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.

Lake Maggiore Island II

Lake Maggiore Island

When I'm out on a photo-hike, I like to make different versions of the same scene. I posted the other scene a few days ago. The first one was shot on the way in to the path, and this one was shot on the way out. Neither was made very far from one another.

It was maybe an hour and a half later, and the sun was lower in the sky. This version is somewhat warmer than the other as well due to the location of the sun. I also used a different focal length bringing the city of St Petersburg closer to show more detail in the city.

In addition, I had planned on going black and white with this one, but the tones were too similar, and even with adding more contrast after trying different colored filters, I decided to stick with color.

What a difference focal length and the time of day makes.

Lake Maggiore Island Trail

Lake Maggiore Island Trail, Boyd Hill Nature Center

This shot was taken yesterday on the Lake Maggiore Island Trail at the Boyd Hill Nature Center in St. Petersburg, FL. In the distance, you can see the City of St Petersburg. You'll have to click on the photo to make it bigger if you want to make out the details. In the early 2000's I painted this very scene, and there were only a few buildings that could be seen from this spot. I can't believe how many new buildings there are. Pretty soon, St. Petersburg will look like every other city along the coast. The reason I was attracted to this city in the first place is because it didn't look like a city. It wasn't all built up. I guess I'm just not very good with change and progress.

When I composed this photo, I put the city in several places in the frame looking for a pleasing composition. Normally, in most photos, the rule of thirds applies. The rule of thirds says to divide the frame into thirds, similar to a tic-tac-toe form. Where all the lines intersect is the most pleasing place to put what is most important. Sometimes rules are made to be broken, providing you know the rules in the first place.

In this case, the city was not the subject, but rather the view in the late afternoon golden light. I purposely shot at a wide angle, which minimized the city, emphasizing the water, clouds and greenery. What do you all think of my decision? Your comments on this are greatly appreciated.

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.

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.

Tobacco Barn

Tobacco Barn

One of Connecticut's chief industries used to be shade grown tobacco. It seemed as soon as you left the city, you could see miles and miles of tobacco fields.

Most kids started to work on tobacco as soon as they turned 14. It was the only time 14 year-olds could were legally allowed to work. Nearly all CT high school kids worked in the tobacco industry at one time or another. In the summer, they picked tobacco. Today, there is not enough demand to be profitable for farmers to continue to grow tobacco. These sheds are now few and far between.

I told my son that I thought it was tobacco drying season, which is why we went out to look for a tobacco farm. We finally found this one in Bolton near the horse farm pictured in a previous post. You can see the tobacco hanging inside the barn door.

It's strange, I grew up in tobacco growing country, now I live near Tampa where they roll cigars. It seems I can't get away from tobacco.

View Out my Window

I've posted this one before on Facebook, but I wanted to post it on my blog as well so, some of you may have already seen this.

This shot was taken out of my living room window during blue hour. It was the day I bought my new camera, a Canon 6D. I just wanted to try it out and loved the results. It's true, it's not the camera that makes the image; it's the eye behind the lens; however, it doesn't hurt to have good tools to get the job done. I bought the camera because I felt that I had outgrown my old one. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with Canon's 40D, but I wanted something newer that could handle noise levels better and to give me a larger photo to work with.

There are times I need or want the crop factor of the 40D for the extra range, especially when I'm shooting birds, so I'll still be using that camera as well. But for now, my go to camera with my new 28-300mm Tamron lens will be my main walk-around lens.

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.

Taylor Lake

A group of us from one of my photography clubs went to John S Taylor Park in Largo, early this evening. This is a regular Thursday night meetup for macro and close-up practice. As you can see, this isn't exactly close-up.

This is beautiful Taylor Lake. It is a 53-acre lake and is just loaded with various aquatic birds. The two birds in silhouette in the foreground are American Coots (Fulica americana). Coots are in the Rail family.

John S Taylor park is 156.5 acres. "Amenities include:

• ball field
• boat ramp
• disc golf
• fishing
• multi-purpose trail
• parking
• picnic area
• playground equipment
• restrooms
• seven picnic shelters & grills

History:

Who was John S. Taylor?

Development of this park began in 1958.

This park was named in honor of John S. Taylor. A staunch supporter of Pinellas County’s independence from Hillsborough, Mr. Taylor ironically served as a Hillsborough County State Representative from 1905 until defeated in 1910 for his stand on creating a separate Pinellas. As a lobbyist attending the 1911 session of the legislature, he successfully assisted the effort for Pinellas independence in 1912. Mr. Taylor also served as a State Senator, Mayor of Largo, President of the Florida Citrus Exchange and as a Member of the State Citrus Commission. Not only was he one of the county’s landowners of vast acreage, he owned one of the most successful citrus growing and packing businesses in Florida." -http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/18_taylor.htm

Dawn Sunshine Skyway Bridge

I'm always trying to find a different perspective when I'm photographing a familiar site. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Ft Desoto, Tierra Verde, Florida is one of my favorite scenes to photo. Not only because it's the Skyway, but because I love to photograph bridges. I'm always on the lookout for a new one to photograph.

It's strange, I've photographed this bridge, especially at dawn and sunrise, hundreds of times and most of them from the same location on East Beach, and never thought to turn the camera on its side. I was pleasantly pleased with this shot.

