Cunningham Falls

The colors are here in the Northeast, so a few days ago, I drove to this random park called Cunningham Falls; it turns out it's not so random. I don't know the area, so; I picked a random place to visit on Google Maps. Little did I know this is a popular spot because there were a lot of other photographers that showed up as well. I took all kinds of shots from different angles, including this, which is a twelve-shot panorama. The scene consists of twelve shots, four groups of three that I processed in AuroraHDR, and stitched in Lightroom. The result is a very high-resolution landscape of a not so random Maryland park.

Platja de Lloret De Mar

This scene is a nine frame high-resolution panorama of the beach at Lloret Del Mar. If you wanted, you could zoom in to see the menu at KFC. Not that you would or that I would go to Spain for KFC, I'm just saying. Printed at full resolution, this is over eight feet across - a lot of detail. For panoramas to work, they need the right subject and, the Mediterranean is full of these kinds of scenes. I was here twice in September, once for an over-night and, a week later, to retrieve my lost passport. It was on the second trip that I made this. After I did, I went to an outdoor cafe facing the beach, not too far from KFC.

Pond Panorama

Here is an image from nearby Tom Bennett Park in Bradenton. I've been here twice this week trying to get some photos that do the landscape justice. To make this, I combined four vertical images, and each was a combination of two focus stacked images; so eight in all. I've been doing a lot of focus stacking lately. If you're not familiar, it's taking two or more photos of the same thing, each focused at a different distance. Then by combining the in-focus parts of each image, everything is sharp. It's an excellent technique to use when you want to have a strong foreground element. It makes good sense in a lot of landscape scenes. Also, since this is a multi-image panorama, the resolution is very high. Therefore, having everything in focus is even more beneficial. I was at this same park a day or two earlier when I came to walk with my dog. This time I came alone to shoot, but after I did, I felt a little guilty that Mr. Wiggles got gypped out of a walk. I could have brought him because the photography wasn't particularly difficult. Mr. Wiggles has me wrapped around his paw. I'm not done here so I'll probably bring him along next time.

Robot Drones Are Coming

I took this picture of my hometown of Palmetto last Friday. Do we get amazing sunsets or what? Actually, my robot took this photo. I sat out front with a cool beverage in a lawn chair and sent my robot drone out to take the photo. Normally, when I take photos, I get my gear, put it in the car, and drive somewhere. Then I get the gear out of the car, walk, compose, and click. Then, I walk some more and do it again, over and over. After all that, I end up with one or two good shots, and then I'm tired. But this time I decided to sit back and send the drone up. No driving, no packing, no walking. I had to pilot it, compose the sho, and press the shutter button, but how hard is that? It got me thinking. Drones are a little like robots. Fast forward ten years and I'll be sitting in my living room with a VR headset, send up a drone, fly somewhere, look around and take a photo. I won't even need to leave the comfort of my home. Kind of like sitting in front of my computer all day which might have seemed extreme a generation or two ago. This idea may not be too far off the mark.

Stand Rock

One of the first stops on our summer road trip was in Wisconson. While there we took a boat up the river at Wisconsin Dells in an area known for rock formations like this. I can imagine seeing these in Arizona or Utah, but here in Wisconsin, it was a big surprise. This formation is known as Stand Rock, and during the summer, trained dogs will leap from one surface to the other. If you look closely, there is a net in the space between the rocks. When we arrived, it had just rained, so the demonstration was canceled for safety reasons. Nevertheless, there is a famous image of this rock taken by HH Bennett over a hundred years ago. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._H._Bennett#Innovations_in_photography) That image is in the lower part of the frame, and it depicts his son jumping from one rock to the other (without a net). Among other things, Bennett was a pioneer in photography because he invented the shutter which freezes motion. Back then there was a lot of logging here. If you look closely at the old image, Stand Rock is mostly exposed. Today it's covered in a thick canopy of trees as logging has long since ceased. Anyway, I thought it was cool that not only is there an old photo of this rock, but it is related to photographic history as well.

