Sebastian Inlet

Posted by Mike on March 27, 2016

Sebastian Inlet State Park, Florida

On Saturday I went to Sebastian Inlet State Park for the sunrise. I had looked online for places close to Melbourne that would have a pier or dock out into the water. What a good choice for the sunrise. I was not alone in the pre-dawn hours. The pier was packed with fishermen and I did spot a few other photographers.

The bridge over the inlet had a nice walkway underneath that allowed me to get an interesting view of the inlet with both piers sticking out into the Atlantic. I played with a few images with a very high ISO setting when it was still basically dark out. As the sun approached the horizon from below I managed to grab this image from the walkway.

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Sebastian Inlet

Sebastian Inlet
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 13s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 400

I walked out along the pier to grab a few images of the bridge over the inlet. The moon was still high in the sky but I was able to achieve a nice view of the lights contrasting with the deep blue of the sky and water. It was out here that I realized I was being eaten alive by these little gnats. Luckily the bait shop opened up so I could buy some insect repellent.

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Moon Over

Moon Over
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 8s, 15mm, f/16, ISO 400

It is always amazing to me to watch the colors on the sky change as the sun starts to rise. All these images were captured within an hour of each other. The blues of the pre-dawn time are replaced with the orange and yellows as the sun crosses the horizon. The time was right for the sunrise but the low clouds near the horizon kept it hidden but created a nice display in the sky.

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Fishing Spot

Fishing Spot
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 0.4s, 26mm, f/16, ISO 200

I was talking with a fellow photographer Laura Macky earlier this week about an image I had posted. We both tend to favor the grand landscape views with our wide-angle lenses and we always want to capture different views telling a better story. The story elements are generally best captured when you focus on specific items.

With that conversation running through my head as I was capturing images with my go-to lens (12-40mm f/2.8), I switched to the 40-150mm f/4-5.6 to grab a few of those story elements. It didn’t hurt that the sun was starting to break through the clouds and the silhouette of the pier was very dramatic.

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Sunrise Fishing

Sunrise Fishing
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 40-150mm f/4-5.6 R, 1/80s, 62mm, f/16, ISO 200

MLCreations Photography: Landscapes &emdash; Morning Catch

Morning Catch
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 40-150mm f/4-5.6 R, 1/100s, 105mm, f/16, ISO 200

Melbourne Beach Pier Sunset

Posted by Mike on March 26, 2016

Melbourne Beach, Florida

Yesterday was my Florida travel day. I had breakfast with my Mom and Grandpa before heading over to the East coast (Palm Bay) to spend a few days with my Mother-in-law. She has the good (bad?) fortune of living on the coast which allows me to go exploring for sunrise/sunset images of the ocean. I had spent the week before leaving on this trip scoping out locations using The Photographer’s Ephemeris app on my phone/tablet. I have a lot of exploring to do!

Last night my location was the pier into the Indian River in Melbourne Beach. I wasn’t sure what type of sunset I was going to get as a storm rolled through the area about an hour before I was going to go to the pier. I went anyway! I was so happy I didn’t give up on the sunset.

There were still quite a few clouds in the sky and the sun was heading into a large group as I arrived at the pier. It was a little crowded as the fisherman and other sunset viewers were not scared off by the recent downpour either. I managed to get quite a few images before the sun was obscured by the clouds. I didn’t call it a night just yet.

There was still some great light and another storm appeared to be moving through to the South of Melbourne. It was a good thing I decided to stay. There was a small break in the clouds just as the sun hit the horizon. I started running around the pier area grabbing as many different views as I could. The last 15 minutes of the day were the best!

MLCreations Photography: Landscapes &emdash; Melbourne Beach Pier Sunset

Melbourne Beach Pier Sunset
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1.3s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200

Drums at the Ready

Posted by Mike on March 25, 2016

Japan Pavilion, World Showcase, Epcot, Walt Disney World

Any trip I make to Epcot it is a certainty that I will be stopping in the Japan Pavilion for some pictures. It is a toss up between this pavilion and the China pavilion as to which is my favorite to photograph. There is such beautiful architecture and landscaping in both of these pavilions.

On the Goju-no-to Pagoda the Matsuriza Taiko Drummers perform a show numerous times a day. This is a must see show if you are in Epcot (you can hear the drumming most of the way around World Showcase). I end up watching this show during every visit. When I visited on Wednesday I spied the drums all lined up on the pagoda waiting for the next show. I had the 60mm macro lens on the camera as I was going for the Bonsai Tree displays but thought this lens would give an interesting view of the drums.

Sssshhh! I had to stand on the walkway railing for just a second in order to get this image…

MLCreations Photography: Epcot &emdash; Drums at the Ready

Drums at the Ready
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro, 1/60s, f/16, ISO 400

Sunset on World Showcase Lagoon

Posted by Mike on March 24, 2016

World Showcase Lagoon, Epcot, Walt Disney World

I have been trying to capture this view at sunset for the past few trips to Epcot. Either the sun wasn’t cooperating or Disney had something blocking my access. Yesterday was my day! It had been a beautiful day at Epcot and it was going to be a gorgeous sunset. I made sure I worked my way over to the African Outpost section of World Showcase right at sunset.

I’ll warn everyone now that I have a lot of pictures from my one day visit to Epcot… 🙂

MLCreations Photography: Epcot &emdash; Sunset on World Showcase Lagoon

Sunset on World Showcase Lagoon
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/50s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200

Sunset Dock

Posted by Mike on March 23, 2016

Lake Haines, FL

After finishing a nice dinner that my Mom cooked I headed down to the dock again for the sunset. It was a beautiful evening with a slight breeze blowing in off the lake. I don’t want to jinx myself but there were no bugs and for a while I just sat on the dock enjoying the end of the day.

MLCreations Photography: Landscapes &emdash; Sunset Dock

Sunset Dock
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/50s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200

Early Morning

Posted by Mike on March 22, 2016

Mom is still unpacking but I managed to sneak down to the lake for the pre-dawn pictures. Only able to edit on the phone but wanted to show off at least one today. More to come this week… 🙂

At the Dock

One End, One Beginning

Posted by Mike on March 21, 2016

The past couple of weeks has been a whirlwind. On the 8th of March I was offered a job at a new company. It is for very similar work but in a different industry. I accepted and on March 9th I resigned from my job. March 18th was my last day and sitting here on Monday when I normally would be getting ready for work is very interesting. I feel like I should be moving or I will be late…

I suppose the other reason it is interesting is that I am in Statesville, NC on my way to Florida. I am driving my Mom and Grandpa down for their six week Spring stay and I will be spending a little over a week exploring Florida searching out pictures. And yes, I might take a day or two to check in on Disney. I can’t be this close and not see what is happening. I know the Flower and Garden Festival is in full swing but it is also the week before Easter so the parks will be full!

I had basically worked at my company for half my life. Twenty five years doing various jobs within different departments but in the end it came down to me needing a change. During the exit interview when asked what I will miss about the company I emphatically stated “the people.” I have worked with a great bunch of people both out on the shop floor and in the offices. I had my best days when I was out on the floor helping the people do their jobs.

After I started this journey in photography the shop became one of my playgrounds. I would wander around during lunch looking for interesting subjects for my camera. I even found stuff to point my camera at outside in the piles of junk collected over the years. The people on the floor knew if they saw me during lunch it was usually crouched down pointing my camera at some weird thing I had found. It was OK, they knew me well…