St. Augustine Safari

I was so looking forward to the weekend in St. Augustine and being able to photograph at sunrise on the beach and at St. John's Pier. All in all, the weather wasn't too bad with intermittent rain but early on Saturday morning it poured, so no sunrise shots. At least I had another day on Sunday to try again. I was at the pier way before the sunrise to find a good location. The surf was pounding and the winds were fierce and there were clouds on the horizon. I think the shots before the actual sunrise were better with the lights on the pier. I used Color Efex Pro to intensify the color somewhat on the sunrise shot since you couldn't see the sun as it came up. It was good practice and I used a polarizing filter to lengthen the exposure and blur the rough surf.





About a half hour before the actual sunrise

Inlet near St. Augustine Light

Early morning on the beach at Anastasia State Park

The Pier at Vilano Beach, north of St. Augustine on A1A



Brooksville Bike Race

Finally a bike race to practice my photograhy on. I have been wanting to try some panning shots although I won't count this as completely successful. This time I used a neutral density filter so I could slow down the shutter speed. That seemed to  help and now I just need to get the speed of the pan smoother.

Almost Heaven, West Virginia

Dolly Sods at Sunrise

Five days in West Virginia, Canaan Valley photographing the fall colors and waterfalls with members of the Ohio Valley Camera Club and Orlando Camera Club. We seemed to have a touch of all four seasons up there including some remnants of snow on the day we arrived. We arrived on a cold and rainy day which was OK since we had to drive around five hours north of the airport in Huntington. Our first day of shooting was still cool with intermitant drizzle and fog. The forecast was to clear the next day and from then on the weather was near perfect. As we drove up Dolly Sods for the sunrise we drove in and out of fog but it was clear when we arrived at the top. It was also windy and cold but the sunrise didn't disappoint. After breakfast we drove to Cass where we explored the factory ruins and then rode the Steam Train up to Bald Nob.

Old Sawmill and Water Tower at Cass Historic Steam Train

Typical View along West Virginia Country Road

Douglas Falls

The best day was the day we shot the waterfalls. We went to Douglas Falls in the morning and then got back together in the afternoon to shoot Elakala Falls in Blackwater Falls State Park. Getting to the best vantage point required some agility and careful steps down slippery rocks to the waters edge. I believe it was worth it. I have learned that the key to getting the soft, flowing water is to use either a polarizer, or neutral density filter and a long shutter speed.

Douglas Falls HDR shot



Douglas Falls f/11, 1/4sec.



Lutheran Church in Davis, W. Virginia

Small and large farms of West Virginia

Ohio Farm and fall colors