Sarasota Skyline at Night

Here is another panorama of Sarasota from Bayfront Park. Last year I posted an almost identical image that was taken during the day but have been waiting to do it again at night. Back then that big building (third from the left) was still under construction and it wasn't lit up. So, now that it's complete I wanted to shoot it again since the scene seems more complete to me. To take this I mounted my camera vertically on a tripod and took ten shots from left to right. With the resolution of the Sony camera, it will be about seven feet across when printed. Here are some links to other panoramas I've taken in and around Sarasota… Same perspective from the day: https://justenoughfocus.smugmug.com/Portfolio/Full/i-HzsGFVw From City Island Day: https://justenoughfocus.smugmug.com/Portfolio/Full/i-WrNwJj7 City Island at Night: https://justenoughfocus.smugmug.com/Portfolio/Full/i-6KTz5jV Another perspective from Bayfront Park: https://justenoughfocus.smugmug.com/Portfolio/Full/i-qMVC67t And here are links to other panoramas: https://justenoughfocus.smugmug.com/search/?c=photos&n=justenoughfocus&q=panorama

Panorama of Anna Maria

This is a panorama of Anna Maria Island taken with a drone the other day. To get this I took seventeen images and re-combined them in post-production. It’s not as difficult as it sounds but the results can be stunning. This is a perspective I’ve never seen; I come here all the time but like everyone else I see it from the ground. I like to think that I’m not afraid of heights, but when I fly the drone and look at the live view on my iPhone I get a little queasy. It’s a form of virtual reality, almost as if I’m in two places at once, simultaneously on the ground and in the air. From the air I look straight down and think to myself, it’s a long way down. Phobias aside, the island is very low-key as compared to other places in Florida, it reminds me of Hawaii. The beaches are almost always filled, yet there are no flashy or tall buildings, just relaxed places to hang out and chill. I recall that in certain parts of Hawaii the building codes don’t allow for anything taller than a palm tree, I think it’s the same idea here. The only way you’ll ever see this view for yourself is if you take a parasailing ride up and down the beach; or, if you happen to have a drone and can virtually fly with your feet still on the ground. In either case, it’s a long way down.

Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey

This is a panorama I took of Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey. The abbey is high up on a mountain known as Montserrat, which is the highest point in this section of Catalonia. Here I took five photos side-by-side that are stitched together, this is just the central section. The first thing you notice when you approach the area is the unusual shape of these rock columns on the mountain. Some people in Barcelona told us that there are faces in the rocks and I’ll admit I started to see them also when I stared for a while. It is a working monastery with over a hundred monks in residence. We saw several in full robes as we walked around and explored. The abbey has been in operating for over a thousand years so the monks are maintaining a long tradition. One of the most spectacular things to see is the inside of the basilica, however they don’t allow photography; notwithstanding that it’s still a must see with it’s ornate adornments and frescos. We drove a car up here but only later did I realize there is also a train and gondola from the bottom. In my opinion those are better options than the narrow hairpin road. There are also hiking trails up so if you prefer to walk up you’ll have no guilt consuming extra calories in the restaurants and cafeterias. No matter how you get here, you’ll not be disappointed.

Impression of a Random Canal

Here is another scene that I rendered with Topaz Impression. It’s a photo I took of a random canal in Venice and later blended with an impressionistic rendering from Topaz. I’m experimenting with this technique and I am intrigued by the possibilities it presents. When you visit Venice one of the first things you’ll notice are the artists everywhere. It’s easy to understand because of the abundance of inspiration. If I was a painter I could see myself on a random bridge of a canal painting a similar scene. As a photographer / technologist I use software to get the effect of a painting to create an impression of the place, which is sometimes more satisfying than documentation. The way software and computers are going we will one day simply look through glasses and have any scene rendered the way we want to see it in real-time. It will be a form of advanced augmented reality and it’s probably not too far off. That, and who knows what else.

Architecture and Frescos

I’m embarrassed to say I have no idea where in Rome this is, nor the name of it. I ran in here to escape the rain and was astonished by the architecture and frescos, not to mention the silence as compared to the busy street just outside. A vertorama is like a panorama, only vertical. I took three images, the first at eye level and the third straight up. When they are stitched together they create a perspective that shows more than you normally see at a glance. It’s a little disorienting but fun to look at just the same. There were no signs warning against photography so I felt free to take my time and compose the image. Some churches will charge a small photo fee that I’m more than happy to pay. These churches are studies in architecture and art, it seems to me the more they are shared the better. I’d like to think I’m doing my small part to share this amazing cathedral with the rest of the world, completely free of charge.

