Tag Archive for 'beach'
This is another shot from St. Maarten. That’s a stick you see there in the sand hence the creative name for this one 
Here’s a shot I took on the beach of the Westin Hotel from my recent trip to St. Maarten… more to follow soon.
This is a wedding engagement gift I came up with this morning. The photo was taken back in August when I was in Aruba. As it turns out the table setting itself was in fact for a bride and groom. I can’t think of a more beautiful place for a wedding. The borders are purposely made large so that the photo may fit a wide variety of standard frame sizes.
As summer draws to an end and children everywhere rush (walk slowly with their heads down) back to school, I am now delighting in the fact that I just finished my Master’s degree in engineering. To celebrate this milestone I went to Aruba for a week with my family and some awesome family friends (you know who you are) to soak up the sun. We stayed in the Hyatt Regency and I have to say that it is the most beautiful hotel I have ever seen. The lobby is completely open on one end to the street entrance and on the other end to the island marvels that await. To coax you more gently in the right direction there is a constant breeze blowing through the entire lobby. The flowing white linen draped around the seating areas flaps with the wind as you desperately try to decide whether to stay inside or venture outdoors. Making the decision even more difficult is the casino entrance that pours cold air 20 feet into the open lobby - A very smart trick to get people gambling, lucky for me I don’t know how.
Since I was there for a week, I didn’t have to make the aforementioned decision as I spent plenty of time in both the lobby and outside. While I do have some pictures of the lobby, they were not taken with my usual care because honestly, I just didn’t want to take photos. I was so relaxed that setting up my tripod and camera in the middle of the place somehow seemed wrong. That’s not to say I don’t have photos for you. In fact, I think these are some of my best. Almost all of my HDR shots were taken in one day since the rest of the week I didn’t really feel like carrying a tripod on my horse (horseback riding into the sunset - try it once before you die), in the jeep (off road safari to a natural pool - don’t try it if you have high blood pressure), on the sailboat (it’s harder than you think to get a sailboat to sit still for 9 shots), or under my beach chair (safe for all ages). But HDR or not, I have some good shots for you that I’ll be sharing in the next few days.
The photos in this set are brought to you by happy hour. Balashi, Aruba’s local beer, is not only cheap, but quite tasty as well. After 5 or 6 Balashis on the dockside bar with the fam I began to notice a sunset which is quite possibly the most amazing sunset I have ever seen. And no, I did not have beer goggles for the sunset. Rushing to my room in my inebriated state, I grabbed my tripod, urinated for 15 minutes, and stationed myself at the beach while my family looked on in amusement. Have you ever been so tipsy that a simple, obvious, and maybe questionable idea seemed like the most incredible and exciting idea in the world? And then later you realize that perhaps it wasn’t such a great idea when you notice that the fridge you were trying to fit into is a little broken (completely joking, sort of). One would think that trying to bracket 9 exposures on a tripod, in the sand, in heavy wind, and after 6 beers would be one of these amazingly ungreat ideas, but to tell you the truth, I think the beers helped. So here’s to Balashi, cheers!
The first two shots I am sharing with you were taken right at the hotel beach. I really didn’t do much post-processing to these photos. The sunset really looked this incredible.
Lounging
Drinks of Dusk
Sweet Beginnings
I can’t think of better conditions under which to get married and by the looks of things, they even had a good number of guests. I actually met the bride of this wedding at the hotel bar later in the week while her husband was gambling in the casino (if that isn’t marriage I don’t know what is). Turns out they live in the same area as me… small world. Best of luck to them.
Sweet Abandonment
No, the groom didn’t really get abandoned. That’s my brother who decided to get all artistic by standing in the middle of my shot. Why one would choose the look of abandonment in such a beautiful setting, I’m not sure, but it worked out pretty well. Thanks Sam!
Under Cover
This canvas was part of the beautiful wedding that just ended when I started taking photos. By this time the sun had set and the sky was completely engulfed in the myriad of colors you see here.
Private Service
This table setting is the location of the bride and groom’s first dinner. I didn’t stay around long enough to see what they ate, but I bet you it was just as good as the atmosphere.
Bamboo Cove
Dinner for Two
The above two shots are NOT an HDR photos. There was too much motion to blend the exposures properly so I used the -1 EV shot to keep the highlights in and used Photoshop’s handy shadow recovery tool to bring out the table and chairs.
Here are a few shots from Marblehead, MA. It was a gorgeous day out, as you can see.
Supa Powaful
Jerry Schwarzenegger - This shot is named after the horrible Arnold impersonation I refuse to stop doing. Jerry is so used to hearing me speak Arnold-lounge that he subconsciously posed as him in this shot. I casually aimed my camera accordingly and yelled out, “Jerry, you aaaa supa powaful!” as I snapped a few before he had the chance to escape.
