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Pole Photography: The View From Above

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I recently decided to try something new and change my photographic perspective.  How you might ask?  I decided to shoot my subjects from above.  While doing some research on a completely unrelated subject, I came across some photos someone had taken of a simple subject from what looked like a high vantage point.  I liked the effect and thought it might be something fun to try and add a different feel to some of my images.  However, it took me a while to figure out how they had captured the photo.  I started researching ways to accomplish this with a camera and found information on Kites, Drones and other crazy and expensive options.  And then one day, I finally found the simple answer, build a tall pole to mount my camera onto.

It turns out there are companies dedicated to the sole purpose of building tall poles that one can use to mount their camera onto.  The only downside is that these poles and their accessories are not cheap usually ending up somewhere north of $350.00.  I couldn’t justify spending this much money for a niche product that I was not sure I would even enjoy using.  Therefore, I set out to make my own Photography Pole.

After looking at various options at hardware stores, I settled on an aluminum pool pole.  Fully extended it is 16 feet high.  To the end I added a 4 foot wooden dowel and then a thread to attach my camera.  I now had the ability to shoot from a vantage point above the ground of 20 feet.  The next question was would it be sturdy enough to capture a crisp image and more importantly would it be strong enough to keep my expensive camera and lenses from meeting an untimely destruction.  Turns out the answer to both questions was yes.

Yesterday I decided to play around with my new toy and see whether or not Pole Photography was something I could put to good use.  After some trial and error, I was able to figure out the elements and conditions I needed to create a unique image and captured a few images I liked.  I still need to hone my skills using the pole as well as work on the logistical elements of more easily taking a picture when your camera is more than 20 feet above you.  Framing, focusing and composition all become very difficult when you cannot look through the viewfinder or physically push the shutter button.

Here are few of my trial and error photos from my efforts.  These images were taken in Big Cypress National Preserve.

A Surprise Milky Way Sighting on the Beach

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This past weekend was my wife and I’s 5th Wedding Anniversary and we decided to celebrate by getting out of town for the weekend.  We opted to stay on Palm Island on the West Coast of Florida.  Palm Island is a secluded island only accessible by ferry and once there all transportation is by golf cart instead of automobile.  As a result, the trip was very peaceful and fairly private, only encountering a handful of people each day on the beach.

I of course brought my camera with me and envisioned grand sunsets.  Unfortunately for sunset photography, but fortunately for enjoying the outdoors, a cold front came through on Friday and sinking air made for a cloudless sky.  With no clouds the photos seemed flat and uninteresting.  After the sunset, my wife and I took a walk down the beach to enjoy the cool weather.  By the time we had started making our way back the sky had turned completely dark and to my surprise the milky way was faintly visible out over the gulf.  Prior to this weekend the only time I had been able to see the milky way was when I was out in the middle of the Everglades.

I grabbed my camera and went back out to capture what I hoped were some unique shots of the milky way over the beach.  I managed to capture a few images I liked.

On the beach chair photo I did not get the focus right and the beach chair is sharp and in focus but the stars and milky way are a little blurry.  For the majority of the images, I tried to use the boardwalk and the pathway as a leading line taking the viewer into the scene and then connecting with the vertical milky way.  For one boardwalk image I chose not to center the boardwalk to give the image more depth.  I am not sure which boardwalk version I like better.

Boca Chita Lighthouse and Biscayne National Park

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I took the opportunity this past Wednesday after work to take the boat out to Boca Chita Key.  Fellow photographer friend and guide Robert Chaplin accompanied me on my most recent excursion.  Boca Chita Key is located about 12 miles from Convoy Point and the Biscayne National Park visitors center.

The primary purpose of the trip was to do some scouting and hopefully capture an image of the Boca Chita Lighthouse to add to my collection.  The Boca Chita Lighthouse is an iconic landmark associated with Biscayne Bay and Biscayne National Park.  It was erected by a wealthy property owner of the island who essentially built an elaborate lawn ornament to mark the entrance to his island.  Unfortunately, he was never allowed to turn it on by the coast guard as the island is surrounded by shallow grass flats and it could have been a danger to local mariners.  After the formation of Biscayne National Park, the island and the historic structures were acquired and are now available for public enjoyment.  You can only reach Boca Chita Key by boat, but once there you can camp, swim and enjoy the beautiful views of Biscayne Bay, the Atlantic Ocean and the distant Downtown Miami Skyline.

On this trip I managed to capture some decent images of the lighthouse with a very vibrant sunset in the background as well as building thunderstorm over Downtown Miami.  It turned out to be a great evening to make the trip.  There were calm winds and waves and some very dramatic clouds from thunderstorms that had passed through earlier in the day.  However, the saltwater mosquitoes were out in force and were as bad if not worse than the swarms I am used to experiencing in Everglades National Park.

Click on the thumbnails to view the full photo.

Biscayne National Park

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I don’t spend as much time in Biscayne National Park as I should.  This is primarily because most of Biscayne National Park is water and the number of boat access points is limited.  Additionally, dealing with the weekend crowds at the boat ramps is just not worth the hassle.  However, I am making it a point to spend more time in this beautiful park and try to capture more of its uniqueness in my photographs.

