To Flamingo and Beyond.

This is the view from my early morning drive to the Flamingo District of the Everglades. I often feel as if I could do it blind folded from all the times I have made that journey to Flamingo. Myself and a few others make the journey amongst so many boaters going out from the Flamingo Marina. zIt is so worth the trip but it seems to go on for ever so I often makes stops along the route west to the Flaming Beach.

Home Sweet Home Everglades Style.

So here is my living quarters while I am working in the Everglades. In the past I would always set up a tent but as long as I am working by myself or with one of my daughters this is the substitute for the tent. I move things around, and I can have two people in sleeping bags sleeping comfortable. I really like the idea of having a van rather then a pick up now that I am doing a lot of camping in the Everglades. I sure do like not having to set up and break down a tent every time I want to go camping and working in the Everglades. I don't need my bike rack or any other travel tools since everything fits so easily into the van. A few towels over the windows, and it is Home Sweet Home. I have to say with some of this cold weather we have been getting it's nice to be in the van when the windows are being covered with frost on the outside.

Willimantic Thread Mill.

This is an image from the former textile mill in my hometown back in Connecticut. Although the image might look a little un-even it was done intentionally, and it makes the framing of the image so much easier to complete. I really don't know what all the fuss is about when it comes to photographs being horizontally level and vertically straight. I do know that when the image isn't completely straight it makes the framing so much easier to matt and frame since I don't have to keep the horizontal or vertical lines straight. Try it you might just like it.

One of my favorite Photographic Artist.

My daughter Rachel working with her new camera. I have to say she is learning her new camera very quickly. I like a lot of the ideas she is coming up with, and I look forward to seeing her progress as she grows with her new camera.

Breakfast with a view.

Here is the view from Breakfast on our last day in the Everglades on our recent trip into the Everglades. Two great days of Weather followed by one not so great, but all in all it was a great time even if it did rain. I always feel that the not so good weather always makes for some good photos even if you'r getting rained on.

A new angle for the Everglades.

Now that I have started seriously working on my Artist Residency I am realizing the true importance of presenting the Everglades from a new angle, and it seems to be working. Today I went on a random ride in the rain around the everglades, and found some new places I am going to return back to for another visit. I went fishing for some new images this weekend, and was lucky enough to catch and keep a few really good images this weekend. Shooting on a rainy day in the Everglades with a water proof housing makes for some interesting looks by the passers by. Not that strange looks are a new thing to me and my way of getting the shot. Those looks don't surprise me they just entertain me for what ever reason.

M I A Fair

So here's my side of the story or at least the story I want you to hear. I invited my friend Larry to attend the opening of Miami International Art Fair, and of course he had his camera and I as well. He shot a several images through out the night, and I pretty much left my camera in my pocket till I saw this one. This is one of those images that you can't help but see before you even get it on your preview screen. I shot two or three images and this is what it was. It all comes down to the fact that you either see it or you don't.

Do You See What I See?

I have no know system of how it is I search out what it is I see other then to observe my surroundings and then try to present my interpretation of what it is I have witnessed. I often find great interest in the way light effects the colors and shapes in my images. I am continually searching my surroundings, as well as trying to compose the story for the message I am trying to tell to others. Seeing what I see and not what others see is what makes my images mine. I only want to be me and do what feels right to me.

Learning To Fly.

I think flying is like seeing in that once you learn how to do it it will serve it's purpose. As I have spent most of my life looking I feel I now have the ability to see what it is I am looking at. I am finding that now that I have learned to see I have a better understanding of what I am looking at. I also find the ability to see helps in my ability to convey to others what it is I would like to show others. I find my images are at their best when I am able to convey a message or meaning to the work I am creating and presenting to those who can see what I am presenting. If the message in my work can not be seen I am sending a blank message, and therefore the message is not serving it's purpose.

Thinking about what you see.

Have you ever seen something that made think about what it is you do? Yesterday while presenting my work to a local Broadcasting Class I noticed that there are certain thing I often do in my images. This image is one of those things I often do when creating my work. Capturing the view through a primary medium that alters my photo in one way or another is one of those things I often do. Although I repeat certain thing in my work they don't all look a like.

When I do talks and present a large body of my work together I often become more aware of different aspects and ideas in my work. Some of the style as well as the techniques I often use in creating my work is almost like the DNA of my work. Although my work is continually growing and expanding in ideas I often re-visit some of the same concepts and ideas from time to time.

Here is the second image from the Wynwood Art walk this past Friday night. I am thinking how can I possible get back there to shoot some more images of the original tenants of of Wynwood, and the surrounding neighborhoods. I have a feeling it will end up waiting for the next Art Walk.

An original store front in the neighborhood of what is quickly becoming the happening Wynwood Art District. I hadn't been there since Art Basel, and it seems to be a fast changing area of Art Gallery's, and Studios. I have known this auto body shop to be a busy place well into the night, and as the art walkers leave the streets this garage seems to continue to work well into the night.

Made In The Shade

So here I am trying to add new images everyday, and for today's image I went digging through a great number of images before I found this image and so here is a 2006 image from a hotel we stayed at on a family vacation that took us up the West Coast of Florida.

Cards for your thoughts.

I am now considering a possible venture into creating a line of cards for the various occasions that come with every passing month. I am thinking it would be something to do as long as I limit the number of cards created from each image. My goal is to create cards that display my artistic creativity without creating a mass produced line of cards like the cards at every super store. I will have to see what it is that will work best before I start producing this line of cards, but I feel my idea would work well if I follow my plan.

Sunrise In A Bottle

Wouldn't it be great if we could keep a sunny day in a bottle for those rainy days that seem to happen when you don't want them to happen. This image was from a recent camping trip to Elliot Key in Biscayne National Park. One of the few places in Miami where you have the opportunity to see a sunrise in a sen set all with in the distance of a five minute walk.

Lilly in the Dark.

A lilly in the dark comes to life with a wind up flashlight. After a few attempts at getting light to evenly expose the flower this is what I got. I have a great deal of fun creating these flower images in the dark. I don't alway seem to have a great deal of success working this technique in Black and White but this one seemed to work out pretty well. Hope you like this one cause I sure do.

Catch Of The Day.

Catch of the Day is an image from my Biscayne National Park that was intended to tell the story of how on any single day you can catch as many bottles on the Beaches of the parks coastal islands. However the catch of the Day policy does have a catch and no release policy.

Another Day at Flamingo Comes To An End

I never really like sunrise or sunset pictures, but I guess there is the exception to the rule, and here it is. I don't know that it is so much of an exception to my rule about shooting sunsets, but it did catch my interest, and here it is. The image is a minimalist view from the Flamingo district of Everglades National Park.

Image Title A little Place on the Outside of town called the Everglades.

Images from the past.

While in Connecticut last summer I met a friend, and we went to one of our friends family barns, and this was the keeper that never got away. The image is a rusty door on one of the farm vehicles from years gone by. For me this is great pallet of colors that have come together on their own, and I just had to see it before me.

Where man meets Water, and Water meets Man

This is where man meets and becomes part nature. I like the mix of textures between the soft water, and the very course cement ramp. I am not sure what it was that brought interest to the boat ramp, but I am just glad that I was able to notice the mix of textures, colors and feel that his image presents.

Boat Ramp at the Flamingo District of The Everglades. November 2010