This past fall, I spent a little over two weeks living and breathing photography. My travels took me from my home in Connecticut to Colorado to New York City to Maine before I headed home. Almost every day, I was up well before dawn and shot though sunset. Lots of shooting time and not lots of sleep. I met many long-time online friends in person for the first time and we had a blast. But, of course, all good things must come to an end, and this photo was taken on the last day of our trip. We were treated to a great goodbye by Mother Nature with some great light before the clouds overtook the sun. By the afternoon, everyone was either on the road or on a plane to all parts of the country. Can't wait until we do this again in the future.
La Sal View - Moab, Utah
I have visited Moab quite the number of times over the years. I am attracted by the colors of the American Southwest and the diversity of its rock formations. Moab is a great home base for viewing numerous attractions, from Arches National Park (one of my favorites) to the Colorado River Scenic Byway, to Dead Horse State Park (one of the most iconic views of the southwest) and the vastness of Canyonlands National Park. You would think that I have seen it all, but, when I took a photo tour with my buddy Jeff Clow, he showed me another side of Moab.
When you are in the Moab area, you always seem to have the LaSal Mountain range as a backdrop. Until the tour, I had never ventured into the mountains themselves to explore. This shot was taken during our explorations last March and shows that desert is not the only thing within a short driving distance of Moab. I thought I would post this image today, as Jeff is off with two other groups soon that I couldn't make. I will be with them in spirit.
Blue Morning - Glacier National Park, Montana
Sometimes Mother Nature has different plans for photographers that end up being better than they imagined. I had visions of getting up well before dawn to drive from Kalispell to Lake McDonald for a glorious sunrise. That is my most favorite time of day, not only for the great light, but also for the lack of people. On the almost hour drive to the lake, we encountered lots of low clouds and periods of drizzle.
Upon arrival to the lake, our group was looking at this scene that was quite different than the golden light I had hoped for. Instead, we had these low-hanging clouds along with these unbelievable blue tones (yes, this was the color that we saw). This anchored boat was the only one visible on the lake and made a great subject. So instead of an image that had those golden tones that come mostly every clear day, I ended up with one that had these great blue tones that happen only once in a while.
Dali in the Morning - St Petersburg, Florida
The Southwest Florida coastline was uncharted territory for us (I traveled to some places for business but never had time to explore), so when we decided to spend three weeks in Florida, we thought we would experience it for the first time. One of the places we stayed was in the city of St. Petersburg. For some reason, I thought the city bordered on the coast and was surprised that it actually lies on Tampa Bay. We stayed at a bed and breakfast a few blocks from the waterfront, so I had easy access on the first morning I was there. Heading out before dawn, I walked down to the Dali Museum. As you would expect, the building is unusually designed, making it a great subject. The best compositions are from the north side, so that is where I spent the bulk of my time. For this shot, I decided to go behind the museum and shoot out toward Tampa Bay and the palm trees. I really liked how the glass on the museum created some great reflections. I was limited to my 23mm lens (35mm equivalent) as part of my Field Report for the PhotoFrontier's WE35 project.
Venice Fishing Pier - Venice, Florida
Earlier this week, I posted a shot of the Venice Fishing Pier from the beach. I had never been to the pier before and got there before dawn. It was quite easy to get to the beach and I was able to shoot it from both the sides and from under the pier. As I was shooting, there were only a couple of fisherman on the pier, so I decided that, after I was done, I would head onto the pier and take advantage of the lack of people. Easier said then done. It is a bit confusing to get to the pier, as it seems that you have to go through a restaurant (that wasn't open) to get to it. After walking around the place, I spotted a couple of back "door" openings that I took advantage of. Not knowing if I was trespassing or needed to pay a fee (I found out later that both were okay), I came to this sign telling me that I reached my goal. Framing the sign was challenging, as my 23mm lens (35mm equivalent) was just wide enough as I couldn't back up any further. I was happy to include this in my Field Report for the PhotoFrontier's WE35 project.
