Sheltered

Sheltered 

July 6, 2012. "Sheltered." Ormond-By-The-Sea, Florida.

But for one mother with her baby, beachgoers seem unaffected as fronts colide on Florida's coast, creating a thunderstorm directly overhead.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/250. f/16. ISO 100. LR 4.1.

Orb

Orb 

June 22, 2012. "Orb." Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies, Orlando, Florida.

It always surprises me when discussions of "great" Florida architecture fail to include the Winnie Palmer Hospital, instead cataloging out a list of inferior, uninspired, sentimental inclusions because tourists may know their names.

Then there's relatively unrecognized Winnie Palmer Hospital. The fact is, when you go to a hospital, you're stressed. The Winnie Palmer building centers around the patient and the anxious family in a very literal, circular way, making them feel protected and drawn together. Patient rooms in the towers feed out like spokes on a wheel and feel more like nice hotel rooms than institutional cubes for an endless night of beeping and needle sticking.

The orb in the front is a huge waiting room, bringing in showers of tranquil natural light and eliminating that "trapped" feeling that sets in after an hour or ten.

When visiting photographers express a desire to take unusual photos of the Orlando not seen, I always include Winnie Palmer building. A few weeks later, I enjoy seeing their overly processed pictures of Disney as if they were uniquely blessed that year among Orlando's 51 million annual tourists to catch that prefabricated moment in the Magic Kingdom. Orlando area photographers tend to feed into the perception that there's nothing worth shooting in Orlando outside the theme parks, and it is a shame.


Years ago, guidebook author and PBS nerd extraordinaire Rick Steeves was asked, "What is the one place that you would never go back to?" His answer, "I was recently in Orlando and couldn’t stop thinking how miserable I’d be if I had to write a guidebook chapter on that city."

Rick Steeves writes the best tour books on European cities for budget travelers. His books are about exploring the non-touristy side of cities while still taking in the popular sites, and I wouldn't get on a plane crossing the Atlantic without his current version.

Mr. Steeves, like most Orlando tourists and convention delegates, forgets this as soon as tires touch down at Orlando International Airport.

Every place has its beauty. Go find it where you live, in your own backyard.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/30. f/2.8. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Cattle Car. Toronto, Canada

Cattle Car. Toronto, Canada.

May 24, 2012. "Cattle Car." Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The faces on commuters, each alone in thought along Toronto's Bloor-Danforth line, seem to scream "Happy Monday!"

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/125. f/4.5. ISO 800. LR 2.

In Stride - CN Tower, Toronto, Canada

In Stride - CN Tower, Toronto, Canada

May 25, 2012. "In Stride - CN Tower." Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

A commuter walks across the Bathurst Street bridge in Toronto. The CN Tower featured in the shot is the "tallest freestanding structure in North America" and an architectural icon for the city of Toronto and one of the highlights of its ultra-modern skyline.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/250. f/8.0. ISO 100. LR 2.

Date Night

Date Night

May 11, 2012. "Date Night." Taken at the Snap! Orlando photography exhibit in downtown Orlando, Florida.

Picture 4 of 5 from the Snap! Orlando series is a continuation of yesterday's post, this time focusing in on just one couple watching a street photography movie by Marc Gouby.

Something about the girl in the picture reminded me of one of my favorite Salvador Dali paintings, "Girl's Back," except refreshingly less lonely in this shot.

For me, this shot is a celebration of the awkward moments when you first start falling in love; the days when the highlight of your Friday evening is pretending that you're engrossed in a documentary film, while the someone next to you does exactly the same, just so that moment won't have to end.

This photo sets the stage for tomorrow's fifth and final shot of the series. I hope that you see a little of yourself in the faceless couple and return tomorrow for the conclusion.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/30. f/2.8. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Stop. Celebrate the photograph. Snap.

Stop. Celebrate the photograph. Snap.

May 11, 2012. "Stop. Celebrate the photograph. Snap." Downtown Orlando, Florida.

This entire week will feature a series of shots taken at the annual Snap! Orlando photography exhibit.

I'll start with this fitting title slide, and a story about why this shot makes me smile.

