Photo Story

Pelican vs. Great Blue Heron Sunset on Snell Isle Battle

in ,

brown pelican vs great blue heron - f/5.6 ISO 200 1/1000th

Two of the largest birds in Florida are the brown pelican and the great blue heron.  They are a common site around Snell Isle.  I have seen both and photographed both many times in the past, but I never caught them in semi-battle with each other.  This particular great blue heron often likes to stand on the edge of a small dock nearby.  I see him/her on my evening walks with Kiki.  This brown pelican too likes to frequent the water around here dive bombing in for a late dinner.

Well, this time the pelican was diving too close to the great blue heron and she/he got cranky and the showdown pictured above took place.  The pelican was determined to eat, the great blue heron was determined to hold her/his ground.  In the end, the pelican moved on and the great blue heron returned to his/her usual stoic stance.   

  • Read more photo stories
  • More nature & wildlife photography

    • Powered Paraglider Dreams St. Petersburg Commercial Photography

    in

    Powered Paragliding across Florida sky - f/4 ISO 200 1/400th manual exposure modeA few nights ago I dreamt I was hired by The Devil for a photography shoot.  He appeared as a small wall clock with large, comical eyes that turned red with anger when I taunted him about doing the shoot the way I wanted.  I knew somehow that The Devil could not touch me, unless, as it said, I dared go to a mirror and be so bold.  Freedom on the edge of danger.  That was the feeling.  I could be bold because I knew I could not be touched, and that I could escape at will.  

    When I look at this powered paraglider I imagine the feeling of Freedom on the edge of danger is what he could be feeling.  

    Another note about this photograph is that I made it in the middle of photographing a beach wedding.  My photography tip for this type of shot is to of course be focused on the shooting on hand, but not so much so that one becomes unaware of the surroundings and what opportune shots may present themselves.  

    Photography Tip - seeing a different reality - kapok silk-cotton tree

    in ,

    The famous kapok silk-cotton tree of downtown St. Petersburg in sepiaWhy did I make this photograph?  Because of the shadows the branches were burning into the ground.  That interested me.  As it was close to mid-day the shadows were vividly dark.  They appeared to me to be separate from the tree itself, not so much shadows, but rather an alternative existence for another kapok silk-cotton tree bordering two realities.  This I saw for just a moment in between a lot of other things, like teaching a DSLR Photography Lesson and cars passing by and people jostling past on the sidewalk and the sun uncomfortably heating my skin.

    The photography tip is this:  see a different reality

    My favorite artist is Van Gogh because he saw a different reality, not in his imagination, but through his normal eyes, or was his mind imaging what he say and his eyes believed it to be the reality of others?  Regardless, I believe he literally saw the world as he painted it.  When he looked at a night sky, it was all swirly.  Thus, his paintings are now masterpieces and hold the interest of millions.  If he had painted the sky exactly as it appears to look for most people, he would not be an artist of any significance.  

    Being able to see a different reality is an extremely valuable skill to any artist, to any photographer.  I believe these different realities are not constantly around us though, they exist only for a moment.  Take the above photo for example.  If I returned to that spot a few hours later, the alternative branch shadow reality would not be there.  

    To me an interesting artist/photographer skillfully and creatively shows others the different reality he/she sees on a daily basis.

    Pigeon dreams of being the black swan

    in

    Is this pigeon dreaming of being the black swan?I often wonder what someone, something, anything animate or inanimate, might be thinking.  I believe even an inanimate object can feel, thus I would never haphazardly toss my shoes into the closet, or set something heavy on top of them, for example.  It is much easier to wonder what animals are thinking since they are sentient, but cannot speak English.  Thus, they have to be thinking something, but they have no verbal way of telling me.  So, I am left to observing their behavior and concluding from that what possibly might be going through their minds.

    Such is the case with the above pigeon.  It was reaching elegantly and gracefully for its closest tail feather.  It instantly looked to me like a ballet dancer reaching for her toe over her back.  That lead me to thinking of BLACK SWAN, the 2010 movie starring Natalie Portman (my movie review).  Might this pigeon want to be the Black Swan?

