/1250th


New Salvador Dali Museum at Twilight with Moon

in

Moonrise of a purple twilight at the new Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL -- this image available as fine art print & commercial license -- f/8 ISO 200 7-bracket HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseThe new Salvador Dali Museum is situated in an ideal direction for night time photography as its most notable feature, the glass wave, faces due east.  This allows for the setting Florida sun to backlight the museum, which this time resulted in a reddish-purple sky.  The extended hours on Thursday evenings allow for the lights to come on inside the museum resulting in the image seen above.  In addition, the moon was rising and waxing just enough to be visible in the early twilight.

Looking east on the north side of the Dali Museum - f/8 ISO 200 7-bracket HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseThe view to the east in the evening offers an infinite gradient of blue until clouds hover on the horizon.  There are almost an infinite number of ways one can photograph the palm trees reflected in the glass wave as well.

Cyon? Egg? Hive? or other? - new Dali Museum glass wave at twilight with moon - f/8 ISO 200 7-bracket HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseIf you are looking for an outstanding new location to make photographs in the Tampa Bay area, I highly recommend visiting the Dali Museum with your DSLR and tripod on an evening very soon.   

  • Read more fine art photo stories
  • View more hdr images
  • Inquire about purchasing prints and image licenses 

    • Sailboat reflections in St. Petersburg downtown harbor HDR

    in

    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

    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.  

  • Read more fine art photo stories
  • View more hdr images
  • Inquire about purchasing prints and image licenses

    • Palm Tree Horizon Twilight Pink to Blue Fine Art Photograph St Petersburg Florida

    in

    A low angle view of The Pier with a palm tree horizon & pink to blue twilight sky - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens @ f/11 ISO 200 1/60th mounted on Induro CT214 tripod with Nikon MC-30 cable release

    The most interesting period of the 24 hours we call a day, for me, is the transition from day to night.  Surprisingly, this is something that can be captured in a photograph.  The blue sky of day first turns pink (as seen above) in twlight before sinking to complete black at night.  What if the Earth always faced the sun as the Moon always faces the Earth?  What type of creatures would have evolved on a world with constant sunlight?  Everything on Earth is so cyclical.  I wonder about a world where everything is constant.