Snell Isle Series - 002 - "Stormy Apartments HDR"

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens @ f/8 ISO 200 5-bracket HDRStorms have been rolling in like clockwork at 8pm for the past two weeks here in Snell Isle.  Instead of feeling anger at them for canceling outdoor plans, I thought I might as well photograph them.  I was only able to make the above shot before the rain started to fall.  I was out on a small dock facing the central courtyard feeling a bit exposed actually.  I am sure I will get another chance soon to photograph another Snell Isle storm!

Stormy in your area?

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Moon over The Pier in St. Petersburg HDR

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 3-bracket HDRAbout fifteen months ago, shortly after I returned to the U.S. from living abroad for nine years, I showed some of my work to an infinitely more experienced photographer.  They were mostly 11x14 prints of scenes from Japan.  I remembered one critique he gave of my photographs the most, "no portrait orientation."  Certain things really stick in my mind, and his critique was one such thing.  From the very next time I went out shooting his words echoed in my head and I did indeed begin to shoot in portrait orientation more.  

I read a blog post by another infinitely more experienced photographer that included a portrait orientation landscape.  I added that to my mental photography vault.

The culmination of those two things can be seen in the shot above:  a Florida landscape scene shot in portrait orientation.  

The Pier in downtown St. Petersburg is a very peculiar thing that is simultaneously the would-be centerpiece of the downtown and also the least liked attraction in the downtown area.  It is just so prominent a structure that no matter how common a photography subject I feel it is, I, myself, keep photographing it too!  

I often compose The Pier to be a small in the frame, and try to include an interesting sky, and fortunately this time, the moon also.  

What do you keep in your mental photography vault?  Do you show your work to an infinitely more experienced photographer?  Have they given you constructive critiques?  I believe to become a better photographer one must seek out such critiques and keep them in a handy place where they can be easily put to use the next time you go out shooting.  

Check your favorite shots from the past year, what percent are landscape orientation?  What percent are portrait orientation?

Jilted St. Petersburg Sailboat

Nikon D300 with Tamron XR Di II 17-50mm f/2.8 lens @ f/8 ISO 400 1/160th & SB-600 hotshoe mountedI felt bad for this sailboat.  It had broken its moorings and drifted into the shallows of the small harbor.  A storm capable of doing this had passed a few days earlier, so presumably the poor sailboat was in that tilted position for some time.  To me it was incomprehensible how its owners could allow it to lie in such an undignified position.  I thought on the spot they were unfit to own it.  I would gladly relieve them of their burden and spend my weekends traveling in the most green way possible, as well as the most peaceful and elemental way, by sail.  

I sailed once, years ago.  Sailing suits my way of making subtle adjustments and going by feel rather than rote rules.  My photography goes somewhat that same way as well.

What if this sailboat is still jilted next week?  Do I have a right to claim it?  No doubt I would treat it with much more respect and not just name it another one.

Nikon D300 with Tamron XR Di II 17-50mm f/2.8 lens @ f/8 ISO 400 1/160th & SB-600 hotshoe mounted

Organic Blueberry Picking at Big Bear Farms

Nikon D300 Nikkor AF-S 105mm VR micro f/2.8G @ f/11 ISO 200 1/160th SB-600 hotshoe mounted in TTL mode

I had no idea blueberries had an opening in them at one end.  This is the kind of thing you can learn when you get out and obtain your own food.  Big Bear Farms in Plant City, Florida is not what I expected.  No silo, no big red barn, just a lot of plants in large blue tubs.  The blueberry bushes were not even planted in the ground!  This was a bit upsetting to me at first.  Even though Big Bear is a certified organic farm, it seemed a bit artificial to not even have the bushes in the ground, but maybe that is the only way to obtain organic certification in that area?  

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 9-bracket HDR tripod mountedOnce you obtain your bucket from the main office, you are entirely left to your own devices and no doubt the honor system for picking your blueberries.  The farmer said you can eat some to test them out.  I ate about 15 or so right off the bush.  My picking method at first was very methodical and zen like.  I searched carefully and without haste.  I also had ten pounds of camera, lens and speedlight hanging off my neck in full on Florida afternoon heat, so such circumstances do not lend toward fast movement anyway!  