Southwest Florida Beauty - Siesta Key, Florida
I have always heard that Florida beaches claimed to be some of the best in America. In fact, Siesta Beach on Siesta Key just outside of Sarasota was named the number one beach in America. Of course, with that claim, I had to check it out. I am not a big beach aficionado but I must concur that it is a beautiful beach. We were going to do a little swimming during our three weeks in Florida, but the weather was quite cold for Florida (I was not complaining, as Connecticut was being pounded by snowstorms) and we did not swim at all. We did do a lot of beachcombing though. We started out at the abandoned fishing pier shown in this image and walked the beach for quite a long time. While there were quite a few sailboats out on the Gulf of Mexico, I decided to compose the pier with one sailboat showing the serenity and beauty of the southwest Florida coastline. Shooting with only a 23mm lens (35mm equivalent) as part of my Field Report for the PhotoFrontier's WE35 project made isolating the one sailboat a little challenge, but patience proved to be a virtue.
Step Right Up - Sarasota, Florida
One of the places we had targeted to visit on our trip to Sarasota was the Ringling Museum. While none of us were big circus fans, the museum tops the list of places to visit in Sarasota. After spending the better part of a day there, I can wholeheartedly recommend the museum. One of my favorite (and most popular) displays was the miniature replica of the Ringling Circus circa 1920s. I know what you are thinking, what is so great about a miniature circus? The answer is with the size and breadth of it. It was created by Howard Tibbals, who started work on it in 1956. It took him 18 years to complete it (and a year to set it up at the museum). It consists of over 42,000 items with a ¾-inch-to-the-foot scale. Strangely enough, Ringling did not give Tibbals permission to use the Ringling name, so he called it the Howard Brothers Circus.
Shooting this was quite the challenge. The model is encased in glass, so reflections became a big problem. Not only that, visitors can walk the length (and it is long) on either side, so getting a composition without people on the other side of the replica was difficult. Finally, I was continuing my shooting with a 23mm lens (35mm equivalent) for the PhotoFrontier's WE35 project. I was expecting none of my shots to come out, but a few did, and this one really caught my eye.
First Morning in Warm Weather - Venice, Florida
I am back from my three weeks in sunny Florida, and I wish I had stayed there a couple of more weeks! I haven't posted any of my Florida photos yet, so I will be posting a few over the next two weeks. This was a photo that I hadn't planned on taking, as I had no plans to stay in Venice on my trip. I can thank the winter storm that threatened to cancel our flight. We were scheduled to land in Tampa and then head on to Sarasota. We decided to get out of town a day early and it was impossible to get to Tampa, so we ended up flying into Fort Myers. I decided to stay overnight in Venice, as a friend of mine had mentioned that it was a nice place. A quick scouting of the area indicated that shooting the fishing pier was a prime choice, so off I went the next day before dawn.
Being on the west coast of Florida, I didn't know what time the light would hit the pier and at what angle. I also chose to only bring my Fuji 23mm lens (35mm equivalent) as part of my Field Report for the PhotoFrontier's WE35 project. In other words, a lot of uncertainty before I headed out. My worries proved to be unfounded, as the light hit the pier perfectly, and, after doing a lot of zooming with my feet, I shot from a lot of angles. It was a windy day, and I decided to shoot some long exposures to smooth the water and have the flag blurred by the wind. A great start to the trip.
Waves - York, Maine
A quick post and run today. When the NxNW crew headed to Maine to shoot Nubble Light, the weather and rain made shooting the lighthouse quite the challenge, being that I have shot the light many times, I focused on shooting long exposure shots of the ocean flowing onto the rocks along the coastline.
Street Art - Union Square, San Francisco
Nothing beats walking around the city by the bay and looking for photo opportunities. Even on early mornings when the weather doesn't cooperate, subjects seem to attract my attention. We had visited Union Square the night before, and the place was packed with people taking in a free concert. The light was great and the mood was festive. I figured I would head out before dawn and shoot the area. There was no sunrise due to the overcast skies and drizzle. Union Square was deserted, especially when compared to the night before. I spotted this cool piece of art and shot a few shots of it.
Three Sisters - Canmore, Alberta
If shooting all week in Banff National Park and the Icefields Parkway wasn't enough, we headed down south of Banff Townsite to Canmore. Looking to find a decent view of the Three Sisters, no roads were spared in our search. Roads that looked promising turned out to be dead ends as far as views. The we turned onto a road that didn't look promising, and we ended up not only in a trailer park, but also with this view. Proves that exploring, no matter what the prospects start out to be, might end up with a treasure.
I Want This House - Newport, Rhode Island
Headed home to Connecticut today after three weeks in the warm Florida sun. Weather forecast for when we land is 11 degrees, about 65 degrees colder than when we board our flight. I know those we left behind in New England have been suffering through one of the worst winters in a long time. While I am wishing that winter would be over once we land, I figured I might as well go for it and wish that this home located on Newport's Cliff Walk was mine.
