Florida Day #3: South Beach

Waiting for clouds to move is a great test of your patience.  That is what I felt like I was doing all morning as I was trying to photograph Miami's South Beach.  There were a lot more clouds than blue sky, which meant that I would sometime have to wait 15 minutes or more between shots.  I would have to wait for both the sun to shine through the clouds and for their to be blue sky above my subject.  It was the only way I felt like I could portray South Beach in a usable way.  Who wants to think of spending a cloudy day on South Beach?

After determining my next shot, I would then watch everyone wonder what I was doing as I waited for the clouds to float to the correct spot.  Luckily there were enough breaks in the clouds and I was able to get some of the shots that I came to Miami for (but not as many as desired).

The Super Bowl also put quite a kink in things for me.  Every sports news show, local TV station and even some national shows were set up all over South Beach to broadcast stories about the big event.  It definitely changed the look and feel of South Beach and I'm sure a lot of locals were steering clear of all the activity.  This makes it tough to get the rollerblading action shot I had in my head as I planned my trip!  It also didn't help that everywhere I turned there was an add for some company that I had to crop out of my shot (even in the sky with blimps that were constantly flying over).

I definitely became more skillful as a photographer on this trip.  It was a great test in making something out of nothing.  I plan on applying these skills on a client's travel assignment next opportunity I am given.

Look for a "Best of" image gallery from my trip in a couple weeks!  I'll post a link to it here on the blog.

The facade of the beautiful art deco Park Central Hotel.

Pedro, a South Beach lifeguard, looking out from one of the colorful lifeguard towers.

Ocean Drive lined with beautiful art deco buildings.

Detail of the facade of the Congress Hotel.  Love the font.

A typical Miami resident. I asked him if I could take his portrait because of his great hat.

Another colorful lifeguard tower on South Beach.

The Ocean Five Hotel on Ocean Drive.

Ocean Drive at dusk.

A night shot of the famous Colony Hotel.

Florida Day #2: Keys in the morning, Miami in the afternoon

I started my day by photographing the southernmost point in the United States.  It is funny how easy it is to tell that you are there.  Not only is there a 10 foot tall marker, but every hotel, restaurant, bar, ect. is named “Southernmost ______”.  Even the nearby beach is named Southernmost Beach!

I then spent the next 4-5 hours of my day making the drive back up to Miami.  I made a couple photo stops along the way, but pretty much tried to keep my patience driving 45 mph along a highway for multiple hours.

Unfortunately it was clouded over when I arrived in Miami.  I walked around to check things out and would get a break in the clouds every once in awhile.  One of the biggest challenges is that you absolutely need sunshine to show off the art deco buildings.  Otherwise the shots just don’t feel like the Miami that we all have in our heads. I wasn’t able to take many usable shots, but I was able to scope things out for what is hopefully going to be a big shoot day tomorrow. 

Once you do this enough, you realize that some days you are going to get what you want and others your not.  I still get a little frustrated when I don’t get much in a day, but from a short trip like this I really just need 3 or 4 defining shots to add to my portfolio.   

I did get one of those defining shots tonight as a shot the Miami skyline at dusk.  Check it out below.

One of the 402 bridges of the Overseas Highway through the Keys.

Park bench on the park on South Beach in Miami.

Looking up at a historic art deco building in South Beach.

One of the greatest things about the art deco style is the simplicity.

Looking down Collins Avenue at some of the art deco buildings.

I love how this photo tells a story with so little information.

The Miami skyline at dusk.

I was standing with a couple other photographers taking the same pictures of the skyline and decided I wanted to do something different. One of my favorite shots so far on this trip.

The Florida Keys

I’ve had a full day of shooting the scenery, historic sites and people of the Florida Keys.  I spent the last night just south of Key Largo, so I could get part of the drive to Key West out of the way.   This allowed me to spend the morning and early afternoon driving leisurely to Key West and stopping at whatever grabbed my attention. 

The Keys are very unique and filled with a lot of character.  Over the course of my day I’ve photographed a mermaid, fisherman unloading lobster pots, cats with six toes, wild roosters, a basket weaver, a one man band, a giant lobster and a manatee in a hula grass skirt. 

I’ve photographed multiple bars that all have history and meaning to the locals.  One was No Name Pub, which has the tradition of people hanging dollar bills from the walls and ceilings and has an estimated $100,000 stapled to the building.  Another historic bar that I took pictures of is Sloppy Joe’s, where Ernst Hemingway was known to hang out regularly.

I also took in some of the Keys’ historic sites over the course of the day.  I toured Ernst Hemingway’s home and took a photo of his study where he wrote his most famous works.  I climbed to the top of the Key West Lighthouse to look out over the island.  And I ended the day by taking in the sunset with a few hundred other people in Mallory Square. 

All in all it has been a very full day.

Jimbo unloading lobster pots.

A scenic view on Little Duck Key.

Hanging dollar bills at No Name Pub on Big Pine Key.

A unicycling juggler in Mallory Square on Key West.  He is about 12 feet up in the air.

Key West tourist posing in her bikini.

Not a typical photo for me, but I couldn't help myself with such a beautiful sunset.

A one-man-band in Mallory Square

All Terrain Vehicle Association (ATVA) Shoot - Editorial Photography

The All Terrain Vehicle Association (ATVA) hired me to photograph Jerry Abboud for an upcoming article.  Jerry was one of the pioneers of ATVs and has been a leader in the industry when it comes to instructing riders.  He had a great story about how they had to get about 75 ATVs and train paramedics on how to use them for when Pope John Paul II visited Denver in 1993.  It was the only way they could work there way around the massive crowds.

We photographed at a motorcyle/atv dealership in north Denver.  One of the largest challenges was our desire to shoot outside.  It was a bitter cold morning and all I really had to work with was a parking lot and a small test area for the vehicles.  We decided to do a majority of the shots inside and by the time we were done the sun had come out and made the outside a little more bearable. 

I took a series of photos on a median that had two pine trees.  I placed Jerry so you wouldn't see the parking lot and buildings around him to make it feel like he was in the woods.

We then were able to put him up on a mound that was on the training course.  This allowed me to shoot up and get rid of as much of the powerlines and buildings in the background.  With his red coat, green ATV and the brilliant blue sky, we had a lot of great color going on.

Jerry Abboud poses on a Polaris ATV for the editorial photography shoot for the ATVA.

A more creative angle of Jerry that shows off the rows of ATVs behind him.

Another pose inside the dealership.  I try and give my clients as many different types of shots to choose from as I can.

Taken on a median in the parking lot between two pine trees.  Hopefully it feels like we are up in the mountains.

A shot that shows the friendly side of Jerry.

Great colors as Jerry sits on a Kawasaki ATV.

Last shot of the day.  The angle is a common way to make the image more dynamic and give a sense of motion.

Flashes of Hope

One of the most rewarding days of photography I have each year is when I volunteer for Flashes of Hope.  FOH is a national non-profit organization that uses volunteer photographers to take portraits of children with cancer.

It is always a very touching day, but this year was even a little more special.  I was able to photograph one of the children again after 3 years.  It was great to see the child go from having no hair and dealing with the rigors of chemo to being a happy, healthy kid with a full head of hair and an even bigger smile.

Below are some of my favorite photos from this year's shoot.