Snap! Orlando changes venues each year. This year, the main exhibits were held in a warehouse dubbed "Urban Wild" in downtown Orlando, right next to the Interstate. An illuminated, temporary sign kiosk was placed out front to mark the way to the overnight museum, which was filled with trendy, mostly overdressed folks who looked beautiful, like they were straight out of the first five minutes of any CSI Miami episode.

I framed and shot this two times. The first time, it was just the sign. Immediately after clicking the shutter, I saw the bicycle zipping along the sidewalk and thought of that famous photo of the bicyclist by Henri Cartier-Bresson. No time to change the shutter speed, I quickly changed the camera into manual focus so that it would take the picture when I wanted it to and got this one shot off.

So my bicyclist is a little blurred, too, as was Henri's. Still, this imperfect photo captures what I love about photography. Part composition. Part inspiration. Part happenstance.

Every shot a unique moment, never to happen again.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/15. f/5. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Carousel

Carousel

April 29, 2012. Carousel. Downtown Disney.

Children become knights and princesses for a few instants one evening at Downtown Disney.

Shooting Tip: the Leica X1 has an unusably slow auto focus, particularly in low light. The Fujifilm X-100 and X-Pro1 are known for the same difficulty. This shot was taken by manually focusing on the outside rim of the carousel at about the same distance as the midpoint of the shot would be.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/125. f/2.8. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Street Portraits With Permission - Al from Ravalia's Pasta Bar

Street Portraits With Permission - Al from Ravalia's Pasta

March 31, 2012. Street Portraits With Permission - Al from Ravalia's Pasta Bar in Casselberry, Florida

I decided to start a "Street Portraits With Permission" series, and Al from Ravalia's Pasta Bar in Casselberry, Florida, was gracious enough to be my first subject.

When I was growing up, I had an Italian great uncle named Carl who owned an Italian bread bakery in Clearwater. One of my favorite childhood memories was going to visit Uncle Carl and having him teach me how to roll hoagies in flour before they went into the oven. He exuded southern Italian hospitality, vibrance, and charm.

When I met Al this past weekend on my first trip into his restaurant, he reminded me of my Uncle Carl as he patiently talked to my wife about how he makes the pasta every day and which tomatoes he uses in different sauces.

The pasta, by the way, was excellent and extremely reasonably priced! They serve a real Neapolitan thin-crust pizza that I will be back next week to try.

Some people just brighten your day without meaning to. Hopefully this is the first in what will be a long series of capturing that.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/125. f/2.8. ISO 400. LR 2.

Tea Break

Tea Break

March 2, 2012. Tea Break.

Loved how the light played off of the three groups of people in this photo, each in their own world.

This shot was taken at Pom Pom's Tea House in Orlando's Bohemian Milk District near Bumby and Robinson. (It's called "The Milk District" due to its proximity to a milk processing warehouse near the Executive Airport).

This was the first stop on a Vespa-powered photo walk across town. The rest of the week will feature pictures from Orlando's iconic Lake Eola fountain and its fine feathered residents.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/25. f/8.0. ISO 800. LR 2.

Field Trip

Field Trip

February 16, 2012. Field Trip. A late evening field trip tour is less than enthralled with the made up stories told by a historical re-enactor guide on Saint George Street in Saint Augustine, Florida.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/15. f/2.8. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Colony Theater

Colony Theater

February 3, 2012. Colony Theater. Winter Park, Florida.

From 1939 to 1975, the Art Deco Colony Theater was an active theater and one of the hot entertainment spots for Orlando area residents.

Now, it's Pottery Barn #431, just a short walk from The Gap.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/60. f/2.8. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Homeward Bound

Homeward Bound

January 24, 2012. Homeward Bound. A self-portrait. Camera on ground, set to 12-second timer, and aimed at a nearby window.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/4. f/8.0. ISO 400. LR 2.

Family In Motion

Family in Motion

December 26, 2011. Family In Motion. A family runs around Fort Matanzas National Monument about an hour and a half northeast of Orlando.

Built around 1742 to protect the southern inlet approach to Saint Augustine, it only saw about ten minutes of combat action as warning shots were fired to let the British know that the cannons were operational, even though the tower was still under construction.