President's Day - Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota
Today is Presidents Day and I can think of no better photo to post than this one of Mount Rushmore. Compare the achievements of these great presidents to the ones we have had to endure over the recent past. None of them will be featured in any monuments.
Turret Arch - Arches National Park, Utah
The sandstone formations in the American Southwest are second to none. There are so many unusual rocks that each of them have their own special names. Nowhere is this more true than in Arches National Park. There are over 2,000 natural sandstone arches within the park. While there are some memorable ones, Turret Arch is one of the more unusually shaped ones. The arch got its name as its right "tower" resembles a castle's turret. I particularly like the great color contrast between the orange sandstone and the deep blue sky that is typical of the southwest.
Guard Tower - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
I have posted quite a number of interior urbex photos of Eastern State Penitentiary, but there are some terrific subjects from the outside too. I wish that I could tell you that I found this guard tower on purpose, but the fact is that I stumbled upon it by pure luck. I was setting up for a bracket for a long cell block photo and my camera wouldn't fire. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what was wrong, and I was getting an error message blinking. I took the camera and tripod outside so I could see better what was going on. It turned out that the lens wasn't communicating with the camera. After taking the lens off and putting it back on, all was well. I looked up, and this was the scene that was in front of me. Better lucky than good.
Last Dollar Ranch - Ridgeway, Colorado
One of the stops that Rick Louie took us to on his Colorado Fall Photo Tour was the entrance gate to the legendary Last Dollar Ranch. The ranch, which is privately owned, has appeared on numerous television shows. It has also been the setting for commercials for Marlboro and Budweiser. After a long history, the ranch was donated to the American Farmland Trust in 1994. The ranch includes nine fully restored buildings and is set near the Sneffels Mountain Range.
When we got to the gate, the skies were getting ominous looking. As we were shooting, a woman drove up, got out of her truck, and gave us a dirty look that said, "You should leave here." Without a further word, she got back in her car and sped away. We continued to shoot the area in hopes of getting some decent sunset shots.
Office Spiral - Manhattan, New York
After a long day of walking and shooting on the streets of Manhattan, we headed toward the Path station near the Freedom Tower. It was a foggy day, and I got some great photos of the tower. While the others continued shooting, I walked around and spotted this building across the plaza. I thought that the way the building was lit, along with the spiral staircase, was very cool looking. I wanted to get someone walking down the stairs and after a few minutes, I got my wish.
Mirror - Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
What a difference a day makes. My first morning in Rocky Mountain National Park, I headed out to Sprague Lake to shoot at sunrise. The weather was overcast and rainy and the results showed it. I ended up with maybe a couple of good shots, but nothing to write home about. This was the second time that I have been to the lake and was shut out (the first time was in 2008). I was determined to get some nice shots at the lake and figured that the third time would be the charm. The next morning I headed back, and this is what greeted me. The light was great, the lake smooth as glass, and the only thing missing were some clouds in the sky. After the previous morning, I could live with that.
Redwood - Sequoia National Park, California
One of the hardest subjects for me to shoot are the towering redwoods found in California. There are many challenges in shooting these beautiful trees. The first challenge is dealing with a high dynamic range (the difference in light from the darkest part of the photo to the brightest part). Often the sun doesn't reach the ground, causing the bottom of the tree to be in darkness. That contrasts greatly with the bright sky and sunlight on the leaves at the top of the tree. Until they make cameras that have the dynamic range of our eyes, this will always be a challenge.
Another challenge is getting the whole tree in the photo without it looking like it is leaning back. Usually, the forest is pretty dense, and there is no room to back up to get it in the frame. Using a wide-angle lens can get the tree into the frame, but it often looks like it is leaning backwards. Of course, if I had a very specialized lens (tilt-shift), I could stop that from happening, but I don't have one in my arsenal.
In any case, I do the best that I can with what I have, and hope that some creative editing will minimize these challenges. I think this redwood from Sequoia National Park came out pretty good.
What About the Blue Nozzle? - Brooklyn, New York
A quick post for today. I took this photo on a scouting trip with my son for his New York Film Academy short film. I had to chuckle when I saw these brightly covered nozzles on a building in Brooklyn. There were hard to miss placards for the green and pink nozzles and I wondered what the blue nozzle was for and why it didn't have a placard.