St Pete Skyline

St Petersburg, FL Skyline

I just happened to glance out my window and saw this the day before yesterday. These amazing clouds were due to a cold front coming in. The light on the buildings in the distance is what I noticed first, then the clouds. I just had to shoot this--it was calling.

There is no HDR or blending in this image. As a matter of fact, other than straightening, and noise removal, I didn't do a thing to this. This is how it came out of the camera.

Post 5 of 5 Day Black and White Challenge: South Rest Stop

South Rest Stop Under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge

This is Day 5 of my 5 Day Black and White Challenge that I accepted from my friend, and fellow photographer, Rosemary Morrison, of Rosemary Kaye Photo, who's work I admire. I am supposed to post 1 b&w image for five days, as well as challenge a fellow photographer each day that inspires me.

I saved my last challenge, for my dear friend, Brenda Knolls Budd who's work I have always admired. Brenda has a unique way of seeing things. It has happened time and time again, when a group of us (photographers) go out shooting and Brenda finds stuff no one sees. I'd like to see what she can come up with. I hope she accepts this challenge.What about it, Brenda, will you accept?

Sunset in Bolton

Sunset Over a Sheep Farm

This shot was taken in Bolton, CT. Until I looked at it at 100% to check for noise or over-sharpening, I thought this was a pig farm; so, that's what I named the file. Once I saw it at 100%, I realized there were no pigs on that farm; they were sheep. I think I need to change the name of this shot or my eye glasses.

This beautiful sunset was a wonderful way to end our ride.

Another View From the Porch

Another View From the Porch

Earlier, I posted a vertical view from my son and daughter-in-law's home from their upstairs porch. That view showed the top of their shed. For a different perspective, I zoomed out and got this image.

Click on the image to see it larger.

Horse Farm in South Wndsor, CT

Horse Farm in S Windsor, CT

My son, Joe, and I were taking a ride around town one afternoon looking for something that says New England or Connecticut. I think this one says it pretty good. The sun was coming down just right to show off what little bit of foliage has started to come out.

Let me know what you think of this one. Just click on the picture to go to my blog and to see this shot larger. Thanks for looking.

View From the Porch

View from the porch

My son and daughter-in-law's house has an upstairs porch. Last year, there were a lot of tall trees that hid this beautiful view. When I spotted the scene, I knew at once that I had to capture it. This shot was taken through the glass on the porch. The building in the foreground is their shed. It's built to look exactly like their home.

We don't see many mountains in Florida, so this was a real treat for me. That's one thing I miss about New England. Connecticut sits in a valley between 4 mountain ranges: The Berkshires, Hanging Hills, Metacomic Ridge, and the Taconic Mountains. Although I was raised in this area, my Geography isn't great. I couldn't tell you what mountain range that is in the background. As a matter of fact, if I didn't look up the ranges on Wiki, I wouldn't have known there were 4 different mountain ranges. It doesn't help that the locals have differing names for these ranges. Of the 4, the only one I've ever heard of is The Berkshires. We had names such as Case Mountain, Meridan Mountain, Talcott Mountain, and Sleeping Giant. I believe Sleeping Giant is part of Meridan Mountain. Maybe I should have studied my Geography or taken the time to learn about my state when I was younger.

If anyone from CT sees this post, maybe you could tell me which range this is. This photo was taken in South Windsor facing Northeast. Let me know also, how you like the photo in the comments below. I always appreciate the feedback.

Salt Marshes

I shot this from a moving car, while we were on the way to Beddeford Pool, where my son used to live. The clouds were so right, the blue sky reflecting on the ground and the perfectly placed rocks made this look at least to me like a beautiful painting. One day, I will paint this one.

It was just too beautiful not to share with all of you.

Safety Harbor Pier

Yes, this is yet another photo of the Safety Harbor Pier taken from the Safety Harbor Marina on our regular Monday Meetup. When I saw this image import from my media card, I couldn't believe my eyes.

I remembered making these photos, but thought they were lost on the card. However, the other night my roommate asked me to take a couple pictures for him, and I used my Canon 20-D, instead of my usual 40-D. Now I know where the photos went! It really stinks getting old. :)

Most of the time at the Monday night meetups I don't shoot any photos. But this particular evening, I just had to capture these amazing clouds and reflections on the still water. This is one of the compositions I made.

Settings used for this shot were ISO 200, 1/80 at F9.0 to get a decent depth of field. If I had bumped up my ISO to 400, I would've been able to use F11, but that would've meant I'd have to deal with some digital noise in my shot. I'd rather not have to deal with it if it can be avoided. The camera was set in Aperture Priority mode and I used partial metering on the sky to be sure it wouldn't wash out. I used my Canon 18-55mm IS lens at 18mm, also to get a good depth of field and a nice wide angle of this scene.

St Petersburg Skyline

My friend, Frank, and I went to The Pier in St Petersburg last week to try to capture the sunset over the St Petersburg skyline. We didn't get a lot of clouds, but the color was awesome.

This is one of our favorite haunts. We go up to the 5th floor observation deck where Cha Cha Coconuts restaurant is and shoot to our hearts content. The best thing is the wait staff will serve us out on the deck.

This is one of my favorite images from the shoot. It was shot using my Canon 20D with an 18-55mm lens. I usually don't shoot this skyline wide angle, but for some reason, I decided to give it a try and I like the results. Settings were 1/40th at F4.5 aperture, -1/3 stop eV, in aperture priority mode and average metering at ISO 400 at the 18mm focal length. I chose these settings because they're a little different from my normal settings and was looking to shoot this differently than I usually do.

I've been striving to capture images differently than what I usually see looking for the creativity in my vision. I'm very happy with the results.

St Pete Beach

Yesterday my friends and I went on an architectural shoot. We went to the famous Don Cesar Hotel in St Pete Beach, the Ponce de Leon Hotel, where Babe Ruth used to have his breakfast when he was in town and the Renaissance Vinoy Hotel in St Petersburg.

We took many photos and had a very pleasant and productive day. This is one of the photos from the shoot. It is the view of beautiful St Pete Beach from one of the cupolas in the Don Cesar Hotel.

A shot of the entrance to the Don Cesar is above. I will be posting more as I get them processed.

Winding Brook

Shooting landscapes isn't really my strong point, but every now and them I come up with one I like.

This one was taken the other day while I was out shooting with my friends at Lake Seminole Park in Seminole, FL.

Florida (at least this part) doesn't have its own rock, so we either have to truck it in or make it. These "rocks" appear to be man made; but I like the way their placed on the edges of this brook.

Sawgrass Lake Park Pond

Today I started another self-assignment with my group. The challenge is to produce 3 photos of the same subject that are totally different. It wasn't as easy as I thought, but it sure gets you thinking before composing.

These are my first 3 compositions. I took them of the little pond at Sawgrass Lake Park, which is less than a mile from my house. It's going to be interesting to see what I can come up with for the next 6 days. So far, I'm the only one who has posted anything. We'll see how many join the challenge.

All three images were taken of the same pond. I took the first and second ones using my wide-angle lens (18-55mm). For the last one, I used my telephoto (75-300mm) lens. I also changed my angle of view. I was standing when I took the first shot and sitting on the ground for the second. I believe I was standing for the 3rd shot.

Tell me what you think by leaving a comment.

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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