Tag Archives: landscape

Sebastian Inlet

Posted by Mike on

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

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

Temple Sunset

Posted by Mike on

Temple of Heaven, China Pavilion, World Showcase, Epcot

 

MLCreations Photography: Epcot &emdash; Temple Sunset

Temple Sunset
Nikon D7100, Tokina 12-28mm f/4, 1/100s, 17mm, f/8, ISO 400

Last Light

Posted by Mike on

Delta Lake State Park

I’m back! Did you miss me? I have been having fun these last few days, how about you? The latest Windows update that was installed Wednesday night decided to trash my hard drive. Luckily it didn’t do anything to my files as I have them on a second hard drive but my operating system needed to be re-installed and I am still in the process of reloading all my software. I have one more issue Microsoft is going to have to deal with but the one department I need to talk to does not work on the weekends so that will be an interesting call on Monday.

Just to get me back in the swing of things I processed another view of the sunset from last Sunday evening up at Delta Lake State Park. I just love the colors! The ice was starting to melt and break up some so there is also a cool channel for the sky reflection. After these past few days I’m hoping to get back out with the camera today… 🙂

 

MLCreations Photography: Landscapes &emdash; Last Light

Last Light
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/25s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200

Rockin’ the Sunset

Posted by Mike on

Delta Lake State Park

Sunday was the perfect end to a beautiful weekend. The weather the whole day was gorgeous so I knew I would be heading out around sunset in search of an image. I didn’t have to travel far as my favorite state park around the corner from me had everything I needed. Empty beach. Melting ice. And just enough clouds in the sky to make it interesting.

After capturing a few images in the landscape orientation I found this rock that was begging me to take its picture. I rotated the camera into portrait mode and zoomed in to get its good side. I ended up having to use my thumb over the sun trick I wrote about a few posts ago to be able to remove the flare but I think everything turned out well.  I love the colors in this image.  I’m hoping the rest of the week is as nice so I can continue exploring.

 

MLCreations Photography: Landscapes &emdash; Rockin' the Sunset

Rockin’ the Sunset
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/15s, 23mm, f/16, ISO 200

Solitude

Posted by Mike on

Melbourne Beach, Florida

Last night was obviously the full moon. Sitting at my computer that particular fact became apparent as soon as the moon rose above the trees. I could not help but notice the beautiful white light streaming through the back door window. I grabbed the camera and tripod, threw on a coat and ran outside to see what I could capture. It was just too bright! I was totally unprepared to make the necessary setting adjustments to capture what I was seeing in my head. I’ll have to try again tonight after I investigate some lunar photography tips.

How does this little story bring me to today’s image? Good question! I’m not totally sure I have a good answer but it goes something like this…

The need to run outside and capture an image of the moon was powerful. It wasn’t so I could show off the image here or exclaim my prowess with my camera. It was a desire to create an image, one I have in my head, one I probably saw somewhere else and now want to create myself. It is a really cool feeling to have. It can be frustrating too.

After I reviewed what I captured of the moon and realized I didn’t have the proper exposures to create my image, I started looking through my library of images. Now I had to create something. There are a lot of images that I take that sit on my hard drive waiting for me to do something with them. Not everyone is a prize but I captured it for a reason. Sometimes that reason is just the attempt at capturing the scene before me. Sometimes it is for an image I have in my head but haven’t brought it to life yet.

I went back to the images of my December trip to Florida. I remember the morning of this image. I was on a mission this day! I wanted to capture a sunrise at the beach with glorious waves crashing to the shore as the sun broke the horizon. It is an image I have seen numerous times from photographers that I follow online and I wanted one for myself. The wind was there to create the waves, the sun was obviously going to rise that morning. I just had to contend with the clouds and the morning mist.

And then I spotted this person standing at the edge of the shore. Staring out into the ocean as the sun began to paint the clouds. It wasn’t the image I set out to capture but the moment of this solitude connected with me. I swung the camera around and composed this image.

It was then I stopped and took in where I was standing. I listened to the sounds of the ocean, I could smell the salt in the air and watched as the gulls flew over the breaking waves. What a great morning to be at the beach! I was caught up in trying to get my image but now I was caught up in just being at the beach.

I think it is time to go back already… 🙂

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Solitude

Solitude
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/3s, 31mm, f/16, ISO 200

Stopping Time

Posted by Mike on

Monorail Monday
Future World, Epcot, Walt Disney World

Every image is really about stopping time but some images show it more than others. This image especially conveys that stoppage due to the reverse waterfall and the frozen in time look. Normally I like my waterfalls looking smooth but this was captured before I had filters for my Olympus lenses.

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Stopping Time

Stopping Time
Olympus OM-D E-M10, M. Zuiko 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 II R, 1/400s, 14mm, f/10, ISO 200

Sunset Blues

Posted by Mike on

Delta Lake State Park

Today’s image is from the end of my photography adventure on Saturday. I was able to get out and capture both the sunrise and the sunset, with this sunset being at my old stand-by Delta Lake State Park. The water level in the reservoir is always low during the winter so I was able to walk out quite a ways toward this familiar point to capture the sunset light reflected in the layer of ice.

MLCreations Photography: Landscapes &emdash; Sunset Blues

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