Sunset Beach Wedding on Treasure Island St Petersburg Florida

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Relaxing on Sunset Beach for their wedding - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/200th SB-800 off camera

It was a very intimate affair for Shannon and Jim's beach wedding on Treasure Island's Sunset Beach in St. Petersburg, Florida.  It was just me and Shannon and Jim (and an officiant).  There were not even that many other passersby on the beach itself.  The only company we had were a few birds.  This was all fine by me.  An empty beach means nice clean backgrounds.

The sand ceremony is the main feature of many Florida beach weddingsYou may be surprised to learn that most beach wedding ceremonies are about five minutes.  When you are photographing such a ceremony that five minutes seems to go by almost instantly.  Needless to say the first time I photographed one I was quite surprised and I quickly learned to shoot many more shots per minute than I normally do.  The highlight shot of the ceremony itself is often the "sand ceremony" where the couple simultaneously pours sand from the very beach they are getting married on into a glass vessel of sometimes, in the above case a heart-shaped vase.

One of my signature beach wedding shots is the couple walking along the shore - Sunset Beach Treasure Island FloridaThat evening was clear and cloudless, allowing the sun to be seen right until the edge of the horizon itself.  Time again passes very quickly with the sun that close to setting, thus it is a great advantage to have the experience I now have with sunset photography.  The above semi-complicated walking shot can usually be satisfactorily captured by the second take.  

The wedding couple splashing in the Gulf of Mexico itself on Sunset Beach Treasure Island FloridaOnce the sun did go down, Shannon and Jim said they were up for a bit of a swim and took to the gentle waves of the Gulf of Mexico.  Thus, their beach wedding came to frolicking close.   

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    Brick Walls of Ybor City Tampa

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    Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/320th - Ybor City Tampa FloridaSeveral lifetimes ago I actually occasionally visited Ybor City by choice at night for a multi-month stretch.  I remember knowing of this "secret" location to park for free thinking it very clever.  As a lifelong non-drinker I did not go there for any particular liquid, but for concerts and even sometimes, if one can fathom it, to dance in rock clubs (Empire!).  I have long since retired from dancing, so this visit in broad daylight to Ybor City was to scout locations for an upcoming car photography gig.  This lead to a most unusual mini-set of photos with a brick wall theme.

    Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/160th +1 ev - Ybor City Tampa Nobody noticed me hanging out behind this warehouse & "showroom."  You could feel the oldness of the place just standing next to it.  It was still functioning in some capacity though as you can see a truck picking up or dropping something off.  I stood there wondering, "is there really any glory in tagging a dumpster?"

    Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/200th - Ybor City TampaAlong another road the brick walls of this building seemed to stretch the entire block.  No tags to be seen on its walls though, which I guess means whoever the owner is that person commands a lot of respect.  The white vehicle would be mine.  In this part of Ybor City the brick just goes on and on making one feel strongly confined, as if in a drivable prison.

    CLICK PHOTO for LARGE version - 4-shot panorama - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/320th

    There was a way out of all these walls . . . and you could even hop a train to the modernity of downtown Tampa!  One rumbled by me giving me a good scare just as I finished making this panorama shot.  

    It was a pleasant reacquaintance with Ybor City this afternoon . . . 

    DSLR Photography Lesson with sisters Shanna & Heather & their Nikon D3100's

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    Heather & Shanna, sisters, both have the new Nikon D3100 seen here in Vinoy ParkIt is very rare that I teach anything but 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lessons, but thanks to a Christmas present gift certificate given to both, sisters Heather & Shanna took their lesson together.  Since the both had the same DSLR, the new Nikon D3100, things were greatly simplified and they were also pretty fast on the uptake for learning how to change the basic settings for aperture, ISO, white balance and focus mode.  If yesterday morning's weather was nice, then todays's was fabulous.  It was very nice to be outside and along the St. Petersburg waterfront talking about photography.

