"SAVE OUR GULF" seaweed protest at Pass-A-Grille Beach Florida

BP protest sign made of seaweed on Pass-A-Grille Beach Florida

I was actually in the middle of photographing a wedding when I first noticed a raised mound of sand to my right with some words spelled out on it.  The bride and groom later walked past it allowing me to pause quickly (hence not getting the framing perfect) to make this photograph and finally read what it said:  

SAVE OUR GULF

The beaches of west-central Florida remain untainted by the BP oil spill due to I believe the direction of the currents in the Gulf.  Yet as I often have contact with beach side businesses like hotels and rental agencies via my beach wedding photography jobs, I have heard that despite our oil-free beaches here, business is down, especially for the hotels.  Thus, I can only imagine the hardships businesses that are actually on oil covered beaches must be experiencing right now.  A large portion of my photography livelihood is made on Pinellas County's beautiful sandy beaches.  If oil ever does make its way on shore here, myself, and all other beach photographers could take a hit.  Although I would be more worried about my local bird friends (as I wrote about here) and sea creature friends, as I can just shift my business more inland.  

My gut feeling is that BP does not want to permanently cap the well.  That it has and is still holding out hope to be able to cap it and still pump all the oil out of it and sell it despite the PR and stock price nightmare of the past 82 days.

Are there any protests to the BP oil spill on your local beaches or in your neighborhoods?  If so, please link to them in the comments.

Old Florida Trailer Black & White HDR

Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 9-bracket HDR on tripod

Montana might be called Big Sky Country, but one could not be blamed for thinking it was Florida's.  Half the state is utterly flat with a lack of tall buildings.  I saw this old trailer just sitting along the edge of a wide open field.  The large puffy clouds with dark bellies are typical of a spring, summer or fall Florida afternoon sky.  Such skies are one of the most beautiful features of Florida.  The ability to stand out in the open and have a 180 degree view, from one edge of the horizon to the other, tells me I am back in Florida, and it is good.  No barriers to thought under such skies, day, and especially night.  Many places in Florida give you clean and direct access to the Universe.  

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