Miami Beach – Page 3 – TRAVELLING BANANA

Architecture and Monochrome

June 23, 2015 by juliav1

From geometric patterns on skyscrapers to the ironwork on historical buildings, there are many opportunities to capture the beauty and complexity of architecture.

One of the tallest buildings in Miami Beach (and one of the most expensive places to live) is the Portofino. Even though it’s a tall skyscraper of a building, it still manages to look Art Deco in style. You can’t fail to miss the bright orange and blue building reaching into the sky.

In the day the next building is nothing special but at night it comes alive with a spectacular light show. I think it really shows the architecture of the building better at night.

The next buildings are examples of some of the art deco hotels and buildings we have here in Miami Beach. The height restrictions are preserved in the art deco district so we’re lucky not to have high rise condos and hotels ruining the area.

Original

Picture a dreamlike setting complete with exquisite, hand-painted frescos on barrel-vaulted ceilings, brilliant travertine floors, fine marble columns, intricate leaded glass fixtures, carved mahogany furnishings and lavish gardens. Then picture this all in the shadow of a spiraling Moorish Giralda tower.

Is it a Spanish castle or a grand Venetian palazzo?

Although The Biltmore in Coral Gables, Fl does resemble the finest in classic Mediterranean architecture, it is neither an Italian palazzo nor Iberian castle. Instead it is the centerpiece of George Merrick’s vision of Coral Gables as an elegant, stately suburb, which he called “The City Beautiful.”
Combining his deep affection for lush South Florida landscape with a high regard for Italian, Moorish and Spanish architectural influences, Merrick realized his dream in the construction of his masterpiece.

You can find out more about the Biltmore Hotel here

Architecture and Monochrome

The above buildings work really well in color but what happens when you turn them black and white. Which do you prefer?

A Pop of Color

June 22, 2015 by juliav1

The colors in our photographs are evocative and rouse emotions within us. Color can elevate a mundane image into something intriguing and meaningful, and can tell a particular story within the frame.

The blue of the sky really makes the pink flowers pop and stand out from the old rusting car. — The blue of the sky really make the pink flowers pop and stand out from the old rusting car.

Peacocks have amazing colors not only on their feathers but their whole body. This blue is so electric.

Even though the blues of the sky and ocean are very noticeable I think the bright red waverunner breaks up the blue color. — Even though the blues of the sky and ocean are very noticeable I think the bright red waverunner breaks up the blue color and helps draw your eye to that part of the photo.

Quality of Light – Part II

June 21, 2015 by juliav1

Continuing my exploration into the Quality of Light and how its effects can make or break a photo, here are a few more to illustrate the power of light.

Dramatic Clouds make the helicopter look tiny

Light on a trail always makes the road ahead look interesting

Sometimes you have to shelter from the light

Lighthouse Cafe in the early evening light

The day begins to fade and leave behind interesting lighting

If you enjoyed this article why not check out my post on
Quality of Light – Part I

Quality of Light – Part I

June 21, 2015June 20, 2015 by juliav1

Light makes photographs more interesting and over this weekend, as part of the Photo101 assignments, we’ve been asked to look at the quality of light. How light varies throughout the day.

Depending on what time of day you take your picture will have an impact on the final result.

Dawn — before sunrise — can cast a cool blue light, with no shadows.
Later in the morning, the light tends to be neutral — and to some, ideal.
At midday, the sun reaches its highest point, resulting in dark shadows.
Later in the day, in the “golden hour” before sunset, daylight grows softer and redder, creating a magical atmosphere.

Factors can change these conditions, including weather, location, and the time of year.

Here is a selection of photos I have taken at various times of the day to illustrate what light can do to make even the simplest of photos something more interesting.

I like how the light dapples across the wood

Relaxing under a palm tree and enjoying the shadows

I like how the light illuminates the tennis balls

Key West lobster buoys hang from the small 1950s wood frame building and dance in the afternoon light

This fan art deco style palm looks great in the midday sun

If you would like to see more photos experimenting with light, please check out my post – Quality of Light – Part II

Warmth

June 18, 2015 by juliav1

Photography means “drawing with light,” and when you snap a picture with your camera, you use and record light to create an image.

A front-lit subject faces the light source and is even-lit and flat, primarily without shadows. Front light is the most straightforward to work with, but isn’t as dramatic.