Monterosso al Mare

I recently arrived here in Monterosso al Mare by boat and spent the afternoon walking around, taking photos and tasting the local cuisine. It’s a tough job but somebody has to do it. Actually I was on a tour and so my time was not as leisurely as I make it seem. However I did have a couple of hours to enjoy a meal of antipasti and explore the village. I took this on a walkway that is carved into the rock overlooking the Mediterranean. This image is comprised of 12 high-resolution photos in a six by two grid. Panoramas like this are extremely high in resolution and, as it turns out, can be difficult to work with. The reason for that is two-fold; first is the size of the individual images and second is that I shoot in RAW format which adds even more size and processing requirements. It pushes the limits of what we can do with normal computers and software. But as with all things technological, this is only a short-term problem. Speaking of problems, the biggest one this day was the hour hand on my watch. I love tours but they only give you a taste. There’s a lot of information coming at you in a short period. Its like wine tasting, you sip of different vintages but never fully enjoy one. The taste I had of Monterosso al Mare was just enough to whet my palette and make we want to come back; for a full glass of course.

Platja de Sant Sebastià

In case you were wondering, Platja is the Catalan word for Beach. This particular platja is in Barcelona. I took this panorama on a previous trip to Barcelona in 2017. On my most recent trip, I spent time at other beaches, North and South of here. I created this by stitching together four photos in Lightroom and then worked on it with various other tools such as Luminar and Photoshop. I intended to post this last month but ran out of time before my vacation. Some of the photos I publish represent many hours of work, spread out over time. I thought this was ready last month and then, after getting back, worked on it more before posting it this week. If there is a point in any of this, I suppose its that the end can be a moving target.

Panorama of Eastern Vancouver

This is a panorama of eastern Vancouver taken just after sunrise. It’s a perspective I had from the twenty-second floor of the Vancouver Delta Marriott. Actually I took this through windows next to the elevators. I was waiting for the elevator to go down to the lobby. When I saw this I decided not to get on, instead I went back to my room to grab a camera. Hopefully the people in the elevator didn’t mind too much. If I’m not mistaken the big building in the foreground is called The W. If you zoom in you’ll see a big sign of the letter W to the right of it. Several years ago I went to the top with a friend of mine, Andrew Gerrard. Using his magic he got us access to the top where much to my surprise there was a W-shaped hot tub full of beautiful women. But of course I was only there for the scenery. Speaking of which, the view from the W is amazing. Here is a link to one of the images from that night (https://justenoughfocus.smugmug.com/Portfolio/Canada/i-ZWv8Kzx/A). On the left side of this image is Gastown and one the right is Chinatown. And off in the distance are the towering apartment buildings of Burnaby. It seems every time I come back there are one or two new towers on the skyline. This image is comprised of about six high-resolution photos so it contains an amazing amount of detail, especially a full resolution version (link) that’s nearly seven feet wide. I love looking at the details in images like this; I can spend hours in a gallery exploring all of the interesting little facets. Wouldn’t it be ironic if we hung this on the wall of that elevator I walked away from? At least those people could have something pretty to look at when someone decides not to get on.

Palmetto and Bradenton Panorama

Now that I’m getting a little better at flying the drone I’m starting to make panoramas. It’s basically the same process that I use on the ground, which is to shoot vertical images and stitch them together. One of the options on the drone is to shoot in portrait mode. So once I’m in position I switch the drone camera into portrait mode and take several shots side-by-side. This is one such panorama over the neighboring towns of Palmetto and Bradenton. I live in Palmetto on the right and Bradenton is just across the river on the left. In this you can see a couple of bridges that cross the Manatee River, which is almost a mile wide at this point. This image has more resolution than a single shot from the Mavic because it’s several shots combined. The camera on the DJI Mavic is fairly small compared to that of my main Sony camera. It’s roughly equivalent in resolution to some of the better smartphones. That’s not bad but I still prefer a higher resolution for landscape images. So for now my best option is to make panoramas. However in the future I expect manufacturers like DJI will give us better sensors for the drone cameras. That’s okay because I’m still in a learning phase and I really like how I can use this in photography. I’m a little late to the game because these things have been out for a number of years. But having waited I now have the advantage of all the safeguards that are built in. Someone like me is less likely to lose my investment due to pilot error. And as Martha Stewart would say, “that’s a good thing”.

