Ice House - Sebastian Fl.

This year we moved into a new home near the small coastal town of Sebastian Fl.  We have been on the road living full time in a motorhome for over three years and decided we needed to settle down in a  home again.  We chose this area because of the closeness to the Atlantic Ocean and small town feel of the area.  I remember a photographer telling me that I wouldn't use my camera much living in Florida because there is nothing to photograph.  I realized with moving here there would not be the mountains or dense forest with waterfalls that I am use to living around, but I have found there are plenty of opportunities to photograph in a land of big skies.  Some of my best work in over forty years have been made here in the past year.  Yes it is easy to become bored with the flat and predictable landscape but if you are open to the possibilities there are many new an exciting images that can be made in Florida.  I made this image this morning in Sebastian of an old ice house that was used to keep the fresh fish for processing.  I used a -16 stop neutral density filter attached to my 40 to 105mm zoom lens.  The exposure was around 3 minutes at f11.  

Soft Light

I have always preferred to photograph in soft light when possible.  I enjoy working in the soft glow of light just after sunset or on a cloudy day to give added detail in my landscape images.  Sunny days often times are too harsh with the deep shadows to bring out all the tones and details that can exist in a landscape scene.  This image was taken in Texas along the Guadalupe River just after sunset.  The light from the western sky eluminated the tree roots to give a soft glow to the detail and texture of the twisted root structure.  When I visited the area earlier in the day the roots were in full sun and very contrasty.  When possible, I will visit a location numerous times to determine the best time of day for the type of light I prefer to make my exposure.

Crop Land

While travel on route 1 along the coast in California I can across some farm workers laying out an above ground irrigation system.  They were dragging long sections of plastic pipe into position with a large bulldozer.  It was near the end of their work day and they were just finishing up on this section of land.  I was attracted to the surreal and abstract look of the empty ground with the white lines going back into the sky area. 

Golden Gate Bridge

A couple of weeks ago we walked across the Golden Gate Bridge.  We were fortunate to have a clear day without the typical fog that covers the bridge.  As we were about a third of the way across I noticed this structure across the bridge highway and stopped to make a long exposure.  I setup my camera and tripod on the walkway and backed up to a support post to avoid the pedestrians walking by.  I made a three minute exposure using a -10 stop neutral density filter.  During the exposure hundreds of cars  crossed in front of me on the roadway going in both directions.  There was a steady stream a people walking in front of my camera during the exposure that never interfered with the image.  One thing nice about long exposure photography is that you can make moving objects disappear in the scene.  The other concern I had to deal with was the bridge vibration from all of the traffic crossing the bridge.  I knew if the camera and tripod moved up and down with the bridge motion, that the image would be sharp regardless of the long three minute exposure time.  This is what I love about photography,  the challenge of making new and interesting photos in difficult situations.  

Log in Rocks

I made this image recently along the Oregon coast.  The rugged coastline of the Pacific Northwest is much different than the Atlantic Ocean we live near here in Florida.  Walking the beaches along the Pacific is inspiring and there is something new with every turn.  When photographing in these locations it is easy to bypass some interesting subjects by concentrating on only the scenery of the ocean.  This log was jammed into the rocks most likely by a powerful storm.  The image was made close to sunset in total shade.  I used a 17mm wide angel lens on my Canon 5D11 camera. 

Bandon Oregon

We just returned from a two week camping trip along the California and Oregon coastline.  We started out in Big Sur Ca. and ended up in Bandon Or.  The ride north up route 1 and then 101 is one of the most beautiful road trips we have ever made.  The two lane road hugs the coastline the entire way and gives ample opportunities for making some fun photographs.  This image was made in Bandon Or. after sunset.  I used about a 5 sec. exposure to blur the water but still leave some detail to show some motion of the incoming waves around the rock.  It is always fun and refreshing to get out and create some new images and explore some new areas.

Renovo Pa.

                                                         R.R. Worker

In the northern central part of Pennsylvania there is a region called the Pennsylvania Wilds. It is a rural mountainous and pristine land of over 2 million acres.  We enjoyed tent camping in this region of the state and had many encounters with the large timber rattles that populate the area.  When we camped and hiked we always stayed on the trials and kept a watchful eye out for both snakes and black bear that roam the area.  While exploring this area we always took time to visit the small mountain towns we came across.  One small town we visited was called Renovo.  It sits on the west branch of the Susquehanna River and was an old logging and mining town build in the early 1800's.  When we pulled into town we were both impressed and sadden with the old stately buildings that were vacant and in a state of disrepair.  We could see that this was once prosperous town with grand buildings from the old logging days in the Pennsylvania mountains.  We took time out to walk around the town and look at some of the old buildings.  I came across this old 5 & 10 store and was taken back to thoughts of my childhood when these stores were in every small town.  I setup my view camera and as I was composing the scene of the store front, I notice this man coming my way down the street.  I stopped him to ask a few questions about the area and he told me a long history about the old town.  He was a R.R. worker on his way to work, and said he was one of the few people left working in the massive R.R. yards that is located across from the main street.  Renovo was a properous Railroad town that hauled lumber and coal from the mountains.  It's wealth was generated by the hard work of immigrate families who came to America seeking a better life.  At one time the town had a population of nearly 5,000 people, now it has been reduced to about 1,000.  Growing in the weeds with the boarded up store fronts one can see the remains of the hopes, dreams, and hard work of a past generation.

Some videos of this old town.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1H2gdoGpEA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1H2gdoGpEA
http://www.ncpenn.com/ren_chrono.html