Side light is fun to experiment with, especially for portraiture, fine art, and architecture.

When you light a subject from the side, the mix of light and shadow shows more depth and reveals textures, patterns, and complexities (even flaws) in the shot. It can create unexpected results, and be more dramatic.

Sun Halo

I was extremely lucky to capture this photo of our sun. The phenomenon is called a Sun Halo or 22° Halo.

Among the most well known halos is the 22° halo, often just called “halo”, which appears as a large ring around the Sun or Moon with a radius of about 22° (roughly the width of an outstretched hand at arm’s length).

The ice crystals that cause the 22° halo are oriented semi-randomly in the atmosphere, in contrast to the horizontal orientation required for some other halos such as sun dogs and light pillars. As a result of the optical properties of the ice crystals involved, no light is reflected towards the inside of the ring, leaving the sky noticeably darker than the sky around it, and giving it the impression of a “hole in the sky”. The 22° halo is not to be confused with the corona, which is a different optical phenomenon caused by water droplets rather than ice crystals, and which has the appearance of a multicolored disk rather than a ring.

You can find out more about Sun Halo’s here

Sunset

The Natural World

June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 by juliav1

A good photographer is a constant observer: always watching and studying a scene, from patterns in city traffic to movements in nature. A photographer notices big, sweeping changes — like the sky at dusk — but also the tiniest details.

Exploring the outdoors, with camera in hand, is an opportunity to look for natural lines that lead our eyes to different parts of a frame. Envision the bend of a stream, or the curve of a petal: how can you use these lines in your composition? If you see strong vertical, horizontal, or diagonal lines, can you play with the orientation to create a more dynamic composition?

The Natural World

Interesting Tree bark — Rainbow Eucalyptus Tree has interesting Tree bark – Miami Botanical Gardens

A Lizard examining a tree — A Lizard examining a burnt tree – Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park

Did you spot the frog relaxing? — Did you spot the cheeky frog? He looks so comfortable in his own private oasis

Big

June 16, 2015 by juliav1

Today, let’s go big. Whether inside or outside, photograph something of massive size. But feel free to interpret big in your own way, and get creative with your shot. Capture all or just part of the subject. Place it in the foreground so it takes up the entire frame. Or shoot it from afar so it appears smaller — yet still prominent.

Well my point of interest to demonstrate BIG is one of the super large cruise ships that sail by every day from the Port of Miami. For something so large they are extremely quiet cutting through the calm waters as if it was butter.

You can be relaxing on the beach or near the bay and suddenly look up and be taken by complete surprise at this massive ship sailing by.

Here are a few shots of these amazing floating hotels.

_MG_2053 — From this perspective you can not really tell how large the ship is

Here are a few more images of cruise ships docked in Key West, FL. In fact these are the ships that will soon be making their way back to Miami.

They are so super big – how do they manage to float?

Connect

June 15, 2015 by juliav1

In this age of social media, we hear the word connect more often, don’t we? Connect with us on Facebook! Connect with me on LinkedIn! Given what today’s technologies can do, it feels like the world is getting smaller, and we’re more connected than ever before.

There are many ways to interpret this theme: from a gadget to a handshake, from a bridge to a gathering among friends. What’s yours?

Today I’m connecting with nature – here are a few subjects who were not too shy to connect with me.

A cheeky racoon raids the local picnic area to see what delicious leftovers he can scoop up.

Such a sly smile and what's going on in that brain. Lets not stick around too long to find out! — Alligator – such a sly smile and what’s going on in that brain. Lets not stick around too long to find out!

Bliss and Solitude Revisited

June 14, 2015 by juliav1

To finish off the weekend review of the photo101 week of assignments I’m revisiting the last two subjects of Bliss and Solitude.

Here are a few more photos that represent these categories.

Bliss

Relaxing under the palm trees

Ice-Cream

Lifeguard Hut Miami Beach

Solitude

Sunset

The End of the Day

Resting at the end of the day

If you’re interested in looking at the original articles click on the links below.

Bliss
Solitude

Experiment with Composition

June 13, 2015 by juliav1

So I’ve made it to the end of the first week of the Photo101 assignments and have covered topics ranging from Home, Wider Views, Water, Bliss and Solitude.

Now it’s a free for all weekend where we can revisit some of these topics and put into practice what we have learned. I’m using today to showcase some of the other photos that fit into the Home, Wider View and Water category.

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