Tag: Stephen Shelley Photography

Geminid Meteor Shower 2017

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I don’t get to use my camera as much as I used to anymore but I still wanted to go out and see the Geminid Meteor Shower this year. It was forecast to be a good show.

I met up with some of the South Florida National Park Camera Club members and fellow photographer Robert Chaplin out in Everglades National Park. We started at Mahoganny Hammock and I spent most of the time just watching the show and left my camera in the car. I also did not see any compositions I liked so instead enjoyed the company for a little while before heading out on my own. While driving around I came across a lone Cypress Tree near the main park road that I liked and decided to set up my camera and see if I could capture a few meteors in the background. I got lucky and captured 3 meteors in one 30 second exposure using the cypress tree as my foreground anchor. Once I got home and looked at the images on the big screen I really liked the shot and will likely find a place for it in my personal collection.

This years meteor shower was one of the best I have seen in years. Meteors were streaking across the sky every few seconds with numerous fireballs and very bright meteors mixed in. The weather is also always great for us South Floridians as it is cool and keeps the mosquitoes at bay at night.

NASCAR Championship 2017

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I missed last years NASCAR Championship race at Homestead Miami Speedway due to being out of town and spending time with family. This year however, the local newspaper asked if I would be willing to help them out again and capture some images of the race. I of course agreed and dusted off my camera for a fun filled weekend.

I got some great images this year, especially of retiring driver Matt Kenseth during a pit stop with the sun setting through the grandstands. I forgot how much fun shooting a racing event can be. I had gotten so used to going that I took the experience for granted until I took a year off from the event. I will likely go again next year if life allows me time.

Boca Chita Lighthouse and Biscayne Bay

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I was asked to try and take some creative shots of the Boca Chita lighthouse for some marketing materials. I decided to try and take some split level shots with a wide angle lens so that viewers could see both under the water and above the water.

It didn’t quite work out as I had envisioned but they still came out OK and the client was happy with the results.

Fort Myers Beach Sunsets

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My whole family decided to take a family vacation this year to Fort Myers Beach. We all had a great time and Jackson had a blast hanging out with his cousins. I also used this opportunity to add to my collection of beach sunsets. We had some great clouds and great sunsets almost every night we were there. For one of the sunsets I had to have someone hold an umbrella over my camera because there was a light rain falling. This resulted in an almost uniform orange glow across the sky as the sun set. It made for a unique and very colorful photo.

Bahia Honda Bridge

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My wife has requested that I capture a creative photo of the Bahia Honda Bridge to put on one of the walls in our house. I had a vision of the image I wanted to capture and so I headed down the keys chain to see if I could make her happy. I couldn’t. The image I envisioned needed the sun to be setting at a further Azimuth south. Unfortunately, it will not be in the position I want until later on in the fall. I will plan to return in another 6 months or so and try again. I still managed to capture a nice pleasing image but not what I wanted for the particular space on our wall.

Bahia Honda Sunset

Cityscapes

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While traveling on business to Jacksonville and Tallahassee I snuck in some photography time and captured some Cityscapes just at or after sunset. I tried to use the moving car lights to create some interest and give the image an active feel. I like the results of both images. One is downtown Jacksonville and the other is the Florida Capital in downtown Tallahassee.

NASCAR Championship 2015 at Homestead Miami Speedway

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I had the opportunity once again to do some freelance work for the local newspaper and photograph the 2016 NASCAR Championship race at Homestead Miami Speedway. This year proved to be more exciting than last year. I also managed to capture a signature sunset shot with sunburst under the sky boxes over turn 1. The image also captured the last lap led by Jeff Gordon prior to his retirement.

Myakka State Park

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I had a conference to attend in the Tampa area and decided to bring my camera with me and stop by Myakka River State Park on my way back south to Miami. I first visited Myakka years ago when I was only 10 or so but remember being impressed with its numerous and large alligators. I returned about 4 years ago for the first time since I was 10 and spent a day exploring and hiking some of the trails. This time I did not have much time to spend in the park but still enjoyed what little time I did have there.

I managed to capture some interesting landscape shots and even tracked a few deer that where skittish but curious about my presence. All in all it was a good trip. One of these days I would like to return to spend some time kayaking the river and/or camp in the campground.

Sand Key Beach Sunset

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While visiting family in Largo, Florida I took my camera to Sand Key Beach to see if I could capture a sunset. I grew up in Largo and have not been back to Sand Key Beach since I left for college many, many years ago. It looked just liked I remembered it. I captured one sunset image I really liked with the curved moon low on the horizon just above the setting sun. I used a long shutter speed to smooth out the water and saturate the colors. I was hoping for a little bit more movement feel in the water near the rocks but still like the final result.

Perseid Meteor Shower 2015

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The conditions for the Perseid Meteor Shower this year were ideal so myself and a photographer friend, Robert Chaplin, ran out to the Everglades to see if we could capture some in photographs. It turned out we could.

For this meteor shower we had planned to head over to the Big Cypress National Preserve but due to less than ideal weather conditions made a last minute call to head south to Flamingo in Everglades National Park instead. Except for the mosquitoes it turned out to be a good decision that resulted in some good images. I even managed to capture a lightning bolt to go along with the milky way and meteors.

The Flamingo campground area provided a good variety of foreground subject to use to anchor the vast sky and compliment the shooting stars. The meteor shower peaked between 3 and 4:30 in the morning. During the peak I was seeing a meteor almost every second with numerous bright fireballs.

It was definitely worth the mosquito bites and the lack of sleep. I am already looking forward to Decembers Geminids.