Whenever I'm out with my photography students, I tell them to not be a "walk-up-shooter". Spend some time exploring the view; look up, look down, walk all the way around the subject if possible, take shots from near, from far, well you get the idea. I tell them this because it's one of my faults that I'm trying hard to overcome. I'll have to practice what I preach more often.

Tweaked Landscape of Tarpon Lake

I saw this tutorial today on how to fake HDR using Lightroom only. I tried it and it looked awful. So, I decided to play around a little by tweaking the colors a bit.

This was taken a little later than the other landscape from Tarpon Lake that I posted a couple days ago. The first one was first thing in the morning while there was still a little bit of mist in the air. When I shot this one, the clouds had come up a little better.

I remembered what Jim's comment about the sky being 1-2 stops lighter than the reflections in the water, so i was careful to let this one look about the same to save the reality "look". To get these colors, I added saturation and exposure to the sky and the water, and added saturation to the boardwalk. The trees were left untouched. I'm pretty happy with the results. What do you all think?

Settings used for this image before post processing were at ISO 200 in aperture priority mode, I shot this at 1/15th at F11. I chose F11 to increase the depth of field. The image was shot with my 18-55mm lens at 21mm.

Tarpon Lake Scenic

We had a "girls" morning out on Friday morning, bright and early. Four of us went to John Chestnut, Jr Park in Palm Harbor for 7:00 am to try our luck at catching a few Deer.

We saw plenty of Deer all morning, but in low light, they're pretty hard to shoot through the fog and darkness. I did get a couple shots that I'm fairly happy with, but I had to increase my ISO to 800. That high of an ISO nearly always degrades the shot. So, I'm wondering if it's worth it. Maybe if it's a once in a lifetime shot, it's worth the trouble to clean up the shot; other than for that reason, it's just not worth it to me.

Personally, I'm happier with the scenics I shot that early in the morning. I'm more into waterscapes than I am into landscapes. It could be that I just don't "see" the landscapes we have in Florida. I'm a native New Englander, and used to landscapes with mountains, rolling hills, etc.

This one is one of my favorite that I shot this morning. I like the way the clouds and sky are reflected in the water, yet cannot be seen in the sky. That's pretty weird, isn't it? I'll probably be posting my Deer shots at a later time once I get all the editing done.

Settings used in this image taken in the early morning just as the fog/mist was lifting: ISO 400, 1/800 at F4.0, normally I don't make landscapes at F4.0, but I wasn't really trying to keep the background sharp, just the water and reeds, -2/3 exposure compensation to keep the sky from washing out completely, with partial metering on the reeds at 55mm with my 55-250mm trusty walk-around lens.

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.

Safety Harbor Marina

Monday nights at the Marina, my photography club has their weekly meetup. While some of us shoot photos, most of us don't; we just sit around trading tips and techniques.

This Monday night, I saw these amazing clouds and liked the way they formed a semi-circle with the reflections in the water. I knew this called for a wide-angle lens. I love the way this came out. Usually, I have to tweak stuff a little bit in Lightroom and/or Photoshop. I didn't touch this one, other than resizing.

Funny thing, I like it and it's not really my style at all. I hardly ever use a wide angle unless I have to. I'm beginning to think it's time to explore what I can do with this lens.

Settings used for this image were 1/250th at F10 using 200 ISO and +1/3 exposure compensation with partial metering off the water to be sure I'd capture the reflections of the clouds at 18mm with my 18-55mm lens. The shot was made at 5:15 pm.

Church Overlooking Oswego, NY

I took this photo from the City of Oswego Library through the second floor window. The name of this church escapes me, but for this image, it isn't important.

I love the way it seems to be overlooking the city--sort of like it's taking care of it. The old architecture is also beautiful. In the Winter, when all the trees are bare, it's a lot easier to see the design, but this is the first time I photographed it in the Summer and I like the way it looks with the trees and only the tops of the houses showing.

Beautiful Lake Ontario sits just behind the church, where one can easily see the Oswego West Pierhead Lighthouse. I love the City of Oswego, just not in the Winter. It is hilly, cold, slippery and with the narrow streets, it's hard to get around. Because it's so close to the lake, it gets lake effect snow 9 months of the year and it's not unusual to see more than 5 ft. of snow on the ground from January through April. It also snows everyday. The city is very good about keeping the streets free of snow and ice with their sand trucks and plows going out on the first sign of snow.

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.

Winter Wonderland

Well I just got back from a 3,000 mile road trip up north to see my kids and grandkids and SNOW.

I got my wish on the snow, that's for sure. This image was taken in S. Windsor, CT from my son and daughter-in-law's home. As you can see, there's plenty of snow.

Since I hadn't taken any photos of snow in many, many years, I had to play to get the exposures correct. It's just like riding a bike, though. Once I took a few shots everything came back to me, including how cold it is.

I wondered what possessed me to go up north this time of year. Oh yeah, I know; I missed my kids and grandchildren. In addition, I got to see my brothers who, we figured it had been 16 years since we saw one another. My visit was wonderful and I really enjoyed seeing everyone and the snow.

I'll be posting more images from up north very soon, so check often.