The area is called "Matanzas" or "bloodbath" because this was the site of a 1565 slaughter of hundreds of French troops from Fort Caroline, modern day Jacksonville, by the Spanish.

The official National Park Service Brochure has some wonderful information about this hidden historical gem, one of my favorite historical and natural spots in Florida.


 Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/500. f/8.0. ISO 100. LR 2.

Pottery

Pottery

December 26, 2011. Pottery. Taken at Market to Market in St Augustine, Florida.

I don't talk a lot about technique typically, but I realize that I probably should. Here's a little background behind some personal composition projects that I've been working on during my photo walks, and how several of them came together on this shot.

First is textures. I love textures, and the Spanish pottery, concrete, and trees in this one had plenty. I set f/8.0 to try to capture those textures with a good depth of field even though it was dark. I knew that ISO noise would be acceptable due to the subject matter, so I set it to ISO 1600 with a 1/15 second shutter speed, hand-held.

Second is lights fading away towards infinity. This one had a bunch of those, so I was good there, too.

Third is sectioning off the photo by depth. This one had a light foreground, a dark middle, and a light background thanks to the open door at the end of the room. Lots of parallel lines gracefully intersecting near corners and thirds are also a plus, as was the way that the pots in the foreground continue the composition off of the frame. I like when little elements are left to the viewer's mind to complete.

The fourth was a very pleasant accident. After taking the first shot (not shown), a tourist walked into the doorway wearing dark clothes. I've been working on shooting light subjects on dark backgrounds and dark subjects on light backgrounds. I'm also partial to people entering, leaving, or viewed through doorways since it seems rich in symbolic potential.

The subject cooperated by not moving very fast, the second shot was clicked, and the result is seen above.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/15. f/8.0. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Cafe Canem

Cafe Canem

December 30, 2011. Cafe Canem. Winter Park, Florida.

The Romans were known to have mosaic signs warning "Cave Canem" or "Beware of the dog," not because their pets were fierce, but rather because their pets were small and easy to step upon.

Orlando's nicer and less-touristy neighborhoods are known for their dog-friendly sidewalk cafes. This owner was just sitting down and scooping his pooch up so that he wouldn't get stepped on by the people walking down the sidewalk.

I am trying a new technique with my Leica X1 when shooting shots like this to compensate for its extremely slow focus times. Instead of trying to autofocus, I zone focus to a distance before starting my photo walk and set f/8.0 to give good clarity and depth of field. I set the shutter speed to somewhere around 1/500 of a second and adjust it as needed. I've found ISOs of 400, 800, and 1600 work well for these settings. I try to avoid 1600 to avoid excess noise.

This shot would have been better had both the owner and the dog been looking up. Still, I like diagonal formed by the five main subjects, along with the dark/light/dark alternation between what they are wearing.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/500. f/8.0. ISO 800. LR 2.

Banyan Tree

Banyan Tree

October 28, 2011. An ancient Banyan Tree in the Cypress Gardens section of Legoland, Florida, creates a maze of vegetation as it drops roots from its branches.

 Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/30. f/3.5. ISO 100. LR 2.

Shadow Riders

Shadow Riders

October 15, 2011. Shadows cast by irregular street lighting outside Orlando Brewing during the 2011 Orlando Scooter Society Rally make second shadows of Adam and Dave from Vespa Orlando appear to ride the vintage Vespa 150 parked by the fence.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/30. f/2.8. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Long Monday, Followed By a Wet Ride Home

Long Monday, Followed By a Wet Ride Home

September 19, 2011. After working late one Monday at i/oTrak's E-Z Photo Scan division in Altamonte Springs, Florida, I came out to a pouring rainstorm and a very wet but happy Vespa ride home.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/400. f/2.8. ISO 100. LR 2.

Brisket

Brisket

October 6, 2011. As a father pays for his meal from the C&S Brisket Bus during the monthly Apopka Food Truck Roundup at Kit Land Nelson Park, his daughter tries to swing from the hatch door.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/30. f/9.0. ISO 400. LR 2.

Drinks Alone

Drinks Alone

October 9, 2011. A lone Eastern European patron drinks a glass of wine at Hannibal's in Winter Park, Florida, as light casts up through the granite bar.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/30. f/2.8. ISO 1600. LR 2.