Non-fiction
Meet Melissa. Melissa loves Harry Potter, beaches, and doing mean things to rats in her lab. I can forgive the rat torture, but I’m still trying to understand the Harry Potter obsession. I’ll admit I’ve seen the movies, but I have never read the books, despite all the rave. I have a theory that the pages are laced with some sort of drug that keeps people reading regardless of how much their eyes hurt. Something must have caught Melissa’s eye in this photo long enough to release her from her spell as she enjoyed a little bit of non-fiction from the beautiful day.
Coming Home
Please click on this image for a better view (Flickr) as it looks distorted on my site.
This shot is a panoramic view of kayakers coming into the harbor after what must have been a beautiful morning spent sea kayaking. It sort of reminds me of a biker gang… but in the water, less the noise, ridiculous haircuts, and police in tow. I’m not sure if this was for a special occasion or if it is some sort of club, but either way it definitely made me want to put down my camera for a while and grab a kayak of my own.
Rocky Decision
Here’s Jerry after he realized the tide was coming up. He is slightly alarmed mainly because he doesn’t know how to swim. Like many decisions we face in life, this one is a bit rocky. There appears to be more than one correct path, but if our friend Jerry doesn’t decide soon, he will face the same fate as the rocks beneath him. Time is of the essence, be as decisive as you can.
And here are the night shots…
Sea Lagoon
Notice the reflections of the clouds in the water… it was a perfect night.
Trucker’s Ride
I’m not sure why this boat is a Trucker’s Ride, but it does offer truckers (and photographers) a great view of the Boston skyline.
Blades of Boston
Beautiful Boston from the misty grass.
Sea Lagoon Landing
That streak is actually an airplane passing 100 feet overhead in its final approach to Boston’s Logan Airport. This is a single shot, not HDR.
I don’t have much time to write these days with my classes starting up, so you’ll have to excuse my brevity in some of these later posts… it won’t last long I promise. I went to East Boston with my roommate 2 days ago to take some photos of the sunset and Boston at night. We were about 30 seconds too late to see the actual sun set, as clouds decided to cover it just as I set up my tripod… damn you Murphy’s law. These two shots are from the sunset - more night shots from this location to follow soon. Enjoy!
Logan Sunset
Contemplation
Here are a few more shots from Duxbury… the destination, if you will. The bridge has been crossed!
Competition
Bridge vs. Rusted Gate - Fight! By the looks of things, the bridge is winning, but to be fair, the gate isn’t really trying all that hard.
Party’s Over
This shot is kind of sad, but it is often the saddest things in life that reveal the most beauty. Perhaps this is because only in the face of sadness are we able to appreciate what has been lost. As creatures of habit it is easy for us to take things for granted, but hard for us to understand why we took them for granted once they are gone.
So, should we go through life in search of those bittersweet moments that bring tears of retrospective appreciation to our eyes or should we transcend our own instincts and dare to find beauty in even our most well established "habits?" I leave the answer to you, but I think this party would be much better if it wasn’t over.
The Way
Just beyond this dune lies a rocky beach bathing in low tide. There are children playing and dogs running around, absolutely thrilled at the pure simplicity of fetching a stick from the water. A few brave human souls have even chosen to swim… mostly the children, who aren’t yet afraid of the danger participating in such an activity poses to certain critical extremities. I know better, and as such I am watching the children, dogs, and stick bathe from the safety of my viewfinder.
It is with great sadness that I report that my camera is at Nikon for repair (nothing major, just me being picky about dust underneath the LCD and focusing screen). Before I sent the camera in, I managed to take one last beach trip over this past weekend where the temperature reached the high 70s. It was so incredibly nice that I spent most of the time just taking it all in. In between tanning I managed to take a few interesting shots of perhaps my favorite bridge which leads from Duxbury “mainland” to a little peninsula that is Duxbury beach. Only Duxbury residents are allowed to cross the bridge with their car and park it by the beach. Us po’ folk who don’t live in Duxbury must walk the mile or so that it spans in order to reach this holy grail of beaches. But as with most things in life, the journey is half the fun. This day was no exception and so without further adieu, here’s to the journey.
What is a destination without the journey that leads the way? What is a marathon without the 26.2 miles of pain and sweat - what worth do those final tears of victory hold if they are cried from a destination which is no different than its origin. If helicopters could take climbers to the peak of Mount Everest, would they conquer the mountain just the same? If The Discovery Channel aired the climb, would you sit on your couch and watch instead? There are too many shortcuts in life and not enough savoring of the roads less traveled by. Lingering by the shore has given way to running through the mall in search of the latest swim wear complete with a “free gift” (emphasis always on free) of wasted time. Those who manage to buy something they actually like rather than what they have been convinced to like by magazines, TV, and the like, are one step ahead. Those who walk in the mall instead of run are two steps ahead. And those who go to the beach instead of the mall, with a 5-year old t-shirt and shoes that are falling apart, don’t count their steps because, well, it’s hard when you have to stop every few feet to empty the sand from your shoes. My wish for all of you is that you always find sand in your shoes, for it will make the journey much more enjoyable, and the arrival so much sweeter.
Endless Escape
Under Reflection
Recent Comments