Skate Augustine

Skate Augustine

November 16, 2014. Skate Augustine. Saint Augustine, Florida.

Historic but touristy Saint Augustine provides a scenic background to layers of human stories.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/15. f/2.8. ISO 1600. LR 4.1

Orange Grove Stand

Orange Grove Stand

December 26, 2011. Orange Grove Stand. Near Saint Augustine, Florida.

There's something about a highway orange grove stand that just feels right in Florida.

Tacky. Touristy. Yet something about it captures the bright, laid-back spirit essential to being a Floridian. Stopping at an orange grove stand feels like traveling back in time to pay respects to where you came from.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/25. f/8.0. ISO 100. LR 2.

Egret at Night

Egret at Night

February 16, 2012. Egret at Night.

Taken just outside the Castillo de San Marcos park boundaries along with waterfront in Saint Augustine, Florida. A lone egret fishes along the retaining wall late at night.

This long-exposure shot was taken in the pitch black, using the retaining wall by the water to keep the camera steady. Thankfully, I got 8 seconds of the bird staring at a fish! Not a second after the shutter closed on this shot, a Rodent of Unusual Size scurried along the seawall, almost running up my arm.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 8 seconds. f/8.0. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Castillo

Castillo

February 16, 2012. Castillo.

The Castillo de San Marco in Saint Augustine, Florida, is the United States' oldest masonry fort. It was built just down from where Pedro Menendez de Aviles founded the city in 1565.

After the city was attacked by British pirate Sir Francis Drake in 1586, the first fortified structure was built on this site. In 1668, the city was attacked by another pirate, Robert Searle, and work began on upgrading the fortifications to the current masonry structure in 1672.

This long-exposure shot was done hand-held, but steadied against a retaining wall outside the fort's moat.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 2 seconds. 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.

Bridge of Lions - One Particular Harbor

Bridge of Lions - One Particular Harbor

February 16, 2012. Bridge of Lions/One Particular Harbor.

The Bridge of Lions in Saint Augustine is a Florida landmark. Originally built in 1927, this drawbridge spanning the most charming harbor in Florida was re-built over the past few years to bring it up to modern standards.

I never travel with a tripod. This long-exposure shot was taken from a park bench overlooking the waterfront. I use the lens cap as a wedge to get the correct angle and set the exposure to timer mode to eliminate hand shake.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 15 seconds. f/8.0. ISO 400. LR 2.

Lightner

Lightner

December 16, 2011. Lightner. The Lightner Museum captures the opulence of America's Gilded Age inside and out.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1.0 seconds. f/2.8. ISO 400. LR 2.

Chocolate

Chocolate

December 16, 2011. Chocolate. Another luscious shot of Claude's Chocolates in Saint Augustine, Florida.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/30. f/8.0. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Storekeep

Storekeep

December 26, 2011. Storekeep. A woman tends shop overlooking a garden on St George Street in Saint Augustine, Florida.

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

I Shoot Cannon.

I Shoot Cannon.

December 26, 2011. I Shoot Cannon.

(Actually, I do when I am using an SLR. This one was taken with my Leica X1, though, which I find much more convenient to travel.)

I loved the textures created by the sunlight shining on this dark cannon barrel at Fort Matanzas.

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

Dogs Not Allowed

Dogs Not Allowed

December 26, 2011. Dogs Not Allowed. A man plays with his dog outside the Fort Matanzas National Monument, about an hour and a half outside of Orlando.

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

Is that a fanny pack

Is that a Fanny Pack?

December 26, 2011.
Man: "Is that a dog that you're bringing on the boat to Fort Matanzas?"
Dog: "Is that a fanny pack?..."

There are "No Pets Allowed" signs all over Fort Matanzas National Monument on the way to the ferry boat. One creative family decided to dig in their heals to get their poodle aboard by putting the lapdog in a "Service Dog" leash harness and claiming that the dog was a medical necessity.

As a vacationing chiropractor in an Aloha shirt stared at the dog, wondering if it would work, I couldn't help but think that the dog was staring at him, wondering, "Is that really a fanny pack?"

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

Blam

Blam

December 26, 2011. Blam. Two men talk in Spanish while waiting for the pontoon ferry boat to Fort Matanzas National Monument.

I could not make out what they were saying, but I could hear the man on the right say "Blam" repeatedly as he gestured like he was holding a rifle.

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

Bokeh Verde

Bokeh Verde

December 16, 2011. Bokeh Verde. Paper lanterns dissolve into dreamy bokeh over a lone storekeeper at Plaza Verde in Saint Augustine, Florida.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/125. f/8.0. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Olde Tyme

Olde Tyme

December 16, 2011. Olde Tyme. Bright lights glow out of Tedi's Olde Tyme Ice Cream onto a dark road on St George Street in Saint Augustine.

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

One of Everything

One of Everything

December 16, 2011. One of Everything. You can't go wrong at Claude's Chocolates in Saint Augustine, Florida. Not just a tourist trap, Claude's has some of the best chocolates in America.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/30. f/8.0. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Materialistic Vespa

Materialistic Vespa.

December 16, 2011. Materialistic Vespa. I can't resist a classic Vespa shot, even when it has been relegated to being the window display at a hipster outfitter like Materialistic in Saint Augustine, Florida.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/125. f/4.0. ISO 800. LR 2.

Chaperone

Chaperone

December 16, 2011. Chaperone. A couple +1 walk hand-in-hand down Cuna Street in St. Augustine, Florida.

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