Photography

Many friends have commented about their enjoyment of the photographs in the blog.  Good photography requires quality equipment, some study and knowledge, a bit of skill, time composing the photo, and some post processing.  Time, effort, and investment in attempting to capture high impact images has produced some good results on this adventure.  But, when traveling, one is often not presented with the best environment for capturing a photo.

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge crosses Tampa Bay, connecting St. Petersburg and Bradenton.  It is a beautiful and amazing piece of engineering.  The above image was captured traveling south from St. Petersburg in the morning.  The sun is behind the bridge, creating back lighting which gives the bridge a black image against the sky.

Leaving the Palmetto/Bradenton area requires travel north on the Manatee River, into Tampa Bay, before turning south again on the Intracoastal Waterway.  This trip was made in the afternoon with the sun lighting the bridge.  This created a much different image - concrete and support cables reflecting the sun.  These two images capture the bridge design and tell a story, but are far from great photos.

Bob Dein, a good friend who has taken up photography as a serious hobby, has also captured an image of the Sunshine Skyway.  With more study and knowledge, higher quality equipment, and taking the time and effort to drive across the Skyway long before sunrise to set up on Mullet Key, his image not only captures the bridge, it brings a beauty that is truly amazing.

Photography has been a large part of capturing the adventure of traveling the Great Loop.  While taking some time to post process and organize the images, the photography itself has been an adventure.  The many positive comments from friends about the photos reinforces the power of a photo in telling a complex story.

Another photography story is that Jill has now become a published photographer with her image of a baby dolphin playing in Last Dance's wake being selected as Photo of the Week on the Salty Southeast Cruisers' Net.

http://cruisersnet.net/baby-dolphin-plays-in-the-wake/