Kennebunport Inn

Since I've been getting behind in my editing, I'm posting this one from my vacation to Maine with my son and daughter-in-law last June.

This is the famous Kennebunkport Inn. It has been a landmark since 1899. It was once a tea merchant's mansion and has the distinction of being listed as one of the Travel Channel's "Maine's Best Escapes".

The Kennebunkport Inn is located in Dock Square, Kennebunkport's shopping district and the only hotel/inn there and well worth checking out if you're going to be in the area.

The Marriott Tampa

I went out with my friends for a night shoot with Jim Sykes. You can find his photos here:

We went to several places in Tampa that are his favorite places to go. We started at The University of Tampa (UT), Plant Hall, then went to Harbor Island and over to Davis Island.

I forgot my tripod in my car and rode over to the islands in Jim's truck. I was very lucky to get the images since it was nighttime and I had to hand hold my camera. I solved the problem for the most part by balancing my camera on whatever stable device I could find and by using my Image Stabilized lens (IS), my new 55-250mm with a high ISO and shooting in bursts of 3 shots. The reason I chose bursts was because the first shot, I'm depressing the shutter button which causes a downward motion on my camera, the second shot, (no motion) I'm still holding the button down, while the last shot I'm releasing the shutter button causing an upward motion. The second shot was the sharpest.

This shot was taken around 9:30 pm after twilight. I balanced my camera on one of the poles around the fence on the sidewalk above the water. Most of the other shooters shot from below on a floating dock with their tripods.

In my opinion, this was the best of the 3 I shot. I chose to use a Fluorescent White Balance setting because all the lights, the sky and the water appeared kind of brownish yellow. I like the cool tones the white balance adjustment gave me.

So, there you have it for today. A little lesson combined with a nice image.

Framed by Palms

I'm always looking for different angles when I'm out photographing. During the Tampa Trolley Tour with my group last Saturday, I spotted this scene just begging to be photographed.

I like the way the Palms frame the facade of the Embassy Suites Hotel in Tampa. Our group spent some time there on our first Trolley Tour but we concentrated on photographing the inside of this beautiful hotel located across the street from the Tampa Convention Center. I'm not sure how many stories it rises up but I think this image displays it's height effectively.

Normally, it's not considered "good photography" to show a building tilted like this, but in this case I chose to break the "rules" in an effort to show how high this building really is. This inside is just as beautiful as the outside and one of the most unusually decorated or laid out hotels I've seen.

Cupola on The Don

Yup, I'm getting desperate again. Back to my files for photos to post. I haven't been feeling up to par ever since I got Bronchitis, so I haven't been out shooting in a little while.

This one is from a shoot earlier this month when my friends and I did a tour of St Petersburg's hotels. As you can see from the previous posts, I was pretty impressed with The Don Cesar.

This hotel is so beautiful--it really has to be seen in person to be fully appreciated. It's not only the colors but the style is just gorgeous! I'm fortunate to live in a place where I can visit places like this everyday.

Rear Entrance Walkway

This is the rear or beach entrance to The Don Cesar Hotel. I like the pink and white striped awnings. It sort of gives me the feeling of being in Paris for some strange reason.

In this area, we have 2 5* hotels; The Don Cesar and The Vinoy. Both were built during the same era. Both are extremely ornate and beautiful on the outside. Both are pink. During our hotel tour meetup, we have come to the conclusion that The Don has it all over the Vinoy.

At The Don, I was particularly impressed with the fresh, exotic flowers in all the hallways and entrances, the beautiful gardens in the back and, of course, the beach. The tanning beds on the beach give me the feeling of luxury beyond any of the other luxurious amenities offered by both hotels.

The atmosphere at The Don is exactly what you'd see in the movies. It's truly a very special hotel. If I were to stay there, I don't think I'd leave it during the entire vacation. There isn't anything better than this.