Gotham City

It’s been so long since I was here last that I had forgotten where everything was. So it was a nice surprise when I “found” the Jackie Kennedy Onassis reservoir late at night on a bike. This is from the north side facing back towards midtown. This night scene with the clouds reminds me of Gotham City. I rented the bike for the evening as a way to get around Central Park. I got a basket so I could carry my tripod, as I’d need it for long exposures. The park is open until one in the morning and it was a nice surprise to find so many people out at such a late hour. For me, nighttime is the best time to take pictures here because of the overall moodiness. I stopped so often to set up my tripod that I could have easily been here all night. It was very quiet and I was in the zone. This panorama consists of four vertical long exposure images, each thirty-seconds long. The clouds were heavy which added to the drama of the scene. They are especially illuminated above mid-town, as you would expect. My guess is that the light given off by Times Square is easily visible from space. It still amazes me that Manhattan has such a big park in the middle of the city. It’s a vital organ of the city; I think the lungs. Whether you are running, cycling or just sitting on a bench, this is where you come to breathe in, breath out and reconnect.

Memorial Panorama

This is probably my favorite perspective of the memorial in New York. This time I took several vertical images and combined them into a panorama. I tend to repeat myself when I re-visit this site; however, I get a slightly different perspective each time. Repeating photos is a way of honing the craft. Another reason I like to come back here is the sense of quiet reverence that surrounds it. Just a few steps away are the sounds of the city, but in this particular spot, the noise is muffled, and people talk in hushed tones. In any case, this is a popular spot to take photos, so once I get the shot, I move along to make way for the next person.

Familiar Scene Transformed

Here is a familiar scene transformed by the weather. It’s another in a series of panoramas I’ve been doing; only this time I used an iPhone. I shot this on a rainy day with three vertical images side-by-side. I like shooting in the rain. When it rains, you may see things that make for interesting images. Maybe the opposite would be true if I lived in a rainy climate. I’d be writing about how I like shooting on a dry day because it offers a slightly different perspective than the typical rainy day. One person’s mundane is another person’s awesome. Do we consider whatever we see regularly as mundane? I have a photographer friend who lives in a condo overlooking a beautiful beach. He’s been there a year and he recently told me he wasn’t tired of the view. But he does like going to other places to take photos. When I visit him the beach looks amazing to me so I take a lot of photos. Anyway, I’ve been to this location in Bradenton a hundred of times, but in the rain at dusk it looked completely new to me. Sometimes I think we just need a change of scenery, even if that means just going to the same place on a rainy day.

An Afternoon Thunderstorm Dissipates over the Water

I took this from Palmetto Florida one evening last summer. There is a lot going on in the sky as an afternoon thunderstorm dissipates over the water. I needed a panorama to capture the expansiveness of the sky. It’s made up of ten photos in two rows so there is a lot more to see than I would get from an ordinary photo. This image is a good representation of what it’s like here in summer. You look one way and it looks dark and ominous, you look another way and it’s a nice sunset. That’s why I used a panorama, so we can see in both directions. But in reality, panoramas are the predecessors of 360 images. With your browser or a VR viewer you can look in any direction. I like still pictures because of the creativity I can put into them. VR is a different thing altogether but they each have their place. Maybe one day all photos will be VR, wouldn’t that be interesting?

Panorama of the Pier

This is a panorama of the pier on Anna Maria Island on another one of my Sunday drives. I take a disproportionate number of photos on Sunday because I usually end up going for a drive. I’ve also been taking a lot of panoramas lately. This one I’ve shortened but it is actually another twenty-five percent wider on the right. It looks better on a wall that way but what you see here is cropped for the web. One thing I will say about Anna Maria Island is how quiet it is. That may seem like an unusual statement for someone living or visiting here, but it’s true. I just got back from New York City and the contrast couldn’t be more apparent. Comparing apples and oranges (pardon the analogy) is not a fair comparison, but take away everything else and you are left with the sounds. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE New York City. But coming back to Florida after a little visit there reminds me how much I like quiet places as well. Quite frankly I can use a little more New York in my life, but I sure am fortunate to live here in Florida. We have open spaces, sea breezes and the quiet sound of the waves. Now that I got that off my chest, I have half a mind to plan another trip to NYC. But in the meantime I’ll go for Sunday drives and look for scenes like this and listen to the sounds of a tropical island right here in Florida.

