I am partial to the west coast. Any west coast will do, I'm not that particular. It just needs to be a coast on the west side of any land mass. I mentioned in a recent post that this has everything to do with how our planet spins. As we know, the sun sets in the west. However, if our world turned in the opposite direction, it would set in the east, and I'd have a preference as an east coast guy. Come to think of it; I'm not that attached to the west, rather, the direction that the sun sets. As for this planet, it's west. But over near Alpha Centauri, all bets are off. Back here in the United States, I live in the eastern part of the country on the west coast of Florida. In this way, should the Earth change its mind and decide to spin the other way, I should have my bases covered.
A branch hangs over the water along the Sunshine Skyway in Tampa. This image was taken at dawn one weekend. During the weekdays, the skyway is inundated with cars commuting to work in the various counties that surround Tampa Bay. I traverse three counties just to get to Tampa, one county twice. The weird way Tampa is carved up, Hillsborough County is on both sides of Pinellas County, on the same highway. Nevertheless, this is a long exposure that I took from Hillsborough County looking back at Manatee County. The Skyway is an impossibly long crossing of Tampa Bay. Not only is it a scenic drive, but it's also a recreation area and one of the best rest stops in Florida.
There are so many mangroves along the water that quite often the view is obstructed. But maybe in some cases, it's a good thing. I was walking along a hidden shoreline at Emerson Point in the afternoon when I took this photo. I'm not sure what prompted me, but it seems the focus on the foliage is the subject of this image. Foreground elements are essential, especially in environmental or landscape shots. They're a good idea anyway because they tend to be the first thing we focus on. As our eyes wander, we travel from foreground to the background. The trick in photography is to make that journey enjoyable.
