Tis the Season . . .

Photo taken during the Murder City 5th Annual Christmas Lights Walk.

Sloshing through St. Augustine

This weekend was our annual trip to St. Augustine to see the beautiful lights and the boat parade. We meet up with friends who ride there on their scooters. We are all old friends from our bicycle riding days. Some still ride, and some a little less often. That would be me. Have to change that in the new year. I am still trying to figure out a good way to carry my camera and a tripod.

On the trip up we stopped at Fort Matanzas. To get there one takes a small ferry across Matanzas Bay(about five minutes or less). It's a small fort but very picturesque. We lucked out with having re enactors there to fire the cannon.

The second stop was to the St. Augustine Light. We actually paid for the opportunity to climb the 219 steps to the top. Its worth the effort for the 360 degree view of St. Augustine and the Atlantic Ocean.

Soon after heading towards the old town of St. Augustine, the rains came and never really stopped until after we left the next morning. We decided to forego the boat parade and went to dinner at Schooner's, a seafood restaurant north of St. Augustine. After dinner three of us drove around town to see the lights.

Photography in the rain can be a challenge, so I only used my Sony RX100 and also my Canon G10 infrared converted camera. With raingear and an umbrella it was manageable. Starting home Sunday morning it was still raining but decided to park and walk around town anyways. Overcast and wet streets usually make the photos better. In an effort to discover some new areas we walked south to the National Cemetery. There were fresh wreaths on each grave stone. Quite a beautiful site. Talking with a lady who was there we found out about a program called "Wreaths Across America." Every December a fresh wreath is laid on the graves of service men and women in the National Cemeteries across the country. The motto is "Remember, Honor and Teach."

St. Augustine National Cemetery

Lightner Museum Courtyard Infrared

Avile Street - Sony RX100 In camera HDR

Discovering a Hidden Gem amongst the Suburban Sprawl

A friend told me about the Everglades Trail along Shingle Creek in the Hunter's Creek subdivision. This is the headwaters for the Everglades. The beginning of it is just across the street from my office off of John Young Parway. I had been there once before and thought it was a nice trail so I went back to check it out again. Of course I had a camera with me this time. I didn't bother with a tripod because I was just exploring and it was high noon. Not the best time of day for photography. I saw several birds, turtles, squirrels but missed the otter that others said they saw. Maybe next time I will get there early and see more wildlife. The best part is that this trail is only four miles from my office. Could be a lunch time getaway.

Shingle Creek - the headwaters of the Everglades

Ocala Horse Farms

Great day after Thanksgiving photographing Horses, Horse Farms and Fence lines in Ocala with some fellow photographers. Infrared works well with the landscapes of farms and fence lines. The horses were all gorgeous. The last stop before home was the Gypsy Gold Ranch where they breed Gypsy Vanner horses. The owners were very hospitable and invited us to look around the ranch and take pictures. The horses weren't in groomed condition so were not as photogenic but all were all beautiful and very friendly.

Cleaning out, Reworking and Having Fun!

Topaz Simplify BuzSim

As I try my best to organize the mess I have made of my photo library, I come across images that I took awhile back. It's fun to rework them with new skills I have learned and also try some interesting filters, textures and effects.

Two sailboats barely visible in the dense December fog. I like the effect of the texture overlay.

Going for a vintage photo with faded photo and scratched effect
 

Jekyll Island Boneyard

Sunrise at Boneyard Beach, 30 second exposure

On the trip back from my Macro Workshop in Charlotte I had a stop over in Jekyll Island, Georgia. I have been wanting to go there to photography the famous Boneyard Beach at sunrise and now I was getting the chance. The trouble with just a one night stay is that you never can predict what the weather and light conditions will be. I had good weather but crystal clear skies and low tide. You can't have everything but I made the best with what I had. I will try to go back again to get different and hopefully better conditions. I hiked out to the beach in the daylight after arriving to scout out the best locations. Early, I mean early in the morning in the dark I hiked back out to the spots I had chosen. Now, the tide was out and everything took on a different look. It would have been nice to have more water coming in under the drift wood to get the silky soft water I have seen in photos. Next time.

Problems I encountered was getting too much grain in the long exposures and chromatic aberration. I can fix them both in Lightroom, but would like to start with less of both. Before leaving I explored the historical district of the island and took some infrared shots.

Added some clouds in this image.

Macro Road Trip

Sunrise at Folly Pier

Old City of Charleston

Private Garden

"Rainbow" Row along the waterfront

Macro Images from Mike Moats workshop

Nautilus Shell

Watch and parts

I decided to sign up for a Macro Workshop put on my photographer Mike Moats. I missed all of his workshops that were close to home, so I found one near Charlotte, NC that I could drive to. In order to make this a more interesting trip I planned stops on the way up in Charleston and the trip back at Jekyll Island. In Charleston, I explored the Magnolia Cemetary, walked over the new Ravenel Bridge, walked around the old city and in the morning took sunrise shots at Folly Pier. By the time I got to the old city it was getting dark, so I returned in the morning to take some infrared photos of the gardens. My next stop was Mooresville, north of Charlotte for the two and a half day Macro Workshop. Good thing it was all indoors, because the morning temperature of 27 degrees broke a record. Mike teaches in a way that is simple to understand and using affordable equipment can be accomplished. Friday night session was an intro into his work and background, an overview of the necessary equipment. Saturday he went over techniques for shooting macro and in the afternoon, we each had a station and a large variety of subjects to photograph. I rented a macro lens for the week but found out later that some of the lenses I already have would have worked. I am still contemplating wether or not I need a dedicated macro lens. The trip home was broken up by an overnight stay at Jekyll Island. More on Jekyll Island in the next post.