The Sarasota skyline from afar is something I never get tired of. This is about a mile away. I took this while standing near a boat launch on City Island. This happened to be one of the few times of the year it was cold and windy. That's great for this type of photography because the air is crisp and the clouds blur against the sky when the exposure is long. The only difficulty is getting the camera to remain steady against the winds. I have a good tripod but sometimes that's not enough. In this case I shielded the camera on one side of my SUV so that the car acted as a windbreak. I take a lot of pictures of Sarasota. Its close and has views across the water, something I favor. A long time ago I made up a rule, let's call it the rule of fourths. The idea is to get as many of the four elements in the picture as possible. Using fire, air, water and earth, I compose an image, the more the merrier. The rule doesn't always work, its more of an idea than a rule. However I'll find myself working with it in an image almost subconsciously. Each time I come here to take a photo the conditions are different. The last time I came it was in the morning, it's a good sunrise spot because it faces east. Once I captured a big thunder cloud over the city on a summer afternoon. Each time I show up at the same location there will be something different, the trick is to notice; that's the idea, not a rule.
A darkened central Amsterdam underpass creates a setting that is best described as a scene. Scenes are a combination of things that together make it more than just a place. Looking for scenes is a pastime of mine especially when walking through cities at night. Textures, light and motion combined to evoke imaginary scenarios rarely rooted in reality. As I took this the trains rumbled overhead completing the urban soundtrack of this vignette. This underpass was something of a mystery to me when I first arrived in the city. It is across from my hotel and as I timidly explored I couldn't see where it ended. As it was late I shied away from following it to the other end. Later I discovered it led to a busy neighborhood full of shops and bistros. But my initial trepidation contributed to a state of mind (erroneous as it was) that created this foreboding subterranean scene in my mind. This image is simply a combination of light and shadow, textures and movement; the sum of which becomes greater than its parts. If that isn't over thinking an image I don't know what is.
When I was a child I saw this cathedral from the outside because my aunt had an apartment directly across the street. The architecture made an impression on me that has remained to this day and the area around the cathedral occasionally appears in my dreams. With this in mind I was driving by a few weeks ago and thought to stop and look inside. I'm glad I did. On a Monday afternoon it was empty save for an attendant. It's a cavernous space infused with refracted light from the stained glass ribs of the spier. However what struck me most was the silence of the enormous space. There is much to take in, but as for my camera I look for rectangles that convey one aspect. As I could not help but look up at the light coming through the windows I chose this perspective. It was late in the day and so the west facing windows conveyed the greatest light. Anyway, just happening in on this the way I did was a complete surprise. Whatever I expected was surpassed by the combination of ambience, light and architecture. This is without question a place of inspiration.
