Friendly Fisherman Lighthouse

One of the forums I belong to is called, DPS (Digital School of Photography). They have weekly assignments and this week's assignment was, "Bird's Eye View". Last week, you may remember was "Worm's Eye View".

Again, I didn't want to do the obvious by shooting down from my high-rise building, nor did I want to shoot down a flight of stairs. I've seen too many of those and they're posted all over the internet. I'm trying to see things from a different angle.

This particular lighthouse is fake. It sits atop the Friendly Fisherman Restaurant at John's Pass in Madeira Beach, FL. John's Pass is a natural pass caused by a hurricane that separated  Madeira Beach from Treasure Island.

It has since become a popular attraction that both tourists and locals visit often. There are many restaurants and shops on the boardwalk, and I took advantage of that by going up to the top of the parking garage to get above the "lighthouse" to see a "Bird's Eye View" of this beautiful place.

Madeira Beach

It's that time again when everyone is thinking about vacation and the beach. We're already getting some pretty hot weather in Florida.

This shot was made on 5/2/2009 across from John's Pass on Madeira Beach, FL. As you can see, there are plenty of people on the beach already. One thing I can tell you for sure, none of these people are Floridians, they are all tourists. How do I know that, you ask. Easy, Floridians don't head to the beach until the water is at least 80 Deg F. The water was probably 72 Deg and the beginning of the month. This is fine for all the northerners whose water temperature never reaches above 65 deg. even in the summer.

It looks like a nice, warm, peaceful day and these 2 women sitting on the rocks appear to be just enjoying the sounds of the surf and watching everyone play. What a great day!

Brown Pelican Landing

This was shot on my trip to John's Pass with my grandson. I was just fooling around tracking Pelicans coming in and caught this one just right.

John's Pass is a great place to see many Brown Pelicans, Great Blue Herons, Snowy and Great White Egrets and of course, all kinds of Laughing Gulls. It's also a great place to practice catching the birds in the air as well as landing and taking off. They all hang around the boardwalk waiting for tidbits from the fishermen as they clean the fish on the docks. These birds are used to people, so they're not skittish at all.

It's also a great place to watch for dolphin in the channel. They usually follow the bigger boats, like the Casino Cruises as they come in and out to pick up passengers. In addition, if you like to go shopping or eat fresh fish and seafood, this is the place to visit. There are so many little shops and restaurants, there is something for all.

John's Pass is on Madeira Beach on the central west coast of Florida.

Sportsman's Saloon

My grandson is in town for a visit so yesterday I took him to one of the more famous tourist traps in the area. We went to John's Pass in Madeira Beach.

This is the side entrance to the Sportsman's Saloon on the boardwalk. I've been to John's Pass probably a thousand times since I've lived in Florida, but for some reason, I never noticed this. It just could be that the Sportsman's Saloon built it recently, since it's a new lounge.

This entrance reminds me of some of the PC games and some of the old movies, where a secret entrance is found. I just like the way it sits between the two palm trees.

John's Pass

John's Pass on Madeira Beach in Florida is a tough shoot, but with a little patience and a whole lot of walking and looking around, one can find some pretty terrific shots.

This is not an actual lighthouse, I don't think; but it's atop the Friendly Fisherman restaurant. In order to get this view from above, I went to a competing restaurant higher up on the boardwalk and went up to the roof of the parking garage.

It's a unique view, and one I didn't know about until a waitress in one of the many eateries on the boardwalk saw my camera and told me about it. That was an excellent tip!

It was pretty hazy out that day, and we all went up there to capture the sunset on Madeira Beach, but it was so hot, no one wanted to wait the extra hour. We all took what we got for images and left fairly quickly. I think it was something like 92 deg. F, if I can remember correctly. This was shot in mid August which is hot anywhere in the states at that time of year.

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