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/250th SB-600 on light stand to left in TTL mode, camera on tripod

The current rate for blueberries was $11 a pound.  We took home $20 worth and they were all eaten right from the bag in just a couple of days.  It was a very good experience.  I liked spending time in the countryside harvesting, and the photography opportunities were pretty good too, from insect macros, to HDR landscapes to fruit macros.

Be sure and call ahead as blueberries are only available in certain seasons.  The farm has other berries as well.  

• Big Bear Farms -- 813-986-1152

Sunny Florida at f/11 project #05 - Algiers Beach Sanibel Island

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 5-bracket HDR (handheld, breaking rules yet again)

Sanibel Island has a number of dog friendly beaches, the above Algiers Beach being one of them.  So after nearly two hours of running and swimming and skimboarding with Kiki, I just plopped down on this soft grass growing at the far edge of the beach with my Nikon D300 and relaxed a bit, and of course also made this HDR photograph to continue my summer long Sunny Florida f/11 project.  Shooting while lying on my stomach on the ground is one of my favorites ways to shoot, and one of my favorite perspectives to shoot from.  First, it is really comfortable because you are lying down.  Second, you can hold your camera really steadily with both elbows planted on the ground.  Third, not many people are willing to get down and dirty like this so you can come away with a unique view of an often photographed place/scene/subject.  

I left some of the highlights blown out on purpose as I thought it added a bit of style to the shot.  Coincidentally, Scott Bourne wrote a blog post yesterday about it being ok to blow out highlights if it is something you wanted to do in your shot.  I will admit it made me feel better about doing so, as traditionally you can get criticized for blowing out highlights.  

I am still not finding the shot I had long envisioned for this series.  I will not describe that vision here, as I will continue to look for it myself, holding out hope that such a scene even exists in Florida.  My Florida imagination may have become too infused with Thai beach memories.

INFORMATION ABOUT ALGIERS BEACH: 

• Algiers Lane, Sanibel, Florida 
• 239-472-6477
• dog friendly means dogs must remain on a leash 

Snell Isle Series - 001 - "Eyebrow Cloud Sunset HDR"

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 9-bracket HDRThough I live in one of the nicer areas of St. Petersburg, I have photographed it very little in the 14 months I have lived here.  So this gave me an idea for another photography series simply titled Snell Isle Series.  The photographs I have made, like the one above, have mostly been from the area behind my back patio.  In fact I have made similar shots to this one in the past (a, b, c).

So now I plan on taking more than ten steps to photograph Snell Isle.  I am looking forward to going to this personal photography project taking me to local areas I might never visit otherwise.  I may even do a lot of shooting by bike as I can be more mobile that way and less hesitant to stop the car to get a shot, I can just hop out of the saddle.  

From May through July the sunsets over Smacks Bayou can be pretty outstanding.  I definitely feel lucky to be able to gaze upon them every evening, but then luck has little to do with it as I always try and choose a place to live that has a sunset view from it.  I last lived in Tokyo for six years before moving back to Florida, and in Tokyo I had exceptional views of the sunset over the western part of the city year round.  

I look forward to continuing this series and making it as diverse as possible.

Sunny Florida at f/11 project #04 - Fossil Lake Park

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 3-bracket HDR handheld (breaking my own rules again!)Continuing what I have now determined will be a summer long project, the latest entry in my own personal photography project -- Sunny Florida at F/11 is an impromptu HDR shot of Fossil Lake Park.  I had heard of this park for a long time, and driven by it several times only glancing its baseball fields.  When I first heard that St. Petersburg had a "fossil park" I obviously thought it was something like the San Andreas Tar Pits, a place I imagine to have dinosaur bones just lying around in the open!  

However, there were no fossils or even bones of any kind, unfortunately.  I would not even think the park old enough to even begin decaying a banana peel, sadly.  

Still, disappointment at not being able to finally realize my boyhood dream of paleontology work aside, it was a surprisingly nice park for what it is, a small oasis in the middle of a not so green area of central St. Petersburg.  There was decent wildlife with strange ducks, turtles and bluejays among other creatures.  Basically, it's a decent place for a 15 minutes or so stroll.