    Each sister had the same photography knowledge level (eager beginner), but had done some good prep reading of Rick Sammon's great book, "Digital Photography Secrets."  I highly recommend that book to anyone starting out in digital photography.  I own it myself.  

    After showing the sisters how to use aperture and focal length settings to create bokeh using their 55-200mm lenses, we made our way over to Vinoy Park stopping to photograph a grey heron along the way.  In the park we finished the lesson with a little landscape photography practice making use of the rule of thirds to best place the horizon.

    I look forward to future lessons with both Shanna and Heather. 

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    • Philosophy of observing or acting - Izu Japan Surfer

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    Nikon D80 Nikkor AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G with texture overlay of original image

    • Tutorial for how to make a textured overlay image at dPS

     

    Observe or act?  One cannot do both.  If one has great surfing skills, would one ever set them aside for even one day to be a great surfing photographer?  The surfer above was by far the best surfer in the water the two days I spent at a beach on the Izu peninsula in Japan a few years back.  I have very limited surfing skills, so on that occasion I was content with only observing.  

    I find myself wondering, why would one choose to only observe?  Is it entirely due to not being able to perform the act under observation?  Therefore . . . if one can, one does; if one cannot, one observes.  Is that a rigid truth?  

    Perhaps one could categorize photography as a powerful act of observation.  If so, then maybe one can both act and observe.  I feel very strong instincts to observe as well as to act depending on the situation.  Perhaps then observation leads to action?  Certainly many people see photographs made via strong observation of a photographer that in turn inspire them to take action, and vice versa.  A strong act inspires observation and thus photography.  This seems to be yet another example of the duality of all existence.  

    DSLR Photography Lesson with Alice & her Canon 60D

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    St. Petersburg's own pirate ship sailed past Alice (with Canon 60D) and I during her DSLR photography lessonMaybe one day I will not be so surprised that one can meet people who surprisingly have many of the same rare-ish things you do in common.  For example, new DSLR Photography Lesson student, Alice, who recently got a Canon 60D, has a master's degree in ESL (English as a second language), but only briefly ever taught ESL.  I taught ESL for nine years (without a master's in it).  She also knows the same person in a local tutoring company that I do.  So while I helped Alice get acquainted with how to change the settings on her Canon 60D we discovered all these unexpected things in common.

    We were both expecting a cold morning, but I left my car without need for my jacket and unlike the blustery, semi-freezing January morning lessons last year, this was nearly as pleasant of weather as one can expect for winter in Florida.  The pirate ship even returned from its time abroad to St. Petersburg harbor and conveniently floated by just as we were entering Vinoy Park.

    Alice and her Canon 60D showing how to properly hold one's DSLR with left palm under the lensAlice is also interested in learning how to use the video function of her Canon 60D which may be a subject we tackle in a future lesson.  Until then she has her poodle at home to practice on all the things we learned about this fine Florida winter day.  It was fun to be able to get Alice started on her DSLR photography path and to learn of her ESL past. 

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    • Sunset Beach St. Petersburg Candid Family Portrait Photography

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    Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left SB-600 to frame rightThe sky over the Gulf of Mexico at Sunset Beach, Treasure Island, St. Petersburg was completely clear for the candid family beach portrait photography session with Vickie and her family.  For the main sunset portrait, I had the new idea to have the parents hold their children rather than the kids standing beside their parents.  Although everyone was standing still, I thought it added a sense of motion and gave the portrait a certain type of dynamic and sense of inertia.  

    Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThe forehead-to-forehead pose was Vickie's idea.  I liked how this photograph turned out so much that it was my third favorite photograph of 2010.  The mother and daughter I feel form a slight heart shape together and with their faces hidden the viewer is left to imagine their emotions.  Leaving things to the imagination is a key element in many of my best photographs and one of my signature styles.  My thanks to Vickie for this great pose idea.

    Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/4 ISO 200 1/1250th natural lightIf the family has two children, I like the dad to hold both children in his arms.  I like to think it will provide a memory for the children of how strong their father was and how small they once were to be able to fit in the bend of his arm.  With the sun setting and the great Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens on my Nikon D300, natural light provided just the side-lighting look I wanted.

    Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/4 ISO 200 1/1250th natural lightNothing like a little frozen motion for an action candid shot.  This looked like so much fun I wished I was not close to 2-spins so that I could be tossed high into the air too!  Perhaps if I ever get to meet a mountain gorilla my wish could come true.  

    Nikon D300 Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8D @ f/2.8 ISO 200 1/4000th natural lightThis type of candid portrait is my favorite type for children.  One may think the photo is a fail since the boy is not looking into the lens, but I actually think it makes the photo because it adds his own character to the shot, especially with the lip bite as well.  His sister smiles perfectly.  Each person in the shot has her/his own dynamic.  Perhaps in twenty years she will rib him and say, "what were you looking at?"

    Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/4 ISO 200 1/1000th natural lightThe instructions I give for the "walking down the beach" shot, which is one of my favorite kind of family beach shot, is for the family to try and stay in the same plane when walking, walk at a good pace, try not to swing your arms too much or too high, and keep some space between each person (to prevent arm overlap).  Vickie and her family got it all down perfectly on the first take.

    Testimonials Raves & Reviews for St. Petersburg Tampa Wedding Photographer

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    Carie & Jeff - Wedding Date:  December 26, 2010

    "Jason did an amazing job. He completely captured the moment, not to mention gave us pictures I still love to look at! I loved the creativity as well. He came up with great shots that worked so well and really reflexed my husband's and my personalities!!!"

     

     

     

    Renata & Enrique - Wedding Date:  October 15, 2010

    "Jason made my dream wedding pictures come true, I could not choose a better service."

     

     

     

     

    Don & Rosa - Wedding Date:  July 13, 2010

    During the ceremony Jason did great. We did not notice him while taking pictures. There wasn't any disruption. He did contact us before the wedding to ask what us what we had in mind and even though we only had him for 1 hour, we had some awesome shots!"

     
    "We are a very camera shy couple that do everything to avoid pictures. I was very nervous to pose for Jason at first but once we got started, I quickly became comfortable around him. He instructed us step by step how to pose and he was very very patient with us. His friendly personality made us feel confident."

     
    "There were so many to chose from and hard to pick just one favorite. There was one picture w/ my veil blowing in the wind that was breath taking, we could not believe it was me! It look like it came from a magazine."

     

     

    Linda & David - Wedding Date:  June 20, 2010

    "Jason took amazing pictures. I was so pleased. I didn't know what to expect and I keep getting compliments from family/friends on the photos. He was very creative with photo positions and bringing out romance to our pics. We didn't just stand there and get our picture taken.   We were impressed at the various poses that Jason used for the photos. He was able to make our photo session fun and illustrate our emotions of the day.  He captured the whole wedding as if it's a story. And, I love some of the candid shots he took. I could see how my husband was looking at me and how I was looking at him in the photos. And, the sky was beautiful that night. Jason got the rainbows and the sky in all of the pictures."

    "I had several favorites. But, I was surprised by the photos that I liked the best. Jason did an awesome job capturing the two of us looking at each other and how we look when we were looking at each other. He also captured the amazing sky behind us. My favorites include: the two of us kneeling on the beach, the two of us in front of the rainbows in the sky, and my husband lifting me up into the air."

    "My husband and I were thrilled with how we looked.   We are extremely pleased. Finally, Jason was fabulous with follow up - answering questions in a very timely manner. Thank you so much!" 

     

     

    Bianca & Derrick - Wedding Date:  June 19, 2010

    "Jason is easy to work with, I love his creativity and work ethic, my wedding photos look like something out of a magazine or postcard. I encourage anyone to let Jason have free reign with his talent, he's easy going and professional. you wont be disappointed."