To get the ball rolling I drove out to the Biscayne National Park visitor center after work to capture some incoming storms and what I hoped were some dramatic skies.  I captured a few images I liked but nothing spectacular.  The mainland portion of the park closes at 5:30 so I had to leave just as the light was starting to reach its peak.  I may try to capture an early morning sunrise before work next time.

Here are a few of the images from my 30 minute trip

Jackson Tucker Shelley

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I am excited to announce the birth of my first child, Jackson Tucker Shelley.  He was born on July 11 and weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces.  Nevertheless, I will likely be taking a brief hiatus from my outdoor photography adventures.  However, my indoor baby picture adventures are just beginning.  I have a lot to learn as I have never really done much in the way of people pictures.  It should be a lot of fun and give me a reason to buy new camera gear.

Homestead Miami Speedway Fireworks

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I brought my camera to this years 4th of July celebration of Homestead Miami Speedway in hopes of finding time to photograph the fireworks display.  I have brought my camera the last 3 years but have yet to find time to use it.  One downfall of being an elected official on the 4th of July is that you always end up being part of the programming.  The last few years the program has occurred right before the fireworks have started leaving me no time to grab my camera and tripod and get to a good vantage point.

This year however the program concluded early enough to head outside and set up my camera to watch the show.  This years fireworks were great and the City of Homestead Parks and Rec Staff did not disappoint.  It took me a little while to get my settings right, and in the end I still did not figure out exactly the best method to capture the explosions, but still managed to get a few keepers.

My biggest problem was that I was so close to the fireworks it was hard to set my aperture and shutter speed correctly so as not to get blowouts to frequently.  This was especially true during the grand finally in which I did not successfully capture a single usable shot.  I will research the techniques better next year before trying it again.

Everglades Lightning

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We have been having a very wet and stormy year here in Southeast Florida.  I decided to try and take advantage of the weather pattern to go out and capture one of my favorite subject matters, Lightning.  Each year I have committed to dedicate some free time to chase storms and create a lightning portfolio.  Unfortunately, every year something important occurs on the best storm/lightning days or nights.  At least this year I was able to spend a whole day chasing storms and as a result got some exciting lighting images to add to my collection.

I chased these storms from the entrance to Everglades National Park all the way to Flamingo.  A few times I probably got a little closer than I should have.  During one of the storms I could not get out of the truck because the lighting was almost directly overhead.  The bolt and thunder were occurring simultaneously.

 

Comet 209P/LINEAR

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I read about the earth passing through the Comet 209P/Linear dust trail and the prediction that it would to be a meteor storm with potentially up to 1000 meteors an hour.  Of course I decided to grab my camera and plan a trip out into the Everglades to find a nice dark site to witness this once in a lifetime meteor shower.  Unfortunately, the meteor shower was a complete dud.  I might have witnessed 5 meteors the whole night.  However, one of the meteors was the best single meteor I have seen to date.  It lit up the sky like a fireball and remained very vibrant for at least 10 seconds before exploding as it neared the horizon.

The bad news was that I had my camera pointed in the completely opposite direction.  Either way it was still fun to get out of the house and go see the stars and the milky way.  I took a couple of images of the milky way before heading home around 4:00 AM.

Everglades Milky Way

Lunar Eclipse/Blood Moon

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The last time I observed a lunar eclipse I was in high school which by now is many many years ago.  Therefore, I decided not to miss this mornings lunar eclipse despite the middle of the night timing.

I met up with some photographer friends of mine in Everglades National Park around 1:00 AM to try and capture the lunar eclipse on digital film.  We started our adventure at Pine Glades Lake and then decided to venture out into one of the cypress domes to try and shoot the eclipse through the forest of trees.

The cypress dome did not produce any useable images.  However, I did capture a good image of a lone cypress tree with the moon above it.  I used a flashlight to paint/illuminate the tree during the exposure.  I also took two images and combined them into one.  One image exposed for the night sky and the other exposed for the moon.  For the moon exposure I also changed to a longer lens.  Using my 16-35 causes the moon to look miniscule in the image.  Whereas with my longer lens I can capture a moon that looks closer to what I perceive in real life.

One of the more interesting images I captured was of the lunar eclipse just before it was completely blocked by the earth’s shadow.  I captured this image at Pine Glades Lake just as a layer of fog had started to develop above the lake.  I used some rocks as a foreground subject.  During the exposure I flashed the high beams of my truck to illuminate the fog in the distance as well as the rocks.  The image looks as if the bottom of the moon is illuminating the fog but it is not.  I also converted this image to black and white.

It was amazing to witness the eclipse from beginning to end.  This was especially true of the effect the eclipse had on the night sky.  Prior to the eclipse the moon was causing too much light pollution to see anything but the brightest of stars.  During the peak of the eclipse the stars became instantly visible and thousands were visible all at once.

I had a good time observing nature and trying to photograph what I was witnessing.  Here a few images from this morning.