Make sure to always do this when you are out shooting a sunset.
It is a simple thing to do but many people miss some spectacular photographs by not doing this – and it is not at all technical. Keep your eyes moving, scanning your surroundings. Pay attention to the entire sky – not just the setting sun. Look to your right, look to your left and always, always look directly behind you. That’s it.
Excalibur Condominium in an Ocean City Sunset
You should always be on the lookout for the “big picture” – looking all around you. There are changing light conditions throughout the sky and the area whenever the sun is rising or setting. Some of those changes are not remarkable but some can prove to be quite dramatic. Don’t fall victim to missing a shot by becoming fixated on the main event, so to speak.
Snow Geese? Some comments received on this photograph indicated there appeared to be a flock of snow geese flying over the Excalibur Condominium. The white “lights” in the sky are actually a reflection of ceiling lights in the restaurant where we were dining when this special scene lighting appeared against the dark sky. We were seated by a large window at Albertino’s Brick Oven Eatery, a wonderful Italian restaurant in Ocean City at 131st Street, bayside.
For more photographs of Ocean City and the beach resort area be sure to visit the Ocean City Gallery online.
If I do have a muse it is in the form of Mother Nature.
Starting as a child of 11, when my parents gave me a home darkroom kit, I spent most of my time shooting and printing captures of Mother Nature’s creations around where we lived. That has continued throughout my life.
My photography is defined in the way I capture light and shadow and endeavor to do so in the way those elements are created in natural scenes, be they landscapes or seascapes, night or day.
Fenwick Island Dunes and Waves and Sea and Sand in the Afternoon Sun
I could not say why I “create as I do” but I know that if something out there catches my eye, I will go and take a look. Someplace in my mind I like to think that my photography attempts to capture some of the beauty seen in nature. No matter what medium or the camera used, I have tried to capture the essence of what is seen in nature through the camera. Being able to do so allows me to enjoy every shoot and, as a result, my camera becomes an extension of my eyes.
It is true that the architectural endeavors of mankind are also creative and beautiful and at night they may need artificial light (man-made) to be seen. However, during the day it is Mother Nature that brings out the designs, forms and textures of that architectural “masterpiece.”
Mother Nature sets the stage for the creations of man, the bridge and the pier are surrounded by the texture, light and shading that sets this scene apart from normal – especially in a black and white presentation.
My goal or wish, through my photography and writing, is to share with you the view of Nature that I have come to know over the last half century. Just as a painter strives to find unique ways in capturing and creating images, I too am always searching for a variety of creative outlets in photography and, occasionally, in writing.
Photography with its many disciplines is vast, it has been said that there are as many definitions as photographers. My photographs may not be for everyone, but if someone wants to see my work I invite them to do so at:
The world is full of photographers, the ubiquitous cell phone camera has made sure of that, and anyone can look at the creations of others and say to themselves, “I could do that.” But do they (or we) really have the “eye” to see it? The creative eye that takes something out of nothing and creates a work of art? What does one need to do in order to create art? I have been striving to answer that answer for a very, very long time.
What I am seeking is what my Muse gives me when I visit her throughout the wonder of Creation’s pathways. What is within me seeks expression in the form of capturing a feeling or mood which often resides in the compositions that appear before me. For me it starts with an idea and evolves into the moment of commitment to an image. That is what I endeavor to share with my viewers and buyers.
