Archive for the ‘Places’ Category
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
During my current trip to Alabama, I took a ride into Oak Mountain State Park on what most considered a horrible rainy afternoon. While driving through, I saw a lake to my right and was fortunate enough to find that NO ONE was around! Their loss, my gain…
When I came around the corner, I saw a beautiful clash of colorful paddle boats and canoes sitting at the dock. The amount of color was just too much to walk away from, so I parked in the empty lot, put on the best lens I had with me, and walked out to the dock looking for the right angle to get this capture.
All I can say is walk around your subject until you can see what you really want to capture. I never imagined I would stand where I did to capture this shot. But, it was the best for lighting and color. Time was also on my side when the sky opened up and I caught the gorgeous blue sky with gray and white clouds just above the tree line. Don’t stay in if it is raining, you never know what you will find!
Tags: alabama, boats, Flickr, geotag, lake, location, Photography, photos, pictures, red, tree, water
Posted in Downtown, Everglades, Flickr, Miami Beach, People, Photography, Places, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Monday, April 20th, 2009
First and foremost, a very big thank you goes out to my buddy Ross at www.floridaphoto.com for a great flight on a perfect afternoon yesterday. Can’t wait to do it again!
Last time I went flying with Ross I had a Sony DSC-H1. The pics came out ok, but back then I was a pure point-and-shoot kinda guy. No manual settings, everything was set to automatic. The pictures came out fine, but nothing like the ones from yesterday using manual settings on my 450D!
I started out trying to shoot at ISO 100, then 200, only to find out that my shutter speed was way too slow for what I wanted to capture. Based upon his suggestions, I made some adjustments and all I can say is THANKS – it definitely made a difference in the sharpness of the pics.
Another thing I learned is that next time, I won’t be attempting to use my circular polarizer AND I will wear a dark color shirt to minimize the reflections from the inside of of the window on my side. Of course, one of those nifty holes in the window on the other side will help as well Ross – LOL.
If you are looking for aerial photography around South Florida – take a look at Ross’ site mentioned at the opening of this entry. If he doesn’t already have what you want, you won’t be disappointed with his work!
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Tags: aerial, beach, Flickr, flight, florida, flying, geotag, islands, miami, Miami Beach, Photography, photos, pictures, water
Posted in Downtown, Flickr, Miami Beach, People, Photography, Places | No Comments »
Friday, April 17th, 2009
Talk about timing!
I was recently out with a friend of mine and his wife taking Loop Road out by the Miami-Dade / Collier County line… It was a 25 mile or so drive through the Everglades off of Tamiami Trail which proved to give me one of the best shots yet.
But, I must say, that all of this was absolute perfect timing! I was using the standard 18-55mm lens on my XSi, while my buddy was using his new 200mm lens on his camera. After standing out there for a few minutes, I asked if I could borrow it for a couple of shots and that’s when the magic happened!
The apparently young falcon was simply sitting there enjoying the sunlight when it decided to spread its wings and turn around for us! It was stunning to say the least! Needless to say, I am now in the market for the Tamron 18-270mm lens with the Canon mount for my XSi. With a couple of back-to-back trips coming up in May, I can tell you that I will absolutely have this lens for that next perfect timing moment!
Tags: Everglades, falcon, florida, miami, Photography, photos, pictures, timing, tree, wildlife
Posted in Everglades, Flickr, Photography | No Comments »
Saturday, February 7th, 2009
Sometimes one sets out on a hunt for the perfect location to take pictures of their subject, only to find a surprise location on the way home!
Today I drove down to Watson Island with a friend to get some pictures of his car in front of the Miami skyline. We went there, took the pictures from several angles, and then it started to rain.
We decided it was time to move on and see how the rest of the day would go. Perhaps we would come back if the rain stopped and take a few more pictures before heading in for the day. We ate lunch in Coconut Grove and decided to continue towards home.
As we drove through Coconut Grove, we observed a great photo stop. I jumped out of the car and started shooting… The result – awesome!
If you are taking pictures for fun like me, don’t forget to take a look around while driving to and from your selected location… you may drive by a place that is perfect!
Tags: car, corvette, florida, fountain, location, miami, red, tree, water
Posted in Photography, Places | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009
Wondering where you could shoot pictures related to farm work, agriculture, and livestock in great weather at just about any time throughout the year? Look no further than Miami’s agricultural areas!
Southwest Miami-Dade County hosts a thriving agricultural community. During the proper season, you can find fresh strawberries, tomatoes, avocados and many other fruit and vegetables being grown in south Florida. With a little time before heading home, I stopped to take some pictures of things and places that many people don’t get to see or enjoy down here. Most Miami visitors do not know that driving west is not only to get to the Everglades, but it can afford visitors the opportunity to take some incredible pictures.
Horses, birds, plants, and other animals are plentiful in this area. In fact, I am planning on heading back out there soon to find the wild peacocks that I saw. Unfortunately, they were spooked off and I was unable to capture any of them with my camera. Most people probably didn’t think of farm or agriculture pictures when mentioning Miami, but now you can keep this in mind if you are contemplating a certain theme for a photo series. Most areas are accessible via paved and unpaved roadways which provide a great backdrop to frame your shots.
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Tags: agricultural, agriculture, crops, farms, florida, green, linear, miami, plants, ranch, rows, sunset
Posted in Photography, Places | No Comments »
Sunday, January 4th, 2009
Most of the pictures that I have posted to my Flickr account have been geotagged. That is, they have information attached to them which gives the location of where the photo was taken at.
Geotagging can happen without much interaction if you use a GPS enabled phone to take pictures and upload them to a photo sharing service like the one I use. The picture of this cruise ship at sunrise was obviously taken in Miami, but what if you wanted to take a similar picture when you are in this area? By clicking on the picture and then scrolling down to the “Additional Information” on the bottom right of the photo page, you will see a link to the map for that picture.
As long as the photographer has allowed geotagging, or manually adds pictures to the Flickr map, you will get a pretty good idea of where the picture was taken from.
One caution about leaving geotagging “on” at all times… Remember that if you don’t want people to know where you live, work, or frequent, you may want to think twice about using it. Like I mentioned, MOST of my stuff is mapped, but some things just aren’t!
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Tags: cruise ship, Downtown, florida, geotag, miami, water
Posted in Downtown | No Comments »
Saturday, January 3rd, 2009
For the first time in a long time, I spent New Years Eve somewhere other than at home. It was nice to get out of the norm, but if you don’t enjoy crowds, fireworks, and having a good time, stay away from South Beach!
I ended up getting to the beach at about 9pm and was surprised to find light traffic (compared to a regular Friday or Saturday night’s traffic). I dropped off most of the carload which was with me and headed to 5th Street to find parking in the public garage for a $15 flat rate.
After walking back to the apartment and meeting up with friends, we enjoyed a few drinks, music, and headed to Ocean Drive for the countdown and fireworks. Didn’t get home until about 3:30am…
Having just purchased a new camera and having plenty of things to take pictures of, this was an experimental shot leaning on a fixed object and leaving the lens open for 10 seconds. The street and sidewalks are actually full of people… For more pictures, visit my Flickr set for New Years Eve 2009.
Tags: florida, miami, Miami Beach, new years, ocean drive, south beach
Posted in Miami Beach | No Comments »