The Great Salt Lake

I just got back from Salt Lake City. It was my first time there and most of the time was spent in the valley or the mountains to the east. However on my last day there were flight delays so I took the opportunity to visit the Great Salt Lake before leaving. This is a midday view of Stansbury Island from a viewing platform at the state marina. The lake is big enough to have several islands that are extensions of the surrounding mountain ranges. I was trying to figure out why it seemed so desolate and then it occurred to me there are no fish in the lake. No fish, no fishermen; it makes for a quiet lake. The lake is a terminus and has no outlet so the water simply evaporates leaving the minerals behind. In some ways it resembles desert filled with water. As such it presents an opportunity to do a study in minimalism, in this case I created a panorama consisting of two side-by-side images. My ancestry goes back to the early settlers of this area. My grandmother used to tell us stories that were passed down to her about the hardships of the early days. My great-great-grandfather was the fellow that first spotted the lake as the early Mormons were looking for a place to settle. So I imagine this is not all that different from what he saw. I wonder if he was disappointed when they realized there were no fish in the lake. My mother grew up here and once told me that you could just float in the water without swimming. I once tried an isolation tank that used salt water. Because the water is so heavy you float without sinking below the surface. It was a feeling of weightlessness; I wonder if the same is true for this lake. I had a short stay here but plan to come back and explore. Salt Lake City is a growing city and surrounded by scenery on all sides. It’s no wonder the pioneers decided to put down roots here.

Salt Lake City

A few months ago I was in Salt Lake City visiting some close friends. I am not Mormon but my ancestors were and so are my close friends. So while there I took the time to visit the temple grounds and took a tour of the convention center. This panorama I took while standing on the convention center roof. My ancestors were the original settlers of Salt Lake City. So we also visited the cemetery to see where they were buried. Through help from my friends and a little sleuthing we found the graves where my great-great grandparents were buried. They’re in the Salt Lake Cemetery, which is the resting place of many of the original pioneers. It was for me an amazing experience because I came away learning about my heritage that heretofore I’d only heard from my grandmother before she died. It goes without saying the Mormons are big on ancestry and so they were more than happy to help me fill in the gaps. I am fortunate to have such a recorded history and now that I know a little more I’m eager to share it. Back home the other day I was taking some photos along the waterfront. Two Mormon missionaries approached me and rather than ignore them I engaged them in conversation. I pulled out my iPhone and shared this photo and told them about my experience and ancestors. They seemed genuinely surprised to meet me and equally happy to see a picture of their main temple. It was a fun encounter. While I am not planning to convert to the Mormon faith, there are many things we share in common. And for that connection and fellowship I am truly grateful.

Strawberry Moon

Over the weekend we had a full moon and for some reason it’s called the strawberry moon. Apparently it’s the smallest full moon of the year, but I think that doesn’t means much in practical terms because we can’t see the difference with our eyes. This is the Sarasota skyline from across the bay. It was one of the few nights we didn’t have cloud cover and this scene is one I’ve been waiting to capture. In fact this is a large panorama consisting of twelve individual images in a grid of 2 x 6. At full resolution this is two by eight feet. If you are thinking of purchasing a print, be sure to select the wide panorama crop (20 x 80 or similar) when checking out or just contact me so that I can ensure you get the correct fit for the frame size you want. I’ve been creating a lot of panoramas lately. I’m intrigued by the perspective and level of detail that’s possible. However the bigger the panorama the harder it is to put together. There are a lot of nuances that need to be fit just so. The software helps a little but most of the work is slow detail effort, although it’s something I enjoy a lot. The long slow process in kind of like a meditation for me, I’m in a different world when editing images. I spend more time working on photos than taking them. That’s just part of my artistic process. Often I’ll come back to a photo a dozen times before I feel it’s ready. Many times it never gets there and is relegated to the reject bin. Every now and then I review the rejects and see something in a different light and bring it back to life. In this case I had a strong idea of what I wanted so it was just a matter of taking the time to get it just right, in camera and in post processing. After all that work I still don’t know why it’s called a strawberry moon. I should just Google it but on the other hand I think I’ll just leave it as a mystery for now.