    Pelican in the Matrix

    in

    Brown Pelican - Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/4 ISO 200 1/800thVarious quotes from songs, movies, books, etc. get stuck, or rather burned into my mind and float to the forefront of my visual cortex at their leisure.  One such quote is, "It's the question that brought you here.  You know the question, just as I did."  "What is the Matrix?"  Since 1999 those four words spoken by my boy Keanu have become like canon to me.  Perhaps I have not revealed before my true desired profession, that being:  philosopher-poet.  The matrix itself appeals to me because of the ability to alter the perception of time within it . . . time being another obsession of mine (example time essay).  

    In my mind the physics of the true Matrix exist, and I burn energy in attempt to project that reality onto the common world.  

    Photography helps show evidence of the Matrix, as seen above.

    Street Portrait Series 03 - Downtown St. Petersburg

    in ,

    Model: Savannah -- Nikon D300 Nikkor AF-S 105mm VR micro f/2.8G natural lightAfter a long absence, my Street Portrait Series continued this time in downtown St. Petersburg.  I met up with some fellow local photographers, including Michael Thompson of lightenupandshoot.com fame.  I first learned the street portrait approach technique from Michael last year.  I always have a lot of funning doing street portraits so I hope not to take as long for the next entry in the series as I did this time.

    Pictured above is Savannah who volunteered to be a model before heading to a concert at Jannus Live.  Savannah said she had never done anything like this before, so to make her feel more relaxed I had her swing around the stop sign post and do a little leg keep to encourage a more natural, and more fun pose.  I think she did a great job!

    Model: Clare -- Nikon D300 Nikkor AF-S 105 mm VR micro f/2.8G natural lightClare was the first person photographed that evening and a super good sport as several people gathered around her shooting away.  With more than one lens around, you definitely need to feel comfortable giving the person/model instruction to get a shot you want.  Someone had already asked Clare for an angry look, then I asked her to look at my lens so I did not have to settle for just a profile shot.  She works at Frankie D's Tattoo on 1st Ave North in downtown St. Pete.

    Models: Rob & Ashley -- Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens Strobist: SB-800 on light stand to frame leftThere is often a great purple toned twilight sky backlighting the buildings of downtown St. Petersburg, and that evening was no exception.  I asked Rob and Ashley to stand on the corner so I could include as much of that purple twilight sky as possible in the shot.  I chose to shoot off level horizon to avoid some obstructions in the shot.  Even with that, I had to delete a building from the right side of the frame.  

    Thanks again to all the volunteer models.  I have already sent them all a copy of the photos I took of them, which is proper street portrait etiquette.  I hope to be back out making street portraits again soon.  If you want to learn more about DSLR Photography and combine that with doing street portraits, I have 1-on-1 photography lessons available!

    Published in 2011 Metropolis Japan Calendar

    in ,

    I became more serious about photography in August 2008.  I already had plans to leave Japan in February 2009.  In that six month period I had a goal of getting a photograph published in the "Photo of the Week" section of Metropolis, the #1 English magazine in Japan.  To my great surprise I reached that goal on October the 24th.  Though no money was involved, for a few minutes it felt like I had won the lottery.  

    Then almost two years out of Japan, Metropolis contacted me for permission to have one of my photographs considered for their 2011 calendar.  I had originally submitted it in January 2009.  I said, "sure."  I was then told it was selected for the month of January and the copies they mailed to me across the sea arrived this afternoon.  I was also happy to find out I was sharing space with two other old Japan photographer friends, Vladimir and Alfie.  I was with Vladimir when I made the above photograph, and really only went out shooting that day because of his invitation.  So I guess I have him to thank most!  The photograph is in fact, one of my own top five all-time personal favorites, and a shot I am rather proud of.

    Getting a photograph published in Metropolis I feel is still a sort of right of passage for a photographer in Japan, and perhaps Tokyo especially.  It results in a sort of Who's Who of photographers.  A small, but nice honor.

    This got me to thinking this afternoon about where my photographer career would be if I had stayed in Japan.  Alfie is a true professional photographer with many connections and he was starting to appreciate my work.  Could I have gone on to be more of a photojournalist like he is?  Would I still have pursued lifestyle photography in Tokyo as well?  I can imagine wedding shots with Mt. Fuji as the background, or family portraits taken under the cherry blossom trees in full bloom.  Who knows . . .