A Trip South

Nephew is starting first grade. My first grade teacher was Mrs. McCabe, and our team name for field day was McCabe's Monkey's. It was a real field day, with genuine gunny sacks to race in, three legged races, hundred yard dashes, and jump roping contests. And you only got a ribbon if you won, not just for participating. It was a good thing, I think. It was a whole different world at Mary Esther Elementary. That was in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Famous (sort of) for white sandy beaches. I mean, white, like snow, literally.

Not like the beaches in Ft. Lauderdale, where I was last week. The beach there was made all of diatoms and shell fragments, and the grains were very soft and comfortable to walk in. Kind of nice. Not a bad view to wake up to in the morning, either.

I stayed at the Sheraton on the beach, and they have a restaurant in the hotel, called The Wreck (kind of a sunken ship theme) that has windows that look into the pool from below. Pretty creepy. Billy Crystal did some movie with a scene in there. Fish and Chips were okay.

My work was in Miami, however, and i did get a little time there in the afternoon one day to walk the beach front and see the beach. Very colorful place, Miami; very caribbean. 

Unfortunately, that visit was cut short when these storm clouds rolled in. It can really come down down there! So, I was left to my usual routine of shooting at night.

Tried this one on the beach. That couple was gracious enough to hold still for me, and the sea was calm under that oil tanker, too. It was a fifteen second exposure, and then some additional work in LightRoom to finish it off.

Similarly, shooting was restricted to nighttime earlier last week in Atlanta. It's a pretty nice city for night work, though, and this one turned out okay. Hot nights in the south. It was a good visit, with some good results and good people to work with. Still, I wasn't dry for nearly a week, and it's good to be home.

Shot all of these with my Canon 7D, and a 35mm f/1.4 USM L series lens. I like this lens for it's sharp renditions and super fast aperture. However, the camera is a little disappointing. I'm still working with it, but my first impression is that the Nikon D90 makes better quality images, especially at higher ISO's and/or longer exposures. I'm not giving up on it, yet, but I'm also not selling my Nikon gear (nor do I foresee that happening!). I don't mind if you love your Canon, but I've worked with both. I'm still giving it a chance, though